ThinkAfrica explainer African Nations Involved in the Slave Trade The slave trade was the horrific trafficking of Africans as enslaved persons to the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. It was a catastrophe of violence, extraction, and human degradation—driven above all by external demand and imperial systems, but also, tragically, involving some African states and […]
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If you’re looking for your next travel destination, make sure not to be deceived by the media’s fake propaganda. They usually display the African continent as a risky destination that is not safe, or even not worth the visit. This is far from the truth. Africa is home to some of the safest
10 Safest countries in Africa Read More »
A nation is a body of people with shared descent, language, history and culture. By that definition Nigeria is country of 372 nations.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not … They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.” Donald Trump Oh, the irony! Role of convict labour and penal military units in Europe’s civilizing mission (15th-20th Century) History is often told today in terms of the civilizing influence of Europe on regions they subjugated. Countries that did not live
Role of convicts in Colonization Read More »
In popular culture there is a common perception that Africa has always been on the periphery of world advancements, that Africa did not contribute anything. The stereotype is that in the past Africa offered the world slaves – through the Atlantic slave trade – while today it offers the world child labour, horrifying news headline,
Iron technology started in Africa Read More »
If you think that slavery has been eradicated, think again. Modern-day slavery takes place in the form of human trafficking which involves forcing, pressuring or defrauding victims into labor or sexual exploitation.
How human trafficking affects Africa today Read More »
Think Africa Reference Guide • Ancient Egypt • Multidisciplinary Evidence Were the Ancient Egyptians Black? Ancient Egypt lasted for thousands of years, stretched from the Mediterranean Delta deep into the Nile Valley, and interacted continuously with Nubia, the Sahara, the Levant and the wider Mediterranean. A serious answer therefore cannot be reduced to “all Black”
Were the Ancient Egyptians black? Read More »
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Trans-Sahara slave trade were the horrific human trafficking of Africans as slaves by slave traders to Europe, America, North Africa and the Middle East. Despite the prices that could be earned, there were many African nations which did not take part in the slave trade and resisted these abhorrent
10 nations that didn’t take part in the slave trade Read More »
The number of tribes in Africa exceed 3,000. To understand the various cultures of Africa it’s easy to focus on the largest tribes and overlook the smallest tribes in Africa. There are many tribes in Africa that are very small, but no less diverse in their culture than the larger ones. Here are 10 of
10 smallest tribes in Africa Read More »
The Almoravid dynasty was a Berber Muslim dynasty, based around central Morocco. While it came from humble beginnings, established in the 11th century, eventually this empire would come to control large swaths of the western Maghreb (Northern Africa) and Al-Andalus (Southern Spain and Portugal). It was founded by Abdallah ibn Yasin, a charismatic leader, who
The Almoravid Dynasty Read More »
The Almohad Empire was a Berber Muslim empire, founded in Northern Africa in the 12th century AD. At the peak of its power, it controlled most of North Africa (presently the Maghreb area) and the Iberian Peninsula (presently Spain and Portugal). The Almohad were a people that believed in the doctrine of Ibn Tumart. This
The Almohad Empire Read More »
10 largest tribes in Africa Africa has within it more than a billion people in 54 countries. It also has around 3,000 tribes, from diverse regions with varying numbers of people. 30% of the African population come from ten people groups or if you would prefer “tribes”. In almost every case, these tribes were precolonial
10 largest tribes in Africa Read More »
This reading list is named after Cheikh Anta Diop in recognition of the impact Cheikh Anta Diop had on the advancement of knowledge of Africans, descendants of Africans and Africans in diaspora of African history and African achievements in the context of world history. The reason for creating this list is to provide: This reading
Cheikh Anta Diop Reading List Read More »
Between 6,000 to 9,000 years ago, North Africa went through a humid phase in their climate. This was known as the African Humid period. A German explorer Heinrich Barth discovered paintings from that time depicting a very different African landscape, filled with elephants, antelopes, giraffe, and other wildlife, being pursued by hunters. The incongruence of
African Humid Period Read More »
The Silver Treaty, also known as the Eternal Treaty or the Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, is the earliest known surviving peace treaty and is sometimes called the Treaty of Kadesh after the well-documented Battle of Kadesh that had been fought some 16 years earlier although Kadesh is not mentioned in the text. It is also the
The silver treaty – Earliest surviving written peace treaty Read More »
Dutch wax prints fabrics go by many names; Ankara wax prints, Ankara, African wax prints, African prints, Holland wax, Dutch wax, wax Hollandais, veritable Dutch Hollandais.
Dutch wax prints: aka AFRICAN WAX PRINTS Read More »
In a time without the media, or intoxicants, what could cause violence?
What causes violence? Africa (11,700 BC to 3,000 BC) Read More »
The kingdom of Oyo, also known as the Oyo Empire, is a West African monarchy, that at its peak, covered 270,000 square kilometres (1). It stretched from parts of the Republic of Benin in the west to the southwest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the east. To the north, it bordered the Nupe
When you talk about the richest humans that have ever existed whose accounts were recorded in history, the name Mansa Musa is always right up there. All evidence indicates that he is very likely the richest human being that has ever lived[1]. His wealth is estimated to be worth over $400 billion[2]. Mansa Musa of
The richest man in history: Who was Mansa Musa and why was he so Famous? Read More »
Medicine, medical writing, medical schools, surgery, pharmacy and medical algorithms were first developed in Ancient Egypt Africa.
Africa’s inventions: Medicine Read More »
Queen Aissa Koli Ngirmaramma served her seven years term as a queen, and when her term was up, she transferred power to a successor. Something, some African heads of state of today would not do willingly.
We all know glass, that amorphous inorganic solid substance that is usually translucent or transparent. Although glass can occur naturally, as in the case of obsidian, it is still one of the oldest and most important man-made materials in the world. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of types of glass, with their different colours and
Africa’s inventions: glass-making Read More »
Africa’s Civilizations: Paving The Path For The Growth Of Other Civilizations World Wide Most of the people have been falsely taught that the ancient Africans had little or nothing to do with the development and progression of civilization. This couldn’t be more wrong, for a massive number of sources shows that the origins of several
African Civilisations Read More »
9 African writing systems which predate Latin; and 15 writing systems which predate Modern English.
African Writing (3200 BC – 1500 AD) Read More »
Many news outlets when introducing Africa’s cities often explain the population size, the significance of the city and for context will often explain what proportion of Africa’s cities live in slums to give an idea to readers or viewers of wealth and income inequality. The time slot over which people take in information is so
Myths about Africa: Slums are unique to poor countries Read More »
Europe often claims that it is an advocate of democracy. It is claimed that the Athenian constitution and the British Parliament are the earliest examples of democracy but written history says otherwise. Africa has Meroe, Carthage, the Gada system of the Oromo and the Kalenji system to point to for evidence of pre-colonial democracy. Furthermore,
Africa’s Independence Dates Read More »
The Fulani people, numbering about 38 million, are found mostly in the western part of Africa. They are also known as the Fulbe or Peuls and in the Middle Ages (covering the 5th to the 15th century of the Common Era) were very reliant on cattle herding. The Fulani people trace their origin far back
The Kingdom of Altava was a Berber Kingdom, with the city of Altava as its capital. It existed from the year 578 AD to 708 AD. It was located in Northern Africa, in present-day Algeria. It was called a Berber kingdom as its majority population belonged to the Berber ethnicity, which is an ethnic group
The Christian Kingdom of Altava (578 AD – 708 AD), Algeria Read More »
During the history of mankind, there was a point when humans began planting and growing their foods, there was a shift from hunting animals and gathering food sources to farming and animal domestication. This period is referred to as the Neolithic revolution. With the Neolithic revolution came inevitable changes in the social life of humans.
Food series: Africa’s domestication of 2000+ foods Read More »
Impact craters are referred to the circular depression caused on the surface of the earth, planetary body, or other solid bodies in the solar system, by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller body or a meteorite. The energy released during this impact is usually very enormous as the velocity ranges between 11 and 72 Kilometers
Story of the oldest Deep Impact: the Vredefort Crater Read More »
TOOLS OF AFRICAN HISTORY: 10 METHODS In the investigation and study of the history and life of earlier Africans and indeed humans generally, certain tools or techniques are employed without which most findings would be useless since nothing can be deduced from them. With the help of these techniques or tools, information can be obtained
Tools of African History: 10 Methods Read More »
Africa is faced with many challenges. A non-exhaustive list includes: sorting out increased access to education and health; job creation; raising gross income per capita inclusively; gender equality; establishing national and local security; developing global partnerships; tackling child mortality; sorting out power supply and other infrastructure problems; and strengthening public institutions. The public and difficult
Myths about Africa : The you-can’t-do-business in Africa myth Read More »
Have you ever thought, “Why can’t farmers in African nations study the richer countries and imitate what they did to become wealthier”? Phrased another way the question is “Couldn’t Africa do today what the developed economies like the United States, France and the United Kingdom did to create wealth?” The answer is no and yes,
Question: Could African farmers copy Rich Countries for wealth creation? Read More »
Africa is an ancient and great continent, the first home of humans. A continent in which its ancient peoples through numerous foundational inventions opened the doors of advancement to the world. Over time a great many of her contributions to human development and advancement has been lost, forgotten or unjustly denied credit. Some of the
Myths about Africa: the Suez Canal was first built by France myth Read More »
When you look up world history as it is currently taught, the narrative is often misleading when it comes to development of agriculture. While certain crops were domesticated in the Near East and Asia between 10,000 BCE and 3,000 BCE – such as wheat and barley in the Near East, and Oryza sativa (Asian rice)
Myths about Africa: the “Europeans and Arabs brought Africa agriculture” myth Read More »
There are a few myths about African history and a few reasons why some European writers – not all – felt the need to malign brown-skinned people and claim Africans came from a continent without history. It probably gave them moral peace of mind to believe that they were not committing physical, mental and moral
Myths about African HISTORY Read More »
Modern scientists believe the universe has been around for 13.8 billion years, the sun for 4.57 billion years, the earth for 4.56 billion years and the moon for 4.53 billion years. Anatomically modern humans however only occupy the last 340,000 years of that story of cosmogony and originated out of Africa. Homo erectus (bipedal Humans)
Tools of African History: Geological periods Read More »
Specialists in Egyptian History have divided the time period of Ancient Egypt, covering 4,500 BCE to 664 BCE, into eight periods: Badarian culture, Naqada (prewriting), Old kingdom, First Intermediate kingdom, Middle kingdom, Second Intermediate Period, New kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period. In this article we look at the key events of the New Kingdom.
Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom (key events from 1550 BCE to 1075 BCE) Read More »
Bread is one of the most common and widely consumed food across all parts of the globe. It comes in various forms, shapes, sizes and even composition. From ancient times up till present-day, it has continued to be a staple food source for many people. The reason bread is very popular apart from its nutritional
Africa’s inventions: bread (11,600 BC) Read More »
The Kingdom of Luba is an ancient African Kingdom which was based in current day Democratic Republic of Congo. It was founded in the Upemba depression, which is a large area of marshes, and comprises of over 50 lakes. The Kingdom was founded by King Kongolo (also called Nkongolo) in 1585 and would last over
Tools of African History: the Lukasa Memory Board of the Luba Kingdom Read More »
