African history

Maria de Fonseca: The African Queen Who Was Beheaded for Betraying her King to the Belgians

Maria de Fonseca was the queen of Katanga and the favorite wife of Msiri, the warrior-king of Katanga, who met a tragic end for allegedly betraying her king, Msiri, to the Belgians.

How Africans Were Lured into Slave Ships by European Slave Traders

During the transatlantic slave trade, European slave traders employed various cunning tactics to lure Africans onto their ships, capitalizing on their vulnerability and ignorance. This article explores the deceptive methods employed by European slavers and the heart-wrenching stories of Africans who were lured into the treacherous journey across the Atlantic.

John Hawkins: The Father of the English Slave Trade and His Infamous Slave Ship, the Jesus of Lübeck

John Hawkins was an English naval commander and merchant who played a significant role in the early development of English involvement in the transatlantic slave trade during the 16th century.

Queen Anne’s Bounty: The Church of England’s Link to the Atlantic Slave Trade

In the 18th century, while the Church preached to Africans about a God in whose image they were made, it funded a company that carted them away from Africa in ten of thousands.

Lothar von Trotha: The German General Who Led the First Genocide of the 20th Century in Namibia

Lothar von Trotha, a German general, is infamously remembered as the architect of the first genocide of the 20th century, which unfolded in Namibia. Serving as the commander of German forces in German South-West Africa (now Namibia) during the early 1900s, von Trotha led a brutal campaign against the indigenous Herero and Nama peoples.

Prince Henry of Battenberg: The Untold Story of Queen Victoria’s Son-in-Law’s Tragic Journey to Battle the Ashanti in 1895

Prince Henry of Battenberg was a member of the British Royal Family and the husband of Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, whose journey to confront the Ashanti people of Ghana in 1896 ended in his tragic death.

Drapetomania: Enslaved Africans Fleeing Captivity Was Once Considered a Mental Disorder

Drapetomania was a conjectural mental illness that, in 1851, American physician Samuel A. Cartwright hypothesized as the cause of enslaved Africans fleeing captivity. The concept of Drapetomania was proposed by Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright, an American physician, in the mid-19th...

Prince Alemayehu: The Ethiopian Prince Who Was Kidnapped by British Forces and Taken to Britain in 1868

Prince Alemayehu Simyen Tewodoros, an Ethiopian prince, experienced a heartbreaking abduction from his native land during the 19th century, where he was forcefully taken to Britain by British forces

History of Human Zoos: How ‘Exotic Africans’ Were Displayed in Zoos in the West

During this time, people from various non-European cultures were brought to Europe and the United States and displayed in zoos as examples of "exotic" and "primitive" peoples.

Memories of Slavery: The Dark History of Sierra Leone’s Bunce Island

Bunce Island was a former slave castle located in the Sierra Leone River and was one of the largest centers of the transatlantic slave trade in West Africa. During the 17th and 18th centuries, thousands of Africans were captured,...
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Ota Benga: The Tragic Story of the African Man Who Was Exhibited in a New York Zoo in 1906

Ota Benga was a Congolese member of the Mbuti pygmy tribe whose tragic story got international attention when he...