istoryworld
Events relating to africa
The kingdom of Great Zimbabwe displaces Mapungubwe as the dominant Shona power in this region of southern Africa
The Yoruba people of Ife create extraordinary sculptures in brass
The last sultan of Saladin's dynasty is murdered by slaves in the palace guard, and Mameluke rule is reintroduced in Egypt
The Marinids, a Berber tribe, take Marrakech and bring to an end Almohad rule in Morocco
The Assassins are systematically destroyed by Baybars, the Mameluke sultan of Egypt
Islam replaces Christianity as the religion of the kings of Dongola, in present-day Sudan
Mansa Musa, sultan of the gold-rich African state of Mali, is so lavish in Cairo (on his way to Mecca) that the value of Egyptian gold slumps
Ibn Batutah leaves his home in Morocco to go on pilgrimage to Mecca, and continues travelling for 24 years
A friar, who has failed to find Prester John in the east, publishes a book proving that the fabulous king lives in Ethiopia
A Portuguese prince, Henry the Navigator, becomes fascinated by exploration down the coast of Africa and commissions successive voyages
The Portuguese, discovering the lush and uninhabited island of Madeira, send colonists to settle it
A Portuguese captain, sailing for Henry the Navigator, chances upon the Azores
Portuguese settlers are sent to the unoccupied islands of the Azores
Portugal claims ownership of the region of Guinea, subsequently the centre of their slave trade on the west African coast
A warrior king, Ewuare, establishes the forest kingdom of Benin
Coffee, derived from wild plants in Ethiopia, is cultivated in Arabia
The caravel, a sailing ship developed in the Mediterranean and used down the west coast of Africa, is adapted by the Portuguese for Atlantic use
A Portuguese navigator discovers some of the Cape Verde islands, tropical and at that time uninhabited
Portuguese settlers arrive to found Cidade Velha, on the Cape Verde island of Santiago
The Portuguese settlers on the Cape Verde islands are granted a monopoly on the new slave trade
The Maravi Confederacy is formed by Bantu tribes and soon wins control over a large region between Lake Nyasa and the Zambezi
An increase in trade through the central Sahara benefits the Songhay, with their capital at Gao, at the expense of Mali
The Portuguese establish a further presence on the west coast of Africa, at the mouth of the Congo river
Bartolomeu Dias, sailing for the king of Portugal, becomes the first European navigator to round the Cape of Good Hope
A French privateer off the west coast of Ghana is the first to plunder a Portuguese vessel carrying home African gold
