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#africanhistory — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #africanhistory, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Leadership tells the story of its time.

    From Samora Machel and his role in Mozambique’s liberation, to Vladimir Putin shaping modern geopolitics, and Emmerson Mnangagwa leading Zimbabwe through transition — this is a reflection of power across generations.

    History is not separate from the present. It informs it.

    #NyongesaSande #History #GlobalPolitics #AfricanHistory

  2. The story of Esigie, Queen Idia, and “Arohuan the giant” (as told in popular retellings of Benin history) is one of power, intelligence, war strategy, and cultural legacy 👑

    Oba Esigie was one of the great rulers of the Benin Kingdom, known for strengthening the kingdom during a period of political tension and warfare. His reign is often remembered not just for battles, but for the strong influence of his mother, Queen Idia.

    Queen Idia was not an ordinary royal figure. She is remembered as a powerful strategist, advisor, and spiritual force behind the throne. During Esigie’s rise to power, she played a key role in securing his position and helping him maintain stability in the kingdom. Her intelligence and political influence were so significant that she became one of the most respected figures in Benin history. She is also famously associated with the Benin ivory mask tradition, symbolizing strength and wisdom.

    In some modern storytelling and oral interpretations, figures like “Arohuan the giant” appear as symbolic characters representing external threats or rival forces faced during Esigie’s reign. While not always documented in formal historical records, such figures are often used in storytelling to represent the scale of conflicts the Benin Kingdom had to overcome during expansion and defense.

    What makes this story powerful is not just war or leadership, but how it shows the balance between wisdom and strength. Esigie ruled with authority, Queen Idia guided with intelligence and spiritual influence, and the struggles of the time shaped the identity of the kingdom.

    The Benin Kingdom itself was known for its strong structure, organized military system, and rich artistic expression. This story reflects how leadership was not only about the king, but also about the unseen influence of powerful figures behind the throne.

    Even today, the legacy of Esigie and Queen Idia continues to inspire discussions about leadership, heritage, and African history. It reminds us that history is not just about battles, but about the people who shaped outcomes through wisdom, courage, and strategy.

    #BeninKingdom #QueenIdia #ObaEsigie #AfricanHistory #Culture #Heritage #Storytelling #History

  3. The legendary Queen Idia 👑
    A symbol of strength, wisdom, and the power of the Benin Kingdom. Her legacy still speaks through history and art 🎭

    #BeninKingdom #QueenIdia #AfricanHistory #Culture #Heritage #Art

  4. A 2,400-year-old iron smelting workshop in Senegal ran for nearly 800 years and barely changed its technique throughout. New research reveals what that kind of continuity looks like in the ground. #Archaeology #AfricanHistory #Archaeometallurgy

    anthropology.net/p/eight-centu

  5. Ethiopia is the only country that was never conquered by white people.

    It was because every time a white person "found" them, they were treated well but never allowed to leave.

    #blackhistory #africanhistory #blackmastodon

  6. Let's boycott and stop capitalizing france, the uk, spain, portugal, holland/netherlands, belgium for murdering etc African peoples and brazil, japan, russia. for murdering etc non white peoples.

    (1/3)

    #blackhistory #africanhistory #brazilianhistory #europeanhistory #blackmastodon

  7. Heute vor 40 Jahren starb Cheikh Anta Diop in #Dakar – eine Erinnerung an den streitbaren & umstrittenen senegalesischen #Historiker & Anthropologen, Physiker & Politiker:

    ▶ Brigitte Reinwald, »Die Sorge, #Afrika seine Wirklichkeit zurückzugeben« – Biographische Anmerkungen zu #CheikhAntaDiop, #WerkstattGeschichte 9/1994, werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_au

    @histodons

    #histodons #Postcolonial #AfricanHistory #Afrocentricity #Anthropologie #Anthropology #Senegal

  8. Heute vor 40 Jahren starb Cheikh Anta Diop in #Dakar – eine Erinnerung an den streitbaren & umstrittenen senegalesischen #Historiker & Anthropologen, Physiker & Politiker:

    ▶ Brigitte Reinwald, »Die Sorge, #Afrika seine Wirklichkeit zurückzugeben« – Biographische Anmerkungen zu #CheikhAntaDiop, #WerkstattGeschichte 9/1994, werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_au

    @histodons

    #histodons #Postcolonial #AfricanHistory #Afrocentricity #Anthropologie #Anthropology #Senegal

  9. Heute vor 40 Jahren starb Cheikh Anta Diop in #Dakar – eine Erinnerung an den streitbaren & umstrittenen senegalesischen #Historiker & Anthropologen, Physiker & Politiker:

    ▶ Brigitte Reinwald, »Die Sorge, #Afrika seine Wirklichkeit zurückzugeben« – Biographische Anmerkungen zu #CheikhAntaDiop, #WerkstattGeschichte 9/1994, werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_au

    @histodons

    #histodons #Postcolonial #AfricanHistory #Afrocentricity #Anthropologie #Anthropology #Senegal

  10. Heute vor 40 Jahren starb Cheikh Anta Diop in #Dakar – eine Erinnerung an den streitbaren & umstrittenen senegalesischen #Historiker & Anthropologen, Physiker & Politiker:

    ▶ Brigitte Reinwald, »Die Sorge, #Afrika seine Wirklichkeit zurückzugeben« – Biographische Anmerkungen zu #CheikhAntaDiop, #WerkstattGeschichte 9/1994, werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_au

    @histodons

    #histodons #Postcolonial #AfricanHistory #Afrocentricity #Anthropologie #Anthropology #Senegal

  11. Heute vor 40 Jahren starb Cheikh Anta Diop in #Dakar – eine Erinnerung an den streitbaren & umstrittenen senegalesischen #Historiker & Anthropologen, Physiker & Politiker:

    ▶ Brigitte Reinwald, »Die Sorge, #Afrika seine Wirklichkeit zurückzugeben« – Biographische Anmerkungen zu #CheikhAntaDiop, #WerkstattGeschichte 9/1994, werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_au

    @histodons

    #histodons #Postcolonial #AfricanHistory #Afrocentricity #Anthropologie #Anthropology #Senegal

  12. The One-Eyed #African Queen Who Defeated the #RomanEmpire

    Cocky male monarchs underestimated #QueenAmanirenas for her gender, her race, and her disability. Each time, they did so at their own peril.

    Adhiambo Edith Magak
    Sep 22, 2021

    Excerpt: "The legendary Roman emperor #CaesarAugustus was on the Greek island of Samos, preparing for an important expedition to Syria, when he received envoys from the Kingdom of #Kush, in present-day #Sudan. Journalist Selina O’Grady records in her book And Man Created God that the ambassadors presented Augustus with a bundle of golden arrows and relayed this message: 'The Candace sends you these arrows.' (Candace was the Latinized spelling of #Kandake, the Kushite term for 'queen.')

    "They added that the emperor had two options for how to view the offering: 'If you want peace, they are a token of her warmth and friendship. If you want war, you will need them.'

    "For an African queen to give such an ultimatum to the most powerful man in the world would have been considered a serious insult. After all, #Augustus had almost single-handedly transformed #Rome from a republic to an empire, and the territory he now reigned over stretched from as far as northern Spain, through to parts of central Europe, and all the way to Egypt. His legions wore bronze breastplates and wielded spears, swords and javelins, all much superior to the hatchets the #Kushites carried as weapons. In addition, Kush had many natural resources — such as gold mines, iron and ivory — that could have enriched the treasuries of Rome, enticing Augustus to attack, even without the insult.

    "But this Kushite queen — whom the Greek geographer and historian Strabo of Amasia described as 'a masculine sort of woman and blind in one eye' — had proved to be a formidable foe for the 'son of god,' the title given to Caesar Augustus on Roman coins. He received the bundle of arrows from the envoys and promptly signed a peace treaty.

    "In truth, this was not so much a treaty as it was a surrender. Augustus submitted to all of the demands made by Queen #Amanirenas, including that the Romans withdraw from all Kushite territories they had occupied and pledge that they would never again seek to collect taxes or tributes from her kingdom.

    "It was a remarkable concession for the world’s most powerful man, demonstrating just how feared and respected the one-eyed queen truly was."

    Read more / listen:
    narratively.com/p/the-one-eyed

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/PGd0v

    #AfricanQueen #RomanHistory #PowerfulWomen #AfricanHistory

  13. The One-Eyed #African Queen Who Defeated the #RomanEmpire

    Cocky male monarchs underestimated #QueenAmanirenas for her gender, her race, and her disability. Each time, they did so at their own peril.

    Adhiambo Edith Magak
    Sep 22, 2021

    Excerpt: "The legendary Roman emperor #CaesarAugustus was on the Greek island of Samos, preparing for an important expedition to Syria, when he received envoys from the Kingdom of #Kush, in present-day #Sudan. Journalist Selina O’Grady records in her book And Man Created God that the ambassadors presented Augustus with a bundle of golden arrows and relayed this message: 'The Candace sends you these arrows.' (Candace was the Latinized spelling of #Kandake, the Kushite term for 'queen.')

    "They added that the emperor had two options for how to view the offering: 'If you want peace, they are a token of her warmth and friendship. If you want war, you will need them.'

    "For an African queen to give such an ultimatum to the most powerful man in the world would have been considered a serious insult. After all, #Augustus had almost single-handedly transformed #Rome from a republic to an empire, and the territory he now reigned over stretched from as far as northern Spain, through to parts of central Europe, and all the way to Egypt. His legions wore bronze breastplates and wielded spears, swords and javelins, all much superior to the hatchets the #Kushites carried as weapons. In addition, Kush had many natural resources — such as gold mines, iron and ivory — that could have enriched the treasuries of Rome, enticing Augustus to attack, even without the insult.

    "But this Kushite queen — whom the Greek geographer and historian Strabo of Amasia described as 'a masculine sort of woman and blind in one eye' — had proved to be a formidable foe for the 'son of god,' the title given to Caesar Augustus on Roman coins. He received the bundle of arrows from the envoys and promptly signed a peace treaty.

    "In truth, this was not so much a treaty as it was a surrender. Augustus submitted to all of the demands made by Queen #Amanirenas, including that the Romans withdraw from all Kushite territories they had occupied and pledge that they would never again seek to collect taxes or tributes from her kingdom.

    "It was a remarkable concession for the world’s most powerful man, demonstrating just how feared and respected the one-eyed queen truly was."

    Read more / listen:
    narratively.com/p/the-one-eyed

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/PGd0v

    #AfricanQueen #RomanHistory #PowerfulWomen #AfricanHistory

  14. The One-Eyed #African Queen Who Defeated the #RomanEmpire

    Cocky male monarchs underestimated #QueenAmanirenas for her gender, her race, and her disability. Each time, they did so at their own peril.

    Adhiambo Edith Magak
    Sep 22, 2021

    Excerpt: "The legendary Roman emperor #CaesarAugustus was on the Greek island of Samos, preparing for an important expedition to Syria, when he received envoys from the Kingdom of #Kush, in present-day #Sudan. Journalist Selina O’Grady records in her book And Man Created God that the ambassadors presented Augustus with a bundle of golden arrows and relayed this message: 'The Candace sends you these arrows.' (Candace was the Latinized spelling of #Kandake, the Kushite term for 'queen.')

    "They added that the emperor had two options for how to view the offering: 'If you want peace, they are a token of her warmth and friendship. If you want war, you will need them.'

    "For an African queen to give such an ultimatum to the most powerful man in the world would have been considered a serious insult. After all, #Augustus had almost single-handedly transformed #Rome from a republic to an empire, and the territory he now reigned over stretched from as far as northern Spain, through to parts of central Europe, and all the way to Egypt. His legions wore bronze breastplates and wielded spears, swords and javelins, all much superior to the hatchets the #Kushites carried as weapons. In addition, Kush had many natural resources — such as gold mines, iron and ivory — that could have enriched the treasuries of Rome, enticing Augustus to attack, even without the insult.

    "But this Kushite queen — whom the Greek geographer and historian Strabo of Amasia described as 'a masculine sort of woman and blind in one eye' — had proved to be a formidable foe for the 'son of god,' the title given to Caesar Augustus on Roman coins. He received the bundle of arrows from the envoys and promptly signed a peace treaty.

    "In truth, this was not so much a treaty as it was a surrender. Augustus submitted to all of the demands made by Queen #Amanirenas, including that the Romans withdraw from all Kushite territories they had occupied and pledge that they would never again seek to collect taxes or tributes from her kingdom.

    "It was a remarkable concession for the world’s most powerful man, demonstrating just how feared and respected the one-eyed queen truly was."

    Read more / listen:
    narratively.com/p/the-one-eyed

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/PGd0v

    #AfricanQueen #RomanHistory #PowerfulWomen #AfricanHistory

  15. The One-Eyed #African Queen Who Defeated the #RomanEmpire

    Cocky male monarchs underestimated #QueenAmanirenas for her gender, her race, and her disability. Each time, they did so at their own peril.

    Adhiambo Edith Magak
    Sep 22, 2021

    Excerpt: "The legendary Roman emperor #CaesarAugustus was on the Greek island of Samos, preparing for an important expedition to Syria, when he received envoys from the Kingdom of #Kush, in present-day #Sudan. Journalist Selina O’Grady records in her book And Man Created God that the ambassadors presented Augustus with a bundle of golden arrows and relayed this message: 'The Candace sends you these arrows.' (Candace was the Latinized spelling of #Kandake, the Kushite term for 'queen.')

    "They added that the emperor had two options for how to view the offering: 'If you want peace, they are a token of her warmth and friendship. If you want war, you will need them.'

    "For an African queen to give such an ultimatum to the most powerful man in the world would have been considered a serious insult. After all, #Augustus had almost single-handedly transformed #Rome from a republic to an empire, and the territory he now reigned over stretched from as far as northern Spain, through to parts of central Europe, and all the way to Egypt. His legions wore bronze breastplates and wielded spears, swords and javelins, all much superior to the hatchets the #Kushites carried as weapons. In addition, Kush had many natural resources — such as gold mines, iron and ivory — that could have enriched the treasuries of Rome, enticing Augustus to attack, even without the insult.

    "But this Kushite queen — whom the Greek geographer and historian Strabo of Amasia described as 'a masculine sort of woman and blind in one eye' — had proved to be a formidable foe for the 'son of god,' the title given to Caesar Augustus on Roman coins. He received the bundle of arrows from the envoys and promptly signed a peace treaty.

    "In truth, this was not so much a treaty as it was a surrender. Augustus submitted to all of the demands made by Queen #Amanirenas, including that the Romans withdraw from all Kushite territories they had occupied and pledge that they would never again seek to collect taxes or tributes from her kingdom.

    "It was a remarkable concession for the world’s most powerful man, demonstrating just how feared and respected the one-eyed queen truly was."

    Read more / listen:
    narratively.com/p/the-one-eyed

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/PGd0v

    #AfricanQueen #RomanHistory #PowerfulWomen #AfricanHistory

  16. The One-Eyed #African Queen Who Defeated the #RomanEmpire

    Cocky male monarchs underestimated #QueenAmanirenas for her gender, her race, and her disability. Each time, they did so at their own peril.

    Adhiambo Edith Magak
    Sep 22, 2021

    Excerpt: "The legendary Roman emperor #CaesarAugustus was on the Greek island of Samos, preparing for an important expedition to Syria, when he received envoys from the Kingdom of #Kush, in present-day #Sudan. Journalist Selina O’Grady records in her book And Man Created God that the ambassadors presented Augustus with a bundle of golden arrows and relayed this message: 'The Candace sends you these arrows.' (Candace was the Latinized spelling of #Kandake, the Kushite term for 'queen.')

    "They added that the emperor had two options for how to view the offering: 'If you want peace, they are a token of her warmth and friendship. If you want war, you will need them.'

    "For an African queen to give such an ultimatum to the most powerful man in the world would have been considered a serious insult. After all, #Augustus had almost single-handedly transformed #Rome from a republic to an empire, and the territory he now reigned over stretched from as far as northern Spain, through to parts of central Europe, and all the way to Egypt. His legions wore bronze breastplates and wielded spears, swords and javelins, all much superior to the hatchets the #Kushites carried as weapons. In addition, Kush had many natural resources — such as gold mines, iron and ivory — that could have enriched the treasuries of Rome, enticing Augustus to attack, even without the insult.

    "But this Kushite queen — whom the Greek geographer and historian Strabo of Amasia described as 'a masculine sort of woman and blind in one eye' — had proved to be a formidable foe for the 'son of god,' the title given to Caesar Augustus on Roman coins. He received the bundle of arrows from the envoys and promptly signed a peace treaty.

    "In truth, this was not so much a treaty as it was a surrender. Augustus submitted to all of the demands made by Queen #Amanirenas, including that the Romans withdraw from all Kushite territories they had occupied and pledge that they would never again seek to collect taxes or tributes from her kingdom.

    "It was a remarkable concession for the world’s most powerful man, demonstrating just how feared and respected the one-eyed queen truly was."

    Read more / listen:
    narratively.com/p/the-one-eyed

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/PGd0v

    #AfricanQueen #RomanHistory #PowerfulWomen #AfricanHistory

  17. Court records in #Buganda’s native courts were not just legal documents — they were sites of knowledge-making. Sauda Nabukenya shows how truth, justice, & social order were negotiated through testimony & community.

    gtw.hypotheses.org/31635

    #AfricanHistory #LegalArchives #ColonialLaw #SocialJustice

  18. Court records in #Buganda’s native courts were not just legal documents — they were sites of knowledge-making. Sauda Nabukenya shows how truth, justice, & social order were negotiated through testimony & community.

    gtw.hypotheses.org/31635

    #AfricanHistory #LegalArchives #ColonialLaw #SocialJustice

  19. Court records in #Buganda’s native courts were not just legal documents — they were sites of knowledge-making. Sauda Nabukenya shows how truth, justice, & social order were negotiated through testimony & community.

    gtw.hypotheses.org/31635

    #AfricanHistory #LegalArchives #ColonialLaw #SocialJustice

  20. Court records in #Buganda’s native courts were not just legal documents — they were sites of knowledge-making. Sauda Nabukenya shows how truth, justice, & social order were negotiated through testimony & community.

    gtw.hypotheses.org/31635

    #AfricanHistory #LegalArchives #ColonialLaw #SocialJustice

  21. Court records in #Buganda’s native courts were not just legal documents — they were sites of knowledge-making. Sauda Nabukenya shows how truth, justice, & social order were negotiated through testimony & community.

    gtw.hypotheses.org/31635

    #AfricanHistory #LegalArchives #ColonialLaw #SocialJustice

  22. So this is really happening: Page Proofs!!

    My intro to the special issue on Camp Memorialization is finally about to be published in Memory Studies

    @histodons @africanstudies
    #histodons #MemoryStudies #camps #refugees #africa #AfricanStudies #africanhistory

  23. Today at @freieuniversitaet :

    Book launch with an excellent panel:
    „Dividing Dar: Race, Space, and Colonial Construction in German Occupied Daressalam, 1850–1920”
    by Patrick C. Hege

    @africanstudies
    @histodons
    #Tanzania #africanhistory #daressalaam

    polsoz.fu-berlin.de/ethnologie

  24. A GLORIOUS MEDITATION ON BLUE, and on the blues, and on the centrality of the color, the mood, and the music to all of African and diaspora life, but particularly to Black life in the US. Elegant, eloquent, erudite, yet profoundly direct. SOLID A

    barnesandnoble.com/w/black-in-

    @bookstodon

    #book #Books #bookreview #bookreviews #nonfiction #history #BlackHistory #AfricanHistory #BlackStudies #sociology #arthistory #musichistory #blues #literaryhistory #aesthetics

  25. Is there any relationship between the Mande word 'jugu' for 'dangerous' and 'juju' in other west African (mostly thinking Igbo but I've heard the word used by other speakers so I suspect it's either not actually Igbo, or one of those 'pan-African' terms) languages?

    #linguistics #AfricanLanguages #AfricanHistory #etymology

  26. Could ancient African tribes have reshaped our understanding of the universe with advanced astronomical knowledge? Dive into a reimagined past where star navigation and cosmic wisdom transform history. How would today be different? Link: YouTube #AncientAstronomy #AfricanHistory #WhatIf

  27. Before I head out for the day ->
    Recommended #documentary film.

    Between 1952 and 1960, Britain fought a vicious war in Kenya against the anticolonial Mau Mau movement. It was an exceptionally bloody conflict, with atrocities committed on both sides. For decades, many of the worst abuses by British colonial forces were kept hidden. Piecing together survivor testimonies and expert analysis from British and Kenyan historians, this film tells a complete and detailed story for the first time of how Britain was involved in systemic torture – including accounts of murders, rapes and forced castrations.

    A Very British Way of Torture is a film by Ed McGown and produced by Rob Newman.

    Document archive is courtesy of the UK National Archives.

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=K4sSGd2w

    #ColonialViolence #GlobalSouth #Kenya #BritishColonizers #Colonialism #AfricanHistory #HumanHistory #Geopolitics #BritishHistory #ColonialExploitation #ColonialAbuses #MauMau #ColonialResistance #Decolonization #Educational #DocFilm #Africa #BlackHistory #POCstories #LearnHistory #SystematicRacism #Torture #WarCrimes #UKhistory #ColonialAtrocities #historians #history

  28. #Free #OpenAccess #Research Article.

    Civilisation under Colonial Conditions: Development, Difference and Violence in Swahili Poems, 1888–1907.

    ABSTRACT
    For a global history of development, Swahili #poems from the #German colonial period are valuable sources as they help to question the diffusionist view of development discourses as colonial import. This article analyses how concepts of development ( #maendeleo ) and civilisation ( #ustaarabu ) figured in poems written by Swahili authors between 1888 and 1907. Going beyond a reading of these texts as pro- or anti-colonial, it shows the importance poets attached to urban infrastructural improvement. Poems were also informed by the self-image of the superior, urban, #Muslim strata of coastal society ( #waungwana ) in contrast to inferior #nonMuslim inland societies ( #washenzi ). Several poets suggested that inland societies should be disciplined, yet differences to coastal Swahili society were usually not couched in terms of temporality nor in terms of a civilising mission. Poets had to come to terms, however, with new power relations as a result of German conquest. While some authors openly criticised colonial violence, others also embraced colonial interventions in infrastructural and economic aspects – but still expressed nostalgia for the past. In sum, the poems constitute a transitional space in Swahili discourses on development, showing that these were not merely colonial imports but grew from multiple roots.

    tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10

    #Education #GlobalSouth #Africa #Decolonization #DecolonialLearning #Swahili #Poetry #Colonialism #GlobalHistory #WorldHistory #AfricanHistory #Poets #CulturalAnthropology #HumanCivilization

  29. Heute vor 25 Jahren legte die nach dem Ende der #Apartheid in #Südafrika von #NelsonMandela eingesetzte, von Erzbischof #DesmondTutu geleitete Wahrheits- und #Versöhnungskommission ihren Abschlussbericht vor. Dazu unser Lesetipp:
    ▶ Gesine Krüger, Wahrheit – Erzählen. Zur Arbeit der #Truth and #Reconciliation Commission in Südafrika, #WerkstattGeschichte 26/2000 "#Wahrheit", werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_au

    @histodons @historikerinnen
    #histodons #TRC #SouthAfrica #AfricanHistory #Wahrheitskommission #OTD