History of Imperial Africa

Africa is a great civilization center with an immense history. A history that has been voluntarily obliterated over the centuries, by those who knew that knowledge of one's historical heritage implies the ability to master geopolitics in the present, projected towards the future. This article will be devoted to the deepening of the great civilization empires that have emerged over the centuries in Africa.

It is always good to point out that african history does not begin with the so-called '' Medieval Empires '' or with the Great Wagadu Civilization. Although in this article we will focus on sub-Saharan Africa in particular, it cannot be ignored that the Kemetic-Nubian civilization is the matrix of the Negro-African Peoples. Kemet (native name of Egypt) meant 'black earth' in medu neter (the oldest language of the african continent). Despite its geographical position, the intention of eurocentric paradigm was voluntarily to combine the fact that it is an integral part of African culture with the rest of the continent.

The famous anthropologist, historian, Senegalese politician and pan-africanist, Cheikh Anta Diop, on page 27 of his book:

Nations Nègres et Culture '' writes: '' While the Indo-European can rediscover the course of its history up to Greek-Latin antiquity and the Eurasian matrix, the African who, through Western works, tries to rediscover its historical past, stopping at the foundation of the Ghanaian Empire. (...) What have our ancestors been doing on the continent since the prehistoric era? How is it possible that they have waited so long to come out of the shadows with a perfected social organization?

Cheikh Anta Diop (and other African  intellectuals such as Théophile Obenga) demonstrated in his works that linguistically, culturally, spiritually, the rest of Africa is related to Kemet.

Wagadu Civilization (750-1204)

Wagadu, native name, is called improperly '' Ghana '' in Western and Arab historiography, in reference to the Sovereign of the Kingdom. It was located between Senegal and Niger, at the sources of gold, and ruled by the Cissé Tounkara clan, it ended up dominating all the Soninké, a people of peasants.

The Sovereign based its power on the cult of Wagadu-Bida, the serpent god. He bore the title of "Kaya-Magan" or "Golden King". The problems of succession were non-existent because tradition automatically placed the elder son of the King's elder sister on the throne. The ruler of Wagadu welcomed the Muslim merchants who arrived in the 9th century. He allowed them to settle near his capital, Koumbi Saleh, to exchange their products for gold, but under close surveillance, because he kept the origin of this precious material a secret. The Wagadu eventually dominated the Senegal valley and most of the inland Niger delta. It is within this very decentralized Empire that the first castes of merchants and craftsmen would appear. From his capital, the Emperor rules an Empire divided into provinces and kingdoms with an army of 200,000 men. Governors, kings, ministers help him to govern his people made up of three social classes: nobles (merchants, peasants, aristocrats), men of traditional caste (artisans, griot) and prisoners.

The Empire was based on a highly developed economy: agriculture prospered in the south, livestock in the north; trade, particularly through the Sahara, is flourishing (gold, skins, cereals); the gold and iron mines proved inexhaustible and transport developed.

The opulence of this very conservative empire on a spiritual level attracts the greed of its Muslim neighbors. From 1042, the Berbers converted to Islam, the Almoravids, undertook the conquest of Wagadu. Slowly, Wagadu had weakened greatly and began its slow decline with progressive dismemberment.

The populations of the Empire hostile to Islam, imposed by force, emigrated to the South or the East. The nation is depopulated and its armies are therefore less powerful. Some of the vassal states take advantage of this to develop. One of them, the Sosso of the ruler Sumanguru Kante, who even conquered Wagadu at the dawn of the 13th century.

Sundiata Keita and the Battle of Kirina

Known as the founder of one of the greatest empires in the history of Africa: The Manden Kurufa (better known as the Mali Empire). Sundiata Keita, was born around 1190 in Niani (current Guinea) and died in 1255.

His mother, Sogolon Koné, is the second wife of Makan Kegni Konate. Originally from the land of  Do, she is nicknamed the "buffalo woman" because of her ugliness. It is from the first name of her mother that the future emperor will be called '' Djata ''. Mandinka people have the practice of having their name preceded by that of their mother. The name of Djata, which means "lion", combined with Sogolon would have given Sogolon Djata and later Sundiata. Djata was born with a handicap in both legs and Sogolon suffered taunt and by Sassouma Bérété, the first wife of Makan Kegni, who hoped to see her son, Dankaran Toumani Touré, ascend the Manden throne upon her husband's death. One day Sundiata miraculously manages to overcome her handicap and according to oral tradition she raised a large baobab.

Pushed by his mother Sassouma Bérété, Dankaran Toumani Touré soon decided to expel Sundiata and her family from the Manden. While Sundiata was in exile, the tyrant king Sumanguru Kante ravaged the Manden and seized other regions, including the former Wagadu Empire. Dankaran Toumani must in turn flee south to the Kissi country in Kissidougou, leaving the Manden under the yoke of Sosso. Thus begins to organize outside the Manden a great resistance at the head of which Sundiata will emerge. It was 1235. The Battle of Kirina takes place where Sundiata Keita with a well-coordinated and structured army won over King Sosso Sumanguru Kante. This ultimately led to the end of the hegemony of the Sosso Kingdom which fell apart and Sundiata Keita was destined to take control of the situation.

The foundation of Manden Kurufa

After the Battle of Kirina, Sundiata Keita became '' Mansa '' (meaning Emperor or King of Kings) and founded the Manden Kurufa (the Manden Federation), which will be known as the Manden Empire or Mali Empire. The Manden Kurufa included the integration of the following current territories: Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau and part of the Ivory Coast. In the aftermath of the foundation of the Empire, to ensure order, peace and justice, Sundiata Keita convened an assembly where she proclaimed together with the presence of all castes, the '' Kouroukan Fouga Charter '' (recognized as the Manden Charter , only in 2009 to UNESCO as a historical heritage of humanity). It was one of the first human rights charters with a constitutional vocation, transmitted orally for centuries by the aristocratic caste of the griots. It was transcribed in the 1960s. It consisted of 44 articles, which affirmed the defense of the Fatherland, the principle of collectivity, the right to life, liberty and equality, the inclusion of traditional women in all government ranks and compensation in the event of an offense. to these principles. It formally denounced slavery and discrimination. Until the decline of the Empire, the charter functioned correctly and was applied throughout the Manden.

Sundiata Keita drowned in 1255 in the Sankarini River, and the Manden continued to thrive until the late 1500s.

Sundiata Keita's successors expanded their empire and formed a real federal bloc, whose influence extended from the Atlantic to Lake Chad. The Emperors converted to Islam and strengthened the presence of castes, dominated by warriors, creating a social structure that is still very present today.

Mali Empire fell apart in 1500 under the pressure of the Kingdom of Gao and the revolt of the provinces.

Kankou Musa

Several emperors of Mali went on pilgrimage to Mecca and fostered trade between Subsahara and the Arab-Muslim world. Among these is the Mansa Kankou Musa Keita, who ascended the throne in 1313, after his predecessor brother Aboubakr II made a voyage to the Americas. In 1324, Emperor Mansa Musa reached Mecca. He carried gifts and most of the gold he kept for generations. During his stay in Cairo, the Mandingos distributed alms like any good pilgrim and generously spent it to the point of generating inflation for years.

Under his throne, the trans-Saharan trade takes off in a spectacular way: salt, fabrics, incense, books arrive from the north. From the south come spices, copper, gold and ivory. The coastal towns supply honey, cola and palm oil. Gold, copper, iron ingots or cotton strips are used as currency. Sumptuous buildings were built such as mosques, the great university of Timbuktu, Djenné and Gao or the royal palace of Niani. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Mansa Musa was and is the richest man in history, to the point that his wealth is unspeakable.

Kongo Dia Ntotila

The Kongo Dia Ntotila (also called the Kongo Empire) was another great civilization space that united the two present-day Congo and Angola. It thrives in 1300 (it will fall definitively only in 1900 with colonialism) thanks to Ntinu Wene, a man with an iron fist. He has had contact with Portugal since the 1400s, and it was while searching for a passage to enter the Indian Ocean that the Portuguese discovered him. The first reports gave rise to exchanges of ambassadors between Lisbon and Mbanza-Kongo, the capital of the Empire.

Young Kongo even left to study in Europe and, in 1513, one of the sons of the king of the time gave a speech in Latin to the pope. But due to the distance, communications between the two continents remained unusual. And the representatives of Portugal, the traders and the adventurers, ended up taking all the powers. They watched over the kingdom from the island off Sao Tome, which served as the center of gravity of the slaves. Under pressure from the Portuguese, Kongo eventually became a vassal of Portugal. He was even forced to deliver slaves, captured in neighboring countries. It was the time when Europe was in dire need of manpower. But in 1665, when the Portuguese forced him to deliver kongo slaves and reveal the location of his mines, Kongo's ruler, Antonio I, at the time refused. His army was defeated and his head returned to Portugal. The Empire "prospered" in chaos and disorder.

Kimpa Vita was a young kongo prophetess, who attempted to reunify Kongo Dia Ntotila, through the union of traditional religions and Christianity, thus giving life to a syncretic political-religious movement known as ''antonianism''. According to Kimpa Vita, the Madonna was black, Christ was black and the real Earth where he was born was Mbanza-Kongo. For her, Roman Christianity was a means that served to lobotomize the kongo mentality and progressively destroy Kongo. Thus she began to preach among the people. Kimpa Vita mixed elements of Christianity with African religious practices. She presented herself as the reincarnation of Saint Anthony of Padua, hence the name '' Antonianism ''. She hoped to restore Kongo's peace and grandeur by using syncretic elements between Christianity and kongo traditionalism. In 1706 she was burned as a heretic under Pedro IV of Kongo, with the suggestion of the Portuguese missionaries who did not look favorably on Kimpa Vita.

Local beliefs suggest that Simon Kimbangu, another kongo prophet in 1900, spiritual leader, preacher, founder of the Kimbanguist Church that prophesied the liberation of blacks and the end of white hegemony, was the reincarnation of Kimpa Vita and kimbanguism the continuum of the antonianism.

Abyssinia

The steep plateau of central Ethiopia allowed a succession of Christian kingdoms resistant for centuries to the invasions that shook the Horn of Africa. The history of this region, known in ancient Egypt as the "Land of Punt", has been studded with coups, murders and palace intrigues.

The reign of Axum

The first inhabitants of Ethiopia were related to the peoples of Nubia. In the first millennium BC, emigrants from Yemen settled between the shores of the Red Sea and Lake Tana. One of their tribes, the Habasha, gave the name to Abyssinia and eventually the kingdom of Axum prevailed. It was the largest power in the region when its king, Ezana converted to Christianity. The Axumites dominated the Red Sea and made expeditions to Arabia. They had fruitful relations with the Far East.

In 1504 the kingdom of Aloa, the penultimate of the Christian kingdoms of Nubia, had to yield to Muslim pressure. Only Abyssinia resisted, taking refuge in its mountainous lair. But the invading troops commanded by Imam Gragne and reinforced by the arrival of the Turks in the Red Sea devastated the region. Emperor Claudius then asked for help from the Portuguese whose caravels had just entered the Indian Ocean. At the end of the fighting, Imam Grange's troops had to leave the territory and the Portuguese settled in Abyssinia.

Fasilida

In 1632, the Coptic clergy incited the Abyssinian population, forcing the Negus (king) Sousneyos to abdicate and expel the Portuguese Jesuits. His son Fasilidas (1632-1667) had a capital built in Gondar, north of Lake Tana. As a skilled diplomat he established relations with the Turks, who had become masters of the Mediterranean, and with the great Mogul, whose authority extended over much of India. Fasilidas and his successors enriched Gondar with palaces built and decorated by Indian and Arab craftsmen.

Menelik

It was Menelik, King of Shoa, a province south of Lake Tana, who built present-day Ethiopia. Recognized as Negus in 1889, he built an empire by annexing several regions of the Horn of Africa and building Addis Ababa, a new capital, far from Abyssinia and its intrigues. He died in 1913 after trying everything to prevent the colonization of his he empire. He won over the Kingdom of Italy, in effect, during the famous Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896.

The Kingdom of Benin

Around the Gulf of Guinea, the forest prevented the formation of great empires. But starting in the sixteenth century, there was this process. With more than 130 inhabitants per square km, southern Nigeria is one of the most populated regions in Africa. The organized cultivation of sweet potatoes for many years seemed to have favored this high population density. In the village of Nol, on the central plateau, superb terracotta heads dating back to 500 years before our era and vestiges of ironwork have been found. This knowledge of metallurgy continued to improve until it led to the creation of masks in bronze or brass, true works of art.

The city of Ifé

The city of Ifé, in southwestern Nigeria, was founded more than 1,000 years ago by the Yoruba, who came from Lake Chad under the leadership of King Odoudoua. After the founding of Ifé, his children would go their separate ways to create the cities of Benin, Oyo and Owo. There have often been conflicts between these cities, but all have recognized Ifé as their religious and cultural center. Ifé was placed under the authority of the "Oni", a priest-king who presided over the rituals of the yam festival.

The cities of Benin and Oyo

Benin, southeast of Ifé, made history ... But its "Obas" (Kings) made it a centralized state benefiting from the weakening of the Ifé and the arrival of the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century century. The Oba surrounds himself with many artisans who carry out orders made for the Portuguese aristocracy. In return, the Portuguese help the Oba to resolve its conflicts with its neighbors. Under Portuguese influence, Benin began palm oil cultivation and the slave trade. In Oyo, the '' Afalin '' (king) was assisted by his eldest son in the conduct of affairs of state. To prevent him from attempting a coup after his father's death, seven oyos, dignitaries charged with enforcing tradition, made sure that he followed his father to his grave. The oyos ended up taking a liking to power, but the endogenous struggles and raids of neighboring Dahomey rang the death knell for Oyo, who sank into disorder.

The Royal Dahomey

The emigrants of Oyo would be at the origin of the Kingdom of Dahomey, south of the current state of Benin. Its capital, Abomey, whose name means "fortified enclosure", was built in the mid-17th century to serve as a stronghold. The Kingdom was very structured and the palace was subject to a strict rule: the King never spoke to the people aloud. She communicated with him through the '' mehouh '', husband of her second daughter, who must have had the same physical appearance as her.

Dahomey was the kingdom of Behanzin, the giant resistant to colonial penetration at the end of the 19th century. A famous phrase of him to a French missionary is: '' I will never agree to sign any treaty that could alienate the independence of the Land of my Ancestors ''. There is a Behanzin monument in present-day Benin with this phrase, more relevant than ever.

The Zulu Empire and Shaka

Southern Africa also experienced its imperial phase. The most significant is that of the era of the advent of the warrior Shaka Zulu. At the end of the 18th century, the Bantu shepherds, the Ngunis, arrived from the north and settled on the banks of the Zambezi. In one of their clans, that of the Abatetwa, a child was born, the son of one of the chiefs and of a dancer known at the market. Humiliated from childhood, Shaka also had to face jealousy, the day he killed with his own hands a lion that had frightened all the villagers. But informed of his enterprise, Dinguiswayo, the great leader of the Abatetwa, summoned him and made him his confidant. When he died, Shaka took his place.

The Sky People

Being the leader of the Abatetwa is not enough for Shaka. Exterminating his enemies of him, except the youngest ones on condition that they join his army, he gathered all the separated Nguni into small clans often in conflict. He forced them to give up their name and mother tongue to call themselves the Zulus, the "People of Heaven". He organized his army into regiments of more than 1000 soldiers of the same age group, the impis. Shaka was relentless towards the fearful. After spending his life confederating southern Africa, he died the victim of a conspiracy.

Samory Touré, the last great pre-colonial resistant and the Wassoulou Empire

Almamy Samory Touré was the founder of the Wassoulou Empire (Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso), a legacy of the Manden. The great battle of his life: active resistance to French colonial penetration into West Africa, a struggle that will take 16 years of his existence. Born between 1830 and 1835 in Miniambaladougou, present day Guinea, this son of a Dyula merchant grew up in an Africa in turmoil due to growing contacts with Europeans. Trade with the West was prosperous, which greatly contributed to the enrichment of the region. The West was an essential merchant traffic area on the continent, both for goods such as jewelry, commodities and food, and for firearms. In the late 1870s, the French began expanding into the region from Senegal attempting the Ivory Coast with the aim of reaching the upper Nile, present-day Sudan. These movements led them to a direct confrontation with Samory Touré. He went out to push them away. Samory defended her Fatherland, his land in the name of freedom, tooth and nail. His was a resistance for more than 20 years to french colonialism, between diplomacy and clashes, such as the Battle of Woyowayanko in which he was victorious.

The Fama (Emperor) Samory was loved by the people, and the griots of the time composed this hymn in honor of him:

If you cannot organize, direct and defend the Land of your Fathers, appeal to the bravest men; If you cannot tell the truth, everywhere and at all times, appeal to the bravest men; If you cannot be impartial, give the throne to the righteous; If you cannot challenge the enemy, give your war saber to the women who will show you the way to honor; If you can't boldly express your thoughts, let the griots do the talking. Oh Fama! The People trust you, they trust you to embody their virtues.

Despite great resistance, he was arrested on 29 September 1898 by a french colonel and deported to Gabon where he will die 2 years later. The end of his epic will usher in the French colonial era in West Africa. Samory Toure will be '' avenged '' by her great-grandson, the Pan-African leader Ahmed Sekou Touré, who will become Guinea's first president, leading it to total independence and a break with France for about 20 years.