Africa is portrayed as a continent without history before slavery and colonialism. African History isn't known by many people compared to the history of Europe, Americas, and Asia.
Some of the world's great civilisations such as Mali flourished in Africa.
A THREAD!
In the early periods(1500s), Africans participated in extensive international trading networks and intrans-oceanic travel.
"Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter"
African Proverb
THE MALI EMPIRE
Founded by King Sundiata Keita, and also known as the richest civilisation in
West Africa. It boasted excellent law & order, agriculture and mining, the largest library in Africa, and the richest man in history: Mansa
Musa!
The Mali kingdom at one point accounted for half of the world's gold supply; and housed over a million manuscripts so you could argue academia in the continent really began here.
THE KINGDOM OF KUSH
Kush was a part of Nubia, ancient Nubian cultures were sophisticated and cosmopolitan, as the region served as a major trading center for goods from the African interior, Arabian desert and Mediterranean basin.
THE KINGDOM OF WAGADU (GHANA)
This kingdom was an important stop along the trans-Saharan trade route which connected African societies in the Sahel to the markets found along the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea and the trans-Saharan gold trade.
They specialized in the trade of gold and kola nuts (the latter of which became the secret ingredient in Coca-Cola centuries later). The Kingdom of Ghana’s decline was cemented when it became part of the kingdom of Mali around the year 1240 CE.
ALMOHAD EMPIRE×
The Almohad empire was a moorish dynasty that controlled most of North Africa and all of southern Spain during their reign.
BENIN EMPIRE
It was founded by Edo-speaking people. The name "Benin" (& "Bini") is a Portuguese corrupted word, ultimately from the word "Ubini", which came into use during the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great, 1440.
"Ubini", an ancient Edo word meaning beautiful people, was used to describe the royal administrative centre or city or capital proper of the kingdom, Edo.
Benin is said to have begun as family clusters of hunters, gatherers, and agriculturalists who eventually created villages. By 1300, Benin was heavily involved in trade and the arts, using such mediums as copper, bronze, and brass.
The Benin bronzes eventually became some of the most famous art pieces produced in Africa.
Britain stole over 6,000 Benin bronzes, which they display in their museums. 1 of them was sold for $13.5 million in 2015.
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During the 1940s it was rare for a black person to have control over large amounts of land.
In 1944, a group of white men brutally lynched Rev. Isaac Simmons, a Black minister & farmer, so they could steal his land in Amite County, Mississippi which was over 270 acres
A THREAD!
In the 1940s, Simmons controlled approxmately 270 acres or more of debt-free land, some of which had been owned by the family since 1887. He and other relatives farmed the property and lived on it in relative peace.
In 1941, rumors about oil spread across Southwest Mississippi, and a few white men, thinking there might be oil on it, began to make claims on the Simmons land.
On this day in 1959, 69 black boys were padlocked in their dormitory at school and it was then set on fire.
21 burnt to death while 48 managed to escape.
A THREAD.
On March 5th, 1959, 69 African American boys, ages 13 to 17, were padlocked in their dormitory for the night at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville. Around 4 a.m., a fire mysteriously ignited, forcing the boys to fight and claw their way out of the burning building.
The old, run-down, & low-funded facility, just 15 minutes south of Little Rock, housed 69 teens from ages 13-17. Most were either homeless or incarcerated for petty crimes such as doing pranks. 48 boys managed to escape the fire.
Negroes Arose in Rebellion, broke open a Store where they got arms, killed twenty one White Persons, and were marching the next morning in a Daring manner out of the Province, killing all they met and burning several Houses as they passed along the Road."
(I’ll post more on the stono rebellion on my blog that I’m working on)
Amistad Rebellion 1839
Death of Capt. Ferrer, the Captain of the Amistad, July, 1839.
On June 28, 1839, the Spanish slave schooner Amistad set sail from Havana on a routine delivery of human cargo. After four days at sea, the enslaved Africans rose up, killed the captain…
Enslaved Black people are mostly depicted as very docile and didn't fight back. However, this was not the case and there were numerous slaves rebellion. #BlackHistoryMonth
A THREAD!
The Stono Rebellion, the largest slave rebellion in South Carolina, 1739.
On September 9th 1739 Jemmy aka Cato and 20 core group of warriors, who had been stolen from Kongo region of Central Africa.
Queen Nanny Of The Maroons: Ashanti Woman who Fought And Freed Over 1,000 Enslaved Africans In Jamaica. #BlackHistoryMonth
A THREAD!
Nanny also known as Queen Nanny was a Maroon leader in Jamaica during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Enslaved Africans who escaped & established independent settlements in the Americas were known as maroons.
Nanny was a runaway slave from Western Africa who had been sold into slavery. It is usually assumed that she was born into the Ashanti tribe of modern-day Ghana.
In 1847, Missouri banned education for black people.
John Berry Meachum went ahead and equipped a steamboat with a library, desks, chairs and opened a 'Floating Freedom School'. #BlackHistoryMonth
A THREAD!
John Berry Meachum was born into slavery in Virginia in 1789 but by the age of 21 he had earned enough money doing carpentry work to purchase his own freedom and then his father’s.
Meachum was a married man, but before he could save up enough to buy his wife’s freedom she was moved to St. Louis. He followed her here and eventually managed to purchase her freedom as well.