Linda M. Heywood

Passionate scholar, teacher, and public historian, Heywood has authored the groundbreaking biography, Njinga of Angola: Africa's Warrior Queen (2017), lauded in The New Yorker and Times Literary Supplement. The book, tracing Njinga's resistance to the Portuguese and their African allies in the 17th century, has introduced contemporary scholars to a Sub-Saharan African woman whose prowess in war and statecraft merits a place in the pantheon of world historical rulers. It is another milestone for Heywood in a career of outstanding scholarship on West Central African history and the Atlantic World. She also has lent her expertise to television documentaries to stimulate broader public engagement on Africa.