Thehistory of West Africa has been divided into itsprehistory, the Iron Age in Africa, the period of major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and finally the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed.West Africa is west of an imagined north–south axis lying close to10° east longitude, bordered by theAtlantic Ocean andSahara Desert. Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.
West African populations were considerably mobile and interacted with one another throughout thepopulation history of West Africa.[1]Acheulean tool-usingarchaic humans may have dwelled throughout West Africa since at least between 780,000 BP and 126,000 BP (Middle Pleistocene).[2] During thePleistocene,Middle Stone Age peoples (e.g.,Iwo Eleru people,[3] possiblyAterians), who dwelled throughout West Africa betweenMIS 4 andMIS 2,[4] were gradually replaced by incomingLate Stone Age peoples, who migrated into West Africa[5] as an increase in humid conditions resulted in the subsequent expansion of theWest African forest.[6]West African hunter-gatherers occupied westernCentral Africa (e.g.,Shum Laka) earlier than 32,000 BP,[3] dwelled throughoutcoastal West Africa by 12,000 BP,[7] migrated northward between 12,000 BP and 8000 BP as far as Mali, Burkina Faso,[7] and Mauritania,[8] and persisted as late as 1000 BP[7] or some period of time after 1500 CE.[9]
After theKel Essuf Period,Round Head Period, andPastoral Period of the Central Sahara,[10] sedentary farming developed in West Africa among the ancestors of modern West Africans. TheIron industry, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons, emerged in West Africa as early as 2631 BCE,[11] and by 400 BCE, contact had been made with theMediterranean civilizations, and a regular trade included exporting gold, cotton, metal, and leather in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, beads, and slaves. TheTichitt culture developed in 2200 BCE[12][13] and lasted until around 200 BCE.[14][15] TheNok culture developed in 1500 BCE[16] and vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 CE.[17]
Serer people constructed theSenegambian stone circles between 3rd century BCE and 16th century CE. TheSahelian kingdoms were a series of kingdoms or empires that were built on theSahel, the area of grasslands south of theSahara. They controlled the trade routes across the desert, and were also quite decentralised, with member cities having a great deal of autonomy. TheGhana Empire may have been established as early as the 3rd century CE. It was succeeded by theSosso in 1230, theMali Empire in the 13th century CE, and later by the Songhai and Sokoto Caliphate. There were also a number of forest empires and states in this time period.
Following the collapse of the Songhai Empire, a number of smaller states arose across West Africa, including theBambara Empire ofSégou, the lesserBambara kingdom ofKaarta, theFula/Malinké kingdom ofKhasso (in present-dayMali'sKayes Region), and theKénédougou Empire ofSikasso. European traders first became a force in the region in the 15th century. TheAtlantic slave trade began, with the Portuguese taking hundreds of captives back to their country for use as slaves; this began on a grand scale afterChristopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas and the subsequent demand for cheapcolonial labour. As the demand for slaves increased, some African rulers sought to supply the demand by constant war against their neighbours, resulting in fresh captives. European, American and Haitian governments passed legislation prohibiting the Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century, though the last country to abolish the institution was Brazil in 1888.
In 1725, the cattle-herdingFulanis ofFouta Djallon launched the first major reformistjihad of the region, overthrowing the localanimist,Mande-speaking elites and attempting to somewhat democratize their society. At the same time, the Europeans started to travel into the interior of Africa to trade and explore.Mungo Park (1771–1806) made the first serious expedition into the region's interior, tracing the Niger River as far asTimbuktu. French armies followed not long after. In theScramble for Africa in the 1880s the Europeans started to colonise the inland of West Africa, they had previously mostly controlled trading ports along the coasts and rivers.
Following World War II, campaigns for independence sprung up across West Africa, most notably in Ghana under thePan-AfricanistKwame Nkrumah (1909–1972). After a decade of protests, riots and clashes, French West Africa voted for autonomy in a 1958 referendum, dividing into the states of today; most of the British colonies gained autonomy the following decade. Since independence, West Africa has suffered from the same problems as much of the African continent, particularly dictatorships, political corruption andmilitary coups; it has also seen civil wars. The development of oil and mineral wealth has seen the steady modernization of some countries since the early 2000s, though inequality persists.
West Africa is west of an imagined north–south axis lying close to10° east longitude.[18] TheAtlantic Ocean forms the western and southern borders of the West African region.[18] The northern border is theSahara Desert, with the Ranishanu Bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region.[19] The eastern border is less precise, with some placing it at theBenue Trough, and others on a boundary line spanning fromMount Cameroon toLake Chad.
The area located north of West Africa is primarilydesert containing theWestern Sahara. Ancient West Africa included the Sahara, which became a desert by 3000 BCE.[20] During the lastglacial period, the Sahara, extending south far beyond the boundaries that now exist.[21]
The area located at the south of the desert is asteppe, a semi-arid region, called theSahel. It is the ecoclimatic andbiogeographic zone oftransition in Africa between the Sahara desert to the north and theSudanian Savanna to the south. The Sudanian Savanna is a broad belt oftropical savanna that spans theAfrican continent, from the Atlantic Ocean coast in theWest Sudanian savanna to theEthiopian Highlands in theEast Sudanian savanna.
TheGuinean region is a traditional name for the region that lies along theGulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forestedtropical regions and ends at theSahel. TheGuinean Forests of West Africa is a belt oftropical moist broadleaf forests along the coast, spanning fromSierra Leone andGuinea throughLiberia,Côte d'Ivoire andGhana andTogo, to theSanaga River ofCameroon in the east. TheUpper Guinean forests andLower Guinean forests are divided by theDahomey Gap, a region of savanna and dry forest in Togo andBenin. The forests are a few hundred kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean coast on the southern part of West Africa.
In 15,000 BP, theWest African Monsoon transformed the landscape ofAfrica and began theGreen Sahara period; greater rainfall during the summer season resulted in the growth of humid conditions (e.g.,lakes,wetlands) and the savanna (e.g.,grassland,shrubland) inNorth Africa.[22] Between 5500 BP and 4000 BP, the Green Sahara period ended.[22]
Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.[23] In contrast to most ofCentral,Southern andSoutheast Africa,West Africa is not populated byBantu-speaking peoples.[24]
West African populations were considerably mobile and interacted with one another throughout thepopulation history of West Africa.[1] Acheulean tool-usingarchaic humans may have dwelled throughout West Africa since at least between 780,000 BP and 126,000 BP (Middle Pleistocene).[2] During thePleistocene,Middle Stone Age peoples (e.g.,Iwo Eleru people,[3] possiblyAterians), who dwelled throughout West Africa betweenMIS 4 andMIS 2,[4] were gradually replaced by incomingLate Stone Age peoples, who migrated into West Africa[5] as an increase in humid conditions resulted in the subsequent expansion of theWest African forest.[6]West African hunter-gatherers occupied westernCentral Africa (e.g.,Shum Laka) earlier than 32,000 BP,[3] dwelled throughoutcoastal West Africa by 12,000 BP,[7] and migrated northward between 12,000 BP and 8000 BP as far as Mali, Burkina Faso,[7] and Mauritania.[8]
During theHolocene,Niger-Congo speakers independently created pottery inOunjougou, Mali[26][27][28] – the earliestpottery in Africa[29] – by at least 9400 BCE,[26] and along with their pottery,[29] as well as wielding independently inventedbows and arrows,[30][31] migrated into the Central Sahara,[29] which became their primary region of residence by 10,000 BP.[30] The emergence and expansion of ceramics in the Sahara may be linked with the origin of Round Head and Kel Essuf rock art, which occupy rockshelters in the same regions (e.g.,Djado,Acacus,Tadrart).[32] Hunters in the Central Sahara farmed, stored, and cooked undomesticated central Saharanflora,[33] underwent domestication ofantelope,[34] anddomesticated and shepherdedBarbary sheep.[33] After theKel Essuf Period andRound Head Period of the Central Sahara, thePastoral Period followed.[10] Some of the hunter-gatherers who created the Round Head rock art may have adopted pastoral culture, and others may have not.[35] As a result of increasingaridification of theGreen Sahara, Central Saharanhunter-gatherers and cattleherders may have used seasonal waterways as the migratory route taken to theNiger River andChad Basin of West Africa.[36] In 2000 BCE, "Thiaroye Woman",[37] also known as the "Venus of Thiaroye",[38][37] may have been the earlieststatuette created inSub-SaharanWest Africa; it may have particularly been afertility statuette, created in the region ofSenegambia,[38] and may be associated with the emergence ofcomplexly organizedpastoral societies inWest Africa between 4000 BCE and 1000 BCE.[39] Though possibly developed as early as 5000 BCE,[40]Nsibidi may have also developed in 2000 BCE,[41][40] as evidenced by depictions of theWest African script onIkom monoliths atIkom, inNigeria.[40] Migration of Saharan peoples south of the Sahelian region resulted in seasonal interaction with and gradual absorption of West African hunter-gatherers, who primarily dwelt in thesavannas andforests ofWest Africa.[7] In West Africa, which may have been a major regional cradle in Africa for thedomestication of crops and animals,[42][43] Niger-Congo speakers domesticated thehelmeted guineafowl[44] between 5500 BP and 1300 BP;[42] domestication of field crops occurred throughout various locations in West Africa, such asyams (d. praehensilis) in the Niger River basin between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria (northern Benin),rice (oryza glaberrima) in theInner Niger Delta region of Mali,pearl millet (cenchrus americanus) in northern Mali and Mauritania, andcowpeas in northern Ghana.[43] After having persisted as late as 1000 BP,[7] or some period of time after 1500 CE,[9] remaining West African hunter-gatherers, many of whom dwelt in theforest-savanna region, were ultimately acculturated and admixed into the larger groups of West Africanagriculturalists, akin to the migratoryBantu-speaking agriculturalists and theirencounters withCentral African hunter-gatherers.[7]
Archaeometallurgicalscientific knowledge and technological development originated in numerous centers of Africa; the centers of origin were located inWest Africa,Central Africa, andEast Africa; consequently, as these origin centers are located within inner Africa, these archaeometallurgical developments are thus native African technologies.[11] Theiron industry, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons, appeared in West Africa by about 2600–1200 BC.[45][46][47] Iron smelting facilities in Niger and Nigeria have been radiocarbon dated to 500 to 1000 BC,[48] and more recently in Nigeria from 2000 BC.[47] Though there is some uncertainty, some archaeologists believe that iron metallurgy was developed independently in West Africa.[49][50] Archaeological sites containing iron smelting furnaces and slag have been excavated at sites in theNsukka region of southeastNigeria in what is nowIgboland: dating to 2000 BC at the site ofLejja (Eze-Uzomaka 2009)[47][50] and to 750 BC and at the site ofOpi (Holl 2009).[50][51]Iron metallurgy may have been independently developed in theNok culture between the 9th century BCE and 550 BCE.[52][53] More recently, Bandama and Babalola (2023) have indicated that iron metallurgical development occurred 2631 BCE – 2458 BCE at Lejja, in Nigeria, 2136 BCE – 1921 BCE at Oboui, in Central Africa Republic, 1895 BCE – 1370 BCE at Tchire Ouma 147, in Niger, and 1297 BCE – 1051 BCE at Dekpassanware, in Togo.[11] The increased use of iron and the spread ofironworking technology led to improved weaponry and enabled farmers to expand agricultural productivity and produce surplus crops, which together supported the growth of urban city-states into empires.
By 400 BC, contact had been made with theMediterranean civilisations, including that ofCarthage, and a regular trade in gold conducted with the SaharanBerbers, as noted byHerodotus. The trade was fairly small until the camel was introduced, with Mediterranean goods found in pits as far south as NorthernNigeria. A profitable trade had developed by which West Africans exported gold, cotton cloth, metal ornaments, and leather goods north across the trans-Saharan trade routes, in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, and beads. Later, ivory, slaves, andkola nuts were also traded.
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In 4000 BCE, the start of sophisticated social structure (e.g., trade of cattle as valued assets) developed among herders amid thePastoral Period of theSahara.[54] Saharanpastoral culture was intricate, as evidenced by fields oftumuli, lustrous stone rings, axes, and other remnants.[55] By 1800 BCE, Saharan pastoral culture expanded throughout the Saharan and Sahelian regions.[54] The initial stages of sophisticated social structure among Saharan herders served as the segue for the development of sophisticatedhierarchies found in African settlements, such asDhar Tichitt.[54] After migrating from the Central Sahara, proto-Mande peoples established their civilization in the Tichitt region of the Western Sahara.[8][56] The Tichitt Tradition of southeasternMauritania dates from 2200 BCE[12][13] to 200 BCE.[14][15] Tichitt culture atDhar Néma,Dhar Tagant, Dhar Tichitt, andDhar Walata included a four-tiered hierarchal social structure,farming ofcereals,metallurgy, numerousfunerary tombs, and arock art tradition.[57] At Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata,pearl millet may have also been independently tamed amid theNeolithic.[58] Dhar Tichitt, which includes Dakhlet el Atrouss, may have served as the primary regional center for the multi-tiered hierarchical social structure of the Tichitt Tradition,[59] and theMalian Lakes Region, which includesTondidarou, may have served as a second regional center of the Tichitt Tradition.[60] Theurban Tichitt Tradition may have been the earliest large-scale,complexly organized society inWest Africa,[56][61] and an earlycivilization of theSahara,[12][8] which may have served as the segue forstate formation in West Africa.[55]
As areas where the Tichitt cultural tradition were present, Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata were occupied more frequently than Dhar Néma.[61] Farming of crops (e.g.,millet) may have been a feature of the Tichitt cultural tradition as early as 3rd millennium BCE in Dhar Tichitt.[61]
As part a broader trend of iron metallurgy in the West African Sahel in 1st millennium BCE, iron items (350 BCE – 100 CE) were found at Dhar Tagant, iron metalworking and/or items (800 BCE – 400 BCE) were found atDia Shoma and Walaldé, and iron remnants (760 BCE – 400 BCE) were found at Bou Khzama and Djiganyai.[61] The iron materials found are evidence of metalworking at Dhar Tagant.[15] In the late period of the Tichitt Tradition at Dhar Néma, tamed pearl millet was used totemper thetuyeres of an oval-shaped low shaft iron furnace, one of 16 located on elevated ground.[14]Iron metallurgy may have developed before the second half of 1st millennium BCE, as indicated by pottery dated between 800 BCE and 200 BCE.[14] At Dhar Walata and Dhar Tichitt,copper was also utilized.[56]
After its decline in Mauritania, the Tichitt Tradition spread to theMiddle Niger region ofMali (e.g.,Méma,Macina,Dia Shoma, andJenne Jeno), where it developed into and persisted as Faïta Facies ceramics between 1300 BCE and 400 BCE amongrammed earth architecture and iron metallurgy (which developed after 900 BCE).[62] Thereafter, theGhana Empire developed in the 1st millennium CE.[62]
TheNok peoples and the Gajiganna peoples may have migrated from the CentralSahara, along with pearl millet and pottery, diverged prior to arriving in the northern region of Nigeria, and thus, settled in their respective locations in the region of Gajiganna andNok.[52]Nok culture may have emerged in 1500 cal BCE and continued to persist until 1 cal BCE.[52]
Nok people may have developedterracotta sculptures, through large-scale economic production,[63] as part of a complexfunerary culture[64] that may have included practices such as feasting.[52] The earliest Nok terracotta sculptures may have developed in 900 BCE.[52] Some Nok terracotta sculptures portray figures wieldingslingshots, as well asbows and arrows, which may be indicative of Nok people engaging in thehunting, ortrapping, of undomesticated animals.[65] A Nok sculpture portrays two individuals, along with theirgoods, in a dugout canoe.[65] Both of the anthropomorphic figures in thewatercraft arepaddling.[66] The Nok terracotta depiction of a dugout canoe may indicate that Nok people used dugout canoes to transportcargo, alongtributaries (e.g.,Gurara River) of theNiger River, and exchanged them in a regionaltrade network.[66] The Nok terracotta depiction of a figure with a seashell on its head may indicate that the span of these riverinetrade routes may have extended to theAtlantic coast.[66] In themaritime history ofAfrica, there is the earlierDufuna canoe, which was constructed approximately 8000 years ago in the northern region of Nigeria; as the second earliest form of water vessel known inSub-Saharan Africa, the Nok terracotta depiction of adugout canoe was created in the central region of Nigeria during the first millennium BCE.[66] As part of Noktraditional medicine, Nok ceramics may have been used to processroots andbark asmedicinal plants for the production of medicinaldecoctions.[67]
Excludingancient Egyptian figurative art, Nok sculptures are regarded to be the most early, large figurative art in continental Africa.[67] Latterartistic traditions of West Africa –Bura of Niger (3rd century CE – 10th century CE), Koma ofGhana (7th century CE – 15th century CE),Igbo-Ukwu of Nigeria (9th century CE – 10th century CE),Jenne-Jeno of Mali (11th century CE – 12th century CE), andIle Ife of Nigeria (11th century CE – 15th century CE) – may have been shaped by the earlier West Africanclayterracotta tradition of the Nok culture.[68] Mountaintops are where the majority of Nok settlement sites are found.[69] At the settlement site of Kochio, the edge of a cellar of a settlement wall was chiseled from a granite foundation.[69] Additionally, amegalithic stonefence was constructed around theenclosed settlement site of Kochio.[69] Also, a circular stone foundation of a hut was discovered in Puntun Dutse.[70]Iron metallurgy may have been independently developed in theNok culture between the 9th century BCE and 550 BCE.[52][53] As each share cultural and artistic similarity with the Nok culture found in Nok, Sokoto, and Katsina, theNiger-Congo-speakingYoruba,Jukun, orDakakari peoples may be descendants of the Nok peoples.[71] Based on stylistic similarities with the Nok terracottas, the bronze figurines of theYorubaIfe Empire and theBinikingdom of Benin may also be continuations of the traditions of the earlier Nok culture.[72]
AtMouhoun Bend,Burkina Faso, people dwelled in a community of residences that housed multiple families in the second quarter of the 1st millennium BCE, which may have also been part of a pre-existing marketplace system oftrade (e.g.,salt) andtechnology transfer between agricultural communities (e.g.,Jenne-Jeno,Kintampo, Rim) throughoutWest Africa that persisted from the 2nd millennium BCE to the early 1st millennium CE.[73] In addition tofarming undomesticated crops and maintaining domesticated animals, the people of Mouhoun Bend engaged inhunting andfishing as well asiron, salt, andpottery production.[73] Thefunerary culture of the Mouhoun Bend people included ceremonial placement of food and material goods in pits and concave surfaces as well as the development ofearth structures.[73]
The civilization ofDjenné-Djenno was located in theNiger River valley inMali and is considered to be among the oldest urbanized centres and the best-known archaeological sites inSub-Saharan Africa. The site is located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from the modern town ofDjenné and is believed to have been involved in long-distance trade and possibly the domestication of African rice. The site is believed to exceed 33 hectares (82 acres). The city is believed to have been abandoned and moved to its current location due to the spread ofIslam and the building of theGreat Mosque of Djenné. Towns similar to Djenné-Jeno also developed at the site ofDia, also in Mali along the Niger River, from around 900 BC.[74] Considerable commonalities, absent in modern North African cultures, are present and able to be found betweenRound Head paintings and modernSub-Saharan African cultures.[75] Modern Saharan ceramics are viewed as having clear likenesses with the oldest ceramics found inDjenné-Djenno, which have been dated to 250 BCE.[75] Theegalitariancivilization of Djenné-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of theBozo people, which spanned from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE.[76]
Theprehistoric and ancient history of theSerer people of modern-daySenegambia has been extensively studied and documented over the years. Much of the present knowledge of it comes from archaeological discoveries and Serer traditions rooted in theSerer religion.[77][78]
Materialrelics have been found in different Serer countries, most of which refer to the past origins of Serer families, villages, and Serer kingdoms. Some of these Serer relics includedgold,silver, and metals.[77][79]
The objects found in Serer countries are divided into two types, the remnants of earlier populations and thelateritemegaliths carved in circular structures with stones directed toward the East. The latter are found only in small parts of the ancient Sererkingdom of Saloum. They are described below.
TheSenegambian stone circles aremegaliths found inGambia north ofJanjanbureh and in centralSenegal. The megaliths found in Senegal and Gambia are sometimes divided into four large sites: Sine Ngayene and Wanar in Senegal, and Wassu and Kerbatch in the Central River Region in Gambia. Researchers are not certain when these monuments were built, but the generally accepted range is between the third century BCE and the sixteenth century CE. Archaeologists have also found pottery sherds, human burials, and some grave goods and metals.[80] The monuments consist of what were originally upright blocks or pillars (some have collapsed), made of mostlylaterite with smooth surfaces.
The construction of thestone monuments shows evidence of a prosperous and organised society based on the amount of labour required to build such structures. The builders of these megaliths are unknown, but some believe that they wereSerer people. This hypothesis comes from the fact that the Serer still use funerary houses like those found at Wanar.[82]
The Bura culture was located in the MiddleNiger River valley ofNiger andBurkina Faso. More specifically, theIron Agecivilization exemplified by the Bura culture was centered in the southwestern region of modern Niger and in the southeast region of modern Burkina Faso (previously known asUpper Volta).[83]
Based onradio carbon dating, theSahelian Bura-Asinda culture may have begun in the 3rd century CE and lasted until the 13th century CE.[83]
Named for theBura archaeological site located near Bura in southwestern Niger, the Bura culture produced a variety of distinctiveartefacts made ofclay,iron, andstone.[84] Along with nearby terracotta jars used inritual sacrifice, hookedarrowheads made ofiron were also found.[85] Beads made ofquartzite, nose rings made frombrass, and bracelets made from iron or brass were found on human remains located beneath the terracotta jars.[85] Within the region of the Niger River basin, the Bura culture produced the earliest terracottaequestrian statuettes.[83]
It is unknown how the Bura culture is connected to otherancientAfrican cultures and laterIslamic-influencedSahelian kingdoms such asGhana,early Mali,later Mali, orSonghai.[83] Theterracottaurns of the Bura culture, which were used forfunerary purposes, may be related to theTondidaroumegaliths.[85]
TheSahelian kingdoms were a series of kingdoms or empires that were centred on theSahel, the area of grasslands south of theSahara. The wealth of the states came from controlling the trade routes across the desert. Their power came from having largepack animals likecamels andhorses that were fast enough to keep a large empire under central control and were also useful in battle. All of these empires were also quite decentralised, with member cities having a great deal of autonomy.
TheGhana Empire,Mali Empire, andSonghai Empire acquiredgold utilizingalluvial methods of mining inBambuk.[86]
TheGhana Empire may have been an established kingdom as early as the 3rd century CE, founded among theSoninke, aMandé people who lived at the crossroads of this new trade, around the city ofKumbi Saleh. Ghana was first mentioned by Arab geographerAl-Farazi in the late 8th century. After 800, the empire expanded rapidly, coming to dominate the entire western Sudan; at its height, the empire could field an army of 200,000 soldiers.
Ghana was inhabited by urban dwellers and rural farmers. The urban dwellers included the administrators of the empire, who wereMuslim, and theGhana (king), who practisedtraditional religion. Two towns existed, one where the Muslim administrators andBerber-Arabs lived, which was connected by a stone-paved road to the king's residence. The rural dwellers lived in villages, which joined into broader polities that pledged loyalty to theGhana. TheGhana was viewed asdivine, and his physical well-being reflected on the whole society. Ghana converted toIslam around 1050, after conqueringAoudaghost.[87]
The Ghana Empire grew wealthy by taxing thetrans-Saharan trade that linkedTiaret andSijilmasa to Aoudaghost. Ghana controlled access to the goldfields ofBambouk, southeast ofKoumbi Saleh. A percentage of salt and gold going through its territory was taken. The empire was not involved in production.[88]
In the 10th century, Islam was steadily growing in the region due to various influences, including internal dynastic struggles coupled with competing foreign interests (namelyAlmoravid intervention). By the 11th century, Ghana was in decline. It was once thought that the sacking of Koumbi Saleh by Berbers under theAlmoravid dynasty in 1076 was the cause, but this is no longer accepted. Several alternative explanations are cited. One important reason is the transfer of the gold trade east to theNiger River and theTaghaza Trail, and Ghana's consequent economic decline. Another reason cited is political instability through rivalry among the different hereditary polities.[89]The empire came to an end in 1230, whenTakrur in northern Senegal took over the capital.[90][91]
The first successor to the Ghana Empire was that of theSosso, aTakrur people who built their empire on the ruins of the old. Despite initial successes, the Sosso kingSoumaoro Kanté was defeated by theMandinka princeSundiata Keita at theBattle of Kirina in 1240, toppling the Sosso and guaranteeing the supremacy of Sundiata's newMali Empire.
TheMali Empire began in the 13th century CE, eventually creating a centralised state including most of West Africa. It originated when aMandé (Mandingo) leader,Sundiata (Lord Lion) of the Keita clan, defeatedSoumaoro Kanté, king of theSosso or southernSoninke, at theBattle of Kirina inc. 1235. Sundiata continued his conquest from the fertile forests and Niger Valley, east to the Niger Bend, north into the Sahara, and west to the Atlantic Ocean, absorbing the remains of the Ghana Empire. Sundiata took on the title ofmansa. He established the capital of his empire atNiani.[92]
Although the salt and gold trade continued to be important to the Mali Empire,agriculture andpastoralism was also critical. The growing ofsorghum,millet, and rice was a vital function. On the northern borders of the Sahel, grazing cattle, sheep, goats, and camels were major activities. Mandé society was organised around the village and land. A cluster of villages was called akafu, ruled by afarma. Thefarma paid tribute to themansa. A dedicated army of elite cavalry and infantry maintained order, commanded by the royal court. A formidable force could be raised from tributary regions, if necessary.[93]
Conversion toIslam was a gradual process. The power of themansa depended on upholding traditional beliefs and a spiritual foundation of power. Sundiata initially kept Islam at bay. Latermansas were devout Muslims but still acknowledged traditional deities and took part in traditional rituals and festivals, which were important to the Mandé. Islam became a court religion under Sundiata's sonUli I (1225–1270).Mansa Uli made a pilgrimage toMecca, becoming recognised within the Muslim world. The court was staffed with literate Muslims as secretaries and accountants. Muslim travellerIbn Battuta left vivid descriptions of the empire.[93]
The Mali Empire saw an expansion of learning and literacy. In 1285,Sakura, a freed slave, usurped the throne. Thismansa drove theTuareg out ofTimbuktu and established it as a center of learning and commerce. The book trade increased, and book copying became a very respectable and profitable profession.Kankou Musa I founded a university atTimbuktu and instituted a programme of free health care and education for Malian citizens with the help of doctors and scholars brought back from his legendaryhajj. Timbuktu andDjenné became important centres of learning within the Muslim world.[94]
TheUniversity of Sankore, which began as theMosque of Sankore, served as anorganization of higher learning inTimbuktu.[95][96] The Mosque of Sankore, the Mosque ofSidi Yahya, and the Mosque ofDjinguereber constitute what is referred to as theUniversity of Timbuktu.[95][96]
Mali reached the peak of its power and extent in the 14th century, whenMansa Musa (1312–1337) made his famoushajj to Mecca with 500 slaves, each holding a bar of gold worth 500mithqal.[97]Mansa Musa'shajj devalued gold inMamluk Egypt for a decade. He made a great impression on the minds of the Muslim and European world. He invited scholars and architects likeIshal al-Tuedjin (al-Sahili) to further integrate Mali into the Islamic world.[93]
After the reign ofMansa Suleyman (1341–1360), Mali began its spiral downward.Mossi cavalry raided the exposed southern border. Tuareg harassed the northern border to retake Timbuktu.Fulani (Fulbe) eroded Mali's authority in the west by establishing the independentImamate of Futa Toro, a successor to the kingdom ofTakrur.Serer andWolof alliances were broken.
In the 15th century, the city-state ofGao to made a bid for independence and regional power. Under the leadership ofSonni Ali (r. 1464–1492), theSonghai of Gao formed theSonghai Empire, which would fill the vacuum left by the Mali Empire's collapse. In 1545 to 1546, the Songhai Empire tookNiani. After 1599, the Mali Empire lost theBambouk goldfields and disintegrated into petty polities.[93]
TheSonghai people are descended from fishermen on the Middle Niger River. They established their capital atKukiya in the 9th century CE and atGao in the 12th century. The Songhai speak aNilo-Saharan language.[98]
Sonni Ali, a Songhai, began his conquest by capturingTimbuktu in 1468 from theTuareg. He extended the empire to the North, deep into the desert, pushed theMossi further south of the Niger, and expanded southwest toDjenné. His army consisted of cavalry and a fleet of canoes. Sonni Ali was not a Muslim, and he was portrayed negatively byBerber-Arab scholars, especially for attacking Muslim Timbuktu. After his death in 1492, his heirs were deposed by his nephew and GeneralMuhammad Ture.[99]
Muhammad Ture (1493–1528) founded theAskiya dynasty,askiya being the title of the king. He consolidated the conquests of Sonni Ali. Islam was used to extend his authority by declaringjihad on the Mossi, reviving the trans-Saharan trade, and having theAbbasid "shadow" caliph inCairo declare him ascaliph of Sudan. He established Timbuktu as a great center of Islamic learning. Muhammad Ture expanded the empire by pushing the Tuareg north, capturingAïr in the East, and capturing salt-producingTaghaza. He brought theHausa states into the Songhay trading network. He further centralised the administration of the empire by selecting administrators from loyal servants and families and assigning them to conquered territories. They were responsible for raising local militias. Centralisation made Songhay very stable, even during dynastic disputes.Leo Africanus left vivid descriptions of the empire under Askiya Muhammad. Askiya Muhammad was deposed by his son in 1528. After much rivalry, Muhammad Ture's last sonAskiya Daoud (1529–1582) assumed the throne.[100]
In 1591,Morocco invaded the Songhai Empire underAhmad al-Mansur of theSaadi dynasty to secure the goldfields of the Sahel. At theBattle of Tondibi, the Songhai army was defeated. The Moroccans captured Djenné, Gao, and Timbuktu, but they were unable to secure the whole region. Askiya Nuhu and the Songhay army regrouped atDendi in the heart of Songhai territory where a spirited guerrilla resistance sapped the resources of the Moroccans, who were dependent upon constant resupply from Morocco. Songhai split into several states during the 17th century.
Morocco found its venture unprofitable. The gold trade had been diverted to Europeans on the coast. Most of the trans-Saharan trade was now diverted east toBornu. Expensive equipment purchased with gold had to be sent across the Sahara, an unsustainable scenario. The Moroccans who remained married into the population and were referred to asArma orRuma. They established themselves at Timbuktu as a military caste with variousfiefs, independent from Morocco. Amid the chaos, other groups began to assert themselves, including theFulani ofFuta Tooro who encroached from the West. TheBambara Empire, one of the states that broke from Songhai, sacked Gao. In 1737, the Tuareg massacred theArma.[101][102]
TheFulani were migratory people. They moved fromMauritania and settled inFuta Tooro,Futa Djallon, and subsequently throughout the rest of West Africa. By the 14th century CE, they had converted to Islam. During the 16th century, they established themselves atMacina in southernMali. During the 1670s, they declaredjihads on non-Muslims. Several states were formed from these jihadist wars, includingBundu, theImamate of Futa Toro, theImamate of Futa Jallon, and theMassina Empire. The most important of these states was theSokoto Caliphate orFulani Empire.
In the city ofGobir,Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) accused theHausa leadership of practising an impure version of Islam and of moral corruption. In 1804, he launched theFulani War as ajihad among a population that was restless about high taxes and discontented with its leaders. Jihad fever swept northernNigeria, with strong support among both the Fulani and the Hausa. Usman created an empire that included parts of northern Nigeria,Benin, andCameroon, withSokoto as its capital. He retired to teach and write and handed the empire to his sonMuhammed Bello. The Sokoto Caliphate lasted until 1903 when the British conquered northern Nigeria.[103]
TheAkan speak a Kwa Language. The speakers ofKwa languages are believed to have come fromEast/Central Africa, before settling in theSahel.[104] By the 11th century, the Akan Kingdom ofBonoman (Bono State) was established. Bonoman was a trading state created by theBono people. Bonoman was a medievalAkan kingdom in what is now theBrong-Ahafo Region of Ghana and easternIvory Coast. It is generally accepted as the origin of the subgroups of the Akan people who migrated out of the state at various times to create new Akan states in search of gold. The gold trade, which started to boom in Bonoman as early in the 12th century, was the genesis of Akan power and wealth in the region, beginning in the Middle Ages.[105] During the 13th century, when the gold mines in modern-day Mali started to become depleted, Bonoman and later other Akan states began to rise to prominence as the major players in the gold trade.
It wasBonoman that begat several Akan kingdoms likeMankessim,Denkyira,Akyem,Akwamu and others.[106] Later, theEmpire of Ashanti was founded. When and how theAshante got to their present location is debatable. What is known is that by the 17th century an Akan people were identified as living in a state called Kwaaman. The location of the state was north ofLake Bosomtwe. The state's revenue was mainly derived from trading in gold andkola nuts and clearing forest to plantyams. They built towns between thePra andOfin rivers. They formed alliances for defence and paid tribute toDenkyira, one of the more powerful Akan states at that time along with Adansi andAkwamu. During the 16th century, Ashante society experienced sudden changes, including population growth because of cultivation ofNew World plants such ascassava andmaize and an increase in the gold trade between the coast and the north.[107]
By the 17th century,Osei Kofi Tutu I (c. 1695–1717), with help ofOkomfo Anokye, unified what became the Ashante into a confederation with theGolden Stool as a symbol of their unity and spirit. Osei Tutu engaged in a massive territorial expansion. He built up the Ashante army based on theAkan state ofAkwamu, introducing new organisation and turning a disciplined militia into an effective fighting machine. In 1701, the Ashante conquered Denkyira, giving them access to the coastal trade with Europeans, especially the Dutch.Opoku Ware I (1720–1745) engaged in further expansion, adding other southern Akan states to the growing empire. He turned north addingTechiman, Banda,Gyaaman, andGonja, states on theBlack Volta. Between 1744 and 1745,Asantehene Opoku attacked the powerful northern state of Dagomba, gaining control of the importantMiddle Niger trade routes.Kusi Obodom (1750–1764) succeeded Opoku. He solidified all the newly won territories.Osei Kwadwo (1777–1803) imposed administrative reforms that allowed the empire to be governed effectively and to continue its military expansion.Osei Kwame Panyin (1777–1803),Osei Tutu Kwame (1804–1807), andOsei Bonsu (1807–1824) continued territorial consolidation and expansion. At its height, the Ashante Empire included most of present-day Ghana and large parts ofCôte d'Ivoire.[108]
TheAshantehene inherited his position from his mother. He was assisted at the capital,Kumasi, by a civil service of men talented in trade, diplomacy, and the military, with a head called theGyaasehene. Men from Arabia, Sudan, and Europe were employed in the civil service, all of them appointed by theAshantehene. At the capital and in other towns, theankobia or special police were used as bodyguards to theAshantehene, as sources of intelligence, and to suppress rebellion. Communication throughout the empire was maintained via a network of well-kept roads from the coast to the Middle Niger and linking together other trade cities.[109][110]
For most of the 19th century, the Ashante Empire remained a powerful force in West Africa. It was later annexed in 1900 by theBritish Empire following fourAnglo-Ashanti wars.[111]
TheDahomey Kingdom was founded in the early 17th century CE when theAja people of theAllada kingdom moved northward and settled among theFon. They began to assert their power a few years later. In so doing they established the Kingdom of Dahomey, with its capital atAgbome. KingHouegbadja (c. 1645–1685) organised Dahomey into a powerful centralised state. He declared all lands to be owned by the king and subject to taxation. Primogeniture in the kingship was established, neutralising all input from village chiefs. A "cult of kingship" was established. A captive slave would be sacrificed annually to honour the royal ancestors. During the 1720s, the slave-trading states ofWhydah and Allada were taken, giving Dahomey direct access to the slave coast and trade with Europeans. KingAgadja (1708–1740) attempted to end the slave trade by keeping the slaves on plantations producingpalm oil, but the European profits on slaves and Dahomey's dependency on firearms were too great. In 1730, under king Agaja, Dahomey was conquered by theOyo Empire, and Dahomey had to pay tribute. Taxes on slaves were mostly paid incowrie shells. During the 19th century, palm oil was the main trading commodity.[112] France conquered Dahomey during theSecond Franco-Dahomean War (1892–1894) and established a colonial government there. Most of the troops who fought against Dahomey were native Africans.
Traditionally, theYoruba people viewed themselves as the inhabitants of a united empire, in contrast to the situation today, in which "Yoruba" is the cultural-linguistic designation for speakers of a language in theNiger–Congo family. The name comes from aHausa word to refer to theOyo Empire. The first Yoruba state was Ile-Ife which would later become the capital of theIfe Empire, said to have flourished in 1000 CE around a now deified figure, the firstoniOduduwa. Oduduwa's sons would be the founders of the different city-states of the Yoruba, and his daughters would become the mothers of the various Yorubaobas, or kings. Yoruba city-states were usually governed by anoba and aniwarefa, a council of chiefs who advised theoba. By the 18th century, the Yoruba city-states formed a loose confederation, with theoni of Ifẹ̀ as the head and Ifẹ̀ as the capital. As time went on, the individual city-states became more powerful, with theirobas assuming more powerful spiritual positions and diluting the authority of theoni of Ifẹ̀. Rivalry became intense among the city-states.[113]
The Oyo state was conquered in 1550 by the kingdom ofNupe, which was in possession of cavalry, an important tactical advantage. As a result,AlafinOrompoto (c. 1560–1580), king of Oyo, was sent into exile. After returning, he built up an army based on heavily armed cavalry and long-service troops. This made them nearly invincible in combat on the northern grasslands and in the thinly wooded forests. By the end of the 16th century, Oyo had added to their domain the western region of the Niger, the hills ofTogo, the Yoruba ofKetu, theDahomey, and theFon nation.
A governing council served the empire, with clear executive divisions. Each acquired region was assigned a local administrator. Families served in king-making capacities. Oyo, as a northern Yoruba kingdom, served as a middle-man in thenorth–south trade and connected the eastern forest ofGuinea with the western and centralSudan, the Sahara, and North Africa. The Yoruba manufactured cloth, ironware, and pottery, which were exchanged for salt, leather, and, most importantly, horses from the Sudan to maintain the cavalry. Oyo remained strong for two hundred years.[90][114] It became a protectorate ofGreat Britain in 1888, before further fragmenting into warring factions. The Oyo state ceased to exist as any sort of power in 1896.[115]
TheBenin Empire was ruled by theKwa-speakingEdo people, and by the mid-15th century it was engaged in political expansion and consolidation in the region. UnderOba (king)Ewuare (c. 1450–1480 CE), the state was organised for conquest. He solidified central authority and initiated 30 years of war with his neighbours. At the time of his death, the Benin Empire extended toDahomey in the West, to theNiger Delta in the East, along the West African coast, and to theYoruba towns in the north.
Theoba ruled with advice from theuzama, a council consisting of chiefs of powerful families and town chiefs of different guilds. Later its authority was diminished by the establishment of administrative dignitaries. In particular, Ewuare's grandsonObaEsigie (1504–1550) eroded the power of theuzama and increased contact and trade with Europeans, especially with the Portuguese who provided a new source of copper for court art. After the 16th century, Benin mainly exported pepper, ivory, gum, and cotton cloth to the Portuguese and Dutch, who resold it to other African societies along the coast.
Women wielded political power in the empire. For example, the queen-mother who produced a futureoba wielded immense political influence.[116]
Benin was never a significant exporter of slaves, as Alan Ryder's bookBenin and the Europeans showed.[citation needed]
By the early 1700s, the empire was wrecked with dynastic disputes andcivil wars. It regained much of its former power in the reigns ofOba Eresoyen andOba Akengbuda. In 1897,the British sacked Benin City.[117]
Sungbo's Eredo and thewalls of Benin were built amid 1st millennium CE, prior to 10th century CE.[118]
TheNiger Delta comprised numerous city-states with numerous forms of government, comparable to those of theSwahili people inEast Africa. These city-states were protected by the waterways and thick vegetation of the delta. Some, likeBonny,Kalabari, andWarri, had kings. Others, likeBrass, wererepublics with small senates, and those atCross River andOld Calabar were ruled by merchants of theekpe society. Theekpe society regulated trade and made rules for members known as house systems. Some of these houses, like the Pepples of Bonny, were well known in the Americas and Europe.[121] The region was transformed by trade in the 17th century CE.
TheIgbo primarily lived east of the delta, with the exception of theAnioma on the west side of the delta. The IgboKingdom of Nri rose in the 10th century CE, withEzeNri denoting its leader. It was a political entity composed of villages, where each village was autonomous, independent with its own territory and name, and recognised by its neighbours. Villages were democratic, with all males and sometimes females a part of the decision-making process. Graves atIgbo-Ukwu (800 CE) contained brass artefacts of local manufacture and glass beads fromEgypt orIndia, indicative of extraregional trade.[122][123]
TheAro Confederacy was a political union orchestrated by theIgbo subgroup, theAro people, centered in theArochukwu Kingdom in present-day south-easternNigeria. It was founded at the end of the 16th century, and by the 18th and 19th centuries their influence and presence reached across eastern Nigeria into parts of the Niger Delta and southernIgala.
Through pathways taken bycaravan, or via travel amid theAlmovarid period, a West African population (e.g.,Sub-SaharanWest Africans) may have introduced the −29 (A →G)β-thalassemia mutation—found in notable amounts amongAfrican-Americans—into theNorth African region ofMorocco.[124]
Paintedrock art fromManding peoples are found largely inMali, whereMalinke andBambara peoples reside.[125] The Manding rock art, developed using black, white, or red paint, is primarily composed of geometric artforms, as well as animal (e.g.,saurian) and human artforms.[125] Some of the Manding rock art may relate tocircumcision rituals for initiates.[125] During the 15th century CE, migrations from the northern area ofGuinea and southern area ofMali may have resulted in the creation of Manding rock art in the northern area of Mali (e.g., Yobri, Nabruk), southeastern area ofBurkina Faso (e.g., Takoutala, Sourkoundingueye), andDogon country.[125]
Following the collapse of theSonghai Empire in the 16th century CE, a number of smaller states arose across West Africa, including theBambara Empire ofSégou, the lesserBambara kingdom ofKaarta, theFula/Malinké kingdom ofKhasso (in present-dayMali'sKayes Region), and theKénédougou Empire ofSikasso.
European traders first became a force in the region in the 15th century, with the 1445 establishment of a Portuguese trading post atArguin Island, off the coast of present-daySenegal. By 1475, Portuguese traders had reached as far as theBight of Benin. TheAtlantic slave trade began almost immediately after this, based on the already well-established slave trading capacity of theIslamic world, with the Portuguese taking hundreds of captives back to their country for use as slaves. It began on grand scale afterChristopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas and the subsequent demand for cheapcolonial labour. In 1510, theSpanish Crown initiated Spain's involvement in the Atlantic slave trade, and it was followed over the next centuries by other European states.[126] By 1650, the slave trade was in full force at a number of sites along the coast of West Africa, and over the coming centuries would result in severely reduced growth for the region's population and economy.[127] The expanding slave trade produced significant populations of West Africans living in theNew World, recently colonised by Europeans. The oldest known remains of African slaves in the Americas were found inMexico in early 2006 and are thought to date from the late-16th to mid-17th centuries.[128]
As the demand for slaves increased, some African rulers sought to supply the demand by constant war against their neighbours, resulting in fresh captives. States such asDahomey (in modern-dayBenin) and theBambara Empire (in modern-dayMali) based much of their economy on the exchange of slaves for European goods, particularlyfirearms that they then employed to capture more slaves. During the colonial era, the Dutch colonial authorities in West Africa were active inrecruiting African slaves into theRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army (known asBelanda Hitam), as it was believed that Black Africans were moreimmune than Europeans to the tropical diseases present in theDutch East Indies. Recruitment changed format after theAtlantic slave trade was abolished by European and American governments in the 19th century. For instance, 1831 was the first year when onlyvolunteers were accepted for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army.[129]Slavery in the Americas persisted in some capacity after the end of the Atlantic slave trade, untilBrazil abolished it in 1888. Today, descendants of West Africans make up large and important segments of the population in Brazil, theCaribbean, theUnited States, and throughout theNew World.
A modern genetic research study ofAfrican-Americans in several major US cities concluded that their common ancestry originated most prominently in western Africa, consistent with prior genetic studies and the history of the slave trade.[130]
In 1725, the cattle-herdingFulanis ofFouta Djallon launched the first major reformistjihad of the region, overthrowing the localanimist,Mandé-speaking elites and attempting to somewhat democratise their society. A similar movement occurred on a much broader scale in theHausa city-states of Nigeria underUthman dan Fodio. Animam influenced by the teachings ofSidi Ahmed al-Tidjani, Uthman preached against the elitist Islam of the then-dominantQadiriyyah brotherhood, winning a broad base of support amongst the common people. Uthman'sFulani Empire was soon one of the region's largest states, and inspired the laterjihads ofMassina Empire founderSeku Amadu in present-dayMali, and the cross-SudanToucouleur conquerorEl HadjUmar Tall.
At the same time, the Europeans started to travel into the interior of Africa to trade and explore. Scottish explorerMungo Park (1771–1806) made the first serious expedition into the region's interior, tracing the Niger River as far asTimbuktu. French armies followed not long after. In 1774 it was noted that the extensive coastline and deep rivers of Africa had not been utilised for "correspondence or commerce", even though maps in the same volume clearly show the "Gum Coast", "Grain Coast", "Ivory Coast", and "Gold Coast".[131]Malachy Postlethwayt writes in this book,
It is melancholy to observe that a country, which has near ten thousand miles sea-coast, and noble, large, deep rivers, should yet have no navigation; streams penetrating into the very center of the country, but of no benefit to it, innumerable people, without knowledge of each other, correspondence, or commerce.[131]
In theScramble for Africa in the 1880s, Europeans started to colonise the inland of West Africa, as they had previously mostly controlled trading ports along the coasts and rivers.Samory Ture's newly foundedWassoulou Empire was the last to fall, and with his capture in 1898, military resistance to French colonial rule effectively ended.
France dominated West Africa, followed by Britain. Small colonial operations were held by Germany (until 1914), and also by Spain and Portugal. OnlyLiberia was independent before 1958. After the slave trade died out, Denmark and the Netherlands sold off their small holdings.
Britain operated from four small colonies on the West African coast:Sierra Leone, theGold Coast,Lagos and theNiger. British trade in tropical products reached £4 million per year, and was entirely handled by a small number of resident merchants. There were no permanent British settlers or military bases. The posts were held entirely for trade purposes, and also as calling stations.London had no long-term plans to join them together or go inland. British diplomats negotiated military agreements with local tribes, who needed British protection from the expansionistAshanti tribes. Britain fought repeatedAnglo-Ashanti wars in the Gold Coast in 1823, 1824–1831, 1863–64, 1873–74, 1895–96 and 1900. Only the last two were clear British victories.[132]
French pretensions in West Africa were much more ambitious, and involved not just trade, but rebuilding theFrench Empire and bringing new populations into the umbrella of French civilization andCatholicism. There were dreams of consolidating a vast African empire by expanding south from theMediterranean into theSahara desert, moving east toward theNile River, and moving south towardKing Leopold's Congo.[133]
FollowingWorld War II, campaigns for independence sprang up across West Africa, most notably in Ghana under thePan-AfricanistKwame Nkrumah (1909–1972).Ghana became the first country of Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence in 1957, followed by Guinea under the guidance ofSekou Touré the next year.[134] After a decade of protests, riots, and clashes,French West Africa voted for autonomy in a1958 referendum, dividing into the states of today. Most of the British colonies gained autonomy the following decade. Out of the 17 nations that achieved their independence in 1960, theYear of Africa, nine were West African countries.[134] Many founding fathers of West African nations, like Nkrumah, Touré,Léopold Sédar Senghor,Modibo Keïta,Sylvanus Olympio,Félix Houphouët-Boigny,Siaka Stevens, andAbubakar Tafawa Balewa, consolidated their power during the post-independence 1960s by gradually eroding democratic institutions and civil society.[135] In 1973,Guinea-Bissau proclaimed its independence from Portugal, and was internationally recognised following the 1974Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
West African political history since independence has been characterised byAfrican socialism. Senghor, Nkrumah, and Touré all embraced the idea of African socialism, whereas Houphouët-Boigny andLiberia'sWilliam Tubman remained suspicious of it.[136] 1983 saw the rise of socialistThomas Sankara, often titled the "Che Guevara of Africa", to power inBurkina Faso.[137]
Since independence, West Africa has suffered from the same problems as much of the African continent, particularly dictatorships, political corruption, andmilitary coups. At the time of his death in 2005, for example,Togo'sÉtienne Eyadéma was among the world's longest-ruling dictators. International conflicts have been few, withMali and Burkina Faso's nearly bloodlessAgacher Strip War a rare exception.
The region of West Africa has seen a number ofcivil wars in its recent past, including theNigerian Civil War (1967–1970), two civil wars inLiberia (1989–1997 and1999–2003),a decade of fighting inSierra Leone (1991–2002), theGuinea-Bissau Civil War (1998–1999), and two recent conflicts inCôte d'Ivoire (2002–2007 and2010–2011).
After gaining full independence from theBritish Empire in 1963, Nigeria established theFirst Republic, which was heavily influenced by British democracy and relied on majority rule.[138] In less than three years, though, the Republic fell after asuccessful coup d'état led by southern Nigerian rebels on 15 January 1966.
The fall of the First Republic increased political, economic, ethnic, cultural, and religious tensions between North and South Nigeria which had been present since colonial times. This led to the military governor of south-eastern Nigeria, ColonelChukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, seceding south-eastern Nigeria, citing northern massacres and electoral fraud. The independent state became known as theRepublic of Biafra.[139]
Northern Nigeria opposed the claim of southern secession, and the Nigerian government called for police action in the area. The armed forces of Nigeria were sent in to occupy and take back the Republic of Biafra. Nigerian forces successfully seized Biafra through the Capture ofNsukka, the Capture ofOgoja, Capture ofAbakaliki, and the Capture ofEnugu. Their military successes were largely due to the advantaged army of Nigeria.[140] By 1970, Biafraian General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu fled to the neighboring nation ofCôte d'Ivoire, and Biafra surrendered due to lack of resources and leadership. The secessionist state officially reunited with the northern Nigeria on 15 January 1970.[141] The conflict is estimated to have killed roughly 1 million people.[142]
The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict inLiberia from 1989 until 1997. The conflict killed about 250,000 people[143] and eventually led to the involvement of theEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and theUnited Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 theSecond Liberian Civil War broke out.
In 1980,Samuel Doe led acoup that overthrew the elected government. In 1985, heheld elections that were widely considered fraudulent, leading toan unsuccessful coup attempt by GeneralThomas Quiwonkpa. In December 1989, former government ministerCharles Taylor moved into the country from the neighboringIvory Coast to start an uprising meant to topple the Doe government.
TheNational Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), led by Taylor, soon splintered and devolved into battle withPrince Johnson's rebel group, theIndependent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) for control in the capital,Monrovia. In 1990, Johnson seized control of the capital and executed Doe brutally.
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouringGuinea, theLiberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, theMovement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003,Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country.
The capitalMonrovia was besieged by LURD, and the group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
TheAccra Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed by the warring parties on August 18, 2003, marking the political end of the conflict and the beginning of the country's transition to democracy under theNational Transitional Government of Liberia, led by interim PresidentGyude Bryant until theLiberian general election of 2005.
The civil war inSierra Leone began on 23 March 1991 as a result of an attempted overthrow against the administration of president,Joseph Saidu Momoh. The rebels went under the guise of theRevolutionary United Front (RUF) led byFoday Sankoh a previous army corporal.[144] The Sierra Leoneian government called for action and soon theSierra Leone Army (SLA) was sent in to control the situation and take back RUF occupied territory.
By 1992 president Joseph Momoh was ousted by a successful military coup led by CaptainValentine Strasser. Capitan Strasser, soon established multi-party democratic elections in the region.
On 18 January 2002, the civil war was officially ended by former president Kabbah. During the 11 year conflict, roughly 50,000 Sierra Leoneians were killed with 2,000,000 displaced.[145]
Before the civil war began, an attempted coup d'état took place led by militaryBrigadier GeneralAnsumane Mané. Mané leading the coup, blamed the presidency ofJoao Bernardo Vieira for the poverty and corruption ofGuinea Bissau. President Vieira, controlling the armed forces, soon fired Mané from his position ofBrigadier General.[146] He was fired on charges of supplying Senegal rebels.[147]
On 7 June 1998, a second coup d'état began. The coup once again failed. Soon after, rebels received aid from the neighboring nations of Senegal and Guinea-Conakry.
The conflict sparked a civil war. Many soldiers in the armed forces ofGuinea-Bissau joined the side of the rebels. This was in part, due to the government not paying its soldiers. The rebels continued to fight from 1998 to 1999. President Vieira was ousted on 7 May 1999. By 10 May 1999, the war ended when President Vieira signed an unconditional surrender in a Portuguese embassy.[148]
Approximately 655 were killed as a result of the conflict.[149]
In the early 2000s, theIvory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) experienced an economic rescission. The rescission began as a result of the previous economic boom crashing the economy as a whole. This led to the predominantly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south of the Ivory Coast becoming politically divided.[150]
The southern Ivory Coast was in control of the Ivorian government. The north was under the control of the rebel movement. The civil war between the two began officially on 19 September 2002 when rebels launched a series of attacks on the south. The city ofAbidjan was primarily targeted. Northern rebels were successful in the attacks. As a result of the chaos, presidentRobert Guéï was killed in the rebellions.[151]
The south retailed with military action. France supported the south and sent 2500 soldiers to the region and called forUnited Nations action. French action in the area went under the guise and codename ofOpération Licorne.
By 2004 most fighting in the region ceased. On 4 March 2007 the civil war official ended with the signing of a peace treaty.
The current major problem inAfrican studies that Mohamed (2010/2012)[152][153] identified is the inherited religious,Orientalist,colonial paradigm that European Africanists have preserved in present-daysecularist,post-colonial,Anglophone Africanhistoriography.[152] African and African-American scholars also bear some responsibility in perpetuating this European Africanist preservedparadigm.[152]
Following conceptualizations ofAfrica developed byLeo Africanus andHegel, European Africanists conceptually separated continental Africa into tworacialized regions –Sub-Saharan Africa andNorth Africa.[152] Sub-Saharan Africa, as aracist geographic construction, serves as anobjectified,compartmentalized region of "Africa proper", "Africa noire," or "Black Africa".[152] TheAfrican diaspora is also considered to be a part of the same racialized construction as Sub-Saharan Africa.[152] North Africa serves as a racialized region of "European Africa", which is conceptually disconnected from Sub-Saharan Africa, and conceptually connected to theMiddle East,Asia, and theIslamic world.[152]
As a result of these racialized constructions and the conceptual separation of Africa, darker skinned North Africans, such as the so-calledHaratin, who have long resided in theMaghreb, and do not reside south ofSaharan Africa, have become analogically alienated from theirindigeneity andhistoric reality in North Africa.[152] While the origin of the term "Haratin" remains speculative, theterm may not date much earlier than the 18th century CE and has been involuntarily assigned to darker skinned Maghrebians.[152] Prior to the modern use of the term Haratin as an identifier, and utilized in contrast to bidan or bayd (white), sumr/asmar, suud/aswad, or Sudan/sudani (black/brown) wereArabic terms utilized as identifiers for darker skinned Maghrebians before themodern period.[152] "Haratin" is considered to be an offensive term by the darker skinned Maghrebians it is intended to identify; for example, people in the southern region (e.g.,Wad Noun,Draa) ofMorocco consider it to be an offensive term.[152] Despite its questionablehistoricity andetymology, European colonialists and European Africanists have used the term Haratin as identifiers for groups of "black" and apparently "mixed" people found inAlgeria,Mauritania, and Morocco.[152]
TheSaadian invasion of the Songhai Empire serves as the precursor to later narratives that grouped darker skinned Maghrebians together and identified their origins as Sub-Saharan West Africa.[153] Withgold serving as a motivation behind theSaadian invasion of theSonghai Empire, this made way for changes in latter behaviors toward dark-skinned Africans.[153] As a result of changing behaviors toward dark-skinned Africans, darker skinned Maghrebians were forcibly recruited into the army ofIsmail Ibn Sharif as theBlack Guard, based on the claim of them having descended from enslaved peoples from the times of the Saadian invasion.[153] Shurafa historians of the modern period would later utilize these events in narratives about themanumission of enslaved "Hartani" (a vague term, which, by merit of it needing further definition, is implicit evidence for its questionable historicity).[153] The narratives derived from Shurafa historians would later become analogically incorporated into theAmericanized narratives (e.g., the trans-Saharan slave trade, imported enslaved Sub-Saharan West Africans, darker skinned Magrebian freedmen) of the present-day European Africanist paradigm.[153]
As opposed to having been developed through field research, theanalogy in the present-day European Africanist paradigm, which conceptually alienates, dehistoricizes, anddenaturalizes darker skinned North Africans in North Africa and darker skinned Africans throughout the Islamic world at-large, is primarily rooted in an Americanized textual tradition inherited from 19th century EuropeanChristianabolitionists.[152] Consequently, reliable history, as opposed to an antiquated analogy-based history, for darker skinned North Africans and darker skinned Africans in the Islamic world are limited.[152] Part of the textual tradition generally associates an inherited status of servant withdark skin (e.g.,Negro labor, Negro cultivators,Negroid slaves,freedman).[152] The European Africanist paradigm uses this as the primary reference point for its construction of origins narratives for darker skinned North Africans (e.g., importedslaves from Sub-SaharanWest Africa).[152] With darker skinned North Africans or darker skinned Africans in the Islamic world treated as anallegory ofalterity, another part of the textual tradition is thetrans-Saharan slave trade and their presence in these regions are treated as that of an Africandiaspora in North Africa and the Islamic world.[152] Altogether, darker skinned North Africans (e.g., "black" and apparently "mixed" Maghrebians), darker skinned Africans in the Islamic world, the inherited status of servant associated with dark skin, and the trans-Saharan slave trade are conflated and modeled in analogy withAfrican-Americans and thetrans-Atlantic slave trade.[152]
The trans-Saharan slave trade has been used as aliterary device in narratives that analogically explain the origins of darker skinned North Africans in North Africa and the Islamic world.[152]Camel trains have been equated withslave ships, and the amount of forcibly enslaved Africans transported across the Sahara are alleged to be numerically comparable to the considerably large amount of forcibly enslaved Africans transported across the Atlantic Ocean.[152] The simulated narrative of comparable numbers is contradicted by the limited presence of darker skinned North Africans in the present-day Maghreb.[152] As part of this simulated narrative, post-classicalEgypt has also been characterized as havingplantations.[152] Another part of this simulated narrative is an Orientalist construction of hypersexualizedMoors,concubines, andeunuchs.[152] Concubines inharems have been used as an explanatory bridge between the allegation of comparable numbers of forcibly enslaved Africans and the limited amount of present-day darker skinned Maghrebians who have been characterized as their diasporic descendants.[152] Eunuchs were characterized as sentinels who guarded these harems.[153] The simulated narrative is also based on the major assumption that the indigenous peoples of the Maghreb were once purelywhiteBerbers, who then becamebiracialized throughmiscegenation with black concubines[152] (existing within a geographic racial binary of pale-skinned Moors residing further north, closer to theMediterranean region, and dark-skinned Moors residing further south, closer to theSahara).[153] The religiouspolemical narrative involving the suffering of enslaved European Christians of theBarbary slave trade has also been adapted to fit the idea of a comparable number of enslaved Africans transported byMuslimslaver caravans, from the south of Saharan Africa, into North Africa and the Islamic world.[152]
Despite inheriting 19th century religious polemical narratives, the use of race in the secularism of present-day European Africanist paradigm has given the paradigm an appearance of possessingscientific quality.[153] The religious polemical narrative (e.g., holy cause, hostileneologisms) of 19th century European abolitionists about Africa and Africans are silenced, but still preserved, in the secularist narratives of the present-day European Africanist paradigm.[152] The Orientalist stereotyped hypersexuality of the Moors were viewed by 19th century European abolitionists as deriving from the Quran.[153] The reference to times prior, often used in concert with biblical references, by 19th century European abolitionists, may indicate that realities described of Moors may have been literary fabrications.[153] The purpose of these apparent literary fabrications may have been to affirm their view of theBible as greater than theQuran and to affirm the viewpoints held by the readers of their composed works.[153] The adoption of 19th century European abolitionists' religious polemical narrative into the present-day European Africanist paradigm may have been due to its correspondence with the established textual tradition.[153] The use of stereotyped hypersexuality for Moors are what 19th century European abolitionists and the present-day European Africanist paradigm have in common.[153]
Due to a lack of considerable development in field research regarding enslavement in Islamic societies, this has resulted in the present-day European Africanist paradigm relying on unreliable estimates for the trans-Saharan slave trade.[153] Insufficient data has also used as a justification for continued use of the faulty present-day European Africanist paradigm.[153] Darker skinned Maghrebians, particularly in Morocco, have grown weary of the lack of discretion foreign academics have shown toward them, bear resentment toward the way they have been depicted by foreign academics, and consequently, find the intended activities of foreign academics to be predictable.[153] Rather than continuing to rely on the faulty present-day European Africanist paradigm, Mohamed (2012) recommends revising and improving the current Africanist paradigm (e.g., critical inspection of the origins and introduction of the present characterization of the Saharan caravan; reconsideration of what makes the trans-Saharan slave trade, within its own context in Africa, distinct from the trans-Atlantic slave trade; realistic consideration of the experiences of darker-skinned Maghrebians within their own regional context).[153]
Merolla (2017)[154] had indicated that the academic study ofSub-Saharan Africa andNorth Africa by Europeans developed with North Africa was conceptually subsumed within theMiddle East andArab world, whereas the study of Sub-Saharan Africa was viewed as conceptually distinct from North Africa, and as its own region, viewed as inherently the same.[154] The common pattern of conceptual separation of continental Africa into two regions and the view of conceptual sameness within the region of Sub-Saharan Africa has continued until present-day.[154] Yet, with increasing exposure of this problem, discussion about the conceptual separation of Africa has begun to develop.[154]
TheSahara had served as a trans-regional zone for peoples in Africa.[154] Authors from various countries (e.g., Algeria, Cameroon, Sudan) in Africa have critiqued the conceptualization of the Sahara as a regional barrier, and provided counter-arguments supporting the interconnectedness of continental Africa; there are historic and cultural connections as well as trade betweenWest Africa,North Africa, andEast Africa (e.g., North Africa with Niger and Mali, North Africa with Tanzania and Sudan, major hubs ofIslamic learning in Niger and Mali).[154]Africa has been conceptually compartmentalized into meaning "Black Africa", "Africa South of the Sahara", and "Sub-Saharan Africa".[154] North Africa has been conceptually "Orientalized" and separated from Sub-Saharan Africa.[154] While its historic development has occurred within a longer time frame, theepistemic development (e.g., form, content) of the present-dayracialized conceptual separation of Africa came as a result of theBerlin Conference and theScramble for Africa.[154]
In African and Berber literary studies, scholarship has remained largely separate from one another.[154] The conceptual separation of Africa in these studies may be due to howediting policies of studies in theAnglophone andFrancophone world are affected by theinternational politics of the Anglophone and Francophone world.[154] While studies in the Anglophone world have more clearly followed the trend of the conceptual separation of Africa, the Francophone world has been more nuanced, which may stem from imperial policies relating toFrench colonialism in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.[154] As the study of North Africa has largely been initiated by theArabophone and Francophone world, denial of theArabic language having become Africanized throughout the centuries it has been present in Africa has shown that the conceptual separation of Africa remains pervasive in the Francophone world; this denial may stem from historic development of the characterization of anIslamicArabia existing as a diametric binary toEurope.[154] Among studies in the Francophone world, ties between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa have been denied or downplayed, while the ties (e.g., religious, cultural) between the regions and peoples (e.g., Arab language and literature with Berber language and literature) of the Middle East and North Africa have been established by diminishing the differences between the two and selectively focusing on the similarities between the two.[154] In the Francophone world, construction of racialized regions, such asBlack Africa (Sub-Saharan Africans) andWhite Africa (North Africans, e.g., Berbers and Arabs), has also developed.[154]
Despite having invoked and utilized identities in reference to the racialized conceptualizations of Africa (e.g., North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa) to oppose imposed identities,Berbers have invoked North African identity to opposeArabized andIslamicized identities, andSub-Saharan Africans (e.g.,Negritude,Black Consciousness) and theAfrican diaspora (e.g.,Black is Beautiful) have invoked and utilizedblack identity to opposecolonialism andracism.[154] While Berber studies has largely sought to be establish ties between Berbers and North Africa with Arabs and the Middle East, Merolla (2017) indicated that efforts to establish ties between Berbers and North Africa with Sub-Saharan Africans and Sub-Saharan Africa have recently started.[154]
Traditional African medicine is a holistic discipline involving indigenousherbalism and African spirituality. Practitioners claim to be able to cure various and diverse conditions.[155]Modern science has, in the past, considered methods of traditional knowledge as primitive and backward.[156] Undercolonial rule, traditional diviner-healers were outlawed because they were considered by many nations to be practitioners of witchcraft and declared illegal by the colonial authorities, creating a war against witchcraft and magic. During this time, attempts were also made to control the sale of herbal medicines.[155] As colonialism and Christianity spread through Africa, colonialists built general hospitals and Christian missionaries built private ones, with the hopes of making headway against widespread diseases. Little was done to investigate the legitimacy of these practices, as many foreigners believed that the native medical practices werepagan and superstitious and could only be suitably fixed by inheriting Western methods.[157] During times of conflict, opposition has been particularly vehement as people are more likely to call on the supernatural realm.[155] Consequently, doctors and health practitioners have, in most cases, continued to shun traditional practitioners despite their contribution to meeting the basic health needs of the population.[156] In recent years, the treatments and remedies used in traditional African medicine have gained more appreciation from researchers in Western science. Developing countries have begun to realise the high costs of modernhealth care systems and the technologies that are required, thus proving Africa's dependence to it.[156] Due to this, interest has recently been expressed in integrating traditional African medicine into the continent's national health care systems.[155]
Disease has been a hindrance to human development in West Africa throughout history. The environment, especially the tropical rain-forests, allow many single cell organisms, parasites, and bacteria to thrive and prosper. Prior to the slave trade, West Africans strived to maintain ecological balance, controlling vegetation and game, and thereby minimising the prevalence of local diseases. The increased amount and intensity of warfare due to the slave trade meant that the ecological balance could not be sustained. Endemic diseases became epidemic in scale. Genetic mutations developed that provided increased resistance to disease, such assickle cell, evident in the Kwa forest agriculturalists fromc. 700 CE, providing some protection from malaria.[158]
In the 1990s,AIDS became a significant problem for the region, particularly inCôte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Nigeria.[159]The onset of the HIV epidemic in the region began in 1985 with reported cases in Benin[160] and Nigeria,[161] and in nearby countries, such as Côte d'Ivoire, in subsequent years.[162]
AIDS was at first considered a disease of gay men and drug addicts, but in Africa it took off among the general population. As a result, those involved in the fight against HIV began to emphasize aspects such as preventing transmission from mother to child, or the relationship between HIV and poverty, inequality of the sexes, and so on, rather than emphasizing the need to prevent transmission by unsafe sexual practices or drug injection. This change in emphasis resulted in more funding, but was not effective in preventing a drastic rise in HIV prevalence.[163]The global response to HIV and AIDS has improved considerably in recent years. Funding comes from many sources, the largest of which are theGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and thePresident's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.[164]
As of 2011[update], HIV prevalence in western Africa is lowest in Senegal and highest in Nigeria, which has the second largest number of people living with HIV in Africa afterSouth Africa. Nigeria's infection rate relative to the entire population is much lower (3.7 per cent) compared to South Africa's (17.3 per cent).[165]
Ebola virus disease, first identified in 1976, typically occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, including West Africa.[166] From 1976 through 2013, the World Health Organization reported 1,716 confirmed cases.[166][167] The largest outbreak to date is the ongoing2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak, which is affectingGuinea,Sierra Leone,Liberia and Nigeria[168][169] Theoutbreak began inGuinea in December 2013, but was not detected until March 2014,[170] after which it spread toLiberia,Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. The outbreak is caused by theZaire ebolavirus, known simply as theEbola virus (EBOV). It is the most severeoutbreak of Ebola in terms of the number of human cases and fatalities since the discovery of the virus in 1976.[171]
As of 16 August 2014[update], theWorld Health Organization (WHO) reported 2,240 suspected cases and 1,229 deaths (1,383 confirmed cases and 760 deaths).[172] On 8 August, it formally designated the outbreak as apublic health emergency of international concern.[173] This is a legal designation used only twice before (for the2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic and the 2014 resurgence ofpolio) and invokes legal measures on disease prevention, surveillance, control, and response, by 194 signatory countries.[174]Variousaid organisations and international bodies, including theEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and theEuropean Commission have donated funds and mobilised personnel to help counter the outbreak; charities includingMédecins Sans Frontières, theRed Cross,[175] andSamaritan's Purse are also working in the area.
Famine has been an occasional but serious problem in West Africa.In 1680s, famine extended across the entireSahel, and in 1738 half the population ofTimbuktu died of famine.[176] Some colonial "pacification" efforts often caused severe famine. The introduction of cash crops such as cotton, and forcible measures to impel farmers to grow these crops, sometimes impoverished the peasantry in many areas, such as northern Nigeria, contributing to greater vulnerability to famine when severe drought struck in 1913.For the middle part of the 20th century, agriculturalists, economists and geographers did not consider Africa to be famine prone – most famines were localized and brief food shortages.[177]
From 1967 to 1969 large scale famine occurred in Biafra and Nigeria due to agovernment blockade of the Breakaway territory. It is estimated that 1.5 million people died of starvation due to this famine. Additionally, drought and other government interference with the food supply caused 500 thousand Africans to perish in Central and West Africa.[178]Famine recurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when the west AfricanSahel suffereddrought and famine.[179][180] The Sahelian famine was associated with the slowly growing crisis of pastoralism in Africa, which has seen livestock herding decline as a viable way of life over the last two generations.
Since the start of the 21st century, more effective early warning and humanitarian response actions have reduced the number of deaths by famine markedly. That said, many African countries are not self-sufficient in food production, relying on income fromcash crops to import food.Agriculture in Africa is susceptible toclimatic fluctuations, especiallydroughts which can reduce the amount of food produced locally. Other agricultural problems includesoil infertility,land degradation anderosion, swarms ofdesert locusts, which can destroy whole crops, and livestock diseases. TheSahara spreads up to 30 miles per year.[181] The most serious famines have been caused by a combination of drought, misguided economic policies, and conflict.Recent famines in Africa include the2005–06 Niger food crisis, the2010 Sahel famine, and in 2012, theSahel drought put over ten million people in the western Sahel at risk of famine, according to theMethodist Relief and Development Fund, due to a month-long heatwave.[182]
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West African peoples were trading with theArab world centuries before the influence of Europeans.Spices such ascinnamon were introduced and became part of the localculinary traditions. Centuries later, European explorers and slave traders influenced regional cuisines to a limited extent. European merchant and slave ships broughtchili peppers andtomatoes from theNew World to West Africa, and both became ubiquitous components of West African cuisines, along withpeanuts,maize, cassava, andplantains. In turn, these slave ships carried African ingredients to the New World, includingblack-eyed peas andokra.
Around the time of thecolonial period, particularly during the Scramble for Africa, the European settlers defined colonial borders without regard to pre-existing borders, territories or cultural differences. This bisected tribes and created colonies with varying culinary styles. As a result, it is difficult to sharply define, for example,Senegalese cuisine. Although the European colonists brought many new ingredients to the African continent, they had relatively little impact on the way people cook in West Africa.
Further information in the sections ofArchitecture of Africa:
Further information in the sections ofHistory of science and technology in Africa:
According to a 2020 study by Durvasula et al., there are indications that 2% to 19% (or about ≃6.6 and ≃7.0%) of the DNA of four West African populations may have come from an unknown archaic hominin which split from the ancestor of humans and Neanderthals between 360 kya to 1.02 mya. It also suggests that at least part of this archaic admixture is also present in Eurasians/non-Africans, and that the admixture event or events range from 0 to 124 ka B.P, which includes the period before the Out-of-Africa migration and prior to the African/Eurasian split (thus affecting in part the common ancestors of both Africans and Eurasians/non-Africans).[183][184][185]
Archaic traits found in human fossils ofWest Africa (e.g.,Iho Eleru fossils, which dates to 13,000 BP) andCentral Africa (e.g.,Ishango fossils, which dates between 25,000 BP and 20,000 BP) may have developed as a result of admixture between archaic humans and modern humans or may be evidence of late-persistingearly modern humans.[186] WhileDenisovan andNeanderthal ancestry in non-Africans outside of Africa are more certain,archaic human ancestry in Africans is less certain and is too early to be established with certainty.[186]
As of 2017, human ancient DNA has not been found in the region ofWest Africa.[2] As of 2020, human ancient DNA has not been forthcoming in the region of West Africa.[187]
West African hunter-gatherers, in the region of western Central Africa (e.g.,Shum Laka,Cameroon), particularly between 8000 BP and 3000 BP, were found to be related to modernCentral African hunter-gatherers (e.g.,Baka,Bakola,Biaka,Bedzan).[188]
In 4000 BP (or even earlier during the Mesolithic), there may have been a population that traversed fromAfrica (e.g.,West Africa or West-Central Africa), through theStrait of Gibraltar, into theIberian peninsula, where admixing between Africans and Iberians (e.g., of northernPortugal, of southernSpain) occurred. Based on a small trace presence of sub-Saharan African components in select samples from Iberia, and the discovery of a mitogenome L2a1 found in one individual, while all others belonged to European mitochondrial haplogroups.[189]
InGranada, a Muslim (Moor) of theCordoba Caliphate,[190] who was of haplogroupsE1b1a1 andH1+16189,[191] as well as estimated to date between 900 CE and 1000 CE, and aMorisco,[190] who was ofhaplogroup L2e1,[191] as well as estimated to date between 1500 CE and 1600 CE, were both found to be of Sub-Saharan West African (i.e.,Gambian) andIberian descent.[190]
Eight males fromGuinea Bissau, two fromNiger, one fromMali and one fromCabo Verde carriedhaplogroup A1a.[192]
As haplogroup D0, a basal branch of haplogroup DE, was found in threeNigerian men,haplogroup DE may have originated inAfrica.[193]
As of 19,000 years ago, Africans, bearinghaplogroup E1b1a-V38, likely traversed across theSahara, fromeast towest.[194]E1b1a1-M2 likely originated inWest Africa orCentral Africa.[195]
Due to the large numbers of West Africansenslaved in theAtlantic slave trade, mostAfrican Americans,Afro Latin Americans andAfro-Caribbean people are likely to have mixed ancestry from different regions of western Africa.[196] 60% of African-Americans (in the study) were of the E1b1a haplogroup, within which 22.9% were particularly of the E-M2 haplogroup; they also possessed numerousSNPs (e.g., U175, U209, U181, U290, U174, U186, and U247).[197]
Studies ofhuman mitochondrial DNA suggest that all humansshare common ancestors from Africa, originated in the southwestern regions near the coastal border ofNamibia andAngola at the approximate coordinates 12.5° E, 17.5°S with a divergence in the migration path around 37.5°E, 22.5°N near theRed Sea.[198]
A particularhaplogroup of DNA,L2, evolved between 87,000 and 107,000 years ago[199] or approx. 90,000YBP.[200] Its age and widespread distribution and diversity across the continent makes its exact origin point within Africa difficult to trace with any confidence.[201] An origin for several L2 groups in West or Central Africa seems likely,[201] with the highest diversity in West Africa. Most of its subclades are largely confined to West and western-Central Africa.[202]
Between 75,000 BP and 60,000 BP, Africans bearinghaplogroup L3 emerged inEast Africa and eventually migrated into and became present in modernWest Africans,Central Africans, andnon-Africans.[203]
During the early period of theHolocene, 50% ofSub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced intoNorth Africa byWest Africans and the other 50% was introduced byEast Africans.[203] During the modern period, a greater number of West Africans introduced Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into North Africa than East Africans.[203] During the early period of the Holocene, Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Europe, mostly inIberia.[203]West Africans probably migrated, acrossSahelian Africa,North Africa, and theStrait of Gibraltar, intoEurope, and introduced 63% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA.[203] During the modern period, West Africans introduced 75% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA into Iberia and other parts of Europe, possibly by sea voyage.[203]
Around 18,000 BP,Mende people, along withGambian peoples, grew in population size.[204]
In 15,000 BP,Niger-Congo speakers may have migrated from theSahelian region of West Africa, along theSenegal River, and introducedhaplogroup L2a1 intoNorth Africa, resulting in modernMauritanian peoples andBerbers ofTunisia inheriting it.[205]
Between 15,000 BP and 7000 BP, 86% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Southwest Asia byEast Africans, largely in the region ofArabia, which constitute 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modernSouthwest Asia.[203] In the modern period, 68% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced by East Africans and 22% was introduced byWest Africans, which constitutes 50% of Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA in modern Southwest Asia.[203]
Between 11,000 BP and 10,000 BP,Yoruba people andEsan people grew in population size.[204]
As early as 11,000 years ago, Sub-Saharan West Africans, bearingmacrohaplogroup L (e.g.,L1b1a11, L1b1a6a, L1b1a8, L1b1a9a1,L2a1k,L3d1b1a), may have migrated throughNorth Africa and intoEurope, mostly intosouthern Europe (e.g.,Iberia).[206]
Amid the Holocene, including theHolocene Climate Optimum in 8000 BP, Africans bearing haplogroup L2 spread within West Africa and Africans bearing haplogroup L3 spread within East Africa.[203] As the largest migration since theOut of Africa migration, migration from Sub-Saharan Africa toward the North Africa occurred, by West Africans, Central Africans, and East Africans, resulting in migrations intoEurope andAsia; consequently, Sub-Saharan African mitochondrial DNA was introduced into Europe and Asia.[203]
During the early period of theHolocene, in 9000 BP,Khoisan-related peoples admixed with the ancestors of theIgbo people, possibly in the westernSahara.[207][208]
Between 2000 BP and 1500 BP,Nilo-Saharan-speakers may have migrated across theSahel, fromEast Africa intoWest Africa, and admixed withNiger-Congo-speakingBerom people.[209] In 710 CE,West African-related populations (e.g.,Niger-Congo-speakingBerom people,Bantu-speakers) andEast African-related populations (Nilo-Saharan-speakingEthiopians, Nilo-Saharan-speakingChadians) admixed with one another in northernNigeria and northernCameroon.[210]
The genomes of Africans commonly found to undergoadaptation areregulatory DNA, and many cases of adaptation found among Africans relate todiet,physiology, andevolutionary pressures from pathogens.[211] ThroughoutSub-Saharan Africa, genetic adaptation (e.g., rs334 mutation,Duffy blood group, increased rates ofG6PD deficiency,sickle cell disease) tomalaria has been found amongSub-Saharan Africans, which may have initially developed in 7300 BP.[211]Sub-Saharan Africans have more than 90% of theDuffy-null genotype.[212]
During theCopper Age andearly Islamic era ofancient Israel,West Africans may have migrated into ancient Israel and introducedhead louse fromWest Africa.[213]
Amid the Green Sahara, the mutation forsickle cells originated in theSahara[194] or in thenorthwest forest region of western Central Africa (e.g., Cameroon)[194][214] by at least 7,300 years ago,[194][214] though possibly as early as 22,000 years ago.[215][214] The ancestral sickle cell haplotype to modern haplotypes (e.g.,Cameroon/Central African Republic andBenin/Senegal haplotypes) may have first arose in the ancestors of modern West Africans, bearing haplogroupsE1b1a1-L485 andE1b1a1-U175 or their ancestral haplogroup E1b1a1-M4732.[194] West Africans (e.g.,Yoruba andEsan of Nigeria), bearing the Benin sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated through thenortheastern region of Africa into the western region ofArabia.[194] West Africans (e.g.,Mende of Sierra Leone), bearing the Senegal sickle cell haplotype,[216][194] may have migrated intoMauritania (77% modern rate of occurrence) and Senegal (100%); they may also have migrated across the Sahara, intoNorth Africa, and from North Africa, intoSouthern Europe,Turkey, and a region near northernIraq and southern Turkey.[216] Some may have migrated and introduced the Senegal and Benin sickle cell haplotypes intoBasra, Iraq, where both occur equally.[216] West Africans, bearing the Benin sickle cell haplotype, may have migrated into the northern region of Iraq (69.5%),Jordan (80%),Lebanon (73%),Oman (52.1%), andEgypt (80.8%).[216]
According to Steverding (2020), while not definite: Near theAfrican Great Lakes, schistosomes (e.g.,S. mansoni,S. haematobium) underwent evolution.[217] Subsequently, there was an expansion alongside theNile River.[217] FromEgypt, the presence of schistosomes may have expanded, via migratoryYoruba people, into Western Africa.[217] Thereafter,schistosomes may have expanded, viamigratoryBantu peoples, into the rest ofSub-Saharan Africa (e.g.,Southern Africa,Central Africa).[217]
Through pathways taken bycaravan, or via travel amid theAlmovarid period, a population (e.g.,Sub-SaharanWest Africans) may have introduced the −29 (A → G)β-thalassemia mutation (found in notable amounts amongAfrican-Americans) into theNorth African region ofMorocco.[124]
Niger-Congo migration may have been fromKordofan,Sudan into West Africa or West Africa into Kordofan. Possibly from Kordofan,Niger-Congo speakers accompanied by undomesticatedhelmeted guineafowls, may have traversed into West Africa,domesticated the helmeted guineafowls by 3000 BCE, and via theBantu expansion, traversed into other parts ofSub-Saharan Africa (e.g.,Central Africa,East Africa,Southern Africa).[44]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)The military governor of the Igbo-dominated south-east, Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, citing the northern massacres and electoral fraud, proclaimed with southern parliament the secession of the south-eastern region from Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra, an independent nation.
The Nigerian Army however continued to slowly take territory, and on January 15, 1970, Biafra surrendered when its military commander General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu fled to Cote d'Ivoire.
More than one million people died in the three-year Biafran war
1991 – Start of civil war. Former army corporal Foday Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front (RUF) begin campaign against President Momoh, capturing towns on border with Liberia.
An official end to the civil war was declared in January 2002. By that time, it was estimated that at least 50,000 people had died, with hundreds of thousands more affected by the violence and some 2,000,000 people displaced by the conflict.
Former Brigadier General Ansumane Mane attempted a coup against President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who has ruled Guinea-Bissau since 1980. Mane accused the President of corruption and leading the nation into poverty. Vieira fired Mane from command of the armed forces on charges of selling weapons to the Casamance rebels of southern Senegal.
