The History Of Africa Before Colonisation
The History of Africa before Colonisation starting with the age of Africa in antiquity consisted of a number of African Kingdoms and Peoples which had inhabited the African Continent for at least 100 000 years.
Below is a list of some of the most significant African Kingdoms and peoples that are important in the History of Africa before Colonisation.
ii) The Songhai Empire;
iii) The Monomotapa Kingdom;
iv) The Asante Empire
v) The San
The Black Nubian Africans Who Established The First Egyptian Dynasty
A major part of the History of Africa before Colonisation begins in the Nile Valley with the Ta-Seti Nubian Africans who ruled Egypt and created the First Egyptian Dynasty began with the Evolution of Man on the African Plains.
Hominid remains of the people who occupied the area of Egypt before the creation of the First Dynasty by Nubian Homo Sapien Africans have been found in East Africa’s Rift Valley Olduvai Gorge Region which suggest the existence of a gradual evolution of Hominids on the African Plains, most notably, Austolopethicus, followed by Homo Erectus about 1.9 million years ago, and then to modern man, Homo Sapien who emerged approximately 40 000 years ago.
The Rock Art of the people who ruled Ancient Egypt before the First Dynasty depicted their life in the green Sahara with hunting, animal scenes, ox drawn plows also suggesting the planting and growing of crops.
Egypt’s Nile Valley region soon became the hub of an emerging Black African Civilization with its own unique Black African Nubian Proto-Culture such which would later provide the Template for the creation of the First Dynasty of Egypt.
Evidence of Black African Settlement which shows signs of a Proto-Nile Valley Culture was discovered at Nabta Playa in Egypt’s Nubian Desert.
In addition, Nabta Playa is recognised as the world’s oldest Atronomical Site where the Nubians in control of the area who established Egypt’s First Dynasty developed Astronomy by devising a Rock Calendar monitoring the movement of the Sirius Star as a way of detecting changes in the Nile River’s Flood Level for the purposes of ensuring adequate drinking water and pasture lands for their Cattle.
Evidence from the Nabta Playa Rock Calendar shows that the Nubians of Pre-Dynastic Egypt had monitored the movements of the Stars and the Nile river for at least 8 000 years.
In addition, other artefacts found at Nabta Playa which were created by the Nubians who had settled the area before they created Egypt’s First Dynasty bore a very close resemblance to the Religious Symbolism and Iconography that would be later used in Egyptian Civilization.
For example, Palletes depicting Cow Horns found at Nabta Playa are considered to be early expressions of the Egyptian Cult of Hathor, one of the most important Deities of Ancient Egypt.
Evidence of this further evolution towards the creation of the First Egyptian Dynasty by the Nubain Africans of Ta Seti was discovered at the Site of Qustul on Egypt’s Sudanian Border which had Nubian Tombs, funerary objects and other Royal artifacts of African Origin that were clearly the Template and inspiration for what was used in Dynastic Egypt starting with the First Dynasty created by Narmer or Menes who was a Nubian African.
Amongst the objects discovered at Qustul which were made by the Black Africans of Ta Seti who established the First Dynasty in Egypt was an intriguing carved Incense Holder depicting an African King on a Raft wearing a Crown which probably was the influence for later depictions of Pharaohs or RA riding on a Boat in Ancient Egypt.
Qustul can be viewed as an example one of the Pre-Dynastic Cities or Nomes that formed a loose Administrative Network before the creation of the First Dynasty by the Nubian Africans from settlements like Nabta Playa and Qustul which gave birth to Kemetic Civilization.
The Black African King Narmer or ‘Menes’, which means “he who endures” initiated the annexation of Northern Egypt from the South thereby uniting Upper and Lower Egypt to create the Egypt’s First Dynasty circa 3 000 BC.
Narmer originally ruled over the Southern Upper Nome of Thinis from where he led a coalition of leaders known as the “Thinite Confederacy’’ which subsequently conquered and combined all the Nomes or Cities of Upper and Northern Lower Egypt into one United Kingdom.
Menes then created the First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt by declaring himself the first Ruler of all the lands in the Nomes between Upper and Lower Egypt which would then become known as Chem or Kemet, a separate dominion from Ta-Seti.
In this way, the Nubian Africans who had settled the region before the creation of Egypt’s First Dynasty by Narmer emerged from the African Plains and went on to develop a Scientific Nile Valley Proto-Culture which would provide the foundation for the creation of the First Dynasty Of Kemet.
Perhaps its for this reason the Egyptians always revered the South as their place of origin by calling it Ta-Neter (Land Of The Gods).
Narmer’s creation of Egypt’s First Dynasty is captured on the Narmer Palette. which bears a striking stylistic resemblance to other Artefacts discovered at Nabta Playa and Qustul suggesting that the First Dynasty of Egypt was created by the same Nubian Africans who ruled the area and had created the Pro-Culture observed at Nabta Playa and Qustul which was characteristic of Dynastic Egypt.
After founding Egypt’s First Dynasty, Narmer built the City of Memphis and it quickly became the commercial and cultural hub of Ancient Egypt which would be responsible for major African Contributions to World Civilization.
The Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire was the last and largest of the three main West African Pre-Colonial Empires that is important in the History of African before Colonisation.
During the reign of Dia Kossi, the Songhai Capital Gao was founded in approximately 800 A.D, and it eventually expanded to include the Mali Empire after conquering Timbuktu.
Regarded as one of the best Civil Administrators in History, Sunni Ali Ber, is considered the first great ruler of the Songhai, and under him, the Empire continued to expand into the Sahara.
A succession dispute however occurred after Sunni Ali Ber’s death in 1492, which saw the rise of the Muslim Ruler Muhammad Toure after he usurped the Throne from Sunni Ali Ber’s son.
Sharia Law was then promulgated throughout the Empire with more Schools and education centres established followed by an extension of the Sankore University in Timbuktu.
Under Muhammad Toure, relations with the broader Muslim world were strengthened through Scholar and Diplomatic exchanges with the Arab world and Muslim Spain.
Decline Of The Songhai Empire
In 1591 civil war in the Empire weakened the State, and the Moroccan Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi saw this as an opportunity to conquer Songhai by sending an army to attack it.
Although he was victorious through the use of Guns and Canon which the Songhai had not encountered before, the Moroccan conquest of the Empire was never complete.
The Moroccans were faced with frequent revolts and eventually withdrew in 1661.
Despite the Moroccan withdrawal, Songhai had been weakened and could not be reconstituted to its former glory and structure as a Unitary State and Polity.
Nevertheless, various Songhai Emperors sought to recreate old Songhai but failed until finally the empire was conquered and colonised by the French in 1901 marking the end of an era.
The Monomotapa Kingdom
The Monomatapa Kingdom is another important chapter in the History of Africa before Colonisation.
In the late 1400s, Great Zimbabwe began to decline and some of the city’s elites migrated to establish what became known as the Kingdom of Monomotapa (Mutapa). Emerging under Nyatsimba Mutota, the first King, it would turn out to be a powerful Empire with Trade routes and territory extending to the Indian Ocean.
Missionary Arrival In The Monomotapa Kingdom
Led by Father Gonzalo da Silveira, a Portuguese Jesuit Missionary, the Catholics were the first Missionaries to arrive in Southern Africa, arriving at Monomotapa Court in 1556.
On his arrival, Father Silveira proved persuasive, baptising the King and his mother within 25 days.
Muslim Traders at the Mutapa Court did not take kindly to Silveira’s newfound influence and in a bid to stem the rise of Portuguese commercial influence in the Mutapa State, the Traders advised the newly Baptised Mutapa King that Silveira was a spy and baptism was a kind of witchcraft.
The Mutapa King was persuaded by the Muslim Traders and he subsequently executed Silveira…Although Silveira’s mission ended in disaster, it was a sign of things to come.
The Monomotapa Kingdom’s Ancient Alien connections
Researchers like Michael Tellinger today confirm the Ancient Alien Anunnaki Hypothesis as put forward in Zechariah Sitchin’s ‘Earth Chronicles’ Book series, and its link to the unexplored and unacknowledged History of Southern Africa.
In particular, the possibility that the Sumerian Anunnaki Gold Mining Operations that were set up in the ‘Apzu’ as it is referred to in the Sumerian Texts such as the Lost Book Of Enki, were in Southern Africa which included the territory of Great Zimbabwe and its successor the Monomotapa Empire.
Great Zimbabwe is also speculated as the Sumerian Site to which Adam and Eve (Adapa and Tiamat in Sumerian Texts) were sent after they were banished for having self-awareness from the Anunnaki Base Station at EDIN (Garden Of Eden) in order that they could initiate the Anunnaki Slave Breeding program for a replacement Gold Mining Slave Labour Force following the Igigi Revolt.
This perhaps explains why Southern Africa still produces most of the World’s Gold with Ancient unexplained Mines being discovered throughout Southern Africa…More research and evidence on this issue is needed, but the possibilities are interesting.
The Portuguese invaded the Mutapa Kingdom in the 17th Century and deposed the Mutapa King in 1629. This paved the way for the rise of the Rozvi Kingdom, the successor of the Mutapa Kingdom.
Ultimately, the Mutapa empire represents Africa’s proud heritage, serving as inspiration during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle…Indeed the name of the country itself, ‘Zimbabwe’ which means ‘House Of Stone’ is a reference to the proud Stone City monument of Great Zimbabwe that still stands to this day.
The Kingdom’s History is also significant because it tells the story of the first arrival of Christian Missionaries in Africa with Princes from the African Kingdom of Monomotapa being amongst the first to benefit from Missionary Education.
The Asante Empire
The Asante Empire is a Pre-colonial West African state that emerged in the 17th century in what is now Ghana and remains one of the most important Kindoms in the History of Africa before Colonisation.
The Asante were an Akan-speaking people who established their state around Kumasi in the late 1600s, shortly after their first encounter with Europeans. The Wars associated with the European quest for Gold deposits appear to have been a catalyst for the formation of The Asante Empire.
The Reign Of Osei Tutu And The Asante Empire
Osei Tutu, the Asantehene (Paramount Chief) of the Asante Empire from 1701 to 1717 and his Priest Komfo Anokye, worked to unify a variety of independent chiefdoms into the most powerful political and military state in the coastal region.
They formed and organized the Asante union, an alliance of Akan-speaking people who were now loyal to Osei Tutu’s central authority. He made Kumasi the capital of the new Empire. He also created a constitution, reorganized and centralized the military.
Most importantly, Osei Tutu created the Golden Stool, a lasting symbol of the lost age of the Asante Empire which he argued represented the ancestors of all the Asante. It was upon the Golden Stool that Osei Tutu legitimized his rule and that of the royal dynasty that followed him.
Trade In Gold & Slaves
Gold was the major product of the Empire, and Osei Tutu made all gold mines royal possessions.
He also made gold dust the circulating currency in the empire which was accumulated and traded by Asante citizens. The Royal family would also melt it down and fashion it into new patterns of display in jewelry and statuary to project its power.
By the early 1800s however, the Asante Empire had become a major exporter of enslaved people.
The slave trade was originally focused north with captives going to Mande and Hausa traders who exchanged them for goods from North Africa and indirectly from Europe. By 1800, the trade had shifted to the south as the Asante sought to meet the growing demand of the British, Dutch, and French for captives.
The consequence of this trade for the Asante was devastating. From 1790 until 1896, the Empire was in a perpetual state of war involving expansion or defense of its domain.
The constant warfare also weakened the Empire against the British who eventually captured Kumasi and annexed the Asante Empire into their Gold Coast colony in 1902…It was the end of an era.
Legacy Of The Asante Empire
The lost age of the Asante Empire stands as a Historical testament to the existence of dynamic Pre-Colonial African States…In modern times, the Art and culture of the lost age of the Asante Empire has contributed to modern Physics as its ‘Adinkra’ cloth decorative patterns have now been adopted by modern Physicists like Dr Gates in their quest to map out the mathematical nature of Reality.
In this role, Adinkra have helped formulate 3D Models of the Equations which produce our ‘Reality Matrix’. Above is an exmaple which Scientists like Dr Gates claim visually represent the mathematical fabric of our Reality, and possibly the equations behind the simulation we experience as ‘Reality’ with our 5 senses…The Asante Empire is far from dead.
The San
Last but not least is the San people, the earliest Hunter-Gatherer inhabitants of Southern Africa who were amongst the first Humans on Earth and for this reason are an important aspect in the History Of Africa before Colonisation..
Also known as ‘Bushmen’, the San occupied Southern Africa before the arrival of the Bantu from East Africa.
San territory belongs to the region which includes North and East Africa where Humans evolved, and as Stone-Age Hunter Gatherers, the San have existed for close to 2 million years.
The San have provided a wealth of Archaeological evidence in the form of Rock Paintings, Bone Fragment and Art like beadwork which has enabled Historians to reconstruct Stone Age life with some of their rock paintings found to be more than 25 000 Years Old.
San History has been passed down mostly through Oral Tradition and the Rock Art has also preserved some of their important beliefs. The rock art is thus priceless, and is considered an archaeological wonder of the world.
The San people therefore form a significant part of Africa’s glorious past even though they did not form a massive centralised empire..
Perhaps their wisdom lies in rejecting materialism and keeping life simple.
The Empires and Kingdoms in Africa before Slavery and Colonialism are a forgotten part of Africa’s History in Antiquity.
