Page 83 - A People Called Afrika

Colonization

and slavers in various parts of Afrika for almost a millenni-
um prior and had come knocking, seeking to be a part of
the great divide. Any territory that remained resistant to their
advance would face violence, brutality and force, for noth-
ing could stand in the way of the aspirations of these few.
This list from Wikipedia carries the names of the Afrikan states
that had captured their lascivious gaze: Morocco, Libya, Fulani
Empire, Swaziland, Ashanti Confederacy, Burundi, Kingdom
of Benin, Bunyoro, Dahomey, Rwanda, Oubangui-Chari, Ijebu,
Bechuanaland, Merina, Egypt, Zululand, Fante Confederacy,
Basutoland, Comoros, Algeria and Zanzibar. The Congo re-
gion had to contend with one of the worst and most brutal and
murderous human rights violators in history, King Leopold II
of Belgium. Ethiopia, of course was triumphant against Italy’s
attempts to conquer them and Liberia was set up as a colony by
the American Colonization Society in 1821 on land purchased
for freed slaves who they felt could not be integrated into white
American society. Liberia declared independence in 1847.

These ancient names, Ijebu, Zululand, Bunyoro, Dahom-
ey, Bechuanaland… evoke a time when Benin was a king-
dom, when there was a land of Kush, when Afrikan people
roamed freely across the vast expanse of their continent,
trading, raiding, marrying, herding, hunting, gathering…
a time when the reality of Afrika was so vibrantly different
from today; a time when Afrika was free. It is so crucial that
Afrika cast her eyes backward to see the power and beau-
ty of what she had, so that she can understand what digni-
ty and strength was snatched from her and her people, to
ensure that forward thinking and planning for what Afrika
should really be building can incorporate an understanding
of the rich reality of the positive aspects of this ancient past.

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