Brief History Of Africa Before Colonialism -- How did we get there?

[@j-loadedcomedian6989]

Had to watch again immediately after the first watch. This video and the information in it is golden. Thank you

[@SEANLJOHNSONSR]

Africa will rise again believe that

[@Snipersounds]

That was the GREATEST 14mins 12seconds of KZbin that I've had in a while! Thanks for sharing!

[@Pokefan3332]

I alway was interested in learning early African history before European colonialism. Very helpful and entertaining video on the subject

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you for watching!

[@joannaansah4957]

Thank You for this video. My son and I are (re-reading) Dr Chinua Achibe: Things fall apart. Your video really helps with putting the books environment the context

[@joannaansah4957]

I just finished the video . Thank you for your channel. You've answered so SO SOOOO many questions ..even b4 I asked them (some I didnt know J needed to ask). Lol

[@Ak4900-ak]

Pls be cautious to know things fall apart is not real Igbo history & culture, its genre is “historical fiction”. Thanks

[@joannaansah4957]

@memestar6404 Generally, we are already aware of this fact! But, Thank you for your generosity in sharing this insight (indeed, there may be some who were confused by the genre?)

[@spontaneousexpress]

My man did it again! I find your works incredibly informative. Thanks!

[@jrad410]

I’m a history nerd myself and learned some stuff. Excellent work here!

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you for watching! I have a new video coming out tomorrow afternoon, I hope you find it interesting.

[@theafricantriforce8878]

In my opinion, I do think the downfall of Africa could have been avoided. The Wagadu empire( Also called the Ghana empire) had much contact with the islam world, but never converted themselves which history foretold. So what if, in an alternate timeline, the Ghana empire sent diplomats to the swahili coast which had direct contact and trade with Asia! The swahili were excellent ship makers, which would benefit the Ghana empire immensely. Soon enough, the Ghana empire would create their own ships to travel to Asia, have more connections with the rest of southern and eastern Africa, and that way they wouldn't have to depend on the saharan trade routes! Now with an easier way to get to Asia, west Africa would develop way more faster before the Europeans would even arrive in the 15th century!

[@joannaansah4957]

Huh? You re-writing history, DeSantis?

[@scooperleash_usa]

Why didn't the Athenians just blend into the Spartans of Greece? Why didn't the Etruscans just allow Rome to join their pre-existing civilization? Islam didn't show up to make black Africa better, had the islamists and later Arabs been allowed to do as they wished, West Africa would be another Spain

[@KabiroCeesay-l7i]

Liar, which Swahili

[@richieidahosa1338]

I swr we messed up

[@christoph3187]

Excellent lecture, I love how he interweaves the history of different parts of the world, something I missed in my history lessons. It’s all connected, we are all connected.

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching! Just recorded another lesson. Should be up next week.

[@johnkevill470]

I love your analysis. Great focus on the importance of that trans-saharan/“silk road” nexus in rise/fall of empires. Also fantastic analysis of the formation of the slave trade. This lesson you give here should be far more widely known

[@sandraguzman4394]

Agreed!

[@TouchofShunshine]

I love how you are able to give information on how everything in human history is interwoven. You gave an understanding of how what happens in one part of the world affects another. Wonderful and understanding teaching, thanks.

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much! More content is coming up...

[@harry.flashman]

i concur. great teaching

[@stratospheric37]

Seconded!

[@florespedgar]

Man I thought I knew some history but you just blew my mind. Thank you. Subscribed.

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

Wow, It would take me a long time to come up with questions that you answered by this great lesson!

[@scathatch]

Thankyou so much for this informative and stimulating lecture. Has certainly given some window of light into Africa before European colonisation. Also the underlying principles you apply offers such a wide sweep of understanding to the rise and fall of cultures, empires and nation states.

[@kenspina6093]

Thank you Darius for your time and knowledge. Wish I had more teachers like you. Learned more than the article before coming here. You gave full context as to what was going on around the world. Sad there is a decimal behind the 2 in number of views. Thanks again.

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks so much for watching, and for your comment! It's all good. I'd love more views, but I'm honored that the views in getting are largely from educational institutions. I really think this curriculum should bev freely available to everyone. The fact that they're using it and it's also out for the general public is really the position I want to be in. It means people are getting for free what other folks are paying thousands of dollars for.

[@OlegMissikoff]

An amazing lecture! Very truly, history is far from being a straight line of parallel but distinct swimming lanes. Rather, it's a web of interconnected and interdependent socio-economic and cultural ecosystems. With highly recursive patterns, as Giambattista Vico said. Such a powerful tool for interpreting the disruptive events that are taking place around us in these strange but exciting days. Knowing history can also allow us to peer over the fog that blurs our immediate future...

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much for watching! I appreciate your comments!

[@dr.shaneendials-corujo6575]

This was phenomenal. Thanks so much for sharing this valuable information.

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@francoisbelanger6886]

There is an excellent video of Thomas Sowell who explain how Africa have so few access to the sea. Your video make an excellent job of describing the shift from land power to sea power, and Africa loose his advantage. In Europe easy sea access was a plague during Viking raids, but later become a net advantage. Good job.

[@7g7na7]

Terrific video! You did an exceptional job of describing the cause-and-effect relationships. We, humans, tend to look at history as singular events without considering the circumstances that led up to and contributed to future connected actions and responses to such actions.

[@austinmoore7502]

Absolutely nailed it! The synthesis of major world events and how they culminated within one another was seamlessly woven. Loved this analysis

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching! More content coming soon.

[@joshuatall8165]

I really enjoy listening to you I .afrockan American and I've always loved researching history I general but especially African history it's the begenimg off humanity keep up the good work brother

[@KimberlyAvenue]

Very nice video. You presented a lot of history but in a interesting way, thanks.

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks much! I should have a new video dropping next week on the Black Panther Party. I hope you find that one interesting as well.

[@JR-vy4zp]

Great video :) I was looking for just this kind of video for my inquiries and I came out learning a lot more

[@kevingross4141]

An outstanding and well-paced survey. Have a subscription. Looking forward to learning more.

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you for watching!

[@caincotterill5493]

Great vid👊🏻

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching! There's a new video dropping next week (it's already out on Patreon).

[@leafeatingcow1109]

13:10 Thank you. Some people don't understand this part for some reason.

[@joannaansah4957]

I agree. Just as I was never considered Hispanic until I came to the 🇺🇸... in my home country we don't call each other Hispanic. Lol Also, Igbo, Hansa, Yorba etc ARE ACTUAL KINGDOMS. Each Tribe can distinguish themselves from each other (physically and through other attributes). Spoils of war/ debt/ orphanage are spoils of war/debt/ orphanage. Prisoners of war still exist in 2024

[@GaborNMP]

Excellent video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Kind regards from Montevideo, Uruguay!

[@AfricanElements]

Wow! Thank you so much!

[@ager126]

Great video!! I was just think that like about how Eurocentric world history is often presented and showing how everything is interconnected is really interesting!

[@collinhenry9996]

This is very great work of history which people who look like me are included in world history which never mention it in history class.

[@jonthedon126]

You put it in a way I can understand. Good video, bro

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

This was so packed dense with history I had to stop it at each verse and meditate on the meaning of each sentence.

[@jamesomoz529]

Todays topic was well versed , bless for sharing this content 🙏🏿😎

[@carobbean7971]

Good presentation! Very interesting & makes sense! Thank you!

[@danepatterson8107]

This was a really well presented lesson in African culture, and I learned a good bit. I am subscribing. You deserve a larger audience.

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much! Teaching full time is really hard to publish regularly, but that's my goal.

[@sylviasworld9397]

No such thing as "African" culture though.

[@AfricanElements]

@@sylviasworld9397 every culture that exists on the African continent is an African culture.

[@Erica-ls7bp]

Great video. But not mentioned is the impact of technology on cultures and their continuing advancements.. The Europeans had refined ancient war & exploration technologies and that gave them a competitive advantage. Africa's stagnation in the technological arena was a MAJOR contribution to its decline imo.

[@davidlloyd-jones8519]

Yes, technology.. Nothing he mentioned could have happened without shipping and navigation technologies that sidestepped the sahara trade routes.

[@grendahramjee9643]

The ignorance is embarrassing. Before commenting get an education

[@Erica-ls7bp]

@@grendahramjee9643 Yes, your ignorance is astounding and I wholeheartedly agree, you could benefit from an education. If you'd like I could recommend some great resources on 16th & 17th century war and naval technology. The Europeans quite literally outgunned the Africans, that's not up for debate.

[@grendahramjee9643]

@@Erica-ls7bp well I recommend you read it and educate yourself you need it. Probably never even heard of many wars won by Africans with spears and shields. But then again being non African you probably have never been educated by diluted history.

[@Erica-ls7bp]

@@grendahramjee9643 The fact that Africa was colonized for 100 years...Africans may have won some battles but ultimately lost their wars to technology. Just as the Japanese lost to America due to atomic bombs, technology won. This isn't a disparaging comment, it's just a fact to learn and grow from. And yet instead of learning that lesson, African leaders continue to fail to make science and technology a priority. A mistake the Asians took to heart and look at their societies now,, more technological advanced than those that once subjugated them. That should infuriate you not arguing with me.

[@mayu23325]

Man! Eye-opening video! Congrats! Amazing! Thanks!

[@SelebogoMolefe]

Thank you for doing this research, so insightful!

[@EQPaunders]

Keep up the good work !

[@jussitapiorissanen]

This was hugely helpful and insightful video! Huge appreciation!

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@Erinya558]

I used to be a little unhealthily obsessed with European culture and its ‘preservation’ in my teen years, especially in regards to our African immigrant population, this is largely my own fault and I regret it immensely, but I feel my lack of knowledge of Africa played an enormous part in this. I am so happy to have found a good history channel that focuses on dispelling the exact kind of misinformation that turned me from a young history lover to a narrow minded nationalist. I wish you the best of luck in this channel and will be sure to recommend it!

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much!

[@mikkokoskinen3851]

Exellent video. No political agenda…just plain history. Very nice job

[@montumeroe9593]

1850 BC Pharaoh Senusret III attempted to build the equivalent of the Suez canal unfortunately he gave up on it which was a great pity would have made Egypt very difficult to attack. I was born in Europe the narrator is being rather understated about the level of violence that was in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. With the Black death 1300 ending Feudalism and a new system coming in maybe we are going through the same thing now with Covid19 who knows.

[@youjustgotburned3980]

History Teacher:Ok Class,What Led To Colonialism? Me:Greed and Envy

[@chikumbiyumbe8065]

Excellent lecture. Very insightful.

[@marcbastien1948]

Thank you for this. It would be nice if I learned this at my high school 5 years ago.

[@calebburrell1034]

Thanks man I really learned a lot. I’m gonna check out more of your videos. I was gonna call my friend and ask him questions and you save him a lot of trouble

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

[@cybersecuritywithjo7318]

This is a great video. Thank you for making it!

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you for watching!

[@ClareNatschowny]

"Because Europe wasn't rich in natural resources it was predisposed to expansionism" I'd love to know what you meant by that. The UK was extremely rich in coal and iron, allowing the British to build the ships they needed to expand their empire. Africa has more natural resources than Europe overall because it is much bigger but Europe is rich in the natural resources necessary to industrialise. Did you mean the climate limited what Europeans could grow or did you mean something else?

[@AfricanElements]

Coal and iron are only valuable resources if you need to do things like build ships and power them... to get other people's resources. The entire purpose of building an empire is so that you can expand and exploit other people's resources.

[@King01589]

Helpful stuff 👏🏻👏🏻 I don’t know what to say but just helpful. Would you like to recommend some books on African history to me?

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching! I would check your local community college bookstore. If they have a Black Studies section, they likely have some good used to textbooks that you can buy on the cheap.

[@harry.flashman]

Nice informative content very accessable. Subbed.

[@rosette1983]

Thanks a lot for this, Prof!

[@pretzelbat.m]

I’m currently reading Trevor Noah’s book Born A Crime and wanted to review African history for better context. I’ve learned so much with your video! The Texas public education system left out a lot in world history, and it can be hard to find real history content on KZbin. I appreciate your dedication to putting the information out there on this open platform. Thank you! Immediately subscribed! I’m looking forward to learning more from your channel overall!

[@basicallymid]

Thank you for making this video!

[@AfricanElements]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sandrarthornton]

Thank you for the very insightful presentation!

[@TroyBrownTV]

Beautiful video

[@drake5518]

The bigger picture of interconnected dependencies such as the effect of the fall of Rome or Constantinople on both Europe and Africa are taught far too little in history classes I think. The natural ebb and flow of empires and civilisations obviously happened the same in Africa as everywhere else and all of us here in the old world have been linked by trade and travel all throughout Asia, Africa and Europe since the neolithic. What made the last 500 years different was the perfect storm of rising empires combined with technological development at a pace that never occurred before. This made the world a lot smaller all of a sudden. The modern reading of our shared history quite often seems to suggest there was malice and a great plan involved, when in reality it was millions of big or small decisions by individuals as well as patterns way beyond the control of individuals or even nations.

[@ma001eb]

Great job keep it coming.

[@lewisjakecrompton4459]

Very well composed and some very interesting points here, thank you for your hard work.

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

Nice video, learned a lot from it.

[@zoeterry2285]

You're very good. I'm writing a musical based off your video. It's clear, concise & accurate. Where are you based...? Julius

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching! I'm based in San Diego.

[@sankungsuwaneh3871]

Great pieces of work.

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@ericmahone5468]

Honestly you can start the timeline where you please it just matter who is telling the story to choose what period they wanna focus on. But history can't be changed but it can be twisted to fit someone's person narrative.

[@Yohahnhandz612]

Brother this documentary was excellent

[@Griot-Guild]

This is one of the best videos on slavery I've ever seen

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching! I hope you'll check out my latest upload that premiers tomorrow at 5pm (Pac.). kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3vEfJ94g5Z7kNU

[@Griot-Guild]

@@AfricanElements oooh will do! I've been reading alot about Huey lately, interesting character

[@AfricanElements]

Cool! It's a follow-up to my previous video, so you should probably check that one out first. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJ-moIynpL15eJo

[@DeadlyHandle]

Thank you for this video, it was very informative!

[@ayoubgourram9011]

Thanks for the information! I hope you can work on the voice quality, otherwise everything is perfect! Thanks again mate!

[@gaithkabakibi3214]

Thank you very much for your hard work sir! Greetings from Sweden:)

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

[@islandlawyer1366]

He can’t spread this work himself. WE MUST HELP HIM DO IT. That’s our problem as black peoples across this whole world.

[@oussemamzoughi1589]

Hi Africa, is not only black people, Africa is also north african countries such as algeria, tunisia and libya that were colonized by european countries

[@oussemamzoughi1589]

@Ibo Robotnik yo bro go read some history if u don‘t know amazighs u don‘t know shit and by the way the subsaharean helped the romans to kill us and the second time they helped the spanian to kill us in maroco too read some history bitch before u open ur fucking mouth

[@oussemamzoughi1589]

@Ibo Robotnik whos land is africa ?

[@oussemamzoughi1589]

@Ibo Robotnik arabs came to north africa as colonizers 1400 subsaharean tried to colonize north africa on 700 romans, carthage etc .. yo bro if we will have a discussion about this, you better read some books before

[@oussemamzoughi1589]

@Ibo Robotnik u sound like white supremacist with some hegel philosophy vibes

[@visiontv112]

Wow,really changed the way I think about colonization. It's a spirit,a force prompted by dominance and control. It's also business and a tool to rise to the top

[@nathanb7024]

Thanks for your video. Would love to see some article so I can read more around this topic

[@SirThomasJames]

Great video highlighting the importance of trade routes and money. Always money. Take it away and any empire or land will fall into disarray and cut itself from inside out.

[@bennybaker4926]

I wonder how things would be different if West Africans started building ships for trade back then.

[@chefboyrgee4142]

They didn’t feel a need to. Their lands resources were vast enough that everyone came to them

[@mlfitness67]

I just have a hard time believing that we were as great and powerful as it's always stated. Reason being it wasn't some of Africa but all of Africa that was concured. That is a whole continent. How does a whole continent fall if the people are so intelligent and powerful?

[@AfricanElements]

It happens all the time. Great civilizations have risen and fallen throughout history. That has always been the case, and there's no reason to believe it won't continue to be the case. African civilizations are no exception.

[@mlfitness67]

@@AfricanElements I understand that but my thing is the whole country fell.

[@AfricanElements]

Correct. The entire continent fell. Rome ruled almost the entire continent of Europe, parts of northern Africa and parts of Asia. It fell into a dark ages for almost a thousand years. The Incas ruled the bulk of the entire continent of South America. It to fell. The fall of Great Empires is far from a new phenomenon in human history.

[@AfricanElements]

... The United States is also a powerful empire. It's only a matter of time before it too falls. I suspect that day is coming sooner rather than later.

[@mlfitness67]

@@AfricanElements I've always said that. It's going to fall from the inside out

[@dlucas527]

Thank you. This is an amazing explanation and I will share your videos with others. I hope you will explain the exploitation of Africa by Western countries and what you think it would take for Africa to come out of this situation. Why can't African countries demand equal treatment and pay for their resources? Billions of dollars are being depleted each year and colonization cannot continue. I do not understand why Africa cannot set up armies and establish policies that protect the continent and its people. Yes, we are all different and from different countries but I hear some say it is difficult to do business with African countries within their borders because it is difficult to get things traded within Africa from country to country. I believe Africa has everything it needs to be a great empire once again.

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment. I definitely would like to do a video on that. The short answer on that is that colonization never really ended. If you look at Africa's resources (oil, diamonds, cobalt), they tend not to benefit African people.

[@mylesmulenga-uz6gd]

I have seen this video a couple of times and I like everything bit of it.

[@danient120]

👌🏾good points, well explained

[@juliemishol7107]

Redesign the way people learn about African History by creating a panel within the Dept of Education.

[@africandefenseforce2910]

Good job!

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

[@MetatronsRevenge613]

0:44 mughal Bengal was was wealthiest place in the world until the Battle of plassey resulted in the British east company getting the Diwani ( tax rights ) they used it to loot lut trillions and kill 10 million Bengali people in the famine of 1770. The empires for the most part just got lucky to come at a bad time

[@AfricanElements]

Yeah, Forbes is not a historical journal, so I wasn't necessarily citing them as an authority on whether or not Mansa Musa was in fact the wealthiest man to have ever lived. That wasn't the point of the video. The point was how we got from A to B. How do we go from wealthy and thriving African civilizations to slave trade and colonization in such a relatively short period? I'm not sure what your last sentence means. How to empires get lucky to come at a bad time?

[@seamusdoherty]

Love this video and your channel, your not bias and not trying to have an agenda.

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@hxtraveller8295]

Well researched and informative perspective

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you for watching! Be sure to catch the live stream next Thursday on the African Roots of Black music.

[@OcéBusiness]

Answer to the question of the day : In my opinion, I think that the West Africa’s Decline was inevitable. If the slavery wasn’t common in West Africa’s and that the Fall of Constantinople wasn’t happening or in an another case, during that Vasco de Gama and Christopher Columbia was circumnavigate around the Africa’s continent or than the West-African Kings have would better protect their kingdoms and who has been more implicated in the politic and leading of those one, nothing of that would happened.

[@clementgavi7290]

'What led to colonialism' have you asked There is little need for a series of epithets to understand what led to colonialism. The legacies of colonialism are a practical manifestation of this. The intoxication of oneself in terms of limitless self-deployment which perceives and conceives the other as prey. A necessary prey for self-edification. It is this human madness which determined the colonial enterprise, which in turn will lead to these imbalances which affect the harmony of the earth. We must go back to the Discourse on Method. In this introduction to these pamphlets, he declared that through knowledge, men can become masters and possessors of nature. The practical consequence will be the fact that certain men have become possessors and masters of other men, hence colonization.

[@peacesupreme]

Thank you, this video was dope. Please keep them coming. I like the way you narrate too. You remind me of Neil DeGrasse Tyson a little bit. I’m diggin your style fam. peace

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

[@davidmcbrearty9813]

That was great ...very informative

[@JasonVu-h7t]

I just read up about Mansa Musa, who everyone reveres/admires so much in African history. But I am surprised to learn he had 12,000 slaves when he made his pilgrimage to Mecca from 1324-1325. This is some 200 years before any Europeans ever showed up in Africa. It is shameful that one person had 12,000 slaves. And I learned when educating myself that the Mali Empire trafficked slaves for their entire existence. Why don't we see anyone write and create videos about the evil slavery that the Mali Empire practiced? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansa_Musa When Musa departed Mali for the hajj, he left his son Muhammad to rule in his absence. Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324 and 1325 spanning 2,700 miles. His procession reportedly included 60,000 men, all wearing brocade and Persian silk, including 12,000 slaves, who each carried 1.8 kg (4 lb) of gold bars, and heralds dressed in silks, who bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals.Those animals included 80 camels which each carried 23-136 kg (50-300 lb) of gold dust." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Mali Slavery in Mali Slavery in Mali existed across different ethnic groups of Pre-Imperial Mali before the Muslim conquest. Slavery increased in importance with the Trans-Saharan slave trade across the Sahara during the Middle Ages, particularly during the Mali Empire, which traded West African slaves to the Berber and Arabic polities of North Africa. Following the collapse of the Mali Empire (c. 1600 AD), slave raiding increased and the slave trade became a key part of the economy in the Tuareg, Mandé, and Fula communities which would eventually be the major ethnic groups in the country of Mali. Slavery in Mali exists today, with as many as 200,000 people held in direct servitude to a master. Since 2006, a movement called Temedt has been active in Mali struggling against the persistence of slavery and the discrimination associated with ex-slaves. There were reports that in the Tuareg Rebellion of 2012, ex-slaves were recaptured by their former masters. Moreover, the phenomenon of descent-based slavery still persist in different ethnic groups.

[@AfricanElements]

Yeah, you won't get an argument from me on that. The guy was a prick. That's a subject of a different video, though.

[@IhsaanAdams]

Excellent summary!

[@AfricanElements]

Thank you so much! I'm going to be premiering a video later today along with a live Q&A. If you'd like to check it out, I'd love to see you there! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqXJh5-knsZ4j80

[@makoriasati4980]

The book by Walter Rodney on How Europe Underdeveloped Africa could have an also have an alternative title *"HOW EUROPEANS SABOTAGED THE MENTALITY OF AFRICANS"* Through the charades of European Education, Religion, Mass Media, Democracy and Myriad Traditions and Cultures. To illustrate the point Africa is home to 60% of the most expensive imported cars in the world, the only continent without a single vehicle production factory and without a single Urban Mass Transport Systems, which is a must in big cities. While Africa is home to some of the biggest cities in the world, Cairo 22 million, Lagos 20 million, Kinshasa 18 million and other twenty cities with over 5 million. The only continent with abundant minerals, which foreigners own and export cheaply to their countries and we import expensive foreign products which we proudly and stupidly displays the "Imported Label" to feel *"IMPORTANT"*

[@PhilipHood-du1wk]

The Arc of Civilization stretched roughly from about Rome through the fertile crescent and India and out to China. Everywhere else, including most of Europe, was outside in the stone age and vulnerable.

[@AfricanElements]

That's not true at all. Not only did East Africa develop iron tools well before the rise of Rome, but West Africa as well probably a thousand years before the rise of the Roman empire. The Nok culture, which existed in modern-day Nigeria independently made use of iron from at least around 500 BCE (probably earlier).

[@matthewmann8969]

Prior to Middle Easterners And Europeans among other Non Africans many African Native groups had plenty of issues with each other and some friendships and alliances and partnerships and business deals and trade relations and frenemy moments

[@martonyocaddiell710]

Mansa Musa bankrupted Mali after that pilgrimage. He would of been better off going to North Africa and hiring Arab shipwrights in exchange for some slaves and gold. Everyone knew of the wealth of inner Africa as they knew the cities in the Sahara/Sahel were just middle men. And no point to put West Africa on the map yet. He failed to bring back shipwrights to teach them to put ships at sea themselves. This would of also made it easier to spread Islam to the rest of West and Central Africa along the coast as spreading it through the interior they would encountered stronger people with denser populations, however they'd spread Islam faster with the weaker people along the coast. Inner West African and coastal states such as Dahomey, Ashanti, Great Benin all failed to capture European vessels and reverse engineer them, practicing to steer them by themselves along the coast line, and then establish port cities further down the coast of West/Central Africa to trade for goods, and slaves. They could of establish themselves along the coast, later on making trips to by waterway to North Africa for maps, cartographers. Selling too many people. Some needed to be sold for gun and maritime technology. But at some point use common sense. The people you are selling are being used to develop new land, which benefit the people you're selling it too, and you're at technological disadvantage already. They should of stopped selling slaves after the first 50-100 years when the servant population to do so. Africa wasn't in decline until colonization up until colonization they were still thriving in West, Central, and North Africa. South African states were thriving too. They were colonized due to lack of population, lack of machine guns, and slightly due to the effects of the slave trade. Africa was pre-industrial in some parts, and here is what Africa lacked for industrialization: 1. population-500 million people minimum are needed to industrialized, and at the beginning of the 19 century Africa had just 119 million people. All spread out on the second largest continent, varying geographies, cultures, and the most ethnic groups on the planet, with only some dense pockets of populations all spread out, leaving large gaps of Africa with lots of hunter gather peoples/slightly pastoral. 2. No world religion to dominate. Europe had Christianity, large parts of Asia had the main eastern religions. Same geographies in Europe/Asia and world religions meant more cohesion. To combat Africa's low population, varied difficult to traverse geographies, multiple religions, cultures, ethnic groups, infighting, Africa too needed a world religion and it was supposed to be Islam. Islam swept North, parts of East, and West Africa. This were I said earlier Mansa Musa failed, As it would of difficult to spread Islam thought the more difficult and vast interior starting from the coast (which would of required maritime technology he failed to get), spreading Islam from the coast then the interior as trade increased would of then spread it to the various Bantu people of the interior, and as Islam expanded more Bantus would of adopted the religion. West Africa attempted to spread Islam to the rest of West Africa (Futa Jallon invasions of the late 19th century). But by then it was too late as the European invasions halted them. Had they had maritime technology, ended the slave trade in the first 50-100 years, Europe wouldn't of had the machine guns, to invade thus Islam would of swept the rest of the continent as the Bantus were ethnically similar. If Islam had swept Africa in the late 19th, and 20th century (assuming all the above mentioned conditions were met from the previous paragraph to halt Europe industrializing) For the first time in Africa: - All of Africa would have the same language, reading/writing script, and culture for the fist in it's history. This would improved infighting, trade, currency, technology, roads, maritime travel, illiteracy, construction, production, etc. Africa need an over arching social unification and Islam would of served that purpose. In short the political short-sightedness of Africa people put them in position to be colonized though, had Europe showed up a 100 years later, the coaster and near coastal states of the inner West Africa would of had enough time to sort out their differences. Those states were formed due the growing indigenous populations along the coast, and the break down of the more organized states in the interior such as Ghana, Mali, Songay, Yoruba. These new comers with their new technologies, and state building idea merging with the coastal people who now had enough time to organize themselves led to the creations of the coastal states. Now we see the rise of inner West Africa. Most people lived further north in Africa, so Africans in the Sahara, and Sahel operated as middlemen. Trade came from the interior specifically inner west Africa (the source of the gold for Mali), and trade then got dispersed through the Mediterranean world, Red sea, Indian Ocean world trade system, the Saharan world trade system. This is why Empires like Egypt and Carthage in antiquity were wealthy. Carthage's gold came from inner West Africa. They even tried to sail to West Africa in 500 BCE to find the source of the gold trade. As we entered Middle earth, the power shifted to the Sahara/Sahel. With the drying up of the Sahara people moved in the Sahel and Southern Sahara urbanizing. With the arrival of a world religion, and camels, trade explodes. Now during the Atlantic period the power shifted in Africa for the first time in history to the people who actually controlled the resources and were the source of Africa's wealth all along. Africa was not in decline. With their larger more dense populations, trading cities and routes, populous towns, and the arrival of the Saharan/Sahel people with the new technology and state building idea the coastal and near coastal people formed their own empires. They ended the trans Saharan world system because they could ship the good directly with Europe and cut the middle man out all together. Europe is smaller, more ethnically the same, maritime technology absorbed from Rome as they were used in the military, and absorbed Rome's administration. They had 700 years to fight, push each other, and the coastal states were doing the same thing Europe had the change to work for the most part after 700 years which is established territory. Cousins fight cousins, pressuring each other and Europe exploited that. Another 100 years to figure out territory we'd have a different history, they would of been settled and more cohesive. These states were new.

[@danumba1son419]

great video!

[@fistoffreedomable]

Keep on going bro thanks so much

[@Hborn]

What about Marcus Crasuss?

[@AfricanElements]

I'm not understanding your question.

[@Officialbarz]

Very informative learned a couple new historical facts

[@AfricanElements]

Thanks for watching!

[@m.g.5440]

What are the staple crops of precolonial Africa? I would be curious to know!

[@AfricanElements]

It's a huge continent. In West Africa mostly things like yams, okra, rice, etc.

[@deandodson3546]

People considered themselves as loosely connected and parts of an empire. Mostly it looked like most empires rise and fall due to stagnation and internal conflict risen from deviation of their original idealism, as well as, turn to intellectuals and hedonism. Stagnation at this time that he did not mention was due to the ottomans and the caliphate suppressing their philosophers. The same reason most still live in the 14th century and will never accept a female from their tribe being the leader. It's bad enough now working under an emotional wreck that intensely hates everything for a week out of every month. And you know it's for real about that, so keep it 100. Emotional period

[@BrooklynMB]

quality video good job

[@matthewleitch1]

This is quite an interesting video, but I do have one question. What was the role of gold in the decline you describe? Was it simply that the gold mines became less productive, or did mining stop, or something else? When you say that slaves were the only valuable commodity, I wondered what had happened to all that gold that was so prominent earlier.

[@BuaróEmbalóSamba]

Thank u so much