Monarchy was the prevalent form of government in thehistory of Africa, whereself-governing states, territories, or nations existed in which supreme power resided with an individual who was recognized as thehead of state.^[1] Many such states exist today. All are similar in that thesovereign inherits their office and typically keeps it until their death or until theirabdication.

However, only three are currently sovereign, while the remaining are sub-nationalmonarchies.^[2][3] Two of the former areconstitutional monarchies (Lesotho andMorocco), in which the sovereign is bound by laws and customs in the exercise of his or her powers, and one is anabsolute monarchy (Eswatini), in which the sovereign rules without bounds. Thesub-national monarchies are not sovereign and exist within larger political associations, such as theAshanti ofGhana,Bini ofNigeria, and theXhosa andZulu ofSouth Africa. In addition to these, there are also threedependencies of two European monarchies—Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha of the United Kingdom and theCanary Islands andCeuta andMelilla of Spain.

Due to trans-Saharan trade, the early settlements of West Africa and the largelynomadic communities in North Africa had the capacity to support formal establishments and form states. Increased trade along the Nile Valley facilitated similar developments in East Africa. In response to this, authoritative leaderships developed to facilitate stable growth and interactions. An example is the emergence of theSao civilisation as early as the 6th century BCE between theBilma Oasis andLake Chad.^[4]

Other monarchies were established with foreign intervention. One such intervention was byRome inNorth Africa. TheKingdom of Numidia (in what is present-day Algeria) came to be established around 200 BC withMasinissa as the first king. He was one of the many kings who headed large indigenous communities in the North African coastal belt that engaged the trans-Saharan trade route for subsistence. With the tacit strategic support of Rome, Masinissa took control of all the nomadic communities and was crowned king.^[5]

State	Type	Succession	Dynasty	Title	Monarch		Reigning since	First in line
Kingdom of Morocco	Constitutional	Hereditary	Alaouite	King(ملك)		Mohammed VI	23 July 1999	Heir apparent:Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco (first born son)
Kingdom of Eswatini	Absolute	Hereditary and elective	Dlamini	King(Ngwenyama)		Mswati III	25 April 1986	None; king cannot appoint his successor.
Kingdom of Lesotho	Constitutional	Hereditary and elective	Moshesh	King(Morena)		Letsie III	7 February 1996	Heir apparent:Prince Lerotholi Seeiso (only son)

Lesotho, an enclave ofSouth Africa, is a constitutional elective monarchy.^[6] The current monarchy was established in 1824 whenMoshoeshoe I, a tribal chieftain, united warring tribes into the Basotho kingdom. After his death in 1870, the kingdom was placed under the nominal control of the neighboringBritish Cape Colony; but, the native tribes engaged in a revolt, and full British control was not established until 1884 under the nameBasutoland.^[7] While under British control, the monarchy continued under the title of Paramount Chief with a moderate degree of autonomy, particularly in the rural areas.^[8]

Formal independence was granted in 1966, and a constitutional monarchy was established. However, the democratically elected government wasoverthrown in 1970 by the Prime Minister in aself-coup. The monarchy was sidelined from then on, including a military government between 1986 and 1993, when democracy was restored. The current monarch, KingLetsie III, ascended to the throne in 1996.^[9]

Under the current constitution, passed in 1993, the King is a constitutional monarch and the head of state, with power being exercised by theParliament. While in practice hereditary, the King is officially appointed by the College of Chiefs using traditional practices. The College of Chiefs also appoints a regent if one is needed. The Prime Minister also has the power to declare the kingship vacant if the King either violates his oath of office or is deemed unfit to rule.^[10]

Morocco, located in the northwestern corner of Africa, has a long and established history dating back to antiquity. OriginallyCarthaginian, the territory was controlled by theRoman Empire, theVandals, and theByzantine Empire before falling under Arab control in the seventh century. During that time, the inhabitants of Morocco were known asMoors. After theReconquista in 1492, the Moroccan state underwent a long period of decline before falling under dual French and Spanish control in 1912. Independence was achieved in 1956, with Sultan Mohammed ben Youssef taking the title of KingMohammed V.^[11] The present King,Mohammed VI, ascended to the throne in 1999.^[12]

Under the currentconstitution passed in 2011, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy, though the King maintains a fair amount of power. He is the chair of the Superior Council of theUlema, charged with maintaining Moroccan Islam, as well as Morocco's Supreme Court. The King is also an active member of the cabinet of Morocco, having the power to dismiss ministers as well as set the government agenda. He also chairs the Security Council, which oversees the military.^[13]

Eswatini, in the southeastern corner of Africa, originated, like Lesotho, as a confederation of African tribes. However, it pre-dates Lesotho by approximately seventy-five years to the mid-eighteenth century. During that time period, ChiefNgwane III of theSwazi people moved his tribe to their present location and united with other African tribes. Beginning in the 1830s, British traders and theBoers (Dutch settlers) interacted with the Swazi tribe. Eventually, the illiterate Swazi unknowingly signed treaties which ceded their land to theBoer Republics, who assumed control in 1894. In 1902, after theBoer War, the British assumed control of Swaziland. It was not until 1967 that the Swazi regained control of internal affairs, and independence was gained the following year.^[14]

For most of the colonial period, the Swazi were ruled bySobhuza II, who became king upon independence. In 1973, Sobhuza abolished the democratic constitution put in place at the time of independence and declared himself absolute ruler. Upon his death in 1982, Sobhuza had reigned for eighty-two years, the longest verified reign of any monarch.^[15] The present ruler, KingMswati III, ascended to the throne in 1986. A new constitution established in 1998 allowed for some degree of democratic rule; but, in practice, Eswatini remains an absolute monarchy, and the ability of citizens to participate in the political process is limited.^[16]

The Canary Islands are an archipelago of thirteen islands located off the coast of Morocco. The islands were originally inhabited by theGuanche people, but were colonized byCrown of Castile. During the fifteenth century, they were controlled by PrinceHenry the Navigator of Portugal, but Spain regained control in 1479.^[17] Spain completed its conquest of the islands in 1496 and used them as a port of western exploration. Due to their importance to Spanish trade, they were frequently attacked by pirates and privateers such as SirFrancis Drake in 1595. The islands were granted autonomy in 1982.^[18]

As anautonomous community of Spain, the Canaries have a substantial degree of autonomy. The community government is organized as a parliamentary system with a President elected from amongst the members of Parliament. The community government has autonomy concerning a wide range of competencies, including over natural resources and tourism as well as a unique fiscal system. It shares power concerning agriculture and trade with the central government in Spain, and has the responsibility to oversee the implementation of actions taken by the central government in the competencies which the community government does not have autonomy. Each island also has a substantial degree of autonomy from the community government to control its own local affairs.^[19]

Ceuta and Melilla are two cities on the northwestern coast of Africa borderingMorocco. Both were founded by theCarthaginians and later fell under successiveRoman,Vandal, andByzantine control before being conquered by the Arabs in the eighth century. Ceuta, in particular, served as the base for theMoorish conquest of Spain during that time period. In 1415, Ceuta was conquered by the Portuguese, with Melilla falling to the Spanish in 1497. When the kingdoms of Spain and Portugalunited in 1580, Ceuta also came under Spanish control and has remained Spanish ever since. During theSpanish-Moroccan War, both cities gained additional territory to expand to the present boundaries. Autonomy was granted to both cities in 1995. Today, Morocco still claims that the two cities are part of Moroccan territory, which has created tension between the neighboring countries.^[20][21]

Both cities' governments are parliamentary in nature, with an additional mayor-council system acting as the executive power. The cities have a wide degree of autonomy, with responsibility vested in the central government only in areas concerning communication and trade affairs. They both have fiscal autonomy which allows them to tax residents in order to fund many of the city services such as police.^[22][23]

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is aBritish Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Helena was first discovered by a series ofPortuguese explorers between 1602 and 1604. They built a number of structures upon it and began to use it as a way station, which was never considered a permanent settlement.

During theinterregnum in England, theHonourable East India Company received a charter to govern the island fromOliver Cromwell. For close to two hundred years afterwards, Company rule was maintained by the British, only ending in the early 1800s when sovereignty passed directly to the British. Ascension island was added to the territory in the 1920s, and Tristan da Cunha was likewise added in the following decade. Presently, the territory is ruled byCharles III, King of Saint Helena, who is represented locally by a governor.

In addition to independent African monarchical states, a series of sub-national polities exist as constituencies of a number of the 52 remaining sovereign states of Africa.Traditional authority is vested in the monarchs of these constituencies by virtue of customary law as a general rule, although some of them also enjoy either a constitutional or a statutory recognition of their titles in the states that host them. Such figures as theNigerian traditional rulers and theZulu King ofSouth Africa typify the class.

• Iron Age empires ofNorth Africa
• Ancient Egyptian civilization
• Medieval (8th to 13th century)Islamic empires (caliphates)^[24] in North Africa
• the medievalSahelian kingdoms
• Ethiopian Empire (abolished 1975)^[25]
• empires of the "transitional period" of the 15th to 19th centuries.
  • Islamic sultanates of theSudan and the great Somali Empire (Golden Empire)
  • kingdoms ofWest Africa succeeding the Sahelian kingdoms
  • kingdoms of Central and Southern Africa such as theKongo Kingdom and theMutapa Empire.
• TheMerina Kingdom ofMadagascar.
• Kingdom of Rwanda (abolished 1961)
• Kingdom of Burundi (abolished 1966)

• Ankole (Uganda) (abolished 1967)
• Central African Empire (abolished 1979)
• Congo Free State (annexed by Belgium 1908)
• Kingdom of Egypt (abolished 1953)
• Kingdom of Libya (abolished 1969)
• Kingdom of Tunisia (abolished 1957)
• Sultanate of Zanzibar (abolished 1964)

Many presidents in Africa have been characterised as "presidential monarchs", owing to their longevity. African presidents have usedautocracy to perpetuate themselves in power, sometimes grooming a successor to preserve their regimes. Their leadership style waspersonalist andneopatrimonial, and they disregarded theseparation of powers, facing little accountability. Constitutions generally had no constraining effect on leaders. Despite this, other thanJean-Bédel Bokassa, few leaders have taken up the title of monarch. By the turn of the 21st century, over 25 presidents had been in power for over 20 years, and Africa was home to 7 of the 10 longest serving presidents in the world.^[26]

While Europeans claimed to have groomed their colonies to implement civilisation through their occidental identity, this was not the case, and the colonial project for Africa was clearly to “exploit the physical, human, and economic resources of Africa to benefit the colonising nation”, not to "export civilisation", with liberal democratic constitutions hastily introduced in the last decade of colonialism. The colonialgovernor general was effectively an oppressive dictator, and this informed local nationalist leaders.Decolonisation, from around 1960 to 1980, saw colonial powers transfer autocratic states to first-generation African leaders.^[26]

The new elites found multi-partystate building challenging, and largely transitioned to one-party states. Francophone states in West Africa had already moved to one-party states prior to independence, with Ghana'sNkrumah copying this, establishing himself aspresident for life, later replicated by other English-speaking countries. The disenchantment of civilian politics led to various coups, an average of 25 per decade between 1960 and 2000, resulting in militaristic presidential monarchs alongside civilian ones. In theCold War,the West propped up tyrants while theSoviet Union supported one-partyMarxist-Leninist states.^[26]

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 saw a wave of democratisation. The West implemented a new global neoliberal agenda tyingWorld Bank andInternational Monetary Fund aid to compliance with multiparty elections and political freedoms. This achieved much popular support and various countries introduced multi-party constitutions, often crucially with two term limits despite indifference from Western countries. In light of this indifference, some leaders attempted to circumvent them or negotiate third terms, sometimes successfully, while others abolished term limits entirely.^[26]

• Afro-Bolivian monarchy
• List of political parties in Africa by country
• Politics of Africa

• Monarchs in Africa
• Lists of monarchies

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