African history

Omar Ibn Sayyid, the Fula Islamic Scholar Who Was Captured and Sold in the United States in 1807

Omar ibn Sayyid was a Fula Islamic scholar from Futa Toro in Senegal, who was enslaved and transported to the United States in 1807.

Ganga Zumba, the Runaway Slave Who Founded His Own African State in Brazil

Ganga Zumba was an African royal who escaped enslavement and established the massive runaway slave settlement of Quilombo dos Palmares

Capoeira, the Brazilian Martial Art Invented by Enslaved Africans

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art form that was invented by enslaved Africans in the 16th century who used it to disguise the fact that they were practising fight moves.

Sigananda Shezi, the Zulu Chief Who Was Imprisoned for Rebelling Against British Rule and Taxation in 1906

Inkosi Sigananda Shezi was imprisoned in 1906 for rebelling against British rule and against the imposition of the Poll Tax by the colonial government.

Kimpa Vita: For Portraying Jesus as a Black Man, This African Prophetess Was Burnt Alive in 1706

Donna Beatriz's (kimpa vita) Antonianism rejected the Catholic rituals of baptism, confession, and prayer. It also refused the cross, claiming it is to blame for Christ's death.

Arthur William Hodge, the Cruel Slave Owner Who Was Hanged for Murdering His Slave Over a Mango

Arthur William Hodge was a plantation farmer and notoriously cruel slave owner in the British Virgin Islands, who was hanged in 1811 for the murder of one of his slaves. He was the first and only British slave owner to...

Remembering Samuel Doe, the First World Leader to Be Tortured and Executed on Camera

On the 9th of September 1990, Samuel Doe became the first world leader to be tortured on camera before being executed.

Victoria Davies Randle, the Nigerian Goddaughter of Queen Victoria

Victoria Davies was the eldest child of Sara Forbes Bonetta, an Egbado omoba who was gifted to Queen Victoria and James Pinson Labulo Davies, a wealthy Lagos merchant.

John Chilembwe: the Malawian Reverend Who Led an Uprising Against British Colonial Rule in 1915

John Chilembwe was a Baptist pastor who aggrieved by the treatment of Africans by the British colonial government's organised an unsuccessful uprising in 1915.

Sir Charles Maccarthy: the British Military Governor Whose Skull the Ashantes Made Into a Drinking Cup

Sir Charles MacCarthy was killed by Ashanti forces in the battle of Nsamankow, with his skull used as a trophy of war.
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Alexander Falconbridge: The Slave Ship Surgeon Who Turned Against Slavery

In the 1780s, Alexander Falconbridge, a British surgeon, made several voyages aboard slave ships along the West African coast....