There is a misconception that before the arrival of European colonists, only savages in loincloths lived in Africa, who had neither civilization nor states. At different times, strong state formations existed there, which sometimes surpassed the countries of medieval Europe with their level of development.

Today, little is known about them - the colonialists grossly destroyed all the rudiments of an independent, unique political culture of the black peoples, imposed their own rules on them and left no chance for independent development.

Traditions are dead. The chaos and poverty that is now associated with black Africa did not arise on the green continent because of the violence of Europeans. Therefore, the ancient traditions of the states of black Africa today are known to us only thanks to historians and archaeologists, as well as the epic of local peoples.

Three gold-bearing empires

Already in the XIII century BC. The Phoenicians (then masters of the Mediterranean) traded iron and exotic goods such as elephant tusks and rhinoceros with tribes that lived in what is now Mali, Mauritania, and the Greater Guinea region.

It is not known whether there were full-fledged states in this region at that time. However, it can be said with certainty that by the beginning of our era there were state formations on the territory of Mali, and the first unconditional regional dominant was formed - the Ghana empire, which entered the legends of other peoples as the fabulous country of Vagadu.

Nothing concrete can be said about this power, except that it was a strong state with all the necessary attributes - everything that we know about that era, we know from archaeological finds. A person who owns a letter first visited this country in 970.

It was the Arab traveler Ibn Haukala. He described Ghana as the richest country, drowning in gold. In the 11th century, the Berbers destroyed this, perhaps a thousand-year-old state, it broke up into many small principalities.

The empire of Mali soon became the new dominant of the region, ruled by the same Mansa Musa, who is considered the richest man in history. He created not only a strong and rich, but also a highly cultured state - at the end of the 13th century, a strong school of Islamic theology and science was formed in the Timbuktu madrasah. But the empire of Mali did not last long - from about the beginning of the 13th century. to the beginning of the 15th century. It was replaced by a new state - Songhai. It became the last empire of the region.

Songhai was not as rich and powerful as his predecessors, the great gold-bearing Mali and Ghana, which provided half of the Old World with gold, and was much more dependent on the Arab Maghreb. But, nevertheless, he was the successor of that one and a half thousand-year tradition that puts these three states on a par.

In 1591, after a long war, the Moroccan army finally destroyed the Songhay army, and with it the unity of the territories. The country breaks up into many small principalities, none of which could reunite the entire region.

East Africa: Cradle of Christianity

The ancient Egyptians dreamed of the semi-legendary country of Punt, which was located somewhere in the Horn of Africa. Punt was considered the ancestral home of the gods and Egyptian royal dynasties. In the understanding of the Egyptians, this country, which, apparently, actually existed and traded with late Egypt, seemed to be something like Eden on earth. But little is known about Punta.

Much more we know about the 2500-year history of Ethiopia. In the VIII century BC. Sabeans settled on the Horn of Africa - immigrants from the countries of southern Arabia. The Queen of Sheba is their ruler. They created the kingdom of Aksum and spread the order of a highly civilized society.

The Sabeans were familiar with both Greek and Mesopotamian cultures and had a highly developed writing system, on the basis of which the Aksumite script appeared. This Semitic people spreads across the Ethiopian plateau and assimilates the inhabitants belonging to the Negroid race.

At the very beginning of our era, a very strong Aksumite kingdom appears. In the 330s, Aksum accepts Christianity and becomes the third oldest Christian country, after Armenia and the Roman Empire.

This state existed for more than a thousand years - until the XII century, when it collapsed due to a sharp confrontation with the Muslims. But already in the XIV century, the Christian tradition of Aksum was revived, but already under a new name - Ethiopia.

South Africa: little-studied but ancient traditions

States - precisely states with all the attributes, and not tribes and chiefdoms - existed in southern Africa, and there were many of them. But they did not have a written language, did not erect monumental buildings, so we know almost nothing about them.

Perhaps hidden palaces of forgotten emperors await explorers in the jungles of the Congo. It is known for certain only about a few centers of political culture in Africa south of the Gulf of Guinea and the Horn of Africa, which existed in the Middle Ages.

At the end of the 1st millennium, a strong state of Monomotapa was formed in Zimbabwe, which fell into decline by the 16th century. Another center of active development of political institutions was the Atlantic coast of the Congo, where the empire of the Congo was formed in the 13th century.

In the 15th century, its rulers converted to Christianity and submitted to the Portuguese crown. In this form, this Christian empire lasted until 1914, when it was liquidated by the Portuguese colonial authorities.

On the shores of the great lakes, on the territory of Uganda and the Congo, in the 12th-16th centuries, there was the empire of Kitara-Unyoro, which we know about from the epic of local peoples and a small number of archaeological finds. In the XVI-XIX centuries. in modern DR Congo, there were two empires of Lund and Luba.

Finally, at the beginning of the 19th century, a state of the Zulu tribes arose on the territory of modern South Africa. His chief Chaka reformed everything social institutions of this people and created a truly effective army, which in the 1870s spoiled a lot of blood for the British colonists. But, unfortunately, she could not oppose anything to the guns and guns of the whites.

The oldest archaeological finds that testify to the processing of grain in Africa date back to the thirteenth millennium BC. e. Pastoralism in the Sahara began c. 7500 BC e., and organized agriculture in the Nile region appeared in the 6th millennium BC. e.
In the Sahara, which was then a fertile territory, groups of hunters-fishermen lived, as evidenced by archaeological finds. Many petroglyphs and rock paintings have been discovered throughout the Sahara, dating from 6000 BC to 6000 BC. e. until the 7th century AD. e. The most famous monument of the primitive art of North Africa is the Tassilin-Ajer plateau.

ancient africa

In the 6th-5th millennium BC. e. in the Nile Valley, agricultural cultures (Tasian culture, Faiyum, Merimde) were formed, based on the civilization of Christian Ethiopia (XII-XVI centuries). These centers of civilization were surrounded by the pastoral tribes of the Libyans, as well as the ancestors of the modern Cushite- and Nilotic-speaking peoples.
On the territory of the modern Sahara desert (which was then a savannah favorable for habitation) by the 4th millennium BC. e. a cattle-breeding and agricultural economy is taking shape. From the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e., when the drying of the Sahara begins, the population of the Sahara retreats to the south, pushing the local population of Tropical Africa. By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. the horse is spreading in the Sahara. On the basis of horse breeding (from the first centuries AD - also camel breeding) and oasis agriculture in the Sahara, an urban civilization was formed (the cities of Telgi, Debris, Garama), and the Libyan letter appeared. On the Mediterranean coast of Africa in the XII-II centuries BC. e. the Phoenician-Carthaginian civilization flourished.
In Africa south of the Sahara in the 1st millennium BC. e. iron metallurgy is spreading everywhere. The culture of the Bronze Age did not develop here, and there was a direct transition from the Neolithic to iron age. Iron Age cultures spread both west (Nok) and east (northeast Zambia and southwest Tanzania) of Tropical Africa. The spread of iron contributed to the development of new territories, primarily tropical forests, and became one of the reasons for the settlement of Bantu-speaking peoples throughout most of Tropical and South Africa, pushing the representatives of the Ethiopian and capoid races to the north and south.

The emergence of the first states in Africa

According to modern historical science, the first state (south of the Sahara) appeared on the territory of Mali in the 3rd century - it was the state of Ghana. Ancient Ghana traded gold and metals even with the Roman Empire and Byzantium. Perhaps this state arose much earlier, but during the existence of the colonial authorities of England and France there, all information about Ghana disappeared (the colonialists did not want to admit that Ghana is much older than England and France). Under the influence of Ghana, other states later appeared in West Africa - Mali, Songhai, Kanem, Tekrur, Hausa, Ife, Kano and other states of West Africa.
Another hotbed of the emergence of states in Africa is the vicinity of Lake Victoria (the territory of modern Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi). The first state appeared there around the 11th century - it was the state of Kitara. In my opinion, the state of Kitara was created by settlers from the territory of modern Sudan - Nilotic tribes, who were forced out of their territory by Arab settlers. Later, other states appeared there - Buganda, Rwanda, Ankole.
Around the same time (according to scientific history) - in the 11th century, the state of Mopomotale appeared in southern Africa, which will disappear at the end of the 17th century (it will be destroyed by wild tribes). I believe that Mopomotale began to exist much earlier, and the inhabitants of this state are the descendants of the most ancient metallurgists of the world, who had connections with the Asuras and Atlanteans.
Around the middle of the 12th century, the first state appeared in the center of Africa - Ndongo (this is a territory in the north of modern Angola). Later, other states appeared in the center of Africa - Congo, Matamba, Mwata and Baluba. Since the 15th century, the colonial states of Europe - Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, France and Germany - began to interfere in the process of statehood development in Africa. If at first they were interested in gold, silver and gems, then later slaves became the main commodity (and these were engaged in countries that officially rejected the existence of slavery).
Slaves were exported by the thousands to the plantations of America. Only much later, at the end of the 19th century, the colonialists began to attract natural resources in Africa. And it is for this reason that vast colonial territories appeared in Africa. The colonies in Africa interrupted the development of the peoples of Africa and distorted its entire history. Until now, significant archaeological research has not been carried out in Africa (the African countries themselves are poor, and England and France do not need a true history of Africa, just like in Russia, Russia also does not conduct good research on the ancient history of Russia, money is spent on buying castles and yachts in Europe, total corruption deprives science of real research).

Africa in the Middle Ages

The centers of civilizations in Tropical Africa spread in the direction from north to south (in the eastern part of the continent) and partly from east to west (especially in the western part) - as they moved away from the high civilizations of North Africa and the Middle East. Most of the large socio-cultural communities of Tropical Africa had an incomplete set of signs of civilization, so they can more accurately be called proto-civilizations. From the end of the 3rd century A.D. e. in West Africa, in the basins of Senegal and Niger, the Western Sudanese (Ghana) develops, from the VIII-IX centuries - the Central Sudanese (Kanem) civilizations that arose on the basis of trans-Saharan trade with the Mediterranean countries.
After the Arab conquests of North Africa (7th century), the Arabs for a long time became the only intermediaries between Tropical Africa and the rest of the world, including across the Indian Ocean, where the Arab fleet dominated. Under Arab influence, new urban civilizations are emerging in Nubia, Ethiopia, and East Africa. The cultures of Western and Central Sudan merged into a single West African, or Sudanese, zone of civilizations that stretched from Senegal to the modern Republic of Sudan. In the 2nd millennium, this zone was united politically and economically in the Muslim empires: Mali (XIII-XV century), to which the small political formations of the peoples of the Fulbe, Wolof, Serer, Susu and Songhay (Tekrur, Jolof, Sin, Salum, Kayor, Coco and others), Songhai (mid-15th - late 16th centuries) and Bornu (late 15th - early 18th century) - the successor of Kanem. From the beginning of the 16th century, between Songhai and Bornu, the Hausan city-states (Daura, Zamfara, Kano, Rano, Gobir, Katsina, Zaria, Biram, Kebbi, etc.) were strengthened, to which in the 17th century the role of the main centers of the trans-Saharan trade.
South of the Sudanese civilizations in the 1st millennium CE. e. the Ife proto-civilization is taking shape, which became the cradle of the Yoruba and Bini civilization (Benin, Oyo). Its influence was experienced by the Dahomeans, Igbos, Nupe, and others. To the west of it, in the 2nd millennium, the Akano-Ashanti proto-civilization was formed, which flourished in the 17th - early 19th centuries. South of the great bend of the Niger arose political center, founded by the Mosi and other peoples speaking Gur languages ​​(the so-called Mosi-Dagomba-Mamprusi complex) and turned into a Voltian proto-civilization by the middle of the 15th century (the early political formations of Ouagadugu, Yatenga, Gurma, Dagomba, Mamprusi). In Central Cameroon, the Bamum and Bamileke proto-civilization arose, in the Congo River basin - the Wungu proto-civilization (the early political formations of the Congo, Ngola, Loango, Ngoyo, Kakongo), to the south of it (in the 16th century) - the proto-civilization of the southern savannas (the early political formations of Cuba, Lund, Luba), in the Great Lakes region - an inter-lake proto-civilization: early political formations of Buganda (XIII century), Kitara (XIII-XV century), Bunyoro (from the XVI century), later - Nkore (XVI century), Rwanda (XVI century), Burundi ( XVI century), Karagve (XVII century), Kiziba (XVII century), Busoga (XVII century), Ukereve (late XIX century), Toro (late XIX century), etc.
In East Africa, the Swahili Muslim civilization flourished since the 10th century (the city-states of Kilwa, Pate, Mombasa, Lamu, Malindi, Sofala, etc., the Sultanate of Zanzibar), in southeast africa- Zimbabwean (Zimbabwe, Monomotapa) proto-civilization (X-XIX century), in Madagascar the process of state formation ended at the beginning of the XIX century with the unification of all the early political formations of the island around Imerin, which arose around the XV century.
Most African civilizations and proto-civilizations experienced an upswing in the late 15th and 16th centuries. From the end of the 16th century, with the penetration of Europeans and the development of the transatlantic slave trade, which lasted until the middle of the 19th century, their decline took place. All North Africa (except Morocco) became part of the Ottoman Empire by the beginning of the 17th century. With the final division of Africa between the European powers (1880s), the colonial period began, forcibly introducing Africans to industrial civilization.

Colonization of Africa

In ancient times, North Africa was the object of colonization by Europe and Asia Minor.
The first attempts by Europeans to subjugate African territories date back to the times of the ancient Greek colonization of the 7th-5th centuries BC, when numerous Greek colonies appeared on the coast of Libya and Egypt. The conquests of Alexander the Great marked the beginning of a rather long period of Hellenization of Egypt. Although the bulk of its inhabitants, the Copts, were never Hellenized, the rulers of this country (including the last queen Cleopatra) accepted Greek language and a culture that completely dominated Alexandria.
The city of Carthage was founded on the territory of modern Tunisia by the Phoenicians and was one of the most important powers of the Mediterranean until the 4th century BC. e. After the Third Punic War, it was conquered by the Romans and became the center of the province of Africa. In the early Middle Ages, the kingdom of the Vandals was founded on this territory, and later it was part of Byzantium.
The invasions of the Roman troops made it possible to consolidate the entire northern coast of Africa under the control of the Romans. Despite the extensive economic and architectural activities of the Romans, the territories underwent weak Romanization, apparently due to excessive aridity and the ongoing activity of the Berber tribes, pushed back, but not conquered by the Romans.
Ancient Egyptian civilization also fell under the rule of the Greeks first, and then the Romans. In the context of the decline of the empire, the Berbers, activated by the vandals, finally destroy the centers of European, as well as Christian civilization in North Africa on the eve of the invasion of the Arabs, who brought Islam with them and pushed back the Byzantine Empire, which still controlled Egypt. By the beginning of the 7th century A.D. e. the activities of the early European states in Africa completely cease, on the contrary, the expansion of the Arabs from Africa takes place in many regions of southern Europe.
Attacks of the Spanish and Portuguese troops in the XV-XVI centuries. led to the capture of a number of strongholds in Africa (the Canary Islands, as well as the fortresses of Ceuta, Melilla, Oran, Tunisia, and many others). Italian navigators from Venice and Genoa have also traded extensively with the region since the 13th century.
At the end of the 15th century, the Portuguese actually controlled the western coast of Africa and launched an active slave trade. Following them, other Western European powers rush to Africa: the Dutch, the French, and the British.
From the 17th century, Arab trade with Africa south of the Sahara led to the gradual colonization of East Africa, in the Zanzibar region. And although Arab quarters appeared in some cities of West Africa, they did not become colonies, and Morocco's attempt to subjugate the lands of the Sahel ended unsuccessfully.
Early European expeditions focused on colonization uninhabited islands, such as Cape Verde and Sao Tome, as well as on the basis of forts on the coast as trading bases.
In the second half of the 19th century, especially after the Berlin Conference of 1885, the process of African colonization acquired such a scale that it was called the "race for Africa"; practically the entire continent (except for the remaining independent Ethiopia and Liberia) by 1900 was divided between a number of European powers: Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal retained and somewhat expanded their old colonies. During the First World War, Germany lost (mostly already in 1914) its African colonies, which after the war came under the administration of other colonial powers under League of Nations mandates.
Russian empire never claimed to colonize Africa, despite its traditionally strong position in Ethiopia, except for the Sagallo incident in 1889.

Calling sub-Saharan Africa "a continent without history" - and such an expression can still be heard today - people, in essence, want to say that we Europeans still know shamefully little about the history of this part of Africa. The reasons for this lack of awareness are complex. First, our concept of "history" is based, willingly or unwittingly, on an absurd ethnocentrism; history for most of us is national history or, at best, "European", "Western". If any elements of African history seep into our curricula, they are usually presented under the old-fashioned rubric of "European expansion." Secondly, as far as the history of West Africa is concerned, the written records dating back to the medieval period of its history, say before 1500 AD, are based almost entirely on Arabic sources.

But in their work, the Arabists rarely showed interest in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, only a few Africanists - most of them were French or Africans brought up in French traditions - had the special training necessary to work on Arab historical monuments and documents. Finally, it should be recognized that we all, to one degree or another, continue to be victims of the influence of the colonialist ideology. It is difficult for us to realize that the peoples of Africa had their own distinct civilization many centuries before the Portuguese, and then other Europeans, began to impose their culture on the peoples of Africa at the end of the 15th century.

In fact, a civilization - and an extremely interesting one - has existed in Africa since at least the 8th century. It developed in an area known among the Arabs as "bilad al-sudan" (literally - "the country of black people"); this name was conditionally applied to a wide strip of savannas stretching south of the Sahara from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. The largest states of Western Sudan - Ghana, later Mali (in the upper reaches of the Niger), Gao, located at the bend of the Niger, Kanem and Bornu (in the region of Lake Chad) - had a number of common characteristic features. These states owe their well-being, first of all, to the fact that they controlled the trade routes leading through the Sahara. Using these routes, the states of Western Sudan exported gold, which was mined in large quantities, as well as slaves, ivory, and kola nuts, to North Africa and further to Europe. In exchange, they received copper, cowries - shells that replaced money, fabrics, horses, cattle, beads.

In these states, relatively centralized forms of government developed under the rule of dynasties of deified kings. These dynasties in most cases survived for a surprisingly long time (the Sefava dynasty in the state of Kanem, later known as Bornu, was held for a millennium - approximately from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 19th century). In the states of Western Sudan, there was a complex hierarchy of officials closely associated with the royal court, whose life passed according to carefully designed court ceremonial. Significant armed forces were also created. The administrative system of these states ensured under normal conditions the protection of public order and the collection of taxes in remote provinces.

Starting from the 11th century, the royal families and the ruling strata of these states converted to Islam. Islam was either enforced under the pressure of the Almoravids, or spread through the peaceful penetration of Muslim missionaries from North Africa. As a result of the spread of Islam, as well as the development of ties between the states of Western Sudan and the vast Muslim world - these ties passed through such large cultural centers as Fez, Tlemcen, Tunisia, Cairo and Mecca - their own centers of science arose in West Africa. The first place among these centers belongs to the cities of Timbuktu and Djenne.

Before the Scotsman Mungo Park penetrated deep into West Africa at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, and after him Gorneman, Denham and Clapperton, Laying and Kaye, Europe almost did not encounter the civilizations of Western Sudan. Hence our dependence in studying the history of the Sudanese states on Arab sources. These include not only the writings of Arab geographers and historians (beginning in the ninth century), but also the records of local West African historians and chroniclers who were educated in centers such as Timbuktu. Among the sources are a few Arabic inscriptions that have come down to us.

How, for example, do we know that the ruling dynasties of the states of Ghana, Mali (or Kangaba, as it was called in those days), Gao and Kanem converted to Islam in the 11th century? Partially from literary sources. Ibn Khaldun, a prominent Tunisian historian, sociologist and philosopher of the 14th century, gives a brief description of the capture of Ghana by the Almoravids in 1076. As for the state of Gao, the evidence of historians is supported by several remarkable tombstones, discovered in 1939, a few kilometers from Gao.

These monuments, erected on the graves of members of the royal dynasty of Gao, are carved with Arabic inscriptions. The earliest tombstone is dated AH 494 according to Muslim chronology (1100 AD), the latest - AH 663, that is, approximately 1264-1265. The inscriptions on the most ancient tombstones are carefully engraved with the characters of the Kufic alphabet. The style of these inscriptions led Professor Sauvageer to believe that they were made by master artists from Almería, a city in southern Spain. Sauvage suggested that master stonemasons or even just finished tombstones were delivered by camel across the Sahara. Other tombstones are undoubtedly made by local artisans. Here is a translation of one of these gravestone inscriptions:

“Everything on earth is doomed to destruction. Here is the tomb of the most powerful noble king, champion of true religion; he believed in God, he carried out the commands of God, he fought for the cause of God. Mother, son of Kma, son of Aya, known as Omar ibn al-Khattab. May God have mercy on him. God called him to Himself on Sunday, Muharram 17, 514 AH (April 18, 1120)."

The line from the Koran with which this tombstone begins, the use of native Songhai names (Songai - the people of the state of Gao) next to Muslim names, the evidence of trade and cultural ties between Western Sudan and Southern Spain during the period of Almoravid rule - all this reinforces the conclusions of historians that that the spread of Islam in the area dates back to the 11th century.

Since the 9th century, valuable information about the states of Western Sudan has appeared in the works of Arab geographers and historians. So, for example, Yakubi, who wrote around 872, gives reports about the states of Ghana and Kanem. From his descriptions, we know that gold was exported to North Africa from Ghana, and slaves were exported from the state of Kanem, using trade routes leading to Fezzan for this. The Baghdadian Ibn Haukal, traveling in the first half of the 10th century, visited the Saharan city of Augast, located on the outskirts of the state of Ghana. Al-Bekri, whose narration "Masalik va mamalik" ("Ways and States") refers to about 1067, shortly after the conquest of England by the Normans, was well aware of the life of the states of Western Sudan, despite the fact that he spent most of his life in a Muslim State of Cordoba (Southern Spain).

Al-Bekri gives a classic description of the state of Ghana in its heyday, before its conquest by the Almoravids. According to al-Bekri, the capital of the state of Ghana consisted of two settlements located at a distance of six miles from each other - a pagan city in which the king lived, and a Muslim city. There were twelve mosques in the Muslim city. The king appeared before the people on the palace square. He sat on a throne, around which royal horses were placed, covered with blankets embroidered with gold. At the king's feet lay his dogs. The king was surrounded by a magnificent retinue: bodyguards with shields and spears with gold tips, sons of princes subject to the king, royal viziers, mostly Muslims, and also the ruler of the city. AT tsarist army There were 200 thousand soldiers, 40 thousand of them were archers. The tsar had a monopoly on gold nuggets; he also ordered the use of golden sand as money.

These testimonies of Arab historians are confirmed by the research of modern archaeologists. For example, the 16th-century historian Mahmoud Kati, who lived in Timbuktu, reports that the capital of the state of Ghana was called Kumbi. Excavations recently carried out by archaeologists Moni and Thomassey at Kumbi-Sale near the modern city of Nioro in French West Africa, about 300 kilometers north of Bamako, discovered the remains of the Muslim city reported by al-Bekri: solid stone houses, a mosque, and outside the city - tombstones.

In some respects, the most valuable of all Arab sources are the first-hand accounts of two - to my knowledge, only two - Arab travel writers who traveled extensively in Western Sudan. These are Ibn Battuta and the Lion of Africa. Both of them were remarkable people of their time. Muhammad ibn Abdullah Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier in 1304. Ibn Battuta devoted most of his life to traveling around the countries of the contemporary Muslim world. He traveled to Asia Minor, Khorasan, India, China and Indonesia, as well as West Africa, which he reached in 1352. At that time, Western Sudan was part of the state of Mali. Ibn Battuta gives a very interesting, lively description of some aspects of the organization of this state.

“Negroes have wonderful qualities. They are seldom unjust, and have a greater abhorrence of injustice than any other people. Their sultan does not spare anyone who is guilty. Complete security prevails in their country. Both the traveler and local they may not be afraid of thieves and robbers... The people carefully observe the hours of prayer... On Fridays, if a man does not come to the mosque early, he will not find a corner for prayer, such a large number of believers... Their other good feature is the habit of putting on clean white clothes on Fridays. Even if a person is so poor that he has only one old shirt, he diligently cleans and launders it, going to prayer on Friday. They diligently memorize verses from the Koran ... "

The Lion of Africa, originally known by his full name al-Hasan ibn-Muhammed al-Wazzan al-Zayati, was born in Granada, Spain, around 1490. At the age of seventeen, he accompanied his uncle, who, on behalf of the Sultan of Morocco, went on a diplomatic mission to the court of Mohammed Askia, the ruler of the Gao empire, which by that time had taken the place of the state of Mali and became the most powerful power in Western Sudan. Later, Leo Africanus undertook a new journey through sub-Saharan Africa. Around 1518, he was captured by Sicilian corsairs and handed over to Pope Leo X. In 1520, the Pope baptized the captive and gave him his name, calling him Johann Leo de Medici.

In Rome, Leo Africanus wrote his famous Description of Africa, first published in Italian in 1550. Over the next two centuries, Europe drew from the work of Leo Africanus solid, albeit significantly outdated, information about the states and peoples of Western Sudan. The messages of Leo Africanus about the flourishing of trade and the spiritual life of the city of Timbuktu and other centers of the state of Ghana at the time of their power still have not lost their value: “In Timbuktu,” writes Leo Africanus, “there are many judges, doctors and clergymen. All of them are appointed by the king. He has a high regard for scientists. Many handwritten books brought from the country of the Berbers are sold in Timbuktu. The book trade is more profitable than all other branches of the trade."

Africa, whose history is full of mysteries in the distant past and bloody political events in the present, is a continent called the cradle of mankind. The huge mainland occupies one fifth of all land on the planet, its lands are rich in diamonds and minerals. In the north, lifeless, harsh and hot deserts stretched, in the south - virgin tropical forests with many endemic species of plants and animals. It is impossible not to note the diversity of peoples and ethnic groups on the continent, their number fluctuates around several thousand. Small tribes numbering two villages and large peoples are the creators of the unique and inimitable culture of the "black" mainland.

How many countries are on the continent, where is the history of research, countries - you will learn all this from the article.

From the history of the continent

The history of African development is one of the most pressing issues in archeology. Moreover, if Ancient Egypt attracted scientists since the ancient period, the rest of the mainland remained in the "shadow" until the 19th century. The prehistoric era of the continent is the longest in human history. It was on it that the earliest traces of the presence of hominids that lived on the territory of modern Ethiopia were discovered. The history of Asia and Africa followed a special path, due to their geographical position, they were connected by trade and political relations even before the onset of the Bronze Age.

It is documented that the first trip around the continent was made by the Egyptian pharaoh Necho in 600 BC. In the Middle Ages, Europeans began to show interest in Africa, who actively developed trade with the eastern peoples. The first expeditions to the distant continent were organized by the Portuguese prince, it was then that Cape Boyador was discovered and the erroneous conclusion was made that he was the most south point Africa. Years later, another Portuguese, Bartolomeo Diaz, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. After the success of his expedition, other major European powers also reached out to Africa. As a result, by the beginning of the 16th century, all the territories of the western sea coast were discovered by the Portuguese, British and Spaniards. At the same time, the colonial history of African countries and the active slave trade began.

Geographical position

Africa is the second largest continent with an area of ​​30.3 million square kilometers. km. It stretches from south to north for a distance of 8000 km, and from east to west - 7500 km. The mainland is characterized by the predominance of flat relief. In the northwestern part there are the Atlas Mountains, and in the Sahara desert - the Tibesti and Ahaggar highlands, in the east - the Ethiopian, in the south - the Drakon and Cape mountains.

The geographical history of Africa is closely connected with the British. Appearing on the mainland in the 19th century, they actively explored it, discovering stunning beauty and grandeur. natural objects: Victoria Falls, lakes Chad, Kivu, Edward, Albert, etc. Africa has one of the most major rivers world - the Nile, which from the beginning of time was the cradle of Egyptian civilization.

The mainland is the hottest on the planet, the reason for this is its geographical position. The entire territory of Africa is located in hot climatic zones and is crossed by the equator.

The mainland is exceptionally rich in minerals. The world knows the largest deposits of diamonds in Zimbabwe and South Africa, gold in Ghana, Congo and Mali, oil in Algeria and Nigeria, iron and lead-zinc ores on the northern coast.

Start of colonization

The colonial history of the countries of Asia and Africa has very deep roots dating back to the ancient era. The first attempts to subjugate these lands were made by Europeans as early as the 7th-5th centuries. BC, when numerous settlements of the Greeks appeared along the shores of the continent. This was followed by a long period of Hellenization of Egypt as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Then, under the pressure of numerous Roman troops, almost the entire northern coast of Africa was consolidated. However, it was very weakly romanized, the indigenous tribes of the Berbers simply went deep into the desert.

Africa in the Middle Ages

During the period of the decline of the Byzantine Empire, the history of Asia and Africa made a sharp turn absolutely in the opposite direction from European civilization. The activated Berbers finally destroyed the centers of Christian culture in North Africa, "clearing" the territory for new conquerors - the Arabs, who brought Islam with them and pushed back the Byzantine Empire. By the seventh century, the presence of early European states in Africa had practically vanished.

A cardinal turning point came only in the final stages of the Reconquista, when mainly the Portuguese and Spaniards retook the Iberian Peninsula and turned their gaze to the opposite shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the 15th and 16th centuries, they pursued an active policy of conquest in Africa, capturing a number of strongholds. At the end of the 15th century they were joined by the French, British and Dutch.

The new history of Asia and Africa, due to many factors, turned out to be closely interconnected. Trade south of the Sahara desert, actively developed by the Arab states, led to the gradual colonization of the entire eastern part of the continent. West Africa held out. Arab quarters appeared, but Morocco's attempts to subjugate this territory were unsuccessful.

Race for Africa

The colonial division of the continent from the second half of the 19th century until the outbreak of the First World War was called the "race for Africa". This time was characterized by fierce and intense competition between the leading imperialist powers of Europe for conducting military operations and research in the region, which were ultimately aimed at capturing new lands. The process developed especially strongly after the adoption at the Berlin Conference of 1885 of the General Act, which proclaimed the principle of effective occupation. The division of Africa culminated in the military conflict between France and Great Britain in 1898, which took place in the Upper Nile.

By 1902, 90% of Africa was under European control. Only Liberia and Ethiopia managed to defend their independence and freedom. With the outbreak of the First World War, the colonial race ended, as a result of which almost all of Africa was divided. The history of the development of the colonies went in different ways, depending on whose protectorate it was under. The largest possessions were in France and Great Britain, slightly less in Portugal and Germany. For Europeans, Africa was an important source of raw materials, minerals and cheap labor.

year of independence

The year 1960 is considered to be a turning point, when one by one the young African states began to emerge from the power of the metropolitan countries. Of course, the process did not start and end in such a short period. However, it was 1960 that was proclaimed "African".

Africa, whose history did not develop in isolation from the whole world, was, one way or another, but also drawn into the Second World War. The northern part of the continent was affected by hostilities, the colonies were knocked out of their last strength in order to provide the mother countries with raw materials and food, as well as people. Millions of Africans took part in hostilities, many of them "settled" later in Europe. Despite the global political situation for the "black" continent, the years of the war were marked by an economic boom, this is the time when roads, ports, airfields and runways, enterprises and factories, etc. were built.

The history of African countries received a new round after the adoption by England, which confirmed the right of peoples to self-determination. And although politicians tried to explain that it was about the peoples occupied by Japan and Germany, the colonies interpreted the document in their favor as well. In matters of gaining independence, Africa was far ahead of the more developed Asia.

Despite the unquestioned right to self-determination, the Europeans were in no hurry to “let go” of their colonies for free swimming, and in the first decade after the war, any protests for independence were brutally suppressed. The case when the British in 1957 granted freedom to Ghana, the most economically developed state, became a precedent. By the end of 1960, half of Africa gained independence. However, as it turned out, this still did not guarantee anything.

If you pay attention to the map, you will notice that Africa, whose history is very tragic, is divided into countries by clear and even lines. Europeans did not delve into the ethnic and cultural realities of the continent, simply dividing the territory at their discretion. As a result, many peoples were divided into several states, others united in one together with sworn enemies. After independence, all this gave rise to numerous ethnic conflicts, civil wars, military coups and genocide.

Freedom was obtained, but no one knew what to do with it. The Europeans left, taking with them everything they could take. Almost all systems, including education and healthcare, had to be created from scratch. There were no personnel, no resources, no foreign policy ties.

African countries and dependencies

As mentioned above, the history of the discovery of Africa began a very long time ago. However, the invasion of Europeans and centuries of colonial rule led to the fact that modern independent states on the mainland were formed literally in the middle or second half of the twentieth century. It is difficult to say whether the right to self-determination has brought prosperity to these places. Africa is still considered the most backward in development of the mainland, which, meanwhile, has all the necessary resources for a normal life.

At the moment, the continent is inhabited by 1,037,694,509 people - this is about 14% of the total population of the globe. The territory of the mainland is divided into 62 countries, but only 54 of them are recognized as independent by the world community. Of these, 10 are island states, 37 have wide access to the seas and oceans, and 16 are inland.

In theory, Africa is a continent, but in practice, nearby islands are often attached to it. Some of them are still owned by Europeans. Including French Reunion, Mayotte, Portuguese Madeira, Spanish Melilla, Ceuta, Canary Islands, English Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha and Ascension.

African countries are conventionally divided into 4 groups depending on the southern and eastern. Sometimes the central region is also singled out separately.

North African countries

North Africa is called a very vast region with an area of ​​about 10 million m 2, with most of it occupied by the Sahara desert. It is here that the largest mainland countries are located: Sudan, Libya, Egypt and Algeria. There are eight states in the northern part, so SADR, Morocco, Tunisia should be added to the list.

The recent history of the countries of Asia and Africa (northern region) is closely interconnected. By the beginning of the 20th century, the territory was completely under the protectorate European countries, they gained independence in the 50-60s. the last century. Geographical proximity to another continent (Asia and Europe) and traditional long-standing trade and economic ties with it played a role. In terms of development, North Africa is in a much better position than South Africa. The only exception, perhaps, is Sudan. Tunisia has the most competitive economy on the entire continent, Libya and Algeria produce gas and oil, which they export, Morocco is engaged in the extraction of phosphorites. The predominant share of the population is still employed in the agricultural sector. An important sector of the economy of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco is developing tourism.

The largest city with more than 9 million inhabitants is the Egyptian Cairo, the population of others does not exceed 2 million - Casablanca, Alexandria. Most Africans in the north live in cities, are Muslims and speak Arabic. In some countries, one of the official is considered French. The territory of North Africa is rich in monuments of ancient history and architecture, natural objects.

It is also planned to develop the ambitious European project Desertec - the construction of the largest system of solar power plants in the Sahara desert.

West Africa

The territory of West Africa extends south of the central Sahara, is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and is bounded in the east by the Cameroon Mountains. There are savannahs and rainforests, as well as a complete lack of vegetation in the Sahel. Until the moment when the Europeans set foot on the shores in this part of Africa, such states as Mali, Ghana and Songhai already existed. The Guinean region has long been called the "grave for the whites" because of dangerous unusual diseases for Europeans: fevers, malaria, sleeping sickness, etc. At the moment, the group of Western African countries includes: Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Liberia, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Senegal.

The recent history of African countries in the region is marred by military clashes. The territory is torn apart by numerous conflicts between the English-speaking and French-speaking former European colonies. Contradictions lie not only in the language barrier, but also in worldviews and mentalities. There are hotspots in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Road communication is very poorly developed and, in fact, is a legacy of the colonial period. West African states are among the poorest in the world. While Nigeria, for example, has huge oil reserves.

East Africa

The geographic region, which includes the countries east of the Nile River (with the exception of Egypt), is called by anthropologists the cradle of mankind. It was here, in their opinion, that our ancestors lived.

The region is extremely unstable, conflicts turn into wars, including very often civil ones. Almost all of them are formed on ethnic grounds. East Africa is inhabited by more than two hundred nationalities belonging to four language groups. During the colonies, the territory was divided without taking into account this fact, as already mentioned, cultural and natural ethnic boundaries were not respected. The potential for conflict greatly hinders the development of the region.

East Africa includes the following countries: Mauritius, Kenya, Burundi, Zambia, Djibouti, Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea.

South Africa

The South African region occupies an impressive part of the mainland. It contains five countries. Namely: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa. All of them united in the South African Customs Union, which extracts and trades mainly in oil and diamonds.

The latest history of Africa in the south is associated with the name of the famous politician Nelson Mandela (pictured), who devoted his life to the struggle for the freedom of the region from the mother countries.

South Africa, of which he was president for 5 years, is now the most developed country on the mainland and the only one that is not classified as a "third world". A developed economy allows it to take 30th place among all states according to the IMF. Has very rich reserves natural resources. Also one of the most successful development in Africa is the economy of Botswana. In the first place is animal husbandry and agriculture, diamonds and minerals are being mined on a large scale.

OK, 4 million years ago - 1 million years ago

Australopithecus (Australopithecus) appear in Africa - anthropoid primates - remains in Ethiopia, Olduvai (Northern Tanzania in East Africa), near Lake. Chad, in Ubeidia, Kenya

2 million years ago-800 thousand years ago

Olduvai era of the ancient Stone Age (Paleolithic).

OK. 1.7 million years ago

The appearance of a "handy man" - the remains in Olduvai (N. Tanzania)

1.2 million years ago

Appearance of Pithecanthropus - remains in Olduvai (Tanzania), Ternifin, Sidi Abdurrahman (North Africa)

OK. 800-60 thousand years ago

Acheulian era of the ancient Stone Age - improvement of stone tool processing techniques

OK. 100-40 thousand years ago

Paleolithic Sango culture in Central Africa

OK. 60-30 thousand years ago

Middle Paleolithic - Ater culture in North Africa. Neanderthal man in Africa

39 thousand years ago-14th thousand BC

The oldest Upper Paleolithic culture in Africa, Dabba (Cyrenaica)

OK. 35 thousand years ago

Formation of a modern type of person

OK. 13th millennium-10th millennium BC

Oran (Ibero-Moorish) culture of the late Upper Paleolithic in North Africa

10th millennium-2nd millennium BC

Capsian culture in North Africa (Mesolithic - Middle Stone Age)

6th millennium BC

The advent of pottery and domesticated animals. Beginning of the Neolithic in North Africa

5th millennium BC

Cattle breeding and agriculture in Egypt, Sahara, Sudan

First half of the 4th millennium BC

The beginning of the decomposition of tribal relations in Egypt. First predynastic period. Irrigation farming in the Nile Valley

XXXI-XXIX centuries BC.

Early kingdom (1st-11th dynasty)

OK. 3000 BC

Pharaoh Menes unites Upper and Lower Egypt, founds the capital in Memphis and the I dynasty

28th century BC.

III dynasty. Construction of the first pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser in Giza

XXVII centuries. BC.

IV dynasty. The construction of the largest pyramids of the pharaohs Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren) and Menkaure (Mykerin)

Mid XXIII-mid XXI century. BC.

Transition period (VII-X dynasties).

The collapse of Egypt into separate nomes and the struggle of Heracleopolis and Thebes for hegemony

Mid 21st century 18th century BC.

Middle Kingdom (XI-XIII dynasties)

21st century BC.

The unification of Egypt by the founder of the XI Dynasty Pharaoh Mentuhotep

XX-XVIII centuries BC.

The reign of the XII dynasty, founded by Pharaoh Amenemhet. Rise of Egypt under Senusret III and Amenemhat III

Late 18th-17th century BC.

I Transition period. Popular uprisings and the conquest of Egypt by the Hyksos. XV-XVI (Hyksos dynasties)

1680-1580 BC.

XVII Dynasty in Egypt.

OK. 1580 BC

Expulsion of the Hyksos by Pharaoh Thmose I, founder of the 18th Dynasty

1580-1070 BC.

New kingdom (XVIII-XX dynasties)

1580 - MIDDLE XIV CENTURY BC

XVIII Dynasty in Egypt 1450s BC.

Conquests of Pharaoh Thutmose III in Nubia, Syria and Palestine

1372-1354 BC.

The reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)

354-1345 BC.

The reign of Pharaoh Tutankhaton (Tutankhamun)

The middle of the XIV century - the end of the XIII century. BC.

19th dynasty reign

301-1235 BC.

Reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The rise of the Egyptian state and culture. Hiking in the East

Mediterranean. Creation of the Egyptian Empire

235-1215 BC.

The reign of pharaoh Merneptah. Exodus of Jews from Egypt

XIII V.-BEGINNING. XII C. BC

The invasion of Egypt by the Libyans of the "peoples of the sea" (Aegeids)

3rd-13th centuries BC.

Formation of state entities in Libya

198-1166 BC.

Reign of Pharaoh Ramesses III (XX Dynasty)

XII C. BC

Liberation of Phenicia from Egyptian rule

2nd century BC.

Founding of trading colonies by the Phoenicians in North Africa

XI CENTURY BC - MIDDLE X CENTURIES BC.

Transition period (XXI dynasty). The disintegration of Egypt into Lower and Upper. Capture of the Nile Delta by the Libyans

2nd THOUSAND BC.

State of Kush in Nubia with its capital in Napata (modern Sudan)

1050-950 BC.

Late Kingdom (Libyan-Sais and Persian period)

OK. 950-730 BC.

XXII-XXIII (Libyan) dynasties

OK. 950-930 BC.

The reign of Pharaoh Sheshenq I (Susakim). Sheshonk's campaign in Judea, the capture and sack of Jerusalem

Mid-ninth century BC.

The disintegration of Egypt into destinies

825 or 814 BC

Founding of Carthage by the Phoenicians from Tyre

715 BC

Ethiopian conquest of Egypt

715-664 BC.

Unification of Egypt and Kush into one state

674 and 671 BC.

Campaigns of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon in Egypt, the conquest of Egypt by the Assyrians

667-665 BC.

Liberation of Egypt

663-525 BC.

XXVI (Sais) dynasty, founded by Pharaoh Psammetich I. Revival of Egypt

610-595 BC.

Reign of Pharaoh Necho II. Construction of a canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas

OK. 600 BC

Expedition of Phoenician sailors around Africa

525 BC

Persian conquest of Egypt. XXVII (Persian) dynasty, founded by the Persian king Cambyses

525-404 BC.

Rebellion against Persian rule

The liberation of Egypt from the Persians

404-341 BC.

XXVI11-XXX dynasties in Egypt founded by local leaders

OK. 400 BC

Start of migration from west to east and south of the Bantu tribes, who had the skills of metallurgy

343 BC

Second Persian conquest of Egypt, founding of the XXXI (Persian) dynasty

332 BC

Conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great. Founding of Alexandria

305-283 BC.

The reign of Ptolemy I in Egypt. The formation of the Ptolemaic state! *

Con. IV.- beg. Ill. BC.

Transfer of the capital of Ethiopia from Napata to Meroe. State of Meroe

3rd century BC.

The emergence of state formations in Numidia and Mauretania

274-217 AD BC.

Wars between Egypt and the Persian power of the Seleucids for control of Palestine

264-241 BC.

The Punic War between Rome and Carthage

256-250 AD BC.

The Roman invasion of North Africa, and their defeat by the Carthaginians

218-201 BC.

II Punic war between Rome and Carthage

202 BC

The Roman general Scipio Africanus defeats the Carthaginian general Hannibal at the Battle of Zama, the end of the Second Punic War

149-146 BC.

III Punic War

146 BC

Capture and destruction of Carthage by the Romans. Formation of the Roman province of Africa

111-105 AD BC.

Jugurtine war between Rome and Numidia, which ended with the defeat of the Numidians and the dismemberment of Numidia

OK. 100 BC

Formation of the Kingdom of Aksum (on the territory of modern Eritrea and Ethiopia)

48 BC

The flight of the Roman commander and politician Pompey to Egypt after his defeat by Julius Caesar. The assassination of Pompey by order of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar in Egypt. Exile of Cleopatra VII to Syria

32 BC

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian's break with Mark Antony. The war of Rome against Egypt, where Antony and Cleopatra VII were in power

31 BC

The defeat of Antony's fleet at Cape Actium, the flight of Antony and Cleopatra to Alexandria

30 BC

Suicide of Antony and Cleopatra. Egypt becomes a Roman province

OK. 25 BC

The Kushites from Meroe invade Egypt, the capture and sack of Napata by the Romans

The capture of Mauretania by the Roman emperor Caligula (modern Algeria and the eastern regions of Morocco)

Decline of the Kingdom of Meroe

Unrest in North Africa and Egypt against Roman rule

Egyptian missionaries convert King Ezan of Aksum

Ezan conquers the realm of Meroe

St. Augustine Aurelius (354-430) - theologian, father of the Church, bishop in Hippo (North Africa)

Sea Peoples from Indonesia begin resettlement to Madagascar

Vandal invasion of North Africa, their capture of Carthage and the formation of the Vandal Kingdom

533-534 Byzantine armies under the command of Belisarius conquer northern Africa from the Vandals

7th/8th-16th centuries

State of Aloa (in the southern part of modern Sudan)

The conquest of Egypt by the Sasanian king Khosrow II

Byzantine Emperor Heraclius I restores Byzantine rule over Egypt

Arab conquest of Egypt

Arab invasion of Tunisia

Arab troops destroy the Byzantine city of Carthage. Arab occupation of North Africa

The uprising of the Berbers against the Umayyads (Arab caliphs) and the creation of an independent state by them in the north of the Sahara

Aghlabid state in Tunisia and Algeria

On the western shore of Lake Chad, the kingdom of Kanem is formed.

Tulunid dynasty in Egypt

Ixhidid dynasty in Egypt

Fatimid Caliphate in the Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria)

Conquest of Egypt by the Fatimids

Almoravid rule in the Maghreb

Rule of the Barbary Almohad dynasty in northwestern Africa

Overthrow of the Almoravids by the Almohads

The Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, founded by the famous Turkic sultan Salah ad-Din

The legendary state of Kitara in Central Africa

The capture of the Damietta fortress in the Nile Delta by the crusaders during the 5th crusade

7th crusade led by King Louis IX, the defeat of the crusaders by the Egyptians, the capture of the king

In Egypt, the Mamluks (slaves-guards) seize power, the beginning of the dynasty of the Mamluk sultans (until 1517)

8th crusade. Death of Louis IX from a fever in Tunisia. End of the Crusades

On the west coast of Africa, the state of Benin arises

Plague epidemic ("black death") in Egypt

Crusaders led by the King of Cyprus capture and plunder Alexandria, Egypt

The Kingdom of Songhai secedes from the Empire of Mali

Portuguese expeditions to Africa to search for the "Land of Ophir"

First batch of African slaves delivered to Lisbon

Portuguese navigators reach the Cape Verde Islands in West Africa

Wattasid dynasty in Morocco

Songhai Empire conquers Timbuktu

The Spanish-Portuguese Treaty of Toledo grants Portugal exclusive rights in Africa

Congo ruler converts to Christianity

Expedition of Vascode Gama around Africa to India

Muslim conquest of the Christian state of Soba in Nubia

Ottoman Turks under Sultan Selim conquer Egypt, end of the Mamluk dynasty

Start of the African slave trade in the Americas

Ottoman Turks conquer Algeria

Saadian dynasty in Morocco

Portuguese expedition to the Zambezi River

Portuguese attempts to conquer the kingdom of Mwenemutapa

Morocco expands its territory to the south and west of the Sahara and conquers the city of Tuat

The victory of the Portuguese over the Turks near the city of Mambasa in East Africa

The Moroccans invade Songhai, inflict a crushing defeat on the military forces of the empire at the Battle of Tondibi, and destroy the city of Gao. End of the Songhai Empire

The Dutch seize for the slave trade two islands off the west coast of Africa that belonged to the Portuguese

France annexes Madagascar

Huguenots, refugees from France, arrive in southern Africa

Completion of the conquest of Senegal by the French

The Dutch move east through the Hottentot Dutch Mountains

France takes the island of Mauritius from the Dutch

The Dutch begin to import slaves into the Cape Colony in southern Africa

Mazrui, governor of Mombasa, declares his independence from the Sultan of Oman

In western Africa, Ashanti warriors defeat Dagomba warriors.

Mohammed XVI becomes ruler of Morocco

The British take Senegal from the French

In South Africa, Dutch farmers move north and cross the Orange River

Proclamation by the Mamluk ruler Ali Bey of the independence of Egypt from the Ottoman Empire

Restoration of Turkish rule over Egypt

The first "inspection" war in South Africa between local Xhosa tribes and Dutch farmers (Boers)

Creation of the British Society for the Prohibition of the African Slave Trade

The second "inspection" war between the Boers and the Xhosa people for lands in South Africa

Egyptian campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte

Turkish governor Muhammad Ali seizes power in Egypt

Prohibition of the slave trade throughout the British Empire

Boer uprising in South Africa crushed by British troops

Prohibition of the slave trade in France

The beginning of the Mfecan wars in southern Africa, associated with the expansion of the Zulu people

Accession of Sierra Leona, the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) and the Gambia to British West Africa

British war against the Ashanti people in West Africa

Expulsion of the French from Madagascar

British withdraw from Mombasa

French invasion of Algiers, occupation of the cities of Algiers and Oran

Mfecan wars spread to northern Zimbabwe

The Great Migration of the Boers in South Africa to the north, caused by persecution by the British

Mfecan wars spread to northern Zambia and Malawi

The Turks overthrow the local dynasty in Tripoli and establish direct rule

Boers in Natal defeat the Zulu people

Anti-colonial Zulu rebellion

Liberia becomes an independent republic

In Gabon, the French found the city of Libreville as a refuge for escaped slaves.

The Boers create an independent republic of the Transvaal

Recognition by Britain of the Orange State created by the Boers

D. Livingston makes the first European expedition that crossed Africa from east to west. Discovery of Victoria Falls

The Transvaal becomes the Republic of South Africa with Pretoria as its capital.

The French founded the city of Dakar in Senegal

Conflict over the enclaves of Ceuta and Melila leads to Portuguese invasion of Morocco

Start of construction of the Suez Canal

Rule in Egypt by Ismail Pasha, expansion of the autonomy of Egypt, reforms

Opening of the Suez Canal

Expedition to Central Africa by American journalist Henry Stanley, his meeting with Livingston, who was considered missing

Zulu war against the British in South Africa

Boer uprising in the Transvaal against the British, proclamation of a republic

Journey of the Russian geographer V.V. Juncker, his description of the river basin. Uele and revealing the part

Nile-Congo watershed

French conquest of Tunisia

Liberation movement in Egypt under the leadership of Arab Pasha. Occupation of Egypt by England

Mohammed Ahmed declares himself Mahdi (messiah) and raises an uprising in Sudan.

French colonial war in Madagascar

Beginning of German colonial conquests in Africa

Expulsion of Anglo-Egyptian troops from Sudan. Formation of the Mahdist government

"Uchchiali" Italo-Ethiopian treaty. Italian annexation of part of Somalia

The French defeat the Zulu people in West Africa

France captures Timbuktu and pushes out the Tuareg

French occupation of Madagascar

Italo-Ethiopian War. Peace treaty in Addis Ababa guaranteeing Ethiopian independence

Anglo-French Convention on the Division of Colonial Possessions in Africa

Boer War

France seizes major oases in the Sahara south of Morocco and Algeria

France and Italy make a secret agreement whereby France gains control

over Morocco, and Italy - over Libya

French troops defeat the African leader Rabeh Zabeir in the Lake Chad region

End of the Anglo-Boer War. Loss of independence by the Boers

Suppression of the uprising of the Herero people in German South-West Africa, extreme cruelty of the massacre

Congo annexed by Belgium

The French completed the conquest of Mauritania

Britain gives the Union of South Africa dominion status

The occupation of the capital of Morocco, Fez, by the French troops. German military pressure forces France to cede part of the Congo, for which the French get freedom of action in Morocco

Britain bombards Dar es Salaam, the capital of German East Africa. The defeat of the British troops at Tang (in Tanganyika)

Britain declares its protectorate over Egypt

South African and Portuguese troops capture Dar es Salaam

German troops invade Portuguese East Africa

German troops invade Rhodesia

Britain receives Tanganyika from Germany and shares Cameroon and Togo with France

Under an international agreement in Africa, the sale of alcohol and weapons is limited

The French create a colony in Upper Volta (modern Burkina Faso)

Egypt becomes a self-governing monarchy

Ethiopia abolished slavery

International convention places responsibility for the abolition of slavery on the League of Nations

The adoption by the British Parliament of the Statute of Westminster, which granted the dominions sovereign rights in the field of foreign and domestic policy. Transformation of the British Empire into the British Commonwealth of Nations

B. Mussolini proclaims the transformation of Libya into an Italian colony

Constitution in Egypt

Italian annexation of Ethiopia

Anglo-Egyptian treaty of alliance, retention of British occupying forces in Egypt

A new electoral law in the Union of South Africa, depriving indigenous people voting rights

Union of South Africa declaration of war on Germany

The British defeat the Italian troops and capture Torbrook and Benghazi in Libya. German troops enter North Africa and besiege the British at Thorbrook

British and American troops land in Morocco and Algeria. British offensive in Egypt

German troops capture Thorbrook. The British units, having won the battle of El Alamein, stop the German attack on Cairo

American troops link up with British troops in Tunisia. German surrender in North Africa

Establishment of the apartheid regime in the Union of South Africa

British troops occupy the Suez Canal zone

Libyan independence

Beginning of the revolution in Egypt

Formation of a national government in the British colony of the Gold Coast

The secret society "Mau Mau" organizes terrorist attacks against British settlers in Kenya

Eritrea becomes part of Ethiopia

Proclamation of the Egyptian Republic (under President 1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser)

Nigeria becomes a self-governing federation

Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Sudan.

Nationalization of the Suez Canal. Egypt's repulse of the aggression of England, France and Israel caused by this act

Independence of Sudan and Morocco

Formation of the General Union of the Workers of Black Africa

Declaration of Independence of Ghana (unification of the former colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland)

Independence of the Republic of Guinea

Independence of Algeria, creation of the FLN - a united government

Niger, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Senegal, Mauritania, Congo and Gabon

receive limited independence from France

"Year of Africa" ​​- liberation from the colonial dependence of Eastern Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Dahomey, the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Niger, the Republic of Upper Volta,

Republic of Chad, Republic of Ivory Coast, Republic of Togo, Gabonese Republic,

Nigeria, the Republic of Mali, the Central African Republic, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Republic of Somalia and the Republic of Madagascar.

Rebellion and Belgian occupation in the Congo, removal from office of Prime Minister P. Lumumba

(killed in 1961) and the transfer of power to the dictator General J. Mobutu

The revolt of the French settlers against the plans for the independence of Algeria

South African troops shoot demonstrators in Sharpeville

Military coup in the Congo (Zaire). Renaming the Union of South Africa to the Republic of South Africa and its withdrawal from the British Commonwealth

Unification of Eastern and Southern Cameroon, formation federal republic Cameroon 1961-1968

Declaration of Independence of Tanganyika, Uganda, Kenya and Zanzibar, Zambia, Botswana, Madagascar and Mauritius

End of the Algerian War. Algeria achieves independence

Proclamation of Nigeria as a federal republic

African National Congress (ANC) leader N. Mandela sentenced to life in South Africa

Establishment of the apartheid regime in Southern Rhodesia

The coup in Algeria, the coming to power in Algeria of H. Boumediene

Independence of the Republic of the Gambia

Establishment of a military dictatorship in Ghana. Military coup in Burkina Faso

Military coups and separatist insurgency in Nigeria

Bechuanaland becomes an independent state - Botswana

Basutoland becomes the independent state of Lesotho

Abolition of the monarchy in Uganda

The state of Biafra declares itself independent from Nigeria. The civil war begins

Military coup in Mali

Swaziland becomes an independent kingdom

Equatorial Guinea gains independence from Spain

Military coup in Somalia. The head of the regime, S. Barre, is heading towards building a Greater Somalia at the expense of the territories of neighboring states

Military coup in Sudan

The overthrow of the monarchy in Libya. Transfer of power in the country to the leader of the Revolutionary Command Council M. Gaddafi

Constitution in Morocco, restoration of parliament

Rhodesia becomes a republic

Military coup in Uganda. Come to power Sergeant Idi Amin - "Black Hitler of Africa"

Egypt, Libya and Syria form the Federation of Arab Republics

Military coups in Ghana and Madagascar

Military coups in Burkina Faso and Niger

Revolution in Ethiopia, the deposition of the emperor and the proclamation of the republic. Start civil war

The third stage of the decolonization of Africa. Declaration of independence of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cape Verde Islands, Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles and Western Sahara, Zimbabwe

The beginning of the civil war in Angola, which took on the character of an international conflict

Military coup in Nigeria

Transformation of the Central African Republic into the Central African Empire. President J. Bokassa is crowned with the imperial crown

The head of Ethiopia, M. Haile Mariam, is heading towards building a Marxist-socialist model of the economy in the country

Proclamation of Libya by the Jamahiriya

War between Ethiopia and Somalia over the Ogaden. Defeat Somalia

Military coups in Mauritania and the Seychelles

Military coups in Guinea and the Seychelles

Nigerian military hands over power to civilian government

London Accords Establishing the Multiracial State of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia)

Military coups in Burkina Faso and Liberia

Libya occupies the Republic of Chad

Zone coup in the Central African Empire. Restoration of the Republic

The assassination in Egypt of President A. Sadat; Hosni Mubarak becomes president

Military coup in Nigeria

Restoration of a presidential republic in Guinea

Establishment of a military dictatorship in Guinea

South African President P. Botha grants limited political rights to "Asians and people of color"

Military coups in Nigeria, Uganda and Sudan

US and EU impose economic sanctions against South Africa

Military coup in Burkina Faso

The troops of the Republic of Chad, with the help of the French foreign legion, are expelled from the northern regions of the Libyans

Withdrawal of South African and Cuban troops from Angola

Ethnic conflict in Rwanda involving Uganda, Burundi, Zaire

Release of N. Mandela from prison in South Africa

The collapse of the regimes of M. Haile Mariam in Ethiopia and S. Barre in Somalia

The victory of Islamic fundamentalists in the elections in Algeria. Government eliminates election results and sets course to accelerate market reforms

Adoption of international sanctions against Libya in connection with the participation of its citizens in terrorist acts

Military coup in Sierra Leone. Beginning of the civil war in Somalia

Islamic extremist killed Algerian President M. Boudiaf

Proclamation of Independence for the Province of Eritrea! from Ethiopia

The presidents of Burundi and Rwanda die in an air crash. Tribal conflict erupts in Rwanda and civil war breaks out

In Khartoum (Sudan), the terrorist "Carlos" was arrested and taken to France, where there should be a trial

In South Africa, the African National Congress wins the election. N. Mandela becomes president.

Cameroon and Mozambique join the British Commonwealth

In Zaire, rebel forces led by L. Kabil are forcing President J. Mobutu to leave the country and go into exile

Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan becomes UN Secretary General

Military conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia

M. Gaddafi extradites Libyan terrorists to the international community. Easing international sanctions against Libya