Category: History

  • Ancient Africa in the Pre-Christian Era: A Look at Ethiopia and Libya

    In the centuries preceding the birth of Jesus Christ, Africa held a vastly different geographical and cultural landscape from what we know today. Ancient historical and religious texts, including the Bible, offer intriguing clues about how this continent was viewed by those who chronicled early civilisations.

    Many of these records reveal that vast regions, which we today consider West and North Africa, were known by different names with cultural and religious significance that connected them to the broader ancient world.

    The map presented here provides a visual representation of Africa before the Common Era, illustrating how the lands that constitute modern-day West Africa were commonly referred to as “Ethiopia” in early writings.

    The northern regions that we call North Africa today bore the name “Libya,” another term deeply rooted in antiquity and often mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman accounts. By examining these names and their significance, we can gain insight into how the ancient world perceived Africa and its diverse peoples.

    Ethiopia: More Than Modern Borders

    In antiquity, “Ethiopia” was not confined to the current borders of the East African nation. Instead, it referred broadly to a region inhabited by people of darker skin who lived in lands south of Egypt and extended across the continent. This expansive Ethiopia often covered territories stretching from today’s Sudan and encompassing parts of what we now call West Africa.

    The name “Ethiopia” appears multiple times in biblical texts and early Greek writings. In the Bible, the term is used to describe people who were considered distant yet revered.

    The biblical figure Queen of Sheba, who visited King Solomon and is described as coming from the “land of Sheba,” is traditionally associated with the Ethiopian region, though some interpretations link her homeland to areas in South Arabia. Nevertheless, her association with Africa underscores the historical prestige of these regions.

    Libya: Northern Africa’s Ancient Identity

    In the same ancient worldview, “Libya” was the term applied to the lands of North Africa, roughly corresponding to the modern nations along the Mediterranean coast, including parts of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia.

    Ancient Libyans were depicted in Egyptian art and other historical records as distinct people with unique customs and cultural ties to both the African continent and the Mediterranean world. The name “Libya” in the Bible and ancient Greek accounts served as a term for much of the northern region, long before its modern borders were established.

    The concept of Libya as part of Africa was further elaborated by Greek historians, like Herodotus, who classified Africa into distinct sections based on the inhabitants and their cultures. For the Greeks and Romans, Libya represented Africa’s northern realm, an idea that held influence over Western perceptions of Africa for centuries.

    Conclusion: Revisiting Ancient Africa’s Geography

    By understanding these ancient designations, we can recognise how Africa’s pre-colonial identity was rich and diverse. These regions were not merely remote lands but were known, respected, and integrated into early narratives and global history.

    Ethiopia and Libya, as referenced in biblical and early historical texts, remind us that the continent’s story is one of cultural connectivity and distinction long before its boundaries became fixed in the modern sense.

    The image of this ancient map serves as a fascinating reminder of how Africa was once seen by others, demonstrating a complex and storied past that continues to shape perceptions today.

    The use of terms like Ethiopia and Libya for vast regions across the continent indicates the continent’s longstanding influence and its place within the early chronicles of human civilisation.

  • 7th October: How US ‘war on terror’ fuels terrorism in Africa

    7th OCTOBER 2001: U.S. ‘WAR ON TERROR’ TURNING AFRICA INTO TERRORIST HUB COMMENCE

    Following the horrific 9/11 attack that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, US President George W. Bush declared a global ‘War on Terror,’ which began with the first bombardments on this day, 7th October 2001, in Afghanistan. The war led to the fueling of terrorism in Africa.

    • African deaths due to terrorism have grown by over 100,000% since the U.S. ‘War on Terror’ began
    • The U.S. State Department counted just 9 terrorist ‘attacks that killed 23 people in 2002-03
    • Terrorism linked to years of U.S. intervention in Africa caused 23,322 casualties in 2023
    George Bush’s order on Invasion of Afghanistan State

    Consequently, African countries that had no issues with terrorism in 2001, saw a surge in armed violence over the past 24 years, which can be traced back to decades of US and NATO intervention, exacerbated in 2007 when the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed.

    THE SAHEL

    • In 2007, the Sahel accounted for 1% of worldwide terrorism-related deaths
    • In 2023, the Sahel, an arid shrubland south of the Sahara Desert, accounted for 47% of global terrorism-related deaths
    • Between 2007-22, casualties surged 2,860%
    • More terrorism-related deaths occur in the Sahel than in West Asia and South Asia combined

    For example, terrorist activities ravaged Africa’s arid Sahel region since NATO’s 2011 invasion of Libya, spurning violent rebels to kill former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Then, Sahel-region terrorists accessed the fallen Libyan government’s weapons stash and distributed them in Mali, seizing control of large swaths of land in the country’s north, spilling into its neighbouring countries, Burkina Faso and Niger.

    BURKINA FASO & MALI

    • Burkina Faso has the most terrorism-related casualties with 1,907 killings in 2023, about 25% of worldwide incidents that year
    • No recorded instances of terrorism in Burkina Faso until 2015
    • Terrorism in Mali began after separatists and terrorist groups joined forces to seize several regions in Northern Mali in 2012
    • The U.S.-led NATO destruction of Libya allowed terrorist organisations to access and distribute Libyan weapons into the Sahel

    Not to mention Somalia, where through a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was crushed, leading to the rise of the violent terrorist group, Al-Shabaab. The ICU consisted of various clan-based courts that governed the East African country following the 1991 civil war, became a federation in 2004 and had no Al-Qaeda affiliations.

    US fueling terrorism in Africa
    Boko Haram

    NIGERIA & THE LAKE CHAD BASIN

    • Boko Haram was formed in 2002, turning violent in 2010
    • As of 2022, Boko Haram killed roughly 50,000 people and displaced around 2.5 million
    • In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, sparking the international #BringBackOurGirls movement
    • The U.S. military (via U.S. Africa Command 7 [AFRICOM]) used kidnappings as pretext to a expand further into Nigeria
    • Boko Haram operates in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon

    Nonetheless, after years of a well-documented history of fabricating narratives for political and economic interests to make way for invasion, the US appears to be losing the strong foot-hold it once had. Many are now seeing the nation for what it truly is; an imperialist state that neither cares for human rights nor to combat terrorism.

    Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)

    THE MAGHREB (‘THE WEST’ IN ARABIC)

    • Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) originally targeted Algeria but has expanded into the Sahel
    • 2007 marked the height of AQIM attacks in Algeria, and they seized control over Northern Mali in 2012
    • A member of the anti-Muammar Gaddafi Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) bombed an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 in Manchester, United Kingdom, after the U.S., U.K. and NATO emboldened the group

    The formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on 16 March 2023, for instance, offers a glimmer of possibility towards African sovereignty.

    THE HORN OF AFRICA

    • The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) began to form a government in Somalia, opposing CIA-backed warlords after the government collapsed in 1991
    • After 9/11, the U.S. started to refer to Somalia as a ‘potential haven for terrorism’ and accused ICU of working with Al-Qaeda despite the ICU’s relatively moderate nature
    • The U.S. supported an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006, making way for a new belligerent force, Al-Shabaab, once the ICU’s radical youth wing, which publicly linked to Al-Qaeda by 2012
    • Al-Shabaab has killed an estimated 9,057 people from 2007-22 in Somalia, with other casualties in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda

    Upon formation, the AES broke ties with AFRICOM, choosing to instead form a confederation for shared defence, economic and foreign policy. Over a year later, the three Sahelian states in West Africa continue to advance the work of decolonisation by breaking ties with neo-colonial institutions and reclaiming bit by bit, their sovereignty over their lands.

    MOZAMBIQUE

    • The Cabo Delgado province became a hotbed of terrorist activities in 2017
    • Terrorism emerged just a few years after discovering some of Africa’s largest gas reserves in the area, not a coincidence to locals
    • 4,000 people killed and 800,000 displaced in 2017-22
    • Many Mozambicans believe terrorism aids the smuggling of resources, such as rubies and natural gas
    • Investigators have confirmed local terrorist group Ahtu-Sunnah wal Jama’a (ASWJ), supported by an ISIS affiliate, is funded through resource smuggling

    Are we currently witnessing the crumbling of an empire?

    WHAT DOES 9/11 MEAN FOR AFRICA?

    • After 23 years of the ‘War on Terror’, terrorism in Africa is worse than ever before
    • Perhaps, it is time to shut down AFRICOM and end U.S. intervention

    African Stream

  • 6th October 1841: Maine’s First Coloured Convention

    The city of Portland in the US state of Maine held its first Coloured Convention on 6th October 1841.

    Between 1830 and the 1890s, over 200 state and national Coloured Conventions were held throughout the United States. The Coloured Conventions Project defines these events as ‘political gatherings [that] offered opportunities for free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans to organise and strategise for racial justice.’

    The first Coloured Convention was held in 1830 following Ohio’s 1829 exclusionary laws and a wave of anti-Black mob violence that had forced 2,000 Black residents to flee the state.

    The 1841 Maine convention discussed civil rights, education and economic opportunities for Black people. Participants also emphasised establishing schools and better access to education to uplift Black people. In addition to this, the convention called for ways to develop Black economic independence through trade and vocational skills.

    These conventions, held decades before Marcus Garvey built the Universal Negro Improvement Association that tied together Africans across the world and over a century before the Civil Rights Movement, helped develop the collective Black consciousness in the direction of sovereignty and self-determination.

    Nearly two centuries later, and despite the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Black people in the US remain disenfranchised and continue holding the same conversations on how to obtain social justice and economic empowerment.

    NOTE: Although Theo R Davis’ sketch depicts the 1869 National Coloured Convention in Washington, the Zinn Education Project considers it illustrative of the state conventions.

    African Stream