Asia and Africa Unite
In 1955, the Bandung Conference brought together post-colonial nations in the hope of forging a new solidarity. Could such disparate countries overcome their inherent differences?
Africa
Swimming in the Sahara
What can rock art of the desert tell us about life and death 10,000 years ago?
Fall of Africa’s Greatest Empire
The Battle of Tondibi, which resulted in the defeat of the Songhay army, took place on 13 March 1591.
Rejecting the New Normal
Rhodesia’s ill-fated independence, 55 years on.
The Price of Life
Africa’s continuing dependence on external credit is no accident. Today, it cripples the continent’s economy. From the 16th century, it funded the Atlantic slave trade.
The Foundations of Liberia
Supported by both slaveholders and abolitionists for different reasons, the founding of Liberia is a history of the near impossible. Perhaps its greatest feat was survival.
The Torrid Zone
In the 18th century, Europeans in the tropics found themselves beset by an array of unpleasant afflictions. They blamed black women, the climate and the strength of their own masculinity.
Sudan’s Third Revolution
The revolt against President Omar al-Bashir is not the first in Sudan’s history, but it is the first since Africa’s former largest country split in two.
Africa’s Global Powerbrokers
Africa has been global for millennia, but its history is too often eclipsed by narratives that focus on slavery and its abolition.
The Anglo-Zanzibar War
The shortest war in history began (and ended) on 27 August 1896.