How to teach children history
Philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it..”
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Education
United States racial wealth gap since emancipation
“Segregation now,
Segregation tomorrow,
Segregation forever”
George Wallace, former Alabama Governor, 1963
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Role of convicts in Colonization
“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
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How human trafficking affects Africa today
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.
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Were the Ancient Egyptians black?
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”
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The richest man in history: Who was Mansa Musa and why was he so Famous?
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
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Africa’s inventions: Medicine
Medicine, medical writing, medical schools, surgery, pharmacy and medical algorithms were first developed in Ancient Egypt Africa.
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African Writing (3200 BC – 1500 AD)
9 African writing systems which predate Latin; and 15 writing systems which predate Modern English.
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Myths about Africa: Slums are unique to poor countries
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
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Myths about African HISTORY
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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Africa’s influence on modern art
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
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History of Ancient Egypt (4,500 BCE to 664 BCE in 10 mins)
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
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Africa’s Religions
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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Africa’s Art in Foreign Museums
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
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Francis Williams: Poet, Scientist, Polyglot
During the time of the transatlantic slave trade, slaves were not regarded as humans and subjugated to the worst form of inhuman treatment. European countries like Britain made slaves out of every baby birthed by enslaved women. There were some few slave-trading and slave-owning countries, however, that had a little bit more relaxed legislation despite
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Ivory Bangle Lady: The face of an African in York’s High Society (4th Century)
There have been many misconceptions when it comes to the status of Africans who lived at much earlier times like the 13th to 18th century and even earlier in the 1st to 6th centuries, particularly Africans that happen to live overseas in what is today Europe and the USA. There is a wrong assumption that
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African Genes in Scottish DNA Study
Map of medieval Scotland The history that was taught at school says that Scots were originally Irish and Celtic people who migrated to Scotland and that Europe in general was the ancestral home of white people. Many people including Scots themselves have a long-held belief that the ethnic make-up of Scotland is strictly Scots, Irish,
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Eratosthenes: African and First Man To Measure The Circumference of Earth
More than 2000 years ago, a time when not even a calculator existed, let alone other technical devices that facilitate the research process, Eratosthenes calculated the spherical size of the Earth. He calculated it with considerable accuracy, obviously without the use of modern equipment but only by comparing the position of the Sun’s rays in
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Phillis Wheatley: at 20 years old, became the first African American published author in 1773 AD
Phillis Wheatley[1] is one of the most iconic examples of growth over achievement and empowerment. Despite going through devastating situations and falling prey to the cruelties of her historical era, she had the opportunity to get an informal education, and go down as one of the West’s earliest female writers. To gain a sense
Construction Of Kahun: A look at a planned city in 1895 BC Africa
As of 2018, by some, the continent of Africa is seen as lagging behind, trying to catch up and full of poor countries. In 1895 BC, this wasn’t the case. In 1,895 BC, towns and cities could be built up at will and infrastructural projects fully funded. The city of Kahun (a town by modern-day standards) was built overnight and in a planned format 4,000 years ago. It even had a vet. What did it look like?
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Temple of Sais: African medical school 3000 – 525 BCE
During 3,000 BC – 525 BC, there was a medical school in Egypt that trained both male and female physicians. The leading physicians of this institution, the Temple of Sais, were sometimes special advisers to the House of Pharoah. Discover the story of Pesehet, Lady Overseer of Female Physicians 2,500 BCE, and the function of the Temple of Sais.
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University of Sankore, Mali (989 CE – Present)
In the early 15th century Mali, precisely in the eastern city of Timbuktu, you could find three major intellectual institutions, which were, Jungaray Ber, Sidi Yahya, and finally, located in the North East district of Timbuktu, the eminent University of Sankoré, a spectacular pyramid-shaped work of architecture. Few today know that the University of Sankore
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Samuel Ajayi Crowther: from slave to Polyglot & first African Anglican Bishop
The word “polyglot” comes from Greek. “Poly” means “many” and “glot” means tongue. Greek was the first European language to use vowels. It is an Afroasiatic language written right to left originally like Hebrew. Almost every word that starts “ph” in English comes from Greek, along with 12% of all English words – 150,000 words. There are 600,000 words in English, 120,000 words in Yoruba, and no-one has ever counted the number of words in Latin or Greek. Within six years of banning the slave trade, a former slave had the opportunity to produce a bible fully translated into Yoruba, a guide to grammar for Nupe, Igbo and Yoruba, a Yoruba version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, receive a Doctor of Divinity from Oxford between 1861 and 1881, to become a polyglot, and become the first Anglican African bishop.
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The Fatimid Caliphate: Contributions to Arts and Sciences
The Fatimid caliphate was an Islamic kingdom that stretched over North Africa from 909 AD to 1171 AD. The caliphate promulgated the Seveners (or Ismāʿīlism) branch of Shia Islam and its geography spread from the Red Sea (to the East) to the Atlantic Ocean (to the West). It covered a total area of 4,100,000 square
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The Abbasid Caliphate: The Golden Age of the Islamic Civilization
The Abbasid Caliphate came after the Umayyad caliphate, in 750 CE, lasted 5 centuries and was one of the largest Empires in the world at its peak.
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Makuria: Humanity’s Longest Observed Peace Treaty, The Baqt
Makuria was successor state to the Nubian kingdom. The kingdom of Makuria comprised of a region along the Nile River; encompassing the area between today’s Aswan in southern Egypt and Khartoum in central Sudan. The kingdom existed between 500 AD to the middle of the 14th century and had its capital as Dongola which was
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The oldest university in the world is not Bologna!
Universities today invoke a certain image. They are considered institutions of higher education, helping students develop mastery in any one of many diverse fields of liberal arts, science, engineering and medicine. Typically, it tends to be the alumni of prestigious universities that become the administrators and leaders of government bodies, political parties, not-for-profit organizations, the military,
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