French Equatorial Africa | HISTORY OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE

French Equatorial Africa

When the scramble for Africa begins, in the mid-1880s, France is well placed to extend her influence inland between the Gabon and the Congo. There has been a French fort on the estuary of the Gabon since 1843. A settleme...

French West Africa | HISTORY OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE

French West Africa

The French rivalry with Britain in west Africa intensifies from the 1880s. One element is the race to secure territories along the coast. To this end France declares a protectorate in 1882 over part of Dahomey, by agreem...

German East Africa | HISTORY OF TANZANIA

German East Africa

The administration of the territory in the agreement of 1886 is handed over to Karl Peters' German East Africa Company. The company extends its territory to the sea from 1888, by buying a lease of the coastal strip which...

British East Africa Company | HISTORY OF KENYA

British East Africa Company

As with the areas being colonized by Rhodes at this same period in southern Africa, the British government is reluctant to take active responsibility for the region of east Africa which is now its acknowledged sphere of...

British East Africa Company | HISTORY OF UGANDA

British East Africa Company

As with the areas being colonized by Rhodes at this same period in southern Africa, the British government is reluctant to take active responsibility for the region of east Africa which is now its acknowledged sphere of...

Muslim North Africa | HISTORY OF EGYPT

Muslim North Africa

The Arab conquest of Egypt and North Africa begins with the arrival of an army in640 in front of the Byzantine fortified town of Babylon (in the area which is now Old Cairo). The Arabs capture it after a siege and establ...

Muslim North Africa | HISTORY OF THE ARABS

Muslim North Africa

The Arab conquest of Egypt and North Africa begins with the arrival of an army in640 in front of the Byzantine fortified town of Babylon (in the area which is now Old Cairo). The Arabs capture it after a siege and establ...

Muslim North Africa | HISTORY OF MIGRATION

Muslim North Africa

The Arab conquest of Egypt and North Africa begins with the arrival of an army in640 in front of the Byzantine fortified town of Babylon (in the area which is now Old Cairo). The Arabs capture it after a siege and establ...

Muslim North Africa | HISTORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Muslim North Africa

The Arab conquest of Egypt and North Africa begins with the arrival of an army in640 in front of the Byzantine fortified town of Babylon (in the area which is now Old Cairo). The Arabs capture it after a siege and establ...

French West Africa | HISTORY OF SENEGAL

French West Africa

The establishment of Senegal as a French colony is merely one part of the French colonial effort in west Africa during the 1880s and 1890s. By 1895 there are no fewer than six French colonies in the region, covering a va...

Italian East Africa | HISTORY OF ETHIOPIA

Italian East Africa

The issue of grazing rights around Wal Wal, in the Ogaden, is referred to the League of Nations. The League takes its time before coming up with a non-committal decision in September 1935. But meanwhile Italy, which has...

Africa and India move slowly but | HISTORY OF AMERICA

From one continent to six

Africa and India move slowly but | HISTORY OF THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS

From one continent to six

Africa and India move slowly but | HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHY

From one continent to six

Africa is the first region into | HISTORY OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Islam in east Africa

Africa is the first region into which Islam is carried by merchants rather than armies. It spreads down the well-established trade routes of the east coast, in which the coastal towns of the Red Sea (the very heart of Is...

Africa is the first region into | HISTORY OF ISLAM

Islam in east Africa

Africa is the first region into which Islam is carried by merchants rather than armies. It spreads down the well-established trade routes of the east coast, in which the coastal towns of the Red Sea (the very heart of Is...

Africa is the first region into | HISTORY OF AFRICA

Islam in east Africa

Africa is the first region into which Islam is carried by merchants rather than armies. It spreads down the well-established trade routes of the east coast, in which the coastal towns of the Red Sea (the very heart of Is...

The African tribes living in the | HISTORY OF ZAMBIA

Barotse and Kololo

The African tribes living in the region between the Zambezi and Lake Tanganyika are first reached by outsiders in 1798. In that year a Portuguese trading party, pushing north from Tete on the Zambezi, reaches the capital...

South Africa's involvement increases over the | HISTORY OF ANGOLA

Independence

South Africa's involvement increases over the years because of the situation in neighbouring Namibia, where the insurgent group SWAPO receives support from Angola's MPLA. From South Africa's point of view, maintaining co...

This African trade, together with the | HISTORY OF TRADE

Portuguese slave trade

This African trade, together with the prosperity of the Cape Verde Islands, expands greatly with the development of labour-intensive plantations growing sugar, cotton and tobacco in the Caribbean and America. The Portugu...

This African trade, together with the | HISTORY OF SLAVERY

Portuguese slave trade

This African trade, together with the prosperity of the Cape Verde Islands, expands greatly with the development of labour-intensive plantations growing sugar, cotton and tobacco in the Caribbean and America. The Portugu...

This African trade, together with the | HISTORY OF TRADE

Portuguese slave trade

This African trade, together with the prosperity of the Cape Verde Islands, expands greatly with the development of labour-intensive plantations growing sugar, cotton and tobacco in the Caribbean and America. The Portugu...

This African trade, together with the | HISTORY OF SLAVERY

Portuguese slave trade

This African trade, together with the prosperity of the Cape Verde Islands, expands greatly with the development of labour-intensive plantations growing sugar, cotton and tobacco in the Caribbean and America. The Portugu...

Other African products in demand around | HISTORY OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Trading kingdoms, west Africa

Other African products in demand around the Mediterranean are ivory, ostrich feathers and the cola nut (containing caffeine and already popular 1000 years ago as the basis for a soft drink).

The most important c...

Other African products in demand around | HISTORY OF TRADE

Trading kingdoms, west Africa

Other African products in demand around the Mediterranean are ivory, ostrich feathers and the cola nut (containing caffeine and already popular 1000 years ago as the basis for a soft drink).

The most important c...

Other African products in demand around | HISTORY OF AFRICA

Trading kingdoms, west Africa

Other African products in demand around the Mediterranean are ivory, ostrich feathers and the cola nut (containing caffeine and already popular 1000 years ago as the basis for a soft drink).

The most important c...

The local African rulers in Guinea, | HISTORY OF GUINEA-BISSAU

The Slave Coast

The local African rulers in Guinea, who prosper greatly from the slave trade, have no interest in allowing the Europeans any further inland than the fortified coastal settlements where the trading takes place. The Portug...

The local African rulers in Guinea, | HISTORY OF CAPE VERDE

The Slave Coast

The local African rulers in Guinea, who prosper greatly from the slave trade, have no interest in allowing the Europeans any further inland than the fortified coastal settlements where the trading takes place. The Portug...