Pre-Colonial Africa & Diaspora

The depth of African civilization before transatlantic contact, on its own terms — and the living throughlines from specific African societies to diaspora communities today.

• Aksum Empire

  trading nation in the area of Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia

• Kingdom of Benin

  West African kingdom (1180–1897)

• Kingdom of Buganda

  a Bantu kingdom within Uganda, the kingdom of Baganda people

• Kingdom of Burundi

  former kingdom in Central/Eastern Africa up to 1966

• Kingdom of Dahomey

  1600–1904 kingdom in West Africa

• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic Dynasty)

  1270–1974 state in the Horn of Africa

• Ghana Empire

  West African empire based in modern-day Mauritania and Mali (c. 200–c. 1200s)

• Hausa City-States

  former country

• Jolof Empire

  former country

• Kanem-Bornu Empire

  former country in Africa

• Kingdom of Kush

  c. 1070 BCE – c. CE 350 / kingdom in Nubia (modern-day Sudan), northeast Africa

• Kingdom of Ndongo and Matamba

  which preceded Portuguese rule

• Kuba Kingdom

  kingdom in Central Africa (1625–1884)

• Luba Kingdom

  pre-colonial (8th century (700s)–1889) Central African state that arose in the Upemba Depression

• Mali Empire

  empire in West Africa from c.1230 to 1670

• Kingdom of Mapungubwe

  1075–1220) pre-colonial state in Southern Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe

• Kingdom of Mutapa

  kingdom in southern Africa between 1430 and 1760

• Nok Culture

  archaeological culture

• Oyo Empire

  former imperial state

• Kingdom of Rwanda

  former kingdom in East Africa from the 15th century and up to 1962

• Sokoto Caliphate

  independent Islamic Caliphate, in West Africa from 1804 to 1903

• Songhai Empire

  former state located in western Africa