Vodun is a traditional religious practice of southern BENIN. Also known as Orisha to the YORUBA people of the region, Vodun was brought to the Americas by slaves. There, especially in Haiti, it developed into a form called voodoo. People who practice Vodun believe that their ancestors entered into agreements with several deities called the Vodun, which represent forces of […]

1901–1966 South African politician Hendrik Verwoerd created South Africa's policy of racial segregation known as apartheid. As prime minister in the early 1960s, he followed racist policies that deepened the divide between whites and blacks. Born in the Netherlands, Verwoerd moved with his family to SOUTH AFRICA when he was two years old. His father, a grocer, was a […]

1619–1677 Dutch colonial administrator Jan Van Riebeeck was a Dutch merchant who founded Cape Colony, the first European settlement in what would later become SOUTH AFRICA. Born in the Netherlands, Van Riebeeck began traveling at an early age with his father, who worked for the Dutch East India Company. In time he, too, worked for the company, and he […]

1754–1817 Founder of the Sokoto Caliphate Uthman dan Fodio was an Islamic scholar and preacher who founded the Sokoto caliphate in what is now northern NIGERIA. In the 1800s Sokoto became one of the largest independent states in Africa. Born in the town of Gobir, Uthman belonged to a family of Islamic scholars. He grew up speaking Fulfulde, the language […]

Created after World War II, the United Nations (UN) is an international organization that promotes peace and security among member states and cooperation on economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian issues. When the UN was founded in 1945, only four African countries were independent states and members of the organization: EGYPT, ETHIOPIA, LIBERIA, and SOUTH AFRICA. By 2000 more than […]

Informal worker's unions and trade associations first appeared in Africa during the 1890s. However, organized union activity did not get underway until after World War I in the British colonies and after World War II in French colonies. Few unions arose in Portuguese territories such as ANGOLA and MOZAMBIQUE. In SOUTH AFRICA, years of rule by racist white governments led […]

ca. 1794–1864 Muslim leader in West Africa A Muslim cleric, or religious leader, Umar ibn Sa'id Tal played an important role in spreading Islam across a broad area of West Africa. Through his writing, military achievements, and his role in the religious brotherhood of the Tijaniyya, he remains a prominent figure for Muslims in West Africa. Born in the […]

POPULATION: 37.78 million (2014) AREA: 93,065 sq. mi. (241,038 sq. km) LANGUAGES: English (official); over 40 others including Swahili, Ganda, Nyoro, Lango, Acholi, Alur, Chiga, Kenyi, Teso, Arabic NATIONAL CURRENCY: Uganda shilling PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Christian 66%, Traditional 18%, Muslim 16% CITIES: Kampala (capital), 1,212,000 (2001 est.); Jinja, Mbale, Mbarara, Masaka, Entebbe, Gulu ANNUAL RAINFALL: Varies from 90 in. (2,250 mm) near Lake Victoria […]

1920–1997 Nigerian writer Nigerian novelist Amos Tutuola gained fame for his retelling of traditional YORUBA myths, legends, and fables. The son of a poor farmer, Tutuola struggled to obtain an education. He gathered and sold firewood to help his father pay for his schooling. When his father died in 1939, however, the family could no longer afford Tutuola's tuition, and […]

1931– South African religious leader and activist Aleader of the Anglican Church, Desmond Mpilo Tutu is best known for his tireless efforts for peace, unity, and human rights in SOUTH AFRICA. Born in Klerksdorp, he hoped to become a doctor but could not afford medical training. Instead, he became a schoolteacher and attended the University of South Africa. After graduating […]

POPULATION: 11.00 million (2014) AREA: 63,170 sq. mi. (163,610 sq. km) LANGUAGES: Arabic (official); French; some Berber dialects NATIONAL CURRENCY: Tunisian dinar PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1% CITIES: Tunis (capital), 1,897,000 (2001 est.); Bizerte, Sousse, Sfax, Gabes ANNUAL RAINFALL: Varies from 60 in. (1,524 mm) in the north to 8 in. (203 mm) in the Sahara region. ECONOMY: […]

1895–1971 President of Liberia Considered the man who modernized LIBERIA, William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman served as president of that nation for 27 years. Born in southeastern Liberia, Tubman was a descendant of freed American slaves who had moved to Liberia from Georgia in the 1800s. A member of Liberia's ruling class, he received a college education and became a lawyer […]

The Tuareg are an Islamic people who dwell in and around the SAHARA DESERT. They speak Tamacheq, one of North Africa's Berber languages. Numbering about one million people altogether, Tuareg can be found mainly in MALI and NIGER but also in BURKINA FASO, ALGERIA, and LIBYA. Descendants of the nomadic BERBERS, North Africa's original inhabitants, the Tuareg appeared first in […]

1917–1969 Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of Congo Moise Kapenda Tshombe was one of the first leaders of CONGO (KINSHASA). Born in Katanga province in what was then the colony of Belgian Congo, he was trained as a Methodist preacher and a teacher and later became a merchant. In 1958 he helped found the Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga, […]

Tribalism is identification with a particular ethnic group or “tribe.” In discussions of African politics and culture, tribalism usually appears as the opposite of NATIONALISM, devotion to the interests and culture of one's entire country. African leaders seeking to build new nations sometimes regard tribalism as primitive, an obstacle to developing a modern national identity. Another view of tribalism, however, […]

Early in recorded history, people from outside Africa visited—or at least knew about—the lands on Africa's northern coast. In ancient times kingdoms of the Middle East and southern Europe had dealings with EGYPT. Phoenicians from what is now Lebanon founded the colony of CARTHAGE (in present-day TUNISIA), the Greeks established settlements in LIBYA, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, and for […]

Africa suffers from an overall lack of transportation facilities, and many of those that do exist are inefficient, inconvenient, unreliable, and poorly maintained. Moreover, the quality and availability of transportation varies greatly from one place to another. Methods of getting around in Africa range from jet aircraft to camels. Upgrading and expanding the transportation infrastructure is a major challenge facing most […]

Trade has always been the engine of economic growth. Individuals and communities that trade successfully with their neighbors gain wealth and power. In precolonial times, Africa's natural riches gave it an important place in international trading networks. However, the SLAVE TRADE and European colonization profoundly disrupted the development of African economies, and the impact of these events is still felt today. […]

Traveling to experience places and people other than their own, tourists spend money on hotels, restaurants, tours, transportation, entertainment, visits to museums and historic sites, and souvenirs. The business of providing those goods and services, the tourism industry, accounts for a significant part of the incomes of some African countries. History Tourism in Africa began in the 1800s, when […]

ca. 1922–1984 First president of Guinea Aleader of the INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT in GUINEA, Sekou Toure became the first president of the newly independent Republic of Guinea in 1958. Born to a modest Muslim family in upper Guinea, Toure had little education. However, he had natural talent as a speaker and leader and he acquired some Islamic learning. After practicing […]

ca. 1830–1900 Ruler in Guinea Samori Toure built a state that stretched far across the savannas of what is now the Republic of GUINEA and defended his kingdom for many years against French colonization. Toure was born along the upper Milo River in the highlands of Guinea. The valley of the Milo was an important long-distance trade route that […]

1918–1975 President of Chad The first president of CHAD, Francois-Ngarta Tombalbaye promoted the interests of Christian groups in southern Chad at the expense of Muslims in the north. Born in southern Chad and educated by Protestant missionaries, Tombalbaye became a school teacher. However, his interests eventually turned to politics, and in 1946 he helped create the Chad Progressive Party. He […]

POPULATION: 7.115 million (2014) AREA: 21,930 sq. mi. (56,790 sq. km) LANGUAGES: French (official), Ewe, Mina, Kabye, Dagomba, Komkomba NATIONAL CURRENCY: CFA franc PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Traditional 70%, Christian 20%, Muslim 10% CITIES: Lome (capital), 513,000 (1990 est.); Sokode Palime, Atakpame, Bassari, Tsevie, Anecho ANNUAL RAINFALL: Ranges from 40 in. (1,020 mm) in the north to 70 in. (1,780 mm) in the south. ECONOMY: […]

ca. 1837–1905 Arab trader and ruler Hamed bin Muhammed el-Murjebi, known as Tippu Tip, was an Arab trader on the CONGO RIVER who established a powerful empire during the late 1800s. Working as an ivory merchant between the east coast and Lake Tanganyika, Tippu Tip gradually built up a military force and gained control of the Upper Congo region. […]

1805–1887 Nigerian merchant Madame Tinubu was a Nigerian woman who flourished as both a trader and a politician. Her people rewarded her services with the title iyalode, the highest honor a woman could receive, and she has become a legend. Tinubu spent her life in towns on the southwestern Nigerian coast that traded with Europeans. Born in Abeokuta, she […]

Located near the NIGER RIVER in northern MALI, the town of Timbuktu rose to greatness as a center of trade in the 1300s. It was a stop on the caravan routes that crossed the SAHARA DESERT, and river traffic linked it with regions to the southeast and southwest. Culturally, Timbuktu was a point of connection between Islamic North Africa […]

1895–1970 Kenyan political leader Harry Thuku led a nationalist group in KENYA that opposed the land and labor policies of the British colonial government. Born into a poor family in northern Kenya, he attended a missionary school. At the age of 16, he traveled to NAIROBI, where he worked as a messenger before being jailed on minor charges. After […]

Theater in Africa takes many different forms and comes from diverse roots. Indigenous customs, such as storytelling, ritual, dance, and masquerades, are the oldest types of theater on the continent. In North Africa and other areas dominated by Islamic culture, theater often includes reciting popular tales and acting out religious stories, such as the deaths of the grandsons of the […]

ca. 1820–1868 Emperor of Ethiopia Considered the first modern ruler of ETHIOPIA, Tewodros set out to reunite his country, then a cluster of warring states. Born to noble parents and originally named Kasa, he was educated at Christian monasteries. He became a bandit in the early 1840s, and in 1852 he launched a military campaign against feudal chiefs throughout […]

POPULATION: 51.82 million (2014) AREA: 364,928 sq. mi. (945,166 sq. km) LANGUAGES: Swahili and English (both official); Chagga, Gogo, Ha, Haya, Luo, Maasai, others NATIONAL CURRENCY: Tanzanian shilling PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, Traditional 20% CITIES: Dar es Salaam (capital), 2,347,000 (2001 est.); Dodoma (to be new capital) 1,238,000 (1999 est.); Zanzibar City, Tanga, Mwanza, Arusha, Morogoro ANNUAL RAINFALL: 30–100 in. (770–2,570 mm), […]

1912–1966 Prime Minister of Nigeria The first prime minister of NIGERIA, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa helped keep a newly independent Nigeria united in the early 1960s despite serious ethnic and regional differences. A HAUSA born in northern Nigeria, Abubakar became a schoolmaster in 1933 and published a prizewinning novel the next year. However, politics was his true calling. In 1946 Abubakar […]

Sin and taboo are two ways of regulating behavior that are used by African religions and African social systems. A sin is a wicked act that breaks the laws of a deity or deities. It is also a deliberate act—the sinner knows that he or she is committing a sin. Taboo is a type of social rule that must […]

POPULATION: 1.269 million (2014) AREA: 6,704 sq. mi. (17,364 sq. km) LANGUAGES: siSwati and English (both official); Zulu, Afrikaans NATIONAL CURRENCY: Lilangeni (plural: Emalangeni) PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Christian 60%, Traditional 40% CITIES: Mbabane (administrative capital), 47,000 (1990 est.); Lobamba (legislative capital), 30,000 (1988); Manzini, Mhlambanyati, Tshaneni, Bunya, Goedgegun ANNUAL RAINFALL: 35–90 in. (900–2,300 mm) throughout most of country ECONOMY: GDP $4.413 billion (2014) PRINCIPAL […]

The Swahili people live in towns and villages along a 1,000-mile stretch of the East African coastline, from SOMALIA to MOZAMBIQUE. Many also live on ZANZIBAR, Pemba, and the COMORO ISLANDS off the coast. The name Swahili, an Arabic term meaning “people of the coast,” was given to them by Arabs who conquered the region in the early 1700s. However, […]

ca. 1580–ca. 1632 Emperor of Ethiopia One of the most powerful emperors of ETHIOPIA, Susenyos attempted to change the Ethiopian Church. Soon after taking the throne in 1607, Susenyos decided that, for political and religious reasons, Ethiopia should accept the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome rather than the Coptic Church in ALEXANDRIA in Egypt. A Jesuit missionary, Pedro […]

1464–1492 Ruler of Songhai Sunni Ali was a member of the Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled the Songhai Empire of western Africa in the 1300s and 1400s. Known for his immense energy and leadership skills, he expanded the borders of the empire. By the time Sunni Ali came to power, the Songhai kingdom had lost much of its influence […]

ca. 1205–1255 Founder of the Empire of Mali Abrilliant military leader and skilled administrator, Sundjata Keita founded the empire of MALI, one of the great SUDANIC EMPIRES OF WESTERN AFRICA. Under his rule Mali adopted various laws and customs that are still followed by the people of the region. Born in the west African city of Dakajala, Sundjata was […]

Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, has had a profound influence on the beliefs and practices of Muslims in Africa. Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula first brought Islam to Africa in the A.D. 600s. By the early 1200s various orders, or schools, of sufism had emerged in North Africa, based on the teachings of influential religious leaders. Sufism reached […]

The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway in EGYPT that links the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. Cut across the Isthmus of Suez, a strip of land connecting Africa and western Asia, the canal made it possible for ships to travel from Europe to Asia and back without sailing all the way around Africa. The Suez Canal was not […]

The Sudanic empires of Western Africa were a group of powerful states that developed south of the SAHARA DESERT between the A.D 700s and 1500s. The most prominent of these states were GHANA, MALI, and Songhai. The Arabs called the whole stretch of land south of the desert bilad al-sudan (“the land of the blacks”). Thus the term “Sudan” came […]

POPULATION: 39.35 million (2014) AREA: 967,244 sq. mi. (2,505,813 sq. km) LANGUAGES: Arabic (official); Nubian, Ta Bedawie, English, dialects of Sudanic and Nilotic languages NATIONAL CURRENCY: Sudanese pound PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Sunni Muslim 70%, Animist 25%, Christian 5% CITIES: Khartoum (capital), 2,731,000 (2001 est.); Port Sudan, Wad Medani, El Obeid, Atbara, Juba, Malakal, Renk ANNUAL RAINFALL: From 5 in. (130 mm) in the central […]

1841–1904 British explorer and author Henry Morton Stanley made several extensive journeys in Africa in the second half of the 1900s. The books he wrote about his adventures were widely read. Stanley was born John Rowlands in Wales, where he grew up in an orphanage. In 1859 he traveled to the United States and changed his name to that […]

Sraditional African cultures valued play and recreation. Africans enjoyed board games and took part in organized activities such as wrestling, dancing, and canoe racing. When Europeans introduced Western sports during the colonial era, Africans found aspects of those sports familiar. Since then Africans have incorporated Western sports into their cultures, won prizes in international sports competitions, and continued to enjoy traditional […]

In spirit possession, nonhuman forces or entities are believed to enter a person's body and affect his or her actions. Western cultures usually view possession as a sign of madness or evil. But in Africa, spirit possession is considered a form of communication between people and spirits that has important religious, social, and political meaning. Although it is believed that […]

1934– Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka is a noted Nigerian writer and political activist. He was born in Ijebu-Isara in western NIGERIA, the son of a schoolteacher. After studying at a university in the city of Ibadan, he traveled to England, where he attended the University of Leeds and earned a degree in English literature. In 1957 Soyinka moved to […]

The arrival of Europeans in southern Africa in the 1600s set in motion a long period of upheaval that transformed the region. A series of violent conflicts pitted Dutch settlers against indigenous peoples, the Dutch against the British, the British against indigenous peoples, and various African groups against each other. After white settlers discovered gold and diamonds in the 1800s, […]

POPULATION: 54.00 million (2014) AREA: 471,008 sq. mi. (1,219,912 sq. km) LANGUAGES: English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu (all are official) NATIONAL CURRENCY: Rand PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Christian 68%, Traditional and animistic 28.5%, Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% CITIES: Pretoria (administrative capital), 1,508,000 (2001 est.); Cape Town (legislative capital), 2,993,000 (2001 est.); Bloemfontein (judicial capital), 300,150 (1991 est.); Johannesburg ANNUAL RAINFALL: Varies […]

POPULATION: 10.52 million (2014) AREA: 246,000 sq. mi. (637,660 sq. km) LANGUAGES: Somali (official); Arabic, Italian, English NATIONAL CURRENCY: Somali shilling PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Sunni Muslim CITIES: Mogadishu (capital), 1,219,000 (2001 est.); Hargeisa, Kismayu Merca, Berbera, Boosaaso, Borama, Giamama ANNUAL RAINFALL: Less than 3 in. (77 mm) overall, but up to 20 in. (550 mm) on high ground ECONOMY: GDP $5.707 billion (2014) PRINCIPAL […]

Kings of Swaziland Sobhuza I (ca. 1780–1839) founded the Swazi kingdom of southwest Africa by uniting various Nguni-speaking clans in southern SWAZILAND. To accomplish this, he used techniques of persuasion that included arranging alliances through marriage and granting titles and choice lands to neighboring chiefs. Sobhuza then moved his people into central Swaziland, defeating rival clans and expanding his holdings […]

1870–1950 Prime Minister of South Africa Jan Christiaan Smuts spent most of his life trying to unify SOUTH AFRICA, first as a soldier and later as a politician. The son of Afrikaners, South Africans of Dutch ancestry, Smuts lived in Cape Colony before studying law at Cambridge University. After returning to South Africa, he fought on the side of the […]

Slavery involves treating human beings as property that people can own. In the past, when slavery was legal or customary in many places, some slaves were granted certain rights and privileges. However, no slave ever had true liberty or freedom, and the institution of slavery rested on force or the threat of force that could be used against the enslaved. […]

Throughout history SLAVERY has been a feature of many societies in all parts of the world, including Africa. Some Africans were enslaved within their own homelands. Far more, however, were carried off as slaves to other parts of Africa or around the world through the slave trade. The slave trade was a type of commerce in which enslaved humans were […]

POPULATION: 6.316 million (2014) AREA: 27,699 sq. mi. (71,740 sq. km) LANGUAGES: English (official); Krio, Temne, Mende, Limba NATIONAL CURRENCY: Leone PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Muslim 60%, Traditional 30%, Christian 10% CITIES: Freetown (capital), 669,000 (1990 est.); Bo, Koindu, Kenema, Makeni ANNUAL RAINFALL: Varies from 200 in. (5,000 mm) on the coast to 85 in. (2,160 mm) in the north. ECONOMY: GDP $4.838 billion (2014) […]

The Shona are a cluster of peoples who have lived for about 2,000 years in the Zimbabwean Plateau, a region of southern Africa that includes most of ZIMBABWE and part of MOZAMBIQUE. The Shona divide themselves into clans that are associated with particular chiefdoms and areas. Although most Shona identify with a clan rather than with the Shona group as […]

1870–1935 South African church leader Isaiah Shembe was a ZULU prophet who founded his own church in the early 1900s. As a young man Shembe experienced a dramatic conversion that led him to give up worldly things and become a wandering preacher and healer. He joined the African Baptist Church in 1906 and eventually became an ordained minister. However, […]

ca. 1790–1828 Ruler of the Zulu Shaka Zulu founded the Zulu kingdom, which once controlled sections of present-day South Africa. In 1816 Shaka succeeded his father as ruler of the Zulu, a small ethnic group in southern Africa. Shaka soon expanded his chiefdom. He created a fierce army, providing his troops with long-bladed spears that were ideal for stabbing […]

1909–1962 Tanzanian poet and writer Sheikh Shaaban Robert is regarded as one of the greatest poets and writers in the SWAHILI language. He developed a new style of Swahili writing that combined traditional storytelling with the techniques of modern poems and novels. He also introduced the essay into Swahili literature. Born near the port city of Tanga in Tanganyika […]

POPULATION: 91,530 (2014) AREA: 175 sq. mi. (454 sq. km) LANGUAGES: English and French (both official); creole NATIONAL CURRENCY: Seychelles rupee PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 8%, other 2% CAPITAL CITY: Victoria, 25,000 (1993 est.); Main islands: Mahe, Praslin, La Digue ANNUAL RAINFALL: On Mahe varies from 90 in. (2,300 mm) at sea level to 140 in. (3,560 mm) on mountain slopes. […]

1906–2001 President of Senegal Leopold Sedar Senghor was both a successful poet and a major political figure. Born in French West Africa (now SENEGAL), Senghor studied to become a Catholic priest. However, he was forced to leave the seminary because he protested against racism. In 1928 he traveled to France to study. He hoped to become recognized as a […]

POPULATION: 14.67 million (2014) AREA: 75,749 sq. mi. (196,190 sq. km) LANGUAGES: French (official); Wolof, Malinke, Fulani, Pulaar NATIONAL CURRENCY: CFA Franc PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Muslim 92%, Traditional 6%, Christian 2% CITIES: Dakar (capital), 2,079,000 (2001 est.); Kaolack, Thies, Saint-Louis, Zinguinchor ANNUAL RAINFALL: Varies from 12–20 in. (300–500 mm) in north to 40–60 in. (1,000–1,500 mm) in south. ECONOMY: GDP $15.66 billion (2014) […]

1923–2007 Senegalese author and film director Ousmane Sembene is widely regarded as the father of African CINEMA. Born in SENEGAL, Sembene served in the French army during World War II. He returned to his homeland briefly and took part in a railway strike in 1947–1948. He went back to France and, over the next several years, traveled to Denmark, Russia, […]

The English term “secret societies” refers to a wide range of traditional cults in Africa. Members of these groups possess secret knowledge gained through participation in rituals. Belonging to a secret society gives its members power in the community. During the colonial era, Europeans in Africa viewed secret societies with alarm. They felt threatened by the involvement of these […]

1855–1920 South African writer Olive Schreiner wrote various works of social criticism and fiction, including South Africa's first important novel, The Story of an African Farm (1883). Her books combine vivid descriptions of life in South Africa, criticism of British colonialism, and support for women's rights and racial equality. Schreiner was born in Wittebergen, SOUTH AFRICA, where her German father […]

1864–1910 Ghanaian politician John Mensah Sarbah was the leading African politician in the Gold Coast (modern-day GHANA) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Born into a wealthy family, Sarbah went to England to study law. At the age of 23, he returned to the Gold Coast to set up a legal practice. He became known for defending the […]

POPULATION: 186,300 (2014) AREA: 372 sq. mi. (964 sq. km) LANGUAGES: Portuguese (official); Fang, Kriolu NATIONAL CURRENCY: Dobra PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic (89.5%), Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist CITIES: Sao Tome (capital), 43,000 (1993 est.); Trindade, Santana, Neves, Porto Alegre, Santo Antonio ANNUAL RAINFALL: Varies from 40 in. (1,000 mm) in northern lowlands to 150–200 in. (3,800–5,000 mm) in highlands. ECONOMY: GDP $337.4 million (2014) […]

1956– Congolese painter Cheri Samba is one of the first modern African painters to receiveinternational recognition for his work. His paintings explore how relations between Africans and Europeans have influenced the way Africans view themselves. Samba has described himself as an explorer of modern Africa and the West. According to some art critics, the main subject of his paintings […]

The British colonial territory of Saint Helena consists of three small volcanic islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean—Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Ascension. Saint Helena, the largest of the three, lies 1,150 miles west of ANGOLA. Tristan da Cunha is about 2,500 miles to the southwest, and Ascension is 700 miles northwest of Saint Helena. Jamestown, a small port […]

1791–1856 Sultan of Zanzibar Sa'id ibn Sultan reigned as sultan of Oman and Muscat in the Middle East for some 50 years. During this time he extended his sultanate from Arabia to the east coast of Africa, establishing one of the great trading empires in the region. Sa'id was the son of the lord of Muscat, who was […]

The Sahel is a narrow semi-desert region of western Africa. Its name comes from the Arabic word for “shore” or “border,” and it is the southern border of the SAHARA DESERT. The Sahel forms a zone of transition between the desert, which extends across the northern part of the continent, and the forests and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. Its […]

Stretching across northern Africa from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east, the Sahara is the world's largest desert. It forms a natural barrier between two very different geographic and cultural regions: NORTH AFRICA, with its Arab-influenced Mediterranean culture; and sub-Saharan Africa, where indigenous African culture is dominant. Yet for centuries people have […]

1918–1981 Egyptian president The presidency of Anwar al-Sadat was shaped largely by the way he conducted Egypt's relationship with Israel. Sadat won the admiration of Arabs for his war against Israel and then earned international praise for making peace with Israel. Born in an Egyptian village, Sadat attended school in CAIRO and then joined the army. Dedicated to the […]

POPULATION: 11.34 million (2014) AREA: 10,169 sq. mi. (26,338 sq. km) LANGUAGES: French, Kinyarwanda, English (all official); Kiswahili NATIONAL CURRENCY: Rwanda franc PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 65%, Traditional 25%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1% CITIES: Kigali (capital), 234,500 (1993 est.); Butare, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Bitarama, Nyanza, Ruamagana ANNUAL RAINFALL: 70 in. (1,770 mm) in the west, 30 in. (760 mm) in the northeast and east ECONOMY: […]

For centuries North Africa was part of the ancient Roman Empire, linked to Rome by conquest, colonization, and trade. Remains of Roman glory can still be seen at numerous archaeological sites from MAURITANIA in the west to EGYPT in the east. Rome gained a foothold in Africa in 146 B.C., when it conquered the Phoenician colony of CARTHAGE in […]

Many thousands of years ago, the ancestors of modern Africans created rock art—pictures on boulders, cliffs, and the walls of rock shelters. Carved rock art images are known as petroglyphs, while painted ones are pictographs. These rock pictures offer haunting glimpses of the lives of people long vanished. Some images also show an ancient environment very different from that of […]

1853–1902 British colonial leader Cecil John Rhodes rose to a position of great wealth and power in Britain's Cape Colony in southern Africa. He developed the region's diamond mines and was responsible for British expansion northward into the land that is now ZAMBIA and ZIMBABWE. The son of a clergyman in Bishop's Stortford, England, Rhodes left home at 17 to […]

Reunion, a small island lying about 500 miles east of MADAGASCAR, is ruled as an overseas territory of France. Along with the islands of MAURITIUS and Rodrigues, it forms a region of great natural beauty known as the Mascarene Archipelago. Land and Peoples Despite its small size, Reunion has a diverse geography. Three peaks of over 9,000 feet form […]

Religious beliefs and rituals play a central role in the everyday lives of most Africans. Few African societies make a rigid distinction between religious behavior and other forms of social conduct. In fact, most African languages lack a word that could be translated as “religion,” and many of the words associated with the idea have a meaning closer to “custom” […]

Refugees are forced migrants, people driven from their homelands by violence, fear, or other conditions that make it impossible for them to remain. Throughout the history of Africa, famine, disease, war, environmental disasters, and competition for resources have created refugees by causing people to flee from troubled areas. In the past, most refugees eventually settled in the regions to which […]

1947– President of Ghana Jerry Rawlings, an air force officer, ruled the nation of Ghana from 1981 to 2000. Originally named Jerry Rawlings John, he was the child of a Ghanaian mother and a Scottish father. After attending the respected Achimota Secondary School, he joined the Ghanaian air force in 1967. During his years as a fighter pilot, he […]

1788–1861 Queen of Madagascar Mada Ranavalona was the wife of MADAGASCAR's King RADAMA I, who unified most of the island under the rule of the Merina clan. When Radama died in 1828 without naming an heir, Ranavalona assumed power. She secured her position by negotiating with Merina nobles and military leaders, and by executing all potential rivals. A fierce […]

Radio and television can communicate information, arouse strong emotions, and inspire action. African governments, both the European-run colonial administrations and the independent nations that followed them, have been sharply aware of the power of these broadcast media. Governments have generally owned and controlled most national broadcast stations and have used them to promote their views, often censoring programs that opposed those […]

ca. 1793–1828 King of Merina Radama I became king of the Merina kingdom in MADAGASCAR in 1810. He succeeded his father, who had founded the kingdom. In 1816 Radama negotiated an agreement with the British government that provided military and administrative support to Merina. Radama went on to conquer most of Madagascar. Under the terms of the agreement, the […]

African monarchies have always been dominated by men. Their authority over kingdoms is patterned on the role of male heads of households and families. However, royal women have held and still hold considerable power. A few have reigned as queens in their own right, but more often the power, influence, and responsibility of royal women lies in their relationship to […]

1741–1816 Ghanaian missionary and educator Philip Quaque was a missionary, an educator, and the first African to become a priest in the Church of England. Although he failed in his efforts to spread Christianity and education in the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), his writings are a valuable source of information about the struggle for control of western Africa in the […]

1942–2011 Libyan military and political leader Muammar al-Qaddafi (also spelled Khadafy or Gadhafi) has been the head of the government of LIBYA since 1969. He was born in northern Libya into a family of Bedouin, nomadic desert-dwelling Arabs. After attending a local Muslim school, he entered the Libyan Military Academy and began rising through the ranks of the Libyan army. Qaddafi […]

Although many cultures have constructed pyramids, those of Egypt are among the most famous structures in the world. The ancient Egyptians erected huge pyramids as burial monuments for their kings, the PHARAOHS. Around 2650 B.C. an Egyptian architect named Imhotep built the oldest known pyramid for his king, Djoser. It was the first royal tomb in Egypt to be made […]

The term Pygmies refers to a number of peoples in central Africa who share two characteristics. Most of them are quite short, and they live by HUNTING AND GATHERING in forests. Since ancient times, both Africans and outsiders have recognized Pygmies as distinct from other people on the continent. Anthropologists do not know whether the peoples called Pygmies are a […]

Writing and LITERATURE have a long history in Africa, beginning in ancient EGYPT with the picture-writing called hieroglyphics. Publishing traces its roots to the rise of Islam on the continent, and printed works in Arabic appeared in major cities and trading centers by the 1600s. However, it was through the work of European missionaries and colonial governments in the 1800s […]

In most African societies, proverbs and riddles are forms of art. They are simple and elegant ways to communicate a lot of meaning in few words. Proverbs and riddles play an important role in the traditions of African speech and conversation. African proverbs are sayings that express the shared wisdom of a culture. Based on close observation of life […]

Prophets and prophetic movements have flourished in Africa since the mid-1800s. Prophets—religious leaders with messages about divine judgment or moral law who often make predictions about the future—usually arise in groups facing major social upheaval. By addressing such crises and offering radical solutions, they tend to inspire followers who respond with fervor to their message. Prophetic movements in Africa have […]

ca. 1871–1931 Asante king Agyeman Prempeh was king of the ASANTE (Ashanti), a people who once controlled much of present-day GHANA and IVORY COAST. Prempeh took power in 1888 after defeating rivals for the Asante throne. As king of a confederacy of Asante chiefdoms, he tried to unite his people by ending fighting in the central region and conquering rebels […]

Africa's population is growing at a faster rate than that of any other region of the world. According to the International Data Base of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the estimated population of the continent in 2001 was 823.2 million people. The same organization projects that by the year 2050 Africa will have 1.8 billion people—perhaps 20 percent of […]

Popular culture includes all forms of social and personal expression that are widely available and highly visible. Related to the world of ordinary middle-class, working-class, and poor people, this “mass culture” differs significantly from the more formal “high” culture of  privileged and well-educated people. Often mass produced and current, popular culture includes forms of music, theater, and the other […]

The enormous array of plants native to Africa have always been a valuable resource for the continent's inhabitants. Africans use plants for food, medicine, fuel, paper, construction materials, and many other purposes. Some plants have been domesticated for agriculture; others are gathered in the wild. Africans have also adopted plants from other parts of the world, and a number of […]

In Africa, plantations are large farms that specialize in one or two crops grown for export. They produce many of the continent's most important export crops such as coffee, cocoa, tea, sugarcane, tobacco, rubber, and bananas. Plantations also handle at least some processing of the crops, and typically maintain a large unskilled labor force. Nevertheless, the plantation system does not […]

1876–1923 South African writer An accomplished writer and a founder of the African National Congress, Sol Plaatje worked for political and cultural causes in SOUTH AFRICA. He was born in Boshof in what was then the Orange Free State of South Africa, one of the AFRIKANER REPUBLICS founded by Dutch colonists. He spoke the Setswana (or Tswana) language and […]

People have been taking photographs in Africa almost since the invention of photography. Early images taken by foreign travelers reflect European views of Africa, while photos taken by Africans shed light on African ideas of beauty, identity, and art. History In the mid-1800s, Europeans who had mastered the complex technique of early photography documented their journeys to Africa. A member […]

Although today the kings of ancient Egypt are referred to as pharaohs, that term was never part of their official titles. The word pharaoh developed from an Egyptian phrase meaning “great house” and was first used to describe the royal palace. Around 1500 B.C. Egyptians began using the word to refer to their king, and by 730 B.C. pharaoh […]

African farmers generally face a tougher battle with pests than do farmers in temperate regions. The warm temperatures and abundant rainfall of the continent's tropical regions create an environment in which pests flourish. To make matters worse, chemical pesticides developed in Western nations are of limited use in Africa. Insects and rodents do the most damage to African crops. […]

1924–2011 President of Cape Verde Aristides Maria Pereira helped transform CAPE VERDE from an island colony into a modern nation. He fought for independence and then, as president, guided the new country through its first 15 years. Pereira was born in Boa Vista in the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. The islands were then a […]