Historical Readings
Historical readings on African events from African scholars and experts.
Africa’s radio history over a century: from propaganda to people’s power
Radio’s influence is likely to endure, with podcasts complementing rather than replacing traditional broadcasts. A 2022 survey across 34 African countries found...
Read moreDetails300,000 Tanzanians were killed by Germany during the Maji-Maji uprising: why it was genocide and should be called that
German involvement in Tanzania began in 1890 when Berlin decided to take over administration of east African territories which German...
Read moreDetailsWho is Hakim Adi, the first African-British professor of history on the verge of losing his course in the UK?
An academic and expert in the history of Africa and the African diaspora, Professor Hakim Adi is at risk of...
Read moreDetailsHow South Africa’s deplorable situation is undermining Nelson Mandela’s legacy
The questioning of the 1994 settlement, and therefore Mandela’s legacy, has different dimensions, running through diverse narratives. One, associated with...
Read moreDetailsNew date set for return of Patrice Lumumba’s tooth
A new date has been set for the return of a tooth that was all that remained from the Congolese...
Read moreDetailsDR Congo marks 25 years since fall of Mobutu’s rule
The Democratic Republic of Congo will on Tuesday mark 25 years since the collapse of the authoritarian rule of Mobutu...
Read moreDetailsAfricans and African-Americans would honour Martin Luther King by rekindling their bonds
By Julius A. Amin* During an official visit to Washington DC in 1962, Cameroon’s founding President Ahmadou Ahidjo informed President...
Read moreDetailsSmall seashells: A big story of slavery and transoceanic trade
By Justine Wintjes* In the archaeology storerooms of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, lie two boxes filled with seashells. The shells...
Read moreDetailsA long view sheds fresh light on the history of the Yoruba people in West Africa
By Akinwumi Ogundiran* The Yoruba are among the most storied groups in Africa. Their ancestral homeland cuts across present-day southwest Nigeria, Benin Republic and Togo...
Read moreDetailsArchaeology in West Africa could rewrite the textbooks on human evolution
By Eleanor Scerri* Our species, Homo sapiens, rose in Africa some 300,000 years ago. The objects that early humans made and used, known as...
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