African and Caribbean History
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This Day in African History -- Africa's Greatest Pop Idol DiesOn 24 November 1991 Freddie Mercury died of AIDS induced bracho-pneumonia. Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on the island of Zanzibar (then a British Protectorate) on 5 September 1946. Feddie's parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were Indian Parsis, and they had moved to Zanzibar for Bomi's job as a cashier in the British Colonial Office.
The family fled Zanzibar in 1964 when the recently elected government was overthrown and Zanzibar (briefly) declared a republic. The family moved to Feltham, London, and Farrokh studied art at Isleworth Polytechnic, eventually gaining a diploma in Art and Graphic Design. By April 1970, Farrokh had changed his name to Freddie Mercury and joined with Brian May and Roger Taylor to form Queen.
This Day in African History -- Africa's Greatest Pop Idol Dies originally appeared on About.com African History on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 12:30:06.
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(about.com)This Day in African History – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Confirmed as Liberia's President
On 23 November 2005 Liberia's National Electoral Commission declared Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf winner of November's presidential election, having concluded its investigation into claims of alleged election fraud filed by her rival, the international soccer star George Weah. Johnson-Sirleaf received nearly 60 per cent of the votes.
• Find out why Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in known as Liberia's 'Iron Lady'.
This Day in African History – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Confirmed as Liberia's President originally appeared on About.com African History on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 00:10:35.
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(about.com)Apartheid Quotes - Bantu Education (about.com)
More than One Billion in Africa (about.com)
A Few Words From Ngugi wa Thiong'o ...
"Christianity and Western civilization -- what countless crimes have been committed in thy name!"(James) Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Kenyan Novelist, from Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neocolonial Kenya, Africa Research & Publications, 1983."An oppressed class, or nation, that believes in itself, in its history, in its destiny, in its capacity to change the scheme of things, will obviously be the stronger in its class and national struggles for political and economic survival."(James) Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Kenyan Novelist, from Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedom, Heinemann, 1993.A Few Words From Ngugi wa Thiong'o ... originally appeared on About.com African History on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 06:42:00.
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Africa Past and Present -- Podcast 35 from MSU (about.com)
This Day in African History – Winston Churchill CapturedOn 15 Novmber 1899 Republican forces in southern Natal ambushed a British armored train departing from Estcourt. The train was partially wrecked and in the ensuing fight four British soldiers were killed and 34 wounded. Winston Churchill, a war correspondent for The Morning Post was amongst 69 taken prisoner - he was captured trying to help the injured reach Estcourt. Churchill, although supposedly due non-combatant status as a war reporter was treated as a prisoner-of-war. (Just under a month later, on 12 December, Churchill managed to escape captivity by climbing over the wall of the State Model School in Pretoria whilst his compatriots distracted the guards - he walked to the nearest railway line and hid on a train.)
This Day in African History – Winston Churchill Captured originally appeared on About.com African History on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 00:10:56.
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This Day in African History -- Spain Abandons Western Sahara (about.com)
This Day in African History -- British Forces Retake Tobruk (about.com)
This Day in African History -- Dissident Writer Ken Saro-Wiwa Executed in NigeriaFourteen years ago, on 10 November 1995, writer and political activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian military government after being charged with the murder of four tribal leaders. His execution was widely condemned across the world and helped turn Nigeria into a 'pariah' state. Find out more...
This Day in African History -- Dissident Writer Ken Saro-Wiwa Executed in Nigeria originally appeared on About.com African History on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 00:10:34.
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The Afrikaner Broederbond: What Was It?In June 1918 disaffected Afrikaners were brought together in a new organization called Jong Suid-Afrika (Young South Africa). The following year its name was changed to the Afrikaner Broederbond (AB). The organization had one main aim: to further Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa - to maintain Afrikaner culture, develop an Afrikaner economy, and to gain control of the South African government. Find Out More...
See Also: Apartheid FAQThe Afrikaner Broederbond: What Was It? originally appeared on About.com African History on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 00:10:37.
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Biography: Sonni AliThe West African monarch who ruled Songhai from 1464 to 1492. Sonni Ali expanded a small kingdom along the Niger River into one of medieval Africa's greatest empires.
There are two main sources of information about Sonni Ali. One is in the Islamic chronicles of the period, the other is through Songhai oral tradition. These sources reflect two different interpretations of Sonni Ali's role in the development of the Songhai Empire. Find out more...Biography: Sonni Ali originally appeared on About.com African History on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 00:10:00.
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How Many Slaves Were Taken from Africa?Information on how many slaves were shipped from Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas during the sixteenth century can only be estimated as very few records exist for this period. But from the seventeenth century onwards, increasingly accurate records, such as ship manifests, are available. Find out more about how many slaves were taken from Africa and where they came from...
How Many Slaves Were Taken from Africa? originally appeared on About.com African History on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 00:10:00.
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This Day in African History -- Britain, France Bomb EgyptOn 31 October 1956, following a 12 hour ultimatum to Egypt and Israel, British and French forces bombard military airfields near Cairo in the Suez Canal Zone. Colonel Nasser calls it "an attack on the rights and dignity of Egypt." US officials, convinced that they are working in collusion with Israel, censure Britain and France during a UN Security Council debate, requesting that "all UN members refrain from the use of force or threat of force and refrain from giving aid to Israel."
For more on the Suez Crisis
• Timeline: The Suez Crisis
• The Tripartite Invasion, 1956
• Key Events in the Decolonization of Africa: Suez CrisisThis Day in African History -- Britain, France Bomb Egypt originally appeared on About.com African History on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 00:10:36.
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This Day in African History -- The Rumble in the Jungle (about.com)
The Nilo-Saharan Language GroupThe Nilo-Saharan Language group is one of the four major language groups in Africa as identified by anthropologists and linguistic historians. The group was originally defined in 1963 by the American linguist and anthropologist Joseph Greenberg but debate continues today as to whether it is actually a language group in its own right, or a sub-group of the wider spread Niger-Congo group. Of the four language groups it exhibits the largest linguistic drift, and is often used to perpetuate the Euro-centric explanation for the spread of iron working from north Africa through trade rather than independent development by sub-Saharan cultures. Find out more about the Nilo-Saharan Language Group.
The Nilo-Saharan Language Group originally appeared on About.com African History on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 08:10:00.
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A Few Words From Gabon ..."We must form a united front against the exploitation of man by man; we must cure ourselves of our complexes by a supranational awareness, a national consciousness. Our ridiculous diversions are profitable only to the great powers, which exploit our weaknesses."Gabriel Léon M'Ba, first president of Gabon (17 August 1960 to 28 November 1967), as quoted in Osei Amoah's A Political Dictionary of Black Quotations, published in London, 1989.
"These summits are a waste of time. All anyone does is talk. Sometimes, sitting there, listening to all the talk, I think I will scream."El Hadj Omar Bongo, president of Gabon since 1967, as quoted in David Lamb's The Africans, published in New York, 1985.
A Few Words From Gabon ... originally appeared on About.com African History on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 00:10:23.
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This Day in African History – Second Battle of El Alamein (about.com)
This Day in African History – Jomo Kenyatta Arrested (about.com)
Death of Explorer Sir Richard Burton (about.com)
A Few Words From JE Casely Hayford ..."You may destroy a nation, but it is another thing to destroy the spirit of nationality."From Gold Coast Native Institutions With Thoughts Upon A Healthy Imperial Policy For The Gold Coast And Ashanti by Casely Hayford, Pub Sweet and Maxwell, 1903.
"Africa [is] the cradle of the world's systems and philosophies and the nursing mother of its religions."From Ethiopia Unbound: Studies in Race Emancipation by JE Casely Hayford, London, 1911.
A Few Words From JE Casely Hayford ... originally appeared on About.com African History on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 06:26:04.
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What Was the Mfecane? (about.com)
Trafigura Gag LiftedSo, like other journalists in the UK, I was effectively hamstrung by Trafigura and Carter-Ruck's injunction against reporting the publication of the Minton Report and questions being asked in the UK House of Commons. Trafigura is the company linked the toxic dumping in the Ivory Coast in August 2006 which resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people and thousands of others becoming sick. Read more...
Trafigura Gag Lifted originally appeared on About.com African History on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 04:56:25.
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Predynastic EgyptThe Predynastic Period of Ancient Egypt saw the development of grouped communities, the world's first written language, institutionalized religion, and the development of the plough. Archaeologists have divided the period into four relatively distinct phases to aid their understanding of the social, scientific, and political developments in Egypt at that time. Find out more about Predynastic Egypt...
Predynastic Egypt originally appeared on About.com African History on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 00:10:40.
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A Few Words From Ahmed Ben Bella ..."[T]he credo of Algeria's political and diplomatic action will be the liquidation of colonialism in both its classic and disguised forms."Ahmed Ben Bella at his inaugural speech at the UN in 1962. As quoted in Hakim Adi and Marika Sherwood's Pan-African History, Routledge, 2003.
"This wonderful county had been at war for seven years and had lost a million dead; it was still scarred and bleeding, and its people were poverty-stricken. It has got to be rebuilt, on new foundations, from top to bottom. Would fate allow me the time in which to do it?"Ahmed Ben Bella, on 19 June 1965 just before he was ousted by Colonel Houari Boumédiène, as quoted in Robert Merle's Ahmed Ben Bella, New York, Walker and Co., 1967.
A Few Words From Ahmed Ben Bella ... originally appeared on About.com African History on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 04:13:33.
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Review: Alamein -- War Without Hate by John Bierman and Colin Smith
Bierman and Smith have undertaken considerable research and tracked down many of the remaining Desert War veterans to create this compelling account of the North and East African campaigns of World War II. If you want only one book on the topic this should be the one, and if you are intrigued by tales of heroism and Boys' Own daring-do then this is the perfect introduction to the Desert War.
Review: Alamein -- War Without Hate by John Bierman and Colin Smith originally appeared on About.com African History on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 00:10:00.
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This Day in African History -- Start of the 2nd Anglo-Boer War (about.com)
This Day in African History -- Italy Occupies Tripoli (about.com)
This Day in African History -- Italy Invades Abyssinia (about.com)
Zulu War TerminologyIf you're struggling with various Zulu terms that occur in histories of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, such as iBandhla imhlope (a married regiment) or isiJula (a short-bladed, throwing spear), want to know how many warriors there were in, for instance, an iViyo (usually between 50 and 200 men), or what an iWisa was used for (it's a club used to bash out the brains of a foe), you'll find explanations in this list of Zulu War terminology. (about.com)
A Few Words From Dusé Mohamed Ali ... (about.com)
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