Seventy Years Ago in African History -- Battle of Alam Halfa Begins
Thursday August 30, 2012
Having spent the month recouping from the defeat of the First Battle of el-Alamein, Rommel had received limited re-supply -- bringing his strength up to 200 German and 243 Italian ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Death of Cleopatra
Thursday August 30, 2012
On 30 August 30 BCE, following the suicide (on the 12 August) of Antony who had been defeated by Octavian outside the city of Alexandria, Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh ... Read More
New on African History -- Resources on Nigeria -- New in the African History Glossary
Wednesday August 29, 2012
Originally a collection of African states whose wealth came from trans-Saharan (and trans-Atlantic) trade, it became a British colony in 1861, divided into two British Protectorates in 1898, and then ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Britain Legislates the End of Slavery in the Empire
Wednesday August 29, 2012
Britain passed the Slavery Abolition Act on 29 August 1833, although it would take a year before the law would take effect. Under the Abolition Act all those currently considered ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Capture of Cetshwayo
Tuesday August 28, 2012
Following the Battle of Ulundi (oNdini) on 4 July 1879, the ability of the Zulu army to challenge the British was effectively broken. The Zulu king, Cetshwayo, had retired from ... Read More
One Hundred Years Ago in African History -- Tarzan Makes His First Appearance in The All-Story Magazine
Monday August 27, 2012
Edgar Rice Burroughs' most famous character, Tarzan, made his first appearance in print on 27 August 1912, in The All-Story magazine (October issue). Burroughs book subsequently spawned 23 sequels.
Tarzan of ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Beginning of the Mau Mau Rebellion
Friday August 24, 2012
Information filters back to Kenyan authorities during late August 1951 about secret meetings being held in the forests outside Nairobi. A secret society called the Mau Mau, believed to have ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Jomo Kenyatta Finally Free
Tuesday August 21, 2012
All restrictions on Jomo Kenyatta's movement are finally lifted on 21 August 1961 (in advance of the constitutional changes which will allow Kenya to achieve full independence as a republic ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Alexander Gordon Laing enters Timbuktu
Saturday August 18, 2012
On 18 August 1826 Alexander Gordon Laing became the first European to reach the city of Timbuktu, having crossed the Sahara to do so. He'd survived a savage attack by ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Gabon Achieves Independence
Friday August 17, 2012
Gabon, the last of the four territories which had formed French Equatorial Africa, achieved independence on 17 August 1960 with Gabriel Léon M'Ba as president. Find out more about the ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Ugandan Despot President Dies
Thursday August 16, 2012
During the 1970s Uganda was ruled by a despotic president, Idi Amin Dada, whom, popular history has it, declared his title to be: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Congo-Brazzaville Achieves Independence
Wednesday August 15, 2012
The region now known as Congo-Brazzaville was annexed by the French in the 1880's when two kingdoms (Teke and Loango) were incorporated into the Moyen Congo (Middle Congo), part of ... Read More
11 August 1960 –- Chad Achieves Independence
Saturday August 11, 2012
Chad, formally known as Tchad, gained its independence on 11 August 1960. It was the first of the four territories which formed French Equatorial Africa to do so. Find out ... Read More
Woman's Day -- South African National Holiday
Thursday August 9, 2012
On 9 August 1956 the Federation of South African Women organized a mass demonstration against the imposition of pass laws on women in South Africa. More than 20,000 women, led ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Côte d'Ivoire Achieves Independence from France
Tuesday August 7, 2012
Originally one of the great trading empires of West Africa, the region was made the French colony of Côte d'Ivoire in 1893. The Malinke empire of the interior resisted the ... Read More
This Day in African History -- ANC Announces an End to the Armed Struggle
Monday August 6, 2012
On 6 August 1990 the South African government and the African National Congress, ANC, reaffirmed their commitment to the Groote Schuur Minute (the result of a similar meeting in Cape ... Read More
This Day in African History -- Niger Achieves Independence from France
Friday August 3, 2012
Part of the once powerful Islamic Sokoto Empire the region was annexed by France at the end of the nineteenth century. It was created an autonomous republic within a greater ... Read More
This Day in African History -- The Treason Trial begins
Friday August 3, 2012
In response to the adoption of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People, South Africa's Apartheid government had 156 people arrested - almost the entire executive of the ... Read More
This Day in African History – Benin Achieves Independence From France
Wednesday August 1, 2012
In 1625 indigenous slave traders, known as the Fon, founded the kingdom of Dahomey. They subsequently conquered the neighboring kingdoms of Dan and Allada and extended their kingdom to the ... Read More