Hey this is 4shizzal, some of y'all know me as Scott Free. Happy lovely (always wanted to say that). I specialize in (obsessed with) African history. If you're researching anything on pre-colonial Africa on here, i've probably contributed to it. My biggest interest is the Mali Empire. I think it is one of the most overlooked empires in history and of great importance. I've also done a fair amount of net research on the dynamics of the Atlantic Slave Trade. I've produced a lot of statistics (who was selling, who was buying and how many were dying). Holla at ya boi if you have any useful info or just for questions. One luv to everyone at WIKI keepin the info FREE.
I am mainly devoted to compiling info on the Mandé civilization. I am a Black American with hereditary ties to these great people, which has boosted my zeal for researching them. Last year I discovered via African Ancestry DNA testing that my maternal heritage stretches back to the Mendé (a branch of the Mandé of Sierra Leone). It was amazing to find that I came from the same people I had been researching for the past five years! Also, my paternal heritage is shared with the Igbo peopleofNigeria (don't know which dialect, but probably northern or central) and also the MbunduofAngola. I've been told the Mbundu match is likely just due to sharing fragments of DNA contributed to those populations during the Bantu Migration. In all likelyhood, my ancestors were taken directly from northern and central Igboland to Louisiana via French slave vessels.
Here is a list of my private library on African and African-American history. It's forever increasing. I put this list here for folks looking for good data on hard to find subjects.
1. "Africa: a short history" by Robert O. Collins (Markus Wiener Publishers, 2006)
2. "Introduction To African Civilizations" by John G. Jackson (Citadel, 2001)
3. "Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 1000-1800" by G.T. Stride & C. Ifeka (Nelson, 1986)
4. "Slavery and African Ethnicities in the Americas: Restoring the Links" by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall (University of North Carolina Press, 2005)
5. "Exchanging Our Country Marks" by Michael A. Gomez (University of North Carolina Press, 1998)
6. "Africa and Africans in the Formation of the Atlantic World, 1400-1680" by John K. Thornton (Cambridge University Press, 1998)
7. "Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800" by John K. Thornton (Taylor and Francis, 2005)
8. "African Arms and Armour" by Christopher Spring (British Museum Press, 1993)
9. "Warfare and Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa" by Robert S. Smith (University of Wisconsin Press, 1989)
10. "AFRICAN KNIGHTS: The Armies of Sokoto, Bornu and Bagirmi in the 19th Century" by Conrad Cairns (Foundry, 2006)
11. "SUNDIATA: An Epic of Old Mali" by D.T Niane (Longman, 1995)
12. "Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey" by Stanley B. Alpern (Hurst & Co Ltd, 2001)
13. "Fall of the Asante Empire: The Hundred Year War for Africa's Gold Coast" by Robert. B. Edgerton (Free Press, 1995)
14. "The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706" by John K. Thornton (Cambridge University Press, 1998)
15. "Blacks in Antiquity" by Frank M. Snowden (Belknap Press, 1971)
16. "Medieval Africa, 1250-1800" by Roland Oliver (Cambridge University Press, 2001)
17. "Black Africans in Renaissance Europe" by T. F. Earle and K. J. P. Lowe (University of Oxford, 2005)
18. "Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundaton of the Americas, 1585-1660" by Linda M. Heywood and John K. Thornton (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
19. "Forged In Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers" by Joseph T. Glatthaar (Free Press, 1990)
20. "Africa In History: Themes and Outlines, Revised and Expanded Edition" by Basil Davidson (Phoenix Press, 2003)
21. "Great Zulu Battles 1838-1906" by Ian Knight (Castle Books Press, 2003)
22. "History of Slavery" by Susanne Everett (Chartwell Books, Inc., 2006)
23. "Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man" by Vincent Carretta (Penguin Booka, 2005)
24. "Monsieur De Saint-George; Virtuoso, Swordsman, Revolutionary: A Legendary Life Rediscovered" by Alain Guede (Picador, 2003)
25. "African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial and Independnt States and Rulers Past and Present" by John Stewart (McFarland, 1989)
26. "Timbuktu: The Sahara's Fabled City of Gold" by Marq De Villiers & Sheila Hirtle (Walker, 2007)
27. "History of Africa" by Kevin Shillington (St. Martin's Press, 1995)
28. "Historical Atlas of the Ancient World: 4,000,000 BC - 500 BC" by John Haywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000)
29. "Historical Atlas of the Classical World: 500 BC - AD 600" by John Haywood (Barnes & Noble, 2002)
30. "Historical Atlas of the Medieval World: AD 600 - 1492" by John Haywood (Barnes & Noble, 2002)
31. "Historical Atlas of the Early Modern World: 1492 - 1783" by John Haywood (Barnes & Noble, 2002)
32. "Historical Atlas of the 19th Century World: 1783 - 1914" by John Haywood (Barnes & Noble, 2002)
33. "Historical Atlas of the 20th Century World: 1900 - 1999" by John Haywood (MetroBooks, 2001)
I've decided to use my page as a crash course in African history for anyone that's interested. The biggest problem with African history is that most Africans don't have written language of their own. That doesn't mean they're stupid, however; it simply means they are very different from the rest of the world. From what I've garnered, literature wasn't really necessary for them so it was never invested in. Another startling difference between Africa and Eurasia is the value of land (or lack thereof). Africa is huge so land has little value. Things grow well so agricultural advancements weren't sought (like the plough for instance). Populations are dispersed into clumps around valuable tracts of land creating densly populated cities with complex systems of government tending toward strikingly republican types of rule. Very few absolute monarchs or leaders prior to Cold War. Slavery was big business since labor was more scarce than land. Chattel slavery was pretty much unheard of, but certain civilizations could be quite brutal. Africa was more or less a decent place to live prior to the 16th and 17th century. This was changed by the destruction of the big African Empires and the arrival of Europeans with their insatiable appetite for cheap labor. Both of these instances led to political instability that has never been fully resolved. The troubles of Africa continued
as more African leaders fed into this irresistable chance at power and wealth. Between 1502 and 1853, some 20 million Africans died as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. By 1900, Europeans had the knowledge and firepower to conquer most of Africa. World War II pretty much killed Europe's hold on Africa and by 1975 about every colony was independent. Africa reemerged under a series of dictators and idealist who squandered their resources, slaughtered thousands and repressed the population. Africa's still going through its growing pains, and HIV/AIDs isn't making it any easier (thanks a lot Belgium). That's Africa in a nutshell. Below is a timeline of Africa based off of the wiki article on African History. I took the liberty of adding some dates to paint a clearer picture.
Stone Age Africa 150,000 years ago (Modern Humans Arrive) - 600 B.C. (Nubia begins spreading Iron technology)
Iron Age Africa 600 B.C. (Nubia begins spreading Iron technology) - 1600 (End of the great empires)
Transition Age Africa 1600 (End of the great empires) - NOW.
Here are some African structures/monuments of note. People always talk of going to Europe or Asia to see historical sites while Africa is largely slept on. Well, you don't know what you don't know. Take a look and hit me up if you have any other suggestions. I'm always adding stuff.
Below is an index of battles waged by African states. This list will grow as I get more organized and familiar with Wiki's current articles. I'm very interested in expanding info on lesser known wars such as the conflicts involving the Kingdom of Kongo and those of the Ethiopian Empire
When the average western reader thinks of empire, they don't usually think of Africa. Well, they should. I've done a lot of research on African Empires. Hell, I was the guy that started the article. Below are a list of all the African Empires according to chronology. There are 34 here, but not all are native African empires (Ptolemaic and Fatimid for instance). Not all are "Black" African empires (Almoravid and Almohad are native Berber states). But they are all empires.
