The role of African people is often overlooked in both the World Wars. At the time of the World Wars, Africa was split between the British, the Germans and the French, with all three countries colonizing large parts of the population. Naturally, Africa was dragged into both World Wars, though its role in helping win …
Africa is full of surprises. Most people visit Africa for safari parks and taking pictures of lovely animals from Range Rovers. But what if you could take a trip into the mind like inception – a journey through time and space. What if you could journey into your imagination and visit a sophisticated African state with no king, no concerns of external threats, a self-sufficient domestic economy, no economy dependent on slavery? Such a state existed.
Some civilisations sacrificed a work-life balance, art and architectural brilliance to focus on winning wars. One African dynasty found time to fight the Mongol empire and build insane works of beautiful architecture at the same time. “Mamluk” comes from the Arabic “owned” or slave. The Mamluk sultanate was created by slave soldiers and administrators that took over Egypt from the Ayyubid dynasty.
Should Afro-Europeans wear the poppy? This question used to challenge me. Learning GCSE History (a UK secondary school grade), I heard about what sparked World War 1 and the lessons the government wanted the next generation to learn. “Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it” George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy). And there! my interest in the past was sparked. I read. Interested in movies, along the way, I watched various films like Sergeant York, Dam Busters, Where Eagles Dare and sat through Lawrence of Arabia twice. In all this I grew to respect the past generation of Brits for their grit and sacrifice but I was never made to feel that “people who look like me” contributed anything to Britain’s survival or prosperity. Now, I know otherwise. Now, I know that it was a World War in the first place because Africa didn’t have self-rule on both sides of the war.
The Kingdom of Kerma was an ancient civilization that existed between 2500 BC and 1500 BC, with its capital at the city of Kerma. It was located in the heart of Sudanese Nubia and is the first provable sub Saharan kingdom to have existed. The Kingdom of Kerma is thought to have existed without a …
THE HAUSA ETHNICITY The Hausa people are one of the largest ethnic group in Africa. The old Hausa ethnic locations before the Fulani jihad were known collectively as Hausa Bakwai and Hausa Banza, where “Bakwai” was a term used for the original seven Legitimate(Bakwai) Hausa states: Biram, Daura, Gobir, Rano, Katsina, Zaria (Zazzau), and Kano. …
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 …
The Fatimid Caliphate: Contributions to Arts and Sciences Read More »
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.
Female Voting in Sierra Leone by 1792: A Centuries-Long Journey for the US to 1920 How does it feel when you are not allowed to express your thoughts and your opinions while at the same time, other people are allowed to share their opinion? Not only are they sharing it, but it is being taken into …
Ruins of Gedi Although certain African kingdoms like Axum, north of the Swahili city states, already had evidence of trading relationships with the Eastern Roman Empire, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India and Sri Lanka during 100 AD through to 900 AD, other African port cities would later develop evidence of trading with India, Sri …
THE GEDI RUINS – RuNNing Water in the 14th Century – Gedi, Kenya Read More »
It’s the first half of the sixth century, the beginning of the middle ages, the time when the silk trade was growing between the Byzantine Empire and China, the time when the Anno Domini system was created which the Gregorian calendar is based upon, the time when the first reference in history to the use …
Cosmas Indicopleustes,From A Simple Merchant To An Intellectual Voyager Read More »
Overview Nok civilisation existed from 1500 BC to 200 AD. It may have been ruled by a monarchy or existed as a confederacy. We know from other African societies within close proximity that centralized states could break up into decentralized chiefdoms or vice versa. Evidence from the consistency of terracotta art over a one-thousand-year period …
The Luba Calendar The Luba calendar is a 12-month calendar used by the Luba people, who are also known as Baluba. They are an indigenous group to the south-central region of Democratic republic of Congo (formerly the Republic of Zaire). In fact, they are the largest ethnic group of the Democratic republic of Congo. The …
The Mossi kingdoms were a group of twenty states and kingdoms in Africa that lasted from around the 11th century to the 19th century. It was surrounded by the Mali Empire to the West and the kingdom of Songhai to the North. Despite long-standing battles within the Mossi kingdom and with the stronger Songhai & Mali kingdoms, the Mossi states largely retained their independence until the arrival of the French upon its shores in 1896. Uniquely the Mossi kingdoms did not majorly participate in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Mossi had similar concepts to Europe (for instance to the United Kingdom’s Prince of Wales title). The sons of the ruler were given provincial responsibilities as Dimas. There were positions among noblemen for Commerce, the Military and Industry.
