Who Ruled in Year X

African women in power · year lookup

Who ruled in 1820 CE?

1 documented African woman ruler in these records held office in 1820 CE.

1820 CE falls in the 19th century CE. See this era on the timeline

Oral tradition In office this year

Nandi kaBhebhe

Queen mother in the Zulu kingdom

from 1816–c. 1827 Zulu kingdom Southern Africa

Nandi became a central royal woman and adviser after Shaka’s accession in 1816; much of her political biography survives through Zulu oral evidence recorded later.
Sources
1. African and Black Diaspora — Queen Nandi ka Bhebhe
2. University of Zululand repository — Royal women of the Zulu monarchy

Before 1820 CE

Documented history Office ended about 157 years earlier

Nzinga Mbande

Sovereign of Ndongo and Matamba

1624–1663 Ndongo & Matamba Central Africa

Nzinga inherited Ndongo’s throne in 1624 and later established power in Matamba, using diplomacy and warfare amid Portuguese expansion and the Atlantic slave trade.
Sources
1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Ana Nzinga, Queen of Ndongo
2. UNESCO — Njinga Mbandi: Queen of Ndongo and Matamba

After 1820 CE

Documented history Office began about 8 years later

Ranavalona I

Sovereign of the Merina kingdom

1828–1861 Merina kingdom Horn of Africa & the Indian Ocean

Ranavalona ruled from 1828 to 1861; her reign combined state consolidation and resistance to foreign influence with policies whose human consequences remain fiercely debated.
Sources
1. UNESCO — General History of Africa, Volume VI
2. Cambridge University Press — An Economic History of Imperial Madagascar

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