By 1500 AD, in order to defend themselves from Ottoman and European attacks, some African kingdoms were adopting the military techniques of West Asia, India, and Europe. Generally, if you lived closer [...]
In 1500 AD, most of the people in Africa worshipped traditional local gods. But local gods are appropriate for local chiefs; big empires tend to go with monotheistic religions. So as more [...]
By 1500 AD, many people in Africa had converted to Islam, and so they had learned at least some Arabic, so they could recite parts of the Koran and say their prayers. [...]
Agadez mosque (Songhai, 1515, in Niger) Africa in 1500 AD Just before 1500 AD, Africa was suffering from a terrible drought probably caused by the Little Ice Age. All over [...]
Kilwa By 1500 AD, people in Tanzania were doing pretty well. They did a lot of trading with India and the Arabian Peninsula from their biggest port at Kilwa, and [...]
Ngazargamu In the 1500s AD, eastern Nigeria was part of the Islamic Bornu empire. The Bornu built their capital city at Ngazargamu. The Kanem-Bornu ruler Mai Idris Alawma ruled Ngazargamu [...]
Mauretania is mostly dry; a lot of it is desert. Where is Mauretania? Mauretania is on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. It's basically the western part of the Sahara [...]
Yuca plants after they're pulled up When Portuguese traders began to come to Africa around 1500 AD, they brought new foods with them from South America and Central America. They [...]
Early modern African economy: Guinea Cloth (Cotton) Early Modern African economy In the late 1400s AD, Portuguese traders figured out how to sail to West Africa instead of getting there [...]
Kingdom of Ndongo In 1500 AD, some of the people who lived in what is now Angola were Bantu and some were San. A Bantu man from Congo, Kiluanje, probably started the [...]
