As the political situation in Ndongo worsened, Mbandi slipped into a deep depression and relied on Nzinga more and more for personal and political advice. Nzinga used this as an opportunity to weaken her brother's rule and solidify her...

This video highlights Nzinga's diplomatic skills and tells the famous story of Nzinga and the chair in context. Nzinga became ambassador to the Portuguese in an attempt to negotiate peace with her brother's kingdom. Despite her rivalry...

This video tells the story of Queen Nzinga Mbandi, a renowned queen from Southwest Africa who was known for her intelligence, political aptitude, and military skills. The video explores her background, including her difficult birth and...

This video explores the political and social climate of Ndongo at the time and the struggles faced by Nzinga. When Nzinga's father died, and her brother, Mbandi, seized power by violently eliminating his competition. Nzinga and her...

Has racist thinking discouraged us from looking at how sophisticated West African empires were before the Europeans arrived? How did trade mesh with a rise in inequality between Africa and the Europeans? West Africa Before the Europeans,...

Though often ignored, women, such as the ones highlighted here, are critical to remembering the specific way Black people have enacted change in world history.



Their lives reveal the importance of culture in
activism....

Elisabeth Domitien was born in 1925 and became the first woman woman to serve as prime minister of the Central African Republic in 1975. She was the head of the women's group in the independence movement, the Movement for the Social...

Kandake Amanirenas is one of the most celebrated rulers of the Ancient Kingdom of Kush, located in the region of Nubia, which we now know as Sudan. She ruled from 40BC to 10BC.

Kandake - also known as Candace, Kendake or...

Sultans in the Ottoman Empire loved to eat. In the 15th century, Topkapi Palace boasted a kitchen staff of 100 people, a number that grew to 500 during the 16th-century reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. Before 1600, the kitchen staff...

What drew Gus Casely-Hayford to researching African history? What aspects of African history and culture are commonly overlooked?<br/>
Africa, The Unknown History of Humankind, Part 1

Mansa Musa likely died around 1337, leaving behind an opulent legacy. His reign is known as the Golden Age of Mali, a time marked by an abundance of wealth and great strides in trade and education. But was Mansa Musa really the richest...

Mansa Musa is remembered as one of the wealthiest rulers in history. He was of the Mandinka people and a ruler of the Mali Empire. Musa rose to power in 1312, at the height of the Mali empire and a time when the vast gold supply of...

Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca is the most famous story of the ruler and the main source of information about him. He traveled with a large entourage of slaves and lots of gold to display the power and wealth of the Mali Empire to the...

There is a Japanese proverb which says “For a Samurai to be brave, he must have a bit of black blood.” Yasuke first appears in history in 1579 as an attendant of the Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano coming to Japan to visit the...

What are Gus Casely-Hayford's views of Africans in popular culture? How does "word", "symbol", and "song" work together and what makes them so powerful?<br/>
Africa, The Unknown History of Humankind, Part 5

A little known fact is that people of East Africa were building their own ships and took part in the medieval world's most extensive trade network.

Africa is the second largest continent in the world and is home to the second largest population; but it is second-to-none regarding its ethnic diversity. Throughout history Africa has been the home of many thousands of ethnological...

Toby Green has been fascinated by the history of West Africa for decades after he visited as a student and heard whispers of history that didn’t appear in text books. Years later he wrote ‘Fistful of Shells,’ a survey of West Africa and...