History of Central Africa

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Central African Federation
(Political: Defunct)

The history of Central Africa has been divided into its prehistory, its ancient history, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and the post-colonial period, in which the current nations were formed.

Sahara Desert
. Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary Central African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.

Geography

Satellite imagery of Central Africa.

The area located at the south of the desert is a

Sudanian Savanna to the south. The Sudanian Savanna is a broad belt of tropical savanna that spans the African continent, from the Atlantic Ocean coast in the West Sudanian savanna to the Ethiopian Highlands in the East Sudanian savanna
.

Climate

In 15,000 BP, the

wetlands) and the savanna (e.g., grassland, shrubland) in North Africa.[1] Between 5500 BP and 4000 BP, the Green Sahara period ended.[1]

Prehistory

By at least 2,000,000 BP, Central Africa (e.g.,

hominins.[2]

In 90,000 BP, the oldest fishing-related bone tools (e.g., barbed

harpoons) of Africa were developed in Central Africa, particularly, Katanda, Central African Republic.[3]

Between 25,000 BP and 20,000 BP, hunter-fisher-gatherer peoples in Central Africa (e.g., Ishango, Democratic Republic of Congo) utilized

Iron Age

Archaeometallurgical scientific knowledge and technological development originated in numerous centers of Africa; the centers of origin were located in West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa; consequently, as these origin centers are located within inner Africa, these archaeometallurgical developments are thus native African technologies.[5] Central Africa provides possible evidence of iron working as early as the 3rd millennium BCE.[6] In particular, evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon may date back to 3000 BCE to 2500 BCE.[7] Gbabiri, Central African Republic has yielded evidence of iron metallurgy, from a reduction furnace and blacksmith workshop, with its earliest dates being 896 BCE – 773 BCE and 907 BCE – 796 BCE.[8]

Bantu expansionAfrican Iron Age
Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details
  Iron Age

Ancient history

Rock art in Central Africa is generally located between the

The engraved rock art (e.g., circular marks, concentric circles, cupules, petals) of Bidzar, Cameroon, which was likely engraved using a hammer, is likely no older than the Early Iron Age (2500 BP - 1500 BP).[10]

Bantu expansion

Between 2500 BP and 1800 BP, amid the

petroglyphs.[9] At Kongo Boumba, there are various geometric depictions (e.g., circles, chain-like circles, concentric circles, concentric circle arches, dissected circles, pecked circles, stitched shapes, spirals), 35% of all depictions being chain-like depictions; there are also depictions of snake-like lines, cruciform, lizards, double-bladed throwing knives, small axes, oval-bladed throwing knives with handles and spurs.[9] There are also some realistic animal depictions of lizards, six-legged lizards that appear commonly in African symbolisms, and a dotted hoe layered atop a throwing knife (the most common depiction on rock art in Central Africa) that indicates there were two distinct timeframes that engraving has occurred.[9] At Elarmekora, pottery, with concentric circles like found on the rock art, were found in deposits which dated to 1850 BP, and radiocarbon dating has provided dates between 2300 BP and 1800 BP.[9] At Kongo Boumba, the Okanda ceramic tradition dates from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE.[9]

Sao civilization

Terracotta Sao statuette

Sao civilisation began as early as the 6th century BCE or the 4th century BCE, and by the end of the 1st millennium BCE, their presence was well established around Lake Chad and near the Chari River.[11] The city states of the Sao reached their apex at some point between the 9th century CE and 15th CE.[11][12]

Although some scholars estimate that the Sao civilization south of Lake Chad lasted until the 14th century CE or the 15th century CE, the predominant consensus is that it ceased to exist as a separate culture sometime in the 16th century CE subsequently to the expansion of the

Bornu Empire.[13][14] The Kotoko are the inheritors of the former city states of the Sao.[15]

Post-classical history

Kanem Empire

In the 8th century CE,

Kitāb al-Fihrist[16] in the 10th century CE. Kanem comes from anem, meaning south in the Teda and Kanuri languages, and hence a geographic term. During the 1st millennium CE, as the Sahara underwent desiccation, people speaking the Kanembu language migrated to Kanem in the south. This group contributed to the formation of the Kanuri people. Kanuri traditions state the Zaghawa dynasty led a group of nomads called the Magumi.[17] The area already possessed independent, walled city-states belonging to the Sao culture. Under the leadership of the Duguwa dynasty, the Kanembu would eventually dominate the Sao, but not before adopting many of their customs.[18]

Bornu Empire

By the end of the 14th century CE, internal struggles and external attacks had torn Kanem apart. War with the

Bulala resulted in the death of four Mai in succession between 1377 CE and 1387 CE: Dawūd, Uthmān b. Dawūd, Uthmān b. Idris, and Bukar Liyāu. Finally, around 1387 CE, the Bulala forced Mai Umar b. Idris to abandon Njimi and move the Kanembu people to Bornu on the western edge of Lake Chad.[19]: 179 [20]: 92–93, 195–217 [21][22]
: 190–191 

But even in Bornu, the Sayfawa Dynasty's troubles persisted. During the first three-quarters of the 15th century CE, for example, fifteen Mais occupied the throne. Then, around 1460 CE Ali Gazi (1473 CE – 1507 CE) defeated his rivals and began the consolidation of Bornu. He built a fortified capital at Ngazargamu, to the west of Lake Chad (in present-day Nigeria), the first permanent home a Sayfawa mai had enjoyed in a century. So successful was the Sayfawa rejuvenation that by the early 16th century CE Mai Idris Katakarmabe (1507 CE – 1529 CE) was able to defeat the Bulala and retake Njimi, the former capital. The empire's leaders, however, remained at Ngazargamu because its lands were more productive agriculturally and better suited to the raising of cattle. Ali Gaji was the first ruler of the empire to assume the title of Caliph.[23][24]: 159 [25]: 73 [19]: 180–182, 205 [20]: 94, 222–228 

Young woman from Bornu, mid-19th century CE

Kongo Kingdom

The first king of the Kingdom of Kongo, Dya Ntotila, was Nimi a Nzima and Luqueni Luansanze's son Lukeni lua Nimi[26] (c. 1380 CE – 1420 CE). After the death of Nimi a Lukeni, his brother, Mbokani Mavinga, took over the throne and ruled until approximately 1467 CE.[27] The Kilukeni Kanda — or "house", as it was recorded in Portuguese documents — ruled Kongo unopposed until 1567 CE.[28]

Shilluk Kingdom

According to Shilluk legends, the kingdom was founded in 1490 CE. Its legendary first ruler ("Reth") was the hero known as Nyikang who claimed to be half-crocodile and possessed power over the rain.[29] Nyikang was the son of a king, Okwa, who ruled a country located "far south near a large lake". This may be Lake Albert, where the Acholi live. After Okwa's death, Nyikang went to war with his brother Duwadh, the legitimate successor to the throne. Facing defeat, Nyikang left his homeland with his retinue and migrated northeast to Wau (near the Bahr el Ghazal, "river of gazelles" in Arabic). Here (known by the Shilluk as the Pothe Thuro) Nyikang married the daughter of Dimo, the local magician. After a conflict with Dimo Nyikang migrated north (crossing the Bahr el Ghazal) to Acietagwok (a Shilluk village about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of the village of Tonga) around 1550 CE. Nyikang then traveled to Nyilual, an uninhabited region west of the present town of Malakal.[30] In the end, legends claim that Nyikang vanished in a whirlwind in the middle of a battle.[31]

Modern history

Sultanate of Bagirmi

The

pagan tribes in the area,[32] including the area's Saras, Gaberi, Somrai, Gulla, Nduka, Nuba, and Sokoro.[33]

"Horseman from Bagirmi" by Dixon Denham, 1823.

Kingdom of Luba

Archaeological research shows that the Upemba depression had been occupied continuously since at least the 4th century CE. In the 4th century CE, the region was occupied by iron-working farmers. Over the centuries, the people of the region learned to use nets, harpoons, make dugout canoes, and clear canals through swamps.[35] They had also learned techniques for drying fish, which were an important source of protein;[35] they began trading the dried fish with the inhabitants of the protein-starved savanna.[36]

By the 6th century CE, fishing people lived on lakeshores, worked iron, and traded palm oil.[36]

By the 10th century CE, the people of Upemba had diversified their economy,

cowry shells from the distant Indian Ocean
.

By the 14th century CE, the people of the region were organized into various successful farming and trading communities — the gradual process of the communities merging began. Some communities began to merge into larger, more centralized ones; the reason for this is likely because of competition for increasingly limited resources.[35]

Kingdom of Ndongo

The Kingdom of Ndongo was a tributary to the

BaKongo
in the north were always at odds, but Kongo managed to exact tribute from these states since before the colonization by the Portuguese.

Anziku Kingdom

The word Anziku comes from the

Bateke
, which is why the state is sometimes called the kingdom of Teke or Tiyo. Other groups within the Anziku included the Bampunu and Banzabi.

In the early 17th century CE, the Anziku population controlled the copper mines around Kongo's northeast border and may have been there specifically as a buffer. When the Anziku groups consolidated to form their own independent kingdom, Kongo proceeded to take over the mines. This process was complete by the 1620s CE. There was, however, fighting between the two states over the region throughout the 17th century CE.

Kasanje Kingdom

The Kasanje Kingdom, also known as the Jaga Kingdom, (1620 CE – 1910 CE) was a pre-colonial Central African state. It was formed in 1620 CE by a mercenary band of Imbangala, which had deserted the Portuguese ranks. The state gets its name from the leader of the band, Kasanje, who settled his followers on the upper Kwango River. The Kasanje people were ruled by the Jaga, a king who was elected from among the three clans who founded the kingdom.[37]

Kingdom of Matamba

The first documentary mention of the Kingdom of Matamba is a reference to it giving tribute to the King of

Ndongo
, then a powerful kingdom as well as with Kongo.

During the mid-16th century CE, Matamba was ruled by queen Njinga, who received missionaries from Kongo, then a Christian kingdom, dispatched by King Diogo I (1545 CE – 1561 CE). Though this queen received the missionaries and perhaps allowed them to preach, there is no indication that the kingdom converted to Christianity.

Wadai Empire

Prior to the 1630s CE, Wadai, also known as Burgu to the people of

Tunjur kingdom, established around 1501 CE.[38]

Kingdom of Lunda

Initially, the core of what would become the Lunda confederation was a commune called a N'Gaange in the kiLunda (kiyaka-kipunu) language. It was ruled over by a monarch called the Mwane-a- n'Gaange. One of these rulers,

Luba
where his brother ruled and married a royal woman from a nation to their south. Their son became the first paramount ruler of the Lunda, creating the title of Mwane-a-Yamvu (c. 1665 CE).

Kuba Kingdom

The kingdom began as a conglomeration of several chiefdoms of various

ethnic groups with no real central authority. In approximately 1625 CE, an individual from outside the area known as Shyaam a-Mbul a Ngoong usurped the position of one of the area rulers and united all the chiefdoms under his leadership. Tradition states that Shyaam a-Mbul was the adopted son of a Kuba queen. He left the Kuba region to find enlightenment in the Pende and Kongo
kingdoms to the west. After learning all he could from these states, he returned to Kuba to form the empire's political, social and economic foundations.

Helmet mask "mulwalwa", Southern Kuba, 19th century CE or early 20th century CE

Mbunda Kingdom

The kingdom was ultimately conquered in a war with Portugal in 1914 CE, called the Kolongongo War.[39]

Adamawa Emirate

The Fula first settled in the area in the 14th century CE.[40]

Yeke Kingdom

The Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) of the

Sultan of Zanzibar who controlled the east coast traders.[41]

Slave trade

Colonial period

Scramble for Africa

Between October 26, 1917 CE and May 18, 1919 CE, René Grauwet found a metal

statuette, which, as a result of examination, was determined to be created in Egypt (8th century BCE – 1st century CE); it was found on the right side of the Lualaba River, near Bukama, in the Republic of the Congo.[42][43]

Post-colonial period

History of Central African Architecture

Further information in the sections of Architecture of Africa:

History of science and technology in Central Africa

Further information in the sections of History of science and technology in Africa:

Military history of Central Africa

Genetic history of Central Africa

Archaic Human DNA

Archaic traits found in human fossils of

archaic human ancestry in Africans is less certain and is too early to be established with certainty.[44]

Ancient DNA

In 4000 BP, there may have been a population that traversed from

Iberian peninsula, where admixing between Africans and Iberians (e.g., of northern Portugal, of southern Spain) occurred.[45]

Cameroon

Democratic Republic of Congo

At Kindoki, in the

L1c3a1b, another carried haplogroup E (E-M96, E-PF1620), and the last carried haplogroups R1b1 (R-P25 1, R-M415) and L0a1b1a1.[47][48]

At Ngongo Mbata, in the

At Matangai Turu Northwest, in the

Democratic Republic of Congo, an individual, dated to the Iron Age (750 BP), carried an undetermined haplogroup(s).[47][48]

Y-Chromosomal DNA

Haplogroup R-V88 may have originated in western Central Africa (e.g., Equatorial Guinea), and, in the middle of the Holocene, arrived in North Africa through population migration.[49]

Mitochondrial DNA

In 150,000 BP, Africans (e.g.,

Out of Africa migration, migration from Sub-Saharan Africa toward the North Africa occurred, by West Africans, Central Africans, and East Africans, resulting in migrations into Europe and Asia; consequently, Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Europe and Asia.[50]

Mitochondrial

Autosomal DNA

Genetically,

African pygmies have some key difference between them and Bantu-speaking peoples.[55][56]

Medical DNA

Evidence suggests that, when compared to other

The genomes of Africans commonly found to undergo

Timeline of archaeological cultures and sites

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