The History of Africa begins from the emergence of modern human beings to its current state as a politically developing continent. Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ...

Africa's ancient historic period involves the rise of Egyptian civilization, the further development of societies outside the Nile River Valley and the interaction between them and civilizations outside of Africa. In the late 7th century North and East Africa were heavily influenced by the spread of Islam, leading to the appearance of new cultures such as those of the Swahili people. This also lead to an increase in the Arab slave trade that would culminate in the 19th century. Pre-colonial African history focuses on the time between the early 16th century with the forced transport of African people and cultures to the New World in the Atlantic slave trade up to the beginning of the European scramble for Africa. Africa's colonial period lasted from the late 1800s until the advent of African independence movements in 1951 when Libya became the first former colony to become independent. Modern African history has been rife with revolutions and wars as well as the growth of modern African economies and democratization across the continent. Age of the Caliphs  Expansion under the Prophet Muhammad, 622-632  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750 The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic prophet... The Swahili are a people and culture found on the coast of East Africa, mainly the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya and Tanzania, and north Mozambique. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Islam and slavery. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African people supplied to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... Map showing European claimants to the African continent in 1913. ...

Long-standing prejudice against particularly black Africans has meant that for a long time African history writing was strongly influenced by Eurocentric views and perspectives, and in some cases by outright racist scholarship. African history has been a challenge for researchers due to the scarcity of written sources in large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, and also because of conflicting opinions on what is and is not African. Scholarly techniques such as the recording of oral history, historical linguistics, archeology and genetics (to trace the movement of peoples) have been crucial to writing the history of many regions that in the past often have been dismissed as lacking a meaningful history altogether. Eurocentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing emphasis on European (and, generally, Western) concerns, culture and values at the expense of those of other cultures. ... Satellite image of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area African countries considered sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially... This article is about the historical discipline; see Oral tradition for the oral transmission of historical information. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

Prehistory

Further information: Prehistoric Central North Africa

According to the latest paleontological and archaeological evidence, hominids were already in existence at least five million years ago. Their skull anatomy was similar to their close cousins, the great African apes, but they had adopted a bipedal form of locomotion, giving them a crucial advantage, as this enabled them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. The cave paintings found at Tassili-n-Ajjer, north of Tamanrasset, Algeria, and at other locations depict vibrant and vivid scenes of everyday life in the central North Africa between about 8000 B.C. and 4000 B.C. They were executed by a hunting people in the Capsian period of... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about grassland. ...

By 3 million years ago several australopithecine hominid species had developed throughout southern, eastern and central Africa. For the song by Modest Mouse, see Sad Sappy Sucker. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Southern Africa ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  Geographic East Africa, including the UN subregion and East African Community East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ...

The next major evolutionary step occurred approximately 2 million years ago, with the advent of Homo habilis, thought to be the first species of hominid capable of making tools. This enabled H. habilis to begin eating meat, using his stone tools to scavenge kills made by other predators, and harvest carrion for their bones and marrow. In hunting, H. habilis was probably not capable of competing with large predators, and was still more prey than hunter, although he probably did steal eggs from nests, and may have been able to catch small game, and weakened larger prey (cubs and older animals). Binomial name Leakey et al, 1964 Homo habilis (pronounced ) (handy man, skillful person) is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately 2. ... Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated (such as venison). ...

Around 1.8 million years ago Homo erectus first appeared in the fossil record in Africa, but nearly simultaneously in the fossil record of the Caucuses (Eastern Europe). Some of the earlier representatives of this species were still fairly small brained and used primitive stone tools, much like H. habilis. The brain later grew in size and "H. erectus" eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the Acheulean. He was likely the first hunter. In addition Homo erectus mastered the art of making fire, and was the first hominid to leave Africa, colonizing the entire Old World, and later giving rise to Homo floresiensis. This is now contested by new theories suggesting that Homo georgicus, a Homo habilis descendant, was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa. However, many scientists consider "Homo georgicus" to be an early and primitive member of the "Homo erectus" species. Binomial name (Dubois, 1892) Synonyms † Pithecanthropus erectus † Sinanthropus pekinensis † Javanthropus soloensis † Meganthropus paleojavanicus Homo erectus (Latin: upright man) is an extinct species of the genus Homo. ... For other uses, see Fire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Old World (disambiguation). ... Binomial name P. Brown , 2004 Homo floresiensis (Man of Flores, nicknamed Hobbit) is the name for a possible species in the genus Homo, remarkable for its small body, small brain, and survival until relatively recent times. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Kinship be merged into this article or section. ...

The fossil record shows Homo sapiens living in southern and eastern Africa at least 100,000 and possibly 150,000 years ago. Around 40,000 years ago, their expansion out of Africa launched the colonization of our planet by modern human-beings. Their migration is indicated by linguistic, cultural and (increasingly) computer-analyzed genetic evidence (see also Cavalli-Sforza). In paleoanthropology, the single-origin hypothesis (or Out-of-Africa model) is one of two accounts of the origin of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens. ... This article is about the general scientific term. ... Categories: People stubs | 1922 births | Italian people | Population geneticists ...

At the end of the Ice Age (guessed to have been around 10,500 BC), the Sahara had become a green fertile valley again, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5000 BC the Sahara region was becoming increasingly drier. The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the Second Cataract where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and Eastern Africa. Since then dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa. Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The six cataracts of the Nile There are six classical Cataracts of the Nile between Aswan and Khartoum, counted upstream. ... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Eastern Africa ...

Ancient cultures

The international phenomenon known as the Beaker culture began to affect western North Africa. Named for the distinctively shaped ceramics found in graves, the Beaker culture is associated with the emergence of a warrior mentality. North African rock art of this period depict animals but also places a new emphasis on the human figure, equipped with weapons and adornments. People from the Great Lakes Region settled along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to become the proto-Canaanites who dominated the lowlands between the Jordan River, the Mediterranean and the Sinai Desert. By the 1st millennium BC, iron-working had been introduced in Northern Africa and quickly began spreading across the Sahara into the northern parts of sub-Saharan Africa^[1] and by 500 BC, metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa, possibly after being introduced by the Carthaginians. Iron-working was fully established by roughly 500 BC in areas of East and West Africa, though other regions didn't begin iron-working until the early centuries AD. Some copper objects from Egypt, North Africa, Nubia and Ethiopia have been excavated in West Africa dating from around 500 BC time period, suggesting that trade networks had been established by this time.^[2] approximate extent of the Beaker culture The Bell-Beaker culture (sometimes shortened to Beaker culture, Beaker people, or Beaker folk; German: ), ca. ... The Greater Lakes and the East African coastline as seen from space. ... General Name, symbol, number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Standard atomic weight 55. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create structures or machine parts. ... This article is about the ancient city-state of Carthage in North Africa. ...

North Africa

Main articles: Nome (Egypt), Ancient Egypt, Kush, Kerma, Meroe, Nubia, Carthage, Ancient Libya, and Alexandria

Neolithic rock engravings, or 'petroglyphs' and the megaliths in the Sahara desert of Libya attest to early hunter-gatherer culture in the dry grasslands of North Africa during the glacial age. The region of the present Sahara was an early site for the practice of agriculture (in the second stage of the culture characterized by the so-called "wavy-line ceramics" ca. 4000 BCE.). However, after the desertification of the Sahara, settlement in North Africa became concentrated in the valley of the Nile, where the pre-literate Nomes of Egypt laid a base for the culture of ancient Egypt. Archeological findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the dynastic history of the pharaohs began. By 6000 B.C., organized agriculture had appeared. The nomes of Ancient Egypt A nome (Greek: district) is a subnational administrative division of Ancient Egypt. ... The pyramids are the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt. ... This article is about the Nubian civilization. ... Kerma was the capital city of the Kingdom of Kerma, in present day Egypt and Sudan, an archaeological site as old as 5,000 years. ... Aerial view of the pyramids at Meroe. ... Nubia (not to be confused with Nuba, a collective term used for the peoples who inhabit the Nuba Mountains, in Kordofan province, Sudan, Africa) is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ... For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... Ancient Map from Herodotus Ancient Libya was the region in the west of the Nile valley and ancient Egypt. ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... For other uses, see Petroglyph (disambiguation). ... Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany Bronze age wedge tomb in the Burren area of Ireland For the record label, see Megalith Records. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities. ... For other uses, see Nile (disambiguation). ... The nomes of Ancient Egypt A nome (Greek: district) is a subnational administrative division of Ancient Egypt. ... The pyramids are the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt. ... For other uses, see Nile (disambiguation). ...

Africa's earliest evidence of written history was in Ancient Egypt, and the Egyptian calendar is still used as the standard for dating Bronze Age and Iron Age cultures throughout the region. The pyramids are the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt. ... The ancient civil Egyptian Calendar, known as the Annus Vagus or Wandering Year, had a year that was 365 days long, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, plus 5 extra days at the end of the year. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...

In about 3100 B.C. Egypt was united under the first known Narmer, who inaugurated the first of the 30 dynasties into which Egypt's ancient history is divided: the Old, Middle Kingdoms and the New Kingdom. The pyramids at Giza (near Cairo), which were built in the Fourth dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and state. The Great Pyramid, the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops), is the only surviving monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ancient Egypt reached the peak of its power, wealth, and territorial extent in the period called the New Empire (1567–1085 B.C.). The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – this was the first of three so-called Kingdom periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile... The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty... The New Kingdom period of Egyptian history is the period between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. ... Gizeh is also a popular brand in Germany of cigarette rolling papers; see Mascotte (rolling papers). ... For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation). ... The Fourth dynasty of Egypt was the second of the four dynasties considered forming the Old Kingdom. ... The Great Pyramid of Giza, (sometimes spelled Gizeh) is the oldest and last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous pyramid in the world. ... For other uses, see Pharaoh (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Khufu (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Seven Ancient Wonders. ...

The importance of Ancient Egypt to the development of the rest of Africa has been debated. The earlier generation of Western academia generally saw Egypt as a Mediterranean civilization with little impact on the rest of Africa. Recent scholarship however, has began to discredit this notion. Some have argued that various early Egyptians like the Badarians probably migrated northward from Nubia, while others see a wide-ranging movement of peoples across the breadth of the Sahara before the onset of desiccation. Whatever may be the origins of any particular people or civilization, however, it seems reasonably certain that the Predynastic communities of the Nile valley were essentially indigenous in culture, drawing little inspiration from sources outside the continent during the several centuries directly preceding the onset of historical times... (Robert July, Pre-Colonial Africa, 1975, p. 60-61)^[3] The pyramids are the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt. ... Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. ...

Just prior to Saharan desertification, the communities that developed south of Egypt, in what is now modern day Sudan, were full participants in the Neolithic revolution and lived a settled to semi-nomadic lifestyle with domesticated plants and animals.^[4] Megaliths found at Nabta Playa are examples of probably the world's first known archaeoastronomy devices, out dating Stonehenge by some 1000 years.[1] This complexity, as observed at Nabta Playa, and expressed by different levels of authority within the society there, likely formed the basis for the structure of both the Neolithic society at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of Egypt.^[5] The early A-group peoples, whom inhabited today's northern Sudan and were contemporary with pre-dynastic Naquadan Upper Egypt, were responsible for what may have been one of the oldest known kingdoms in the Nile valley, which the Egyptians called "Ta-seti" (Land of the Bow). Their demise with the onset of Dynastic Egypt, later gave rise to such Kingdoms as Kush, Kerma and Meroe whom collectively comprised what is sometimes referred to as Nubia. The last of the kingdoms would see their final devastating blow by a leader of a rising Kingdom in Ethiopia, Ezana of Axum, effectively bringing to an end the classical Nubian civilizations. For other uses, see Sahara (disambiguation). ... This article is about arid terrain. ... The Neolithic Revolution is the term for the first agricultural revolution, describing the transition from nomadic hunting and gathering communities and bands, to agriculture and settlement, as first adopted by various independent prehistoric human societies, in numerous locations on most continents between 10-12 thousand years ago. ... The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. ... The sun rising over Stonehenge at the 2005 Summer Solstice. ... Naqada or Naquada is a village on the west bank of the Nile in southern Egypt. ... This article is about the Nubian civilization. ... The Kingdom of Kerma was a state in Nubia from around 2000 BCE to about 1520 BCE. It was based in the city of Kerma in Upper Nubia and emerged as a major centre during the Middle Kingdom period in Egypt The town is marked by large and expensive tombs. ... Aerial view of the pyramids at Meroe. ... Nubia (not to be confused with Nuba, a collective term used for the peoples who inhabit the Nuba Mountains, in Kordofan province, Sudan, Africa) is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ... Ezana of Axum (Geez ዔዛና ʿĒzānā unvocalized ዐዘነ ʿzn. ...

Separated by the 'sea of sand', the Sahara, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa have been linked by fluctuating trans-Saharan trade routes. Phoenician, Greek and Roman history of North Africa can be followed in entries for the Roman Empire and for its individual provinces in the Maghreb, such as Mauretania, Africa, Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Aegyptus etc.  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Satellite image of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area African countries considered sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially... The Great Mosque of Djenné, founded in 800, an important trading base, now a World Heritage Site Trans-Saharan trade, refers to trade across the Sahara between Mediterranean countries and West Africa. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... The Arab Maghreb Union This article is about the region. ... Bold text:For the modern country, see Mauritania. ... Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Roman provinces ... Tripolitania is a historic region of western Libya, centered around the coastal city of Tripoli. ... The Roman Empire ca. ... Categories: Ancient Roman provinces | Egyptian history | Africa geography stubs ...

Countries bordering the Mediterranean were colonised and settled by the Phoenicians before 1000 BC. Carthage, founded about 814 BC, speedily grew into a city without rival in the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians subdued the Berber tribes who, then as now, formed the bulk of the population, and became masters of all the habitable region of North Africa west of the Great Syrtis, and found in commerce a source of immense prosperity. Mediterranean redirects here. ... Phoenicia (or Phenicia ,[1] from Biblical Phenice [1]) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coast of modern day Lebanon and Syria. ... For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... Centuries: 10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC Decades: 860s BC 850s BC 840s BC 830s BC 820s BC - 810s BC - 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC Events and Trends 817 BC - Pedubastis I declares himself king of Egypt, founding the Twenty-third Dynasty. ... Language(s) Berber languages Religion(s) Islam (mostly Sunni), Christianity (mostly protestant), Judaism Imazighen(in Kabyle and other Berber languages: Imaziγen) are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. ...

By the 1st millennium BC, iron working had been introduced in Northern Africa and quickly began spreading across the Sahara into the northern parts of sub-Saharan Africa^[6] and by 500 BC, metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa, possibly after being introduced by the Carthaginians. Iron working was fully established by roughly 500 BC in areas of East and West Africa, though other regions didn't begin iron working until the early centuries AD. Some copper objects from Egypt, North Africa, Nubia and Ethiopia have been excavated in West Africa dating from around 500 BC time period, suggesting that trade networks had been established by this time.^[7] General Name, symbol, number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Standard atomic weight 55. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create structures or machine parts. ... This article is about the ancient city-state of Carthage in North Africa. ...

Greeks founded the city of Cyrene in Ancient Libya around 631 BC. Cyrenaica became a flourishing colony, though being hemmed in on all sides by absolute desert it had little or no influence on inner Africa. The Greeks, however, exerted a powerful influence in Egypt. To Alexander the Great the city of Alexandria owes its foundation (332 BC), and under the Hellenistic dynasty of the Ptolemies attempts were made to penetrate southward, and in this way was obtained some knowledge of Ethiopia. Cyrene (Greek Κυρήνη, Kurene) was an ancient Greek colony in present-day Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. ... Ancient Map from Herodotus Ancient Libya was the region in the west of the Nile valley and ancient Egypt. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ... The Roman Empire ca. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 337 BC 336 BC 335 BC 334 BC 333 BC - 332 BC - 331 BC 329 BC 328... cleopatra ruled seneca for 10 years before she ruled Egypt. ...

From around 500 B.C. to around 500 A.D., the civilization of the Garamantes (probably the ancestors of the Tuareg) existed in what is now the Libyan desert. The Garamantes were a Saharan Berber-speaking people who used an elaborate underground irrigation system, and founded a kingdom in the Fezzan area of modern-day Libya, in the Sahara desert. ... For other senses of this name, see Tuareg (disambiguation). ...

The three powers of Cyrenaica, Egypt and Carthage were eventually supplanted by the Romans. After centuries of rivalry with Rome, Carthage finally fell in 146 BC. Within little more than a century Egypt and Cyrene had become incorporated in the Roman empire. Under Rome the settled portions of the country were very prosperous, and a Latin strain was introduced into the land. Though Fezzan was occupied by them, the Romans elsewhere found the Sahara an impassable barrier. Nubia and Ethiopia were reached, but an expedition sent by the emperor Nero to discover the source of the Nile ended in failure. The utmost extent of Mediterranean geographical knowledge of the continent is shown in the writings of Ptolemy (2nd century), who knew of or guessed the existence of the great lake reservoirs of the Nile, of trading posts along the shores of the Indian Ocean as far south as Rhapta in modern Tanzania, and had heard of the river Niger. Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC - 140s BC - 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC Years: 151 BC 150 BC 149 BC 148 BC 147 BC - 146 BC - 145 BC 144 BC... Fezzan is a desert region in south-western Libya. ... Nubia (not to be confused with Nuba, a collective term used for the peoples who inhabit the Nuba Mountains, in Kordofan province, Sudan, Africa) is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... This article is about the geographer, mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy. ... Rhapta was a marketplace on the coast of eastern Africa, which first rose to prominence in the first century CE. Its location has not yet been firmly identified, although there are a number of plausible candidate sites. ...

Interaction between Asia, Europe and North Africa during this period was significant, major effects include the spread of classical culture around the shores of the Mediterranean; the continual struggle between Rome and the Berber tribes; the introduction of Christianity throughout the region, and the cultural effects of the churches in Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia. The classical era drew to a close with the invasion and conquest of Rome's African provinces by the Vandals in the 5th century. Power passed back in the following century to the Byzantine Empire. The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century and created a state in North Africa, centered on the city of Carthage. ... Byzantine redirects here. ...

Muslim Arabs conquered northern Africa from the Red Sea to the Atlantic and continued into Spain beginning with the invasion of Egypt in the 7th century. Throughout North Africa Christianity nearly disappeared, except in Egypt where the Coptic Church remained strong partly because of the influence of Ethiopia. Some argue that when the Arabs had converted Egypt they attempted to wipe out the Copts, Ethiopia, who also practiced Coptic Christianity, warned the Muslims that if they attempted to wipe out the Copts, Ethiopia would decrease the flow of Nile water from getting to Egypt. This was because Lake Tana, which was in Ethiopia was the source of the Blue Nile which is flows into the greater Nile. Some believe this to be one of the reasons that the Coptic minorities still exist today. Atlantic and North Atlantic redirect here. ... Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon. ...

East Africa

By 3000 BC agriculture arose independently in Ethiopia, where coffee, teff, finger millet, sorghum, barley, and enset. Donkeys were also independently domesticated somewhere in the region of Ethiopia and Somalia, but most domesticated animals spread there from the Sahel and Nile regions.^[8] Agricultural crops were also adopted from other regions around this time as pearl millet, cowpea, groundnut, cotton, watermelon and bottle gourds began to be grown agriculturally in both West Africa and the Sahel Region while finger millet, peas, lentil and flax took hold in Ethiopia.^[9] For other uses, see Coffee (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Eragrostis tef (Zucc. ... Binomial name L. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana, Amharic ዳጉሳ Dagusa or ቶኩሶ tōkūsō), also known as African millet or Ragi), is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas of Africa and Asia. ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are utilised as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. ... For other uses, see Barley (disambiguation). ... Species See text. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For other uses, see Nile (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (L.) R. Br. ... Binomial name Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ... This article is about peanut, the food. ... For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... For the political designation, see Eco-socialism. ... The calabash (Lagenaria siceraria) is a vine-based plant that produces a fruit that resembles either a bottle, utencil, or pipe. ... Binomial name Pisum sativum A pea (Pisum sativum) is the small, edible round green seed which grows in a pod on a leguminous vine, hence why it is called a legume. ... This article is about the species Lens culinaris. ... For other uses, see Flax (disambiguation). ...

Ethiopia had a distinct, ancient culture with an intermittent history of contact with Eurasia after the diaspora of hominids out of Africa. It preserved a unique language, culture and crop system. The crop system is adapted to the northern highlands and does not partake of any other area's crops. The most famous member of this crop system is coffee, but one of the more useful plants is sorghum, a dry-land grain; teff is also endemic to the region. For other uses, see Eurasia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Coffee (disambiguation). ... Species About 30 species, see text Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are utilised as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. ... Binomial name Eragrostis tef (Zucc. ... Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. ...

Ethiopia had centralized rule for many millennia and the Aksumite Kingdom, which developed there, had created a powerful regional trading empire (with trade routes going as far as India). The Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum, Geez አክሱም), was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from the proto-Aksumite period ca. ...

Historically, the Swahili could be found as far north as Mogadishu in Somalia, and as far south as Rovuma River in Mozambique. Although once believed to be the descendants of Persian colonists, the ancient Swahili are now recognized by most historians, historical linguists, and archaeologists as a Bantu people who had sustained and important interactions with Muslim merchants beginning in the late 7th and early 8th century AD. Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar; Arabic: ; Italian: ) is the largest city in Somalia, and its capital. ... Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (light brown) vs. ...

West Africa

By 3000 BC agriculture arose independently in both the tropical portions of West Africa, where African yams and oil palms were domesticated. No animals were independently domesticated in these regions, although domestication did spread there from the Sahel and Nile regions.^[10] Agricultural crops were also adopted from other regions around this time as pearl millet, cowpea, groundnut, cotton, watermelon and bottle gourds began to be grown agriculturally in both West Africa and the Sahel Region while finger millet, peas, lentil and flax took hold in Ethiopia.^[11]  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... For the Levantine god of the untamed sea, see Yaw. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For other uses, see Nile (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (L.) R. Br. ... Binomial name Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ... This article is about peanut, the food. ... For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... For the political designation, see Eco-socialism. ... The calabash (Lagenaria siceraria) is a vine-based plant that produces a fruit that resembles either a bottle, utencil, or pipe. ... Binomial name Pisum sativum A pea (Pisum sativum) is the small, edible round green seed which grows in a pod on a leguminous vine, hence why it is called a legume. ... This article is about the species Lens culinaris. ... For other uses, see Flax (disambiguation). ...

Central Africa

Around 1000 BC, Bantu migrants had reached the Great Lakes of East Africa. Halfway through that millennium, the Bantu had also settled as far south as the countries of what are now Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One of the major events that occurred in Central Africa during this period was the establishment of the Kanem Empire in what is now Chad. The Kanem Empire would flourish in the coming centuries setting the stage for future great states in the Sahel region of Africa. Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (light brown) vs. ... The Kanem Empire existed in modern Chad and Libya. ...

Southern Africa

The history of Southern Africa is still much of a mystery, due to its isolation from other cultures on the continent. In 500 BC that isolation ended with the settling of Bantu migrants in modern Zambia. To the southeast, Khoisan "Bushmen" adopted cattle domestication and moved from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that had dominated life in the region since the beginning of time. By 300 AD, the Bantu had reached modern South Africa laying the foundations for centralized states.

7th to 16th century

Civilizations before European colonization.

In the 11th century there was a sizable Arab immigration, resulting in a large absorption of Berber culture. Even before this the Berbers had very generally adopted the speech and religion of their conquerors. Arab influence and the Islamic religion thus became indelibly stamped on northern Africa. Together they spread southward across the Sahara. They also became firmly established along the eastern seaboard, where Arabs, Persians and Indians planted flourishing colonies, such as Mombasa, Malindi and Sofala, playing a role, maritime and commercial, analogous to that filled in earlier centuries by the Carthaginians on the northern seaboard. Until the 14th century, Europe and the Arabs of North Africa were both ignorant of these eastern cities and states. Image File history File links African-civilizations-map-pre-colonial. ... Image File history File links African-civilizations-map-pre-colonial. ... Anthem SorÅ«d-e MellÄ«-e Īrān Â² Capital (and largest city) Tehran Official languages Persian Demonym Iranian Government Islamic Republic  -  Supreme Leader  -  President Unification  -  Unified by Cyrus the Great 559 BCE   -  Parthian (Arsacid) dynastic empire (first reunification) 248 BCE-224 CE   -  Sassanid dynastic empire 224–651 CE   -  Safavid dynasty... Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya. ... Location of Malindi in Kenya Malindi is southeast of Nairobi along the Indian Ocean Malindi, Kenya, once known as Melinde is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. ...

The first Arab immigrants had recognized the authority of the caliphs of Baghdad, and the Aghlabite dynasty—founded by Aghlab, one of Haroun al-Raschid's generals, at the close of the 8th century—ruled as vassals of the caliphate. However, early in the 10th century the Fatimid dynasty established itself in Egypt, where Cairo had been founded AD 968, and from there ruled as far west as the Atlantic. Later still arose other dynasties such as the Almoravides and Almohades. Eventually the Turks, who had conquered Constantinople in 1453, and had seized Egypt in 1517, established the regencies of Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli (between 1519 and 1551), Morocco remaining an independent Arabized Berber state under the Sharifan dynasty, which had its beginnings at the end of the 13th century. A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfah), is the Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... The Aghlabid dynasty of emirs ruled Ifriqiya (northern Africa), nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the Fatimids. ... Harun al-Rashid (Arabic هارون الرشيد also spelled Harun ar-Rashid, Haroun al-Rashid or Haroon al Rasheed; English: Aaron the Upright; ca. ... The Fatimids, Fatimid Caliphate or al-FātimiyyÅ«n (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Shia dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant from 5 January 910 to 1171. ... For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation). ... Almoravides (In Arabic المرابطون al-Murabitun, sing. ... The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Tripolitania is a historic region of western Libya, centered around the coastal city of Tripoli. ...

Under the earlier dynasties Arabian or Moorish culture had attained a high degree of excellence, while the spirit of adventure and the proselytizing zeal of the followers of Islam led to a considerable extension of the knowledge of the continent. This was rendered more easy by their use of the camel (first introduced into Africa by the Persian conquerors of Egypt), which enabled the Arabs to traverse the desert. In this way Senegambia and the middle Niger regions became key areas for trans-Saharan trade and an exchange of ideas. For other uses, see moor. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... The name also refers to the geographic region around the two countries, covering the watershed of the Senegal River and Gambia River. ...

Islam also spread through the interior of West Africa, as the religion of the mansas of the Mali Empire (c. 1235–1400) and many rulers of the Songhai Empire (c. 1460–1591). Following the fabled 1324 hajj of Kankan Musa I, Timbuktu became renowned as a center of Islamic scholarship as sub-Saharan Africa's first university. That city had been reached in 1352 by the great Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, whose journey to Mombasa and Quiloa (Kilwa) provided the first accurate knowledge of those flourishing Muslim cities of the Swahili on the east African seaboards.  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... This article is about the Mandinka word. ... Extent of the Mali Empire (ca. ... The Songhai Empire, (ca. ... A supplicating pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram, the mosque which was built around the Kaaba (the cubical building at center). ... Mansa Musa depicted holding a gold nugget from a 1375 map of Africa and Europe Mansa (Kankan) Musa[1] was a 14th century king (or Mansa) who ruled the Mali Empire from about 1312 to 1332. ... This article is about the Malian city. ... It has been suggested that Travelling route of Ibn Batuta be merged into this article or section. ... Kilwa is one of the 6 districts of the Lindi Region of Tanzania. ... The Swahili are a people and culture found on the coast of East Africa, mainly the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya and Tanzania, and north Mozambique. ...

Arab progress southward was stopped by the broad belt of dense forest, stretching almost across the continent somewhat south of 10° North latitude, which barred their advance much as the Sahara had proved an obstacle to their predecessors. The rain forest cut them off from knowledge of the Guinea coast and of all Africa beyond. One of the regions which was the last to come under Arab rule was that of Nubia, which had been controlled by Christians up to the 14th century.

For a time the African Muslim conquests in South Europe had virtually made of the Mediterranean a Muslim lake, but the expulsion in the 11th century of the Saracens from Sicily and southern Italy by the Normans was followed by descents of the conquerors on Tunisia and Tripoli. Somewhat later a busy trade with the African coastlands, and especially with Egypt, was developed by Venice, Pisa, Genoa and other cities of North Italy. By the end of the 15th century Spain had completely removed the Muslims, but even while the Moors were still in Granada, Portugal was strong enough to carry the war into Africa. In 1415 a Portuguese force captured the citadel of Ceuta on the Moorish coast. From that time onward Portugal repeatedly interfered in the affairs of Morocco, while Spain acquired many ports in Algeria and Tunisia. World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... For the rugby club Saracens see Saracens (rugby club) The term Saracen comes from Greek sarakenoi. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Norman conquests in red. ... Venice (Venetian: Venezsia, Italian: Venezia, Latin: Venetia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... For other uses, see Pisa (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Granada (disambiguation). ... Capital Ceuta City Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked  28 km²   Population  â€“ Total (2006)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked  75,861    2,709. ...

Portugal, however, suffered a crushing defeat in 1578 at al Kasr al Kebir, the Moors being led by Abd el Malek I of the then recently established Saadi Dynasty. By that time the Spaniards had lost almost all their African possessions. The Barbary states, primarily from the example of the Moors expelled from Spain, degenerated into mere communities of pirates, and under Turkish influence civilization and commerce declined. The story of these states from the beginning of the 16th century to the third decade of the 19th century is largely made up of piratical exploits on the one hand and of ineffectual reprisals on the other. The Battle of Alcacer Quibir took place on August 4, 1578 by Alcazarquivir in Morrocco between the Portuguese army and the troops of the Moorish Sultan. ... Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I was the King of Morocco of the Saadi Dynasty from 1576 until his death at the Battle of Alcazarquivir against Portugal in 1578. ... The Saadi Dynasty of Saadi Empire began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed I in 1554, and ended in 1659 with the end of the reign of Sultan Ahmad II. The Saadi family claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through the line of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima... The states along the Barbary Coast, Algiers, Morocco, Tripoli, and Tunis, were collectively known as the Barbary States. ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

European exploration

Main article: European exploration of Africa

During the fifteenth century Prince Henry "the Navigator," son of King John I, planned to acquire African territory for Portugal. Under his inspiration and direction Portuguese navigators began a series of voyages of exploration which resulted in the circumnavigation of Africa and the establishment of Portuguese sovereignty over large areas of the coastlands. Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu (Porto, March 4, 1394 – Sagres, November 13, 1460); pron. ... Joao I KG (Portugues: João, IPA pron. ...

Portuguese ships rounded Cape Bojador in 1434, Cape Verde in 1445, and by 1480 the whole Guinea coast was known to the Portuguese. In 1482 Diogo Cão reached the mouth of the Congo, the Cape of Good Hope was rounded by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, and in 1498 Vasco da Gama, after having rounded the Cape, sailed up the east coast, touched at Sofala and Malindi, and went from there to India. Portugal claimed sovereign rights wherever its navigators landed, but these were not exercised in the extreme south of the continent. Cape Bojador is a headland on the northern coast of Moroccos Western Sahara province, just below latitude 27° North. ... The pillar bearing the arms of Portugal erected by Cão at Cape St. ... For other uses, see Cape of Good Hope (disambiguation). ... Statue of Dias in Cape Town, South Africa Bartolomeu Dias, sometimes Bartolomeu Dias de Novais (pron. ... For other uses, see Vasco da Gama (disambiguation). ... Categories: Stub | Provinces of Mozambique ... Malindi is a city in Kenya that has been a Swahili settlement since the 14th century. ...

The Guinea coast, as the nearest to Europe, was first exploited. Numerous European forts and trading stations were established, the earliest being São Jorge da Mina (Elmina), begun in 1482. The chief commodities dealt in were slaves, gold, ivory and spices. The European discovery of America (1492) was followed by a great development of the slave trade, which, before the Portuguese era, had been an overland trade almost exclusively confined to Muslim Africa. The lucrative nature of this trade and the large quantities of alluvial gold obtained by the Portuguese drew other nations to the Guinea coast. English mariners went there as early as 1553, and they were followed by Spaniards, Dutch, French, Danish and other adventurers. Colonial supremacy along the coast passed in the 17th century from Portugal to the Netherlands and from the Dutch in the 18th and 19th centuries to France and Britain. The whole coast from Senegal to Lagos was dotted with forts and "factories" of rival European powers, and this international patchwork persisted into the 20th century although all the West African hinterland had become either French or British territory. Elmina fishing fleet Elmina is a town situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, lying west of Cape Coast. ... Slave redirects here. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Spice (disambiguation). ... World map showing the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere historically considered to consist of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... The slave trade in Africa has existed for thousands of years. ... The slave trade means a trade in human beings treated as objects of commerce. ... An alluvial deposit is an accumulation of alluvium (sediment), sometimes containing valuable ore and gemstones, or simply consisting of gravel, sand, or clay, in the bed or former bed of a river. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Lagos (disambiguation). ...

Southward from the mouth of the Congo to the region of Damaraland (in what is present-day Namibia), the Portuguese, from 1491 onward, acquired influence over the inhabitants, and in the early part of the 16th century through their efforts Christianity was largely adopted in the Kongo Empire. An incursion of tribes from the interior later in the same century broke the power of this semi-Christian state, and Portuguese activity was transferred to a great extent farther south, São Paulo de Loanda (present-day Luanda) being founded in 1576. Before Angolan independence in 1975, the sovereignty of Portugal over this coastal region, except for the mouth of the Congo, had been only once challenged by a European power, the Dutch, from 1640 to 1648 in which Portugal lost control of the seaports. 1979 Proposed Flag of Damaraland Damaraland was a bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Damara people. ... The Empire Kongo The Kongo Kingdom was an African kingdom located in southwest Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Luanda (formerly called Loanda) is the largest city and capital of Angola. ... The Alvor Agreement, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal that November 11, ending the war for independence while marking the transition to civil war. ...

The slave trade

Main article: African slave trade

The earliest external African slave trade was trans-Saharan. Although there had long been some trading along the Nile River and very limited trading across the western desert, the transportation of large numbers of slaves did not become viable until camels were introduced from Arabia in the 10th century. At this point, a trans-Saharan trading network came into being to transport slaves north. Unlike the Americas, slaves in North Africa were mainly servants rather than labourers, and an equal or greater number of females than males were taken, who were often employed as chambermaids to the women of northern harems. It was also not uncommon to turn male slaves into eunuchs. The slave trade in Africa has existed for thousands of years. ...

The Atlantic slave trade was a later development, but would eventually become far greater and have a much bigger impact. Increasing penetration of the Americas by the Portuguese, Spaniards, English, French, Dutch (among others) created a huge demand for labor in Brazil, Guianas, Caribbean and North America. Workers were needed for agriculture, mining and other tasks. To meet this new demand, a trans-Atlantic slave trade developed. Slaves purchased in those West African regions known to Europeans as the Slave Coast, Gold Coast, and Côte d'Ivoire were often the unfortunate byproduct of fighting between rival African states. Powerful African kings on the Bight of Biafra might sell their captives internally or exchange them with European slave traders for trade goods such as firearms, rum, fabrics and seed grain. It should be noted that European traders also conducted their own, quite independent, slave raids.

European conquest

An 1812 map of Africa by Arrowsmith and Lewis

Download high resolution version (1497x1213, 395 KB)1812 map of Africa by Arrowsmith and Lewis, printed in Boston by Thomas & Andrews This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (1497x1213, 395 KB)1812 map of Africa by Arrowsmith and Lewis, printed in Boston by Thomas & Andrews This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

19th-century European explorers

Main article: Colonization of Africa

Although the Napoleonic Wars distracted the attention of Europe from the exploration of Africa, there were nevertheless significant developments. The invasion of Egypt (1798–1803) first by France and then by Great Britain resulted in an effort by Turkey to regain direct control over that country, followed in 1811 by the establishment under Mehemet Ali of an almost independent state, and the extension of Egyptian rule over the eastern Sudan (from 1820 onward). In South Africa the struggle with Napoleon led the United Kingdom to seize Dutch settlements at the Cape, and in 1814 Cape Colony, which had been continuously occupied by British troops since 1806, was formally ceded to the British crown. Map showing European claimants to the African continent in 1913. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... See Mehemet Ali (Turkey) for the Turkish foreign minister and regent. ... Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte)[1] (15 August 1769; Ajaccio, Corsica – 5 May 1821; Saint Helena) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from... Anthem: God Save the Queen Cape Colony Capital Cape Town Language(s) English and Dutch1 Religion Dutch Reformed Church, Anglican Government Constitutional monarchy Last Monarch King George VI Last Prime Minister  - 1908 – 1910 John X. Merriman Last Governor  - 1901 - 1910 Walter Hely-Hutchinson Historical era 19th century  - Dutch East India...

Considerable changes had meanwhile been made in other parts of the continent, the most notable being the invasion of Algiers by France in 1830. This action put an end to the independent Barbary states, a major obstacle to Frances Mediterranean strategy. Egyptian authority continued its southward expansion with consequent additions to European the knowledge of the Nile. The city of Zanzibar, on the island of that name rapidly attained importance. Accounts of a vast inland sea, and the "discovery" in 1840–1848, by the missionaries Johann Ludwig Krapf and Johann Rebmann, of the snow-clad mountains of Kilimanjaro and Kenya, stimulated in Europe the desire for further knowledge. Map of Zanzibars main island Zanzibar, Tanzania, comprises a pair of islands off the east coast of Africa called Zanzibar (Unguja) (1994 est. ... Johann Ludwig Krapf (born January 11, 1810 in Tübingen-Derendingen; died November 26, 1881 in Korntal-Münchingen) was a German missionary in East Africa, an explorer, linguist, and traveler. ... Johannes Rebmann (January 16, 1820, Gerlingen, Württemberg - October 4, 1876, near Stuttgart)[1] was a German missionary and explorer, and is credited with feats including being the first European, along with his accomplice Johann Ludwig Krapf, to enter Africa from the Indian Ocean coast, and they are both also... Kilimanjaro is a mountain in northeastern Tanzania. ...

By the middle of the 19th century, Protestant missions were carrying on active missionary work on the Guinea coast, in South Africa and in the Zanzibar dominions. It was being conducted among people of whom Europeans knew little.In many instances missionaries turned explorer or became agents of trade and colonialism. One of the first to attempt to fill up the remaining blank spaces in the European map was David Livingstone, who had been engaged since 1840 in missionary work north of the Orange. In 1849 Livingstone crossed the Kalahari Desert from south to north and reached Lake Ngami, and between 1851 and 1856 he traversed the continent from west to east, making known the great waterways of the upper Zambezi. During these journeyings Livingstone "discovered", November 1855, the famous Victoria Falls, so named after the Queen of the United Kingdom. These falls are called Mosi-oa-Tunya by Africans. In 1858–1864 the lower Zambezi, the Shire and Lake Nyasa were explored by Livingstone, Nyasa having been first reached by the confidential slave of Antonio da Silva Porto, a Portuguese trader established at Bihe in Angola, who crossed Africa during 1853–1856 from Benguella to the mouth of the Rovuma. A prime goal for explorers was to locate the source of the River Nile. Expeditions by Burton and Speke (1857–1858) and Speke and Grant (1863) located Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. It was eventually proved to be the latter from which the Nile flowed. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecum