There are a lot of misconceptions about what happened during the Trans-Sahara slave trade and the Atlantic slave trade in black Africans, including how it began. Many people believe the slave trade in Africans began in 1619. In truth, we know that slavery itself began much earlier. Refer to the laws of Hammurabi as one […]
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The Barghawata Confederacy were a small group of Berber Muslim tribes that banded into a confederacy for safety against their more ambitious neighbours. Their kingdom was based on the Atlantic coast of present-day Morocco. At first, they allied with the Masmuda confederacy, who were the owners of Morocco in the 8th century AD. Then in
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The eight Christian Berber kingdoms are the states which emerged out of the Mauro-Roman kingdom. The Mauro-Roman kingdom was an independent Christian Berber kingdom located in present day Northern Algeria. It had its capital at the city of Altava and controlled the major portion of the ancient Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. This kingdom was
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Many countries from Europe, Asia Minor and America were involved in the slave trade, transporting Africans against their will from Africa to their own countries or colonies to profit from their re-sale or value in use. In the following table, the estimates of the numbers of people transported, the flags of the carriers and their
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The slave trade was the horrific trafficking of Africans as slaves to the Americas, Europe and Middle East. Between 1500 AD and 1890 AD, over twenty-two million (22,000,000) Africans were sold into slavery (R.A. Austen 1979). Seven million (6,856,000) were sold east: 3,956,000 were sold across the Sahara and 2,900,000 were sold across the Red
10 African nations involved in the slave trade 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 »
Were the Ancient Egyptians black? And… Were the Ancient Egyptians African? These are controversial questions. To answer the questions, we need to agree certain things first. We even need to agree “Who are Africans?” for instance, as odd as that may seem? In modern logic, Africans tend to be those who are either first,
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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
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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
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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 »
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.
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 »
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 »
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
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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.
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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 »
“During the 19th century, many European writers, limited by ethnocentrism and racism, decided that black Africa could have had nothing to do with Europe’s rise to greatness,” wrote Gloria Dickson, A professor of African-American studies at The College of New Jersey.
Africa’s inventions: algorithms Read More »
Democracy has been flourishing under different systems in parts of Africa since ancient times. One example of a pre-colonial political and social system devised within Africa is the Kalenji’s Ibinda system practiced by the Kalenji in Kenya. It is an ancient system that is democratic in nature. The Kalenjin People The Kalenjin are a group
African Pre-Colonial Democracies: The Ibinda System of the Kalenji Read More »
Many non-Africans sometimes wonder, “Did Africa invent anything?” The unambiguous answer is yes: a lot of things. One of these inventions was a calendar system by Borana people of Ethiopia at a date as old as when Greece invented the Athenian calendar (an ancient calendar also known as the Attic Calendar). Unlike the Athenian calendar,
The Borana Calendar and How it works (Existing from 300 BC until Today) Read More »
AFRICAN ARTWORKS AND EARLY EUROPEAN CONTACT African arts today have come to be admired by art aficionados from all over the world, but it has not always been this way. There was a time when artworks from Africa was not considered worthy enough to be even displayed in European art museums. The Europeans at the
Africa’s influence on modern art Read More »
Ancient Egypt is known for many things: its monuments, its inventions, and its extensive historical records. Its historical records are among the oldest top 2 in the world. MONUMENTS Five of the most visited monuments in Egypt are: The Great Sphinx The great sphinx is carved out of limestone, believed to be built over 4,000
History of Ancient Egypt (4,500 BCE to 664 BCE in 10 mins) Read More »
African political systems In the time before the 19th century from 4,000 BCE to 1800 CE, African societies developed no fewer than fifteen unique political systems of government and property rights. In this article we look at what those systems were, examples of states that used them and over what length of time. Fundamentally political
Africa’s 15 Pre-Colonial Political Systems Read More »
Myths about Africa: the hunter gatherers were not smart Travellers, anthropologists and historians from 1500 CE to 1800 CE that wrote about Africa sometimes recounted that some African people lived as hunter gatherers, when Europeans came across them. It must be remembered that not all Africans lived this way; based on the eye-witness accounts of
Myths about Africa: the hunter gatherers were not smart (200 BCE – 1950 CE) Read More »
Democracy literally means Rule by the people and is seen as a relatively recent Western phenomenon. However, democracy has been practiced in parts of Africa for many millenia. One such example is the Oromo Gada system practiced by the Oromo people in Ethiopia. It is an ancient system that is democratic in nature. Oromo Nation
African Pre-Colonial Democracies: The Gada System of the Oromo Read More »
The Kingdom of Mauretania came into existence around 225 BC, in the third century. Its inhabitants come from Berber ancestry, based on modern day ethnic taxonomies, and currently it belongs to the Western part of present day Algeria. Formation Mauretania was a kingdom of the Berber Mauri people, who would become renowned in history. It
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One cannot generalize about the nature of African religions as he would be prone to making the mistake of homogeneity among all African cultures. Africa, in truth, is vast both in cultural diversity and geographical variation. This has brought about different languages and customs that have different belief systems. With the different histories associated with
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Plagiarism is defined as the “wrongful appropriation” and “stealing and publication” of another author’s “language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions” and the representation of them as one’s own original work. It is one of the most frowned upon practices in writing and is often akin to a crime in the field of research. However, this was
Role of Ancient Africa in Defining Literary Critique and Plagiarism Read More »
Ever wondered what ancient Africa was like? Their tools, objects of arts, weapons, man-made artefacts, musical instruments, fabrics, deities, etc. Although much of it has been lost to time, some part of ancient African history is preserved; to experience it then look no further than American and European museums. If you want to sneak a
Africa’s Art in Foreign Museums Read More »
