Influential Leaders In African History
This list of leaders although very different, all revolutionized the continent of Africa socially, politically, and economically in various time periods. These amazing men and women impacted the legacy Africa left on the world as a whole and reflects upon the superb accomplishments of the people on this great continent.
1. Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." - Nelson Mandela, (Long Walk to Freedom)
Nelson Mandela was a prisoner turned peacemaker who carried South Africa out of apartheid and changed the world. (Source: Time)
He was born in the South African village of Mvezo, into the royal famly of the Xhosa-speaking Themu tribe. (Source: History) He was the first in his family to receive a formal education, finding that he excelled not only in sports, but also in academics. (History) Mandela studied law at the University of Witwaterrand and became heavily involved in moments against racial discrimination. (History) He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and became a prominent leader in the movement against apartheid- a policy that restricted nonwhites’ basic rights and barred them from government while maintaining white minority rule. (History)
ANC wanted to achieve full citizenship for all South Africans, and organized nonviolent protests against the discriminatory government policies, forging a manifesto known as the Freedom Charter. (History)
Mandela was arrested in 1956 and tried for treason- although acquitted in 1961 tensions between blacks and whites had reached an all time high in South Africa. (History)
Mandela forged a new resistance movement known as MK or “Spear of the Nation” as a new part of the African National Congress. (History) Under Mandela’s leadership MK launched many sabotage campaigns against the government. (History) For this, Mandela was sentenced to prison, where he remained for 27 years. (Time) He stated that apartheid was a cause he was willing to die for. (Source: Long Walk to Freedom)
While he was a prison, he remained a beacon for the anti-apartheid movement and was eventually released from prison when new elected South African president F.W de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and called for a nonracist South Africa. (History)
Upon his release from prison, Mandela led the ANC to negotiate with the South African government to end apartheid for good, and establish a multiracial government (History.) These talks and movements towards equality for all earned both Mandela and De Klerk a Nobel Peace Prize. After elections were held shortly after, Mandela was nominated as the first black president of South Africa. (History)
As president, Mandela investigated human rights and political violations that were carried out in the name of apartheid. (History) He drafted and instituted many social and economic programs that improved the living standards of South Africa’s black population. (History)
Mandela left an impactful legacy on not only South Africa but also the world as a whole- he improved race relations, eliminated apartheid, and brought economic and political peace to millions of people. (Long Walk to Freedom). Even after leaving office, Nelson Mandela promoted peace across the planet.
Works Cited:
History.com/staff. "Nelson Mandela." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 31 July 2015.
Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. Print.
Stengel, Richard. "Nelson Mandela, 1918–2013: Remembering an Icon of Freedom | TIME.com." World Nelson Mandela 19182013 Remembering an Icon of Freedom Comments. Time Magazine, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 31 July 2015.
Narrated Life of Nelson Mandela
View this video on YouTube
Source: NelsonMandela.org
2. Chinua Achebe (1930 – 2013)
“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”
― Chinua Achebe, (Things Fall Apart)
Chinua Achebe has been dubbed "the founding father of African literature ... in the English language." (Source: The Atlantic) Born in Nigeria, he caught the world’s attention with his first novel, “Things Fall Apart.” (Source: New York Times) Published in 1958, when he was 28, the book would become a classic of world literature and required reading for students, selling more than 10 million copies in 45 languages. (New York Times) Things Fall Apart, was one of the first books to tell the story of European colonization from an African perspective. (Atlantic) It marked a turning point for African authors, who in the fifties and sixties began to take back the narrative of the so-called "dark continent." (Atlantic)
The story, a brisk 215 pages, was inspired by the history of his own family, part of the Ibo nation of southeastern Nigeria, a people victimized by the racism of British colonial administrators and then by the brutality of military dictators from other Nigerian ethnic groups. (New York Times) Achebe encouraged writers from the Third World to stay where they are and write about their own countries, as a way to help achieve this balance. (Atlantic) Some might find this curious, seeing as Achebe lived in the United States, but in reality, he was more of an exile- only residing there because he was paralyzed from the waist down, and was forced to flee the military dictatorship instituted in Nigeria.
Achebe was a prominent voice in African literature, changing it into what it is today. He inspired the world with his writings, and brought light to the impact of colonialism in Africa. To this day, he remains one of the most widely read, and well known African authors, as the story of Okonkwo lives on, despite his death.
Source:
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.
Bacon, Katie. "An African Voice." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01 Aug. 2000. Web. 31 July 2015.
Kandell, Jonathan. "Chinua Achebe, African Literary Titan, Dies at 82." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 July 2015.
3. Mansa Musa (1280 – 1337)
Mansa Musa put the kingdom of Mali on the map. Under his twenty-five year rule, Mali thrived economically, socially and politically.
Mali was a very rich and large kingdom. Mansa Musa knew his lands were too expansive to govern on his own, so he divided his empire into provinces, placing a governor in charge of each. (Source: Donn) Mansa Musa wanted all governments under his rule to run smoothly and effectively, and desired above all to give back to his people and be a fair ruler.
Under his rule, Mansa Musa established religious freedom, and made education free. He established universities, and encouraged scholars to come from around the world to learn from him. (Donn)
Mansa Musa is mostly remembered for his extravagant hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca with, according to the Arab historian al-Umari, 100 camel-loads of gold, each weighing 300 lbs; 500 slaves, each carrying a 4 lb. gold staff; thousands of his subjects; as well as his senior wife, with her 500 attendants. (Source: University of California)
Mansa Musa strengthened Islam and promoted education, trade, and commerce in Mali. The foundations were laid for Walata, Jenne, and Timbuktu becoming the cultural and commercial centers of the Western Sudan, eclipsing those of North Africa and producing Arabic-language black literature in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. (University of California) Diplomatic relations were established and ambassadors were exchanged between Mali and Morocco, and Malinke students were sent to study in Morocco. (University of California)
Mali achieved the apex of its territorial expansion under Mansa Musa. (Source: Harris) The Mali Empire extended from the Atlantic coast in the west to Songhai far down the Niger bend to the east: from the salt mines of Taghaza in the north to the legendary gold mines of Wangara in the south. (Harris)
Mansa Musa died in 1337. He had brought stability and good government to Mali, spreading its fame abroad and making it truly "remarkable both for its extent and for its wealth and a striking example of the capacity of the Negro for political organization" (Source: Oliver)
Sources:
Donn, Lin. "Mansa Musa The Muslim King of Mali." Mansa Musa, the Muslim King of Mali. Http://africa.mrdonn.org/mansamusa.html, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
The African Experience: Major Themes in African History from Earliest Times to the Present, Roland Oliver. HarperCollins, 1993.
Africans and Their History, Joseph E. Harris. Penguin USA, second revised edition, 1998.
General History of Africa, Vol. IV: Africa from the Twelfth to Sixteenth Century, UNESCO. University of California Press, 1986.
A Short History of Africa, Roland A. Oliver. Penguin Books, 1988.
4. Queen Nzinga (1583 – 1663)
“I shall protect my country of danger.” - Queen Nzinga
Queen Nzinga (Nzinga Mbande) was the monarch of the Mbundu people and resilient leader who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa. (Source: Tvedten) In the late 16th Century, the French and the English threatened the Portuguese near monopoly on the sources of slaves along the West African coast, forcing it to seek new areas for exploitation. (Tvedten)
The Portuguese established a fort and settlement at Luanda in 1617, encroaching on Mbundu land. In 1622 they invited Ngola (King) Mbande to attend a peace conference there to end the hostilities with the Mbundu. (Tvedten) Mbande sent his sister, Nzinga, to represent him in a meeting with Portuguese Governor Joao Corria de Sousa. (Tvedten) Nzinga was aware of her diplomatically awkward position and knew of the events in the Kongo which had led to Portuguese domination of the nominally independent nation. (Tvedten) She recognized, however, that refusal to trade with the Portuguese would remove a potential ally and the major source of guns for her own state. (Tvedten)
In the first of a series of meetings Nzinga sought to establish her equality with the representative of the Portugal crown. (Tvedten) Noting that the only chair in the room belonged to Governor Corria, she immediately motioned to one of her assistants who fell on her hands and knees and served as a chair for Nzinga for the rest of the meeting. (Tvedten)
Despite that display, Nzinga made accommodations with the Portuguese- she converted to Christianity and adopted the name Dona Anna de Souza. (Tvedten) She was baptized in honor of the governor's wife who also became her godmother. Shortly afterwards Nzinga urged a reluctant Ngola Mbande to order the conversion of his people to Christianity. (Tvedten)
In 1626 Nzinga became Queen of the Mbundu when her brother committed suicide in the face of rising Portuguese demands for slave trade concessions. (Tvedten) Nzinga, however, refused to allow them to control her nation. (Tvedten) In 1627, after forming alliances with former rival states, she led her army against the Portuguese, initiating a thirty year war against them, she exploited European rivalry by forging an alliance with the Dutch who had conquered Luanda in 1641. (Tvedten) With their help, Nzinga defeated a Portuguese army in 1647. (Tvedten) She also orchestrated guerilla attacks on the Portuguese which would continue long after her death and inspire the ultimately successful 20th Century armed resistance against the Portuguese that resulted in independent Angola in 1975. (Tvedten)
The Portuguese never succeeded against Queen Nzinga. She is important in African history as she was a strong female leader, who stood up for her people and never fell to the Portuguese. She held strong against imperialism and defended her subjects to her dying day.
Sources:
Inge Tvedten, Angola: Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction (Boulder: Westview Press, 1997); Gary Y. Okihiro, In Resistance: Studies in African, Carribbean and Afro American History (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1986). - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/gah/queen-nzinga-1583-1663#sthash.fqnQGzBd.dpuf
Snethen, Jessica. "Queen Nzinga (1583-1663) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Queen Nzinga (1583-1663) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. University of Washington, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
5. Desmond Tutu (1931 – )
"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land." - Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu is a South African Anglican cleric who is known for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa. (Source: Biography)
He was appointed general secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1978 and became a leading spokesperson for the rights of black South Africans. (Biography) During the 1980s he played an unrivaled role in drawing national and international attention to the iniquities of apartheid, and in 1984 he won the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts. (Biography)
Born on October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa, Tutu aspired from a young age to receive an education, and make an impact on South Africa. Unable to afford medical school tuition, he went on to be a teacher, wanting to impact young kids and make a change. (Source: Encyclopædia Britannica)
Tutu became increasingly frustrated with the racism corrupting all aspects of South African life under apartheid. (Biography) In 1948, when Tutu was 17 years old, the National Party won control of the government and codified the nation's long-present segregation and inequality into the official, rigid policy of apartheid (Biography.) In 1953, the government passed the Bantu Education Act, a law that lowered the standards of education for black South Africans to ensure that they only learned what was necessary for a life of servitude. (Biography) The government spent one-tenth as much money on the education of a black student as on the education of a white one, and Tutu's overcrowded classes often included as many as 80 pupils. (Biography) No longer willing to participate in an educational system explicitly designed to promote inequality, he quit teaching in 1957. (Biography)
The next year, in 1958, Tutu enrolled at St. Peter's Theological College in Johannesburg. (Biography) He was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1960 and as a priest in 1961.(Biography) In 1962, Tutu left South Africa to pursue further theological studies in London, receiving his master's of theology from King's College in 1966. (Biography)
Tutu's rise to international prominence began when he became the first black person to be appointed the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg in 1975. (Biography) It was in this position that he emerged as one of the most prominent and eloquent voices in the South African anti-apartheid movement. (Biography) Tutu explained, "I realized that I had been given a platform that was not readily available to many blacks and most of our leaders were either now in chains or in exile, and I said, 'Well, I'm going to use this to seek to try to articulate our aspirations and the anguishes of our people.'" (Biography)
In 1976, shortly after he was appointed Bishop of Lesotho, further raising his international profile, Tutu wrote a letter to the South African Prime Minister warning him that a failure to quickly redress racial inequality could have dire consequences, but his letter was ignored. (Biography) Tutu was selected as the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1978, and he continued to use his elevated position in the South African religious hierarchy to advocate for an end to apartheid. (Biography)
In 1984, Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize "not only as a gesture of support to him and to the South African Council of Churches of which he is leader, but also to all individuals and groups in South Africa who, with their concern for human dignity, fraternity and democracy, incite the admiration of the world." (Biography) He was the first South African to receive the award since Albert Luthuli in 1961.
Tutu's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize transformed South Africa's anti-apartheid movement into a truly international force with deep sympathies all across the globe (Biography.)
Desmond Tutu stands among the world's foremost human rights activists, like Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., his teachings reach beyond the specific causes for which he advocated to speak for all oppressed peoples' struggles for equality and freedom (Biography.) Perhaps what makes Tutu so inspirational and universal a figure is his unshakable optimism in the face of overwhelming odds and his limitless faith in the ability of human beings to do good (Biography.) "Despite all of the ghastliness in the world, human beings are made for goodness," he once said. "The ones that are held in high regard are not militarily powerful, nor even economically prosperous. They have a commitment to try and make the world a better place." (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Sources:
Desmond Tutu. [Internet]. 2015. The Biography.com website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/desmond-tutu-9512516 [Accessed 31 Jul 2015].
"Desmond Tutu". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 31 Jul. 2015
.
Academy of Achievement, (2010), Forging equality in South Africa, [online] Available at http://www.achievement.org [Accessed 30 September 2011]
6. Cleopatra VII (70BC – 30BC)
"I will not be triumphed over." - Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII ruled ancient Egypt as co-regent (first with her two younger brothers and then with her son) for almost three decades. (Source: History) She became the last in a dynasty of Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy, who served as general under Alexander the Great during his conquest of Egypt in 332 B.C. (History) Well-educated and clever, Cleopatra could speak various languages and served as the dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies. (History.) Her romantic liaisons and military alliances with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her supposed exotic beauty and powers of seduction, earned her an enduring place in history and popular myth (History.) Egypt thrived under her rule and in her lifetime, she made several contributions to her empire and proved herself as an independent ruler, determined to fight for her country in a world dominated by men. She accomplished many things during her reign and made evident her competence as the monarch of Egypt. (History)
With her great acumen and political savoir-faire, Cleopatra molded her personal life to suit the best interests of her nation. (History) She is considered to be a great seductress, who used her charm and irresistible personality to seduce the 2 powerful Roman emperors, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and become the Queen of Egypt. (History) Her alleged affairs with the two emperors are the major landmarks in her biography. (History) She, thus, sacrificed her personal life to make Egypt one of the most powerful countries even under the Roma influence. (History)
One of her greatest accomplishments was a marked improvement in the role of women in the society in those times. (History) Also, her personal life inspired many to treat marriage as nothing more than a partnership, with each of the two partners having his/her individual responsibilities to fulfill. (History) Her accomplishment as a successful woman leader in the Hellenistic era led her to become a role model for all women. (History) Although, she failed to secure freedom for her country, she is remembered for her traits and achievements. (History) Her beauty, intelligence, education, and passionate devotion to the well being of Egypt offer significant hints of some of the most important developments in her life and death.
Sources:
History.com staff. "Cleopatra." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
Crawford, Amy. "Who Was Cleopatra?" Smithsonian. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
7. Haile Selassie (1892 – 1975)
"History teaches us that unity is strength, and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity." - Haile Selassie
Emperor Haile Selassie was born on July 23, 1892 as Tafari Makonnen just outside the city of Harrar in Enjersa Goro Province, Ethiopia. (Source: Marcus) Appointed governor of Harrar Province, Tafari Makonnen, despite his descent from previous Emperors, would likely have remained an unimportant political figure had he not married his second wife, Menen Asfaw, niece to the heir of the Ethiopian throne, Lij Iyasu. (Marcus) When rumors spread that Iyasu was flirting with Islam, Ethiopian nobles made Tafari regent in 1916. (Marcus)
As regent Ras Tafari Makonnen began the transformation of Ethiopia. (Marcus) He ended slavery in 1923 and established a school for newly freed slaves in the capital, Addis Ababa. (Marcus) By ending slavery Selassie secured Ethiopia’s admission to The League of Nations. (Marcus) Selassie also began touring Europe both to acquire knowledge and assistance in his modernization efforts and to raise the profile of the only independent monarchy on the African continent. (Marcus)
Ras Tafari Makonnen became Emperor outright in 1930 upon the death of Empress Zewditu. (Marcus) Upon assuming the throne, he took the name Haile Selassie meaning “Might of the Trinity.” Continuing his modernization of the state, Selassie in 1931 established the first Ethiopian constitution which centralized governmental power under his leadership. (Marcus) Selassie believed that a more powerful central government was necessary to carry out his modernization ideas for the nation’s bureaucracy, military, and economy. (Marcus) Selassie also focused his attention on increasing public health services, providing electricity, and creating a modern telephone network. In 1931 he founded the Bank of Ethiopia which introduced Ethiopian currency. (Marcus)
Selassie’s ambitious programs were threatened by the imperial designs of Italian leader Benito Mussolini. Italy had already held Eritrea just north of Ethiopia and was looking to avenge its defeat at the Battle of Adowa in 1896. (Marcus)
Without warning Italy invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935 and fought for seven months.(Marcus) Although the League of Nations named Italy the aggressor in the conflict, no further actions were taken. (Marcus) Italian forces easily defeated the Ethiopian Army forcing Haile Selassie and his family into exile in Great Britain on May 2, 1936. (Marcus) Soon afterwards, on June 30, 1936, he gave his most famous speech before the League of Nations, where he protested the use of chemical weapons against his people and decried the advent of the technological “refinement of barbarism.” (Marcus) Despite widespread praise of his speech and sympathy for the Ethiopian people, Western powers did not come to his assistance in the campaign against the Italians. (Marcus)
Although the League failed to act, by 1939, Great Britain and France, now at war with Germany and Italy, came to Ethiopia’s aid. (Marcus) On May 5, 1941 Selassie re-entered Ethiopia with the assistance of South African, British, and Ethiopian soldiers. (Marcus) By January 1942 all Italian troops had been driven from the country and Ethiopia was once again free. (Marcus)
Haile Selassie is an important figure in African and World History as he was a charismatic leader who stood up for his people and appealed to the League of Nations protesting the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. His determination and speech resonated throughout the world, and was a loud cry for the injustice going on in Ethiopia.
Harold G. Marcus, Haile Sellassie I: The Formative Years, 1892-1936 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987); Saheed A. Adejumobi, The History of Ethiopia (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2007); Alberto Sbacchi, “Haile Selassie and the Italians, 1941-1943,” Journal of African History 22:1 (April 1979). - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/gah/selassie-haile-1892-1975#sthash.FHyjhv82.dpuf
Tesfu, Julianna. "Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (1892-1975) | | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. University of Washington, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
Emperor Haile Selassie addresses League of Nations
View this video on YouTube
1936 address to League of Nations
8. Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918 – 1970)
"There is no longer a way out of our present situation except by forging a road toward our objective, violently and by force, over a sea of blood and under a horizon blazing with fire." - Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser was born January 15, 1918 in Alexandria, Egypt and died September 28, 1970 in Cairo. (Source: Encyclopædia Britannica) He was an army officer, prime minister (1954–56), and then president (1956–70) of Egypt and consequently became a controversial leader of the Arab world, creating the short-lived United Arab Republic (1958–61), twice fighting wars with Israel (1956, 1967), and engaging in such inter-Arab policies as mediating the Jordanian civil war (1970) (Encyclopædia Britannica.)
Nasser had many accomplishments while president of Egypt- he took control of the Suez canal from the French and the British, drafted a new Egyptian constitution, and instituted a one-party political system with Islam as the official religion.
Under Nassar, The Aswān High Dam was built with the help of the Soviet Union, and industrialization in Egypt was accelerated (Source: Trueman.) Land reforms were instituted that broke up Egypt’s large private estates and a partially successful campaign was conducted against corruption (Trueman.) Under Nassar women were accorded more rights than they had ever had, including the right to vote (Encyclopædia Britannica.) A new middle class began to occupy the political and economic positions once held in Egypt by Italians, Greeks, French, Britons, and other foreigners, whom Nasser now encouraged—sometimes not gently—to leave the country (Encyclopædia Britannica.) Nasser’s outstanding accomplishment was his survival for 18 years as Egypt’s political leader, despite the strength of his opponents: communists, Copts, Jews, Muslim extremists, old political parties, rival military cliques, dispossessed landowners, supporters of Naguib, and what was left of the foreign colony (Encyclopædia Britannica.)
Although complex and revolutionary in his public life, privately Nasser was conservative and simple. No other Arab leader in modern times has succeeded in winning the sometimes hysterical support of Arab masses throughout the Middle East as did Nasser during the last 15 years of his life (Encyclopædia Britannica.) Even the loss of two wars, with disastrous results for Egypt, did not dim the popularity of this charismatic, almost mythogenic, army officer who became the first true Egyptian to rule the country in several millennia, giving his people the dignity denied them under foreign rule (Encyclopædia Britannica.) Although he failed in his ambition to create a unified Arab world he remains today a popular and prominent leader in the Arab community.
Source:
"Gamal Abdel Nasser". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 31 Jul. 2015
.
Trueman, C.N. "Gamal Abdel Nasser - History Learning Site." History Learning Site. University of Connecticut, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
9. Olaudah Equiano (1745 – 1797)
“Is It Not Enough that We Are Torn From Our Country and Friends?” - Olaudah Equiano
Equiano was an African writer whose experiences as a slave prompted him to become involved in the British abolition movement. (Source: BBC) Equiano wrote an autobiography depicting his experience as a slave in the New World. It served as one of the first testimonies in the abolition movement. (Source: History)
In his autobiography, Olaudah Equiano writes that he was born in the Eboe province, in the area that is now southern Nigeria. (Hasty.) He describes how he was kidnapped with his sister at around the age of 11, sold by local slave traders and shipped across the Atlantic to Barbados and then Virginia. (Hasty) He bought his freedom and became part of the abolition movement. Equiano’s account is considered an originator of the slave narrative. (Hasty)
Equiano was a prominent member of the 'Sons of Africa', a group of 12 black men who campaigned for abolition. (Hasty)
In 1789 he published his autobiography, 'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African'. (BBC) He travelled widely promoting the book, which became immensely popular, helped the abolitionist cause, and made Equiano a wealthy man. It is one of the earliest books published by a black African writer.
Equiano is important in regards to world history as he was the first slave to write his life story and shed light on the inhumane conditions of slavery. His book is one of the only accounts of life under slavery, and was critical in securing freedom for millions of slaves. Equiano campaigned the British government and helped spread the abolitionist movement far and wide. His contributions to ending slavery are immeasurable as he is a very important historical figure. Equiano is a man who got sold into slavery, and fought his way to freedom, ensuring that he would do his all to have others avoid his fate.
Hasty, Tim. "Olaudah Equiano (c.1745 - 1797)." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
Olaudah Equiano. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 09:44, Jul 31, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/olaudah-equiano-39207.
10. Shaka Zulu ( 1787-1828 )
Shaka Zulu was a Zulu king and military genius (Source: Howcroft)
For his relatively short life of roughly 41 years, Shaka Zulu united many of the Nguni people of the north and incorporated the Mtetwa Paramountcy and the Ndwandwe into his kingdom (Howcroft.) He built an empire and united all Zulu chiefdoms into one using genius military strategies such as the "Bull-Horn".
Dubbed the creator of the "Bull-Horn Strategy" Shaka Zulu invented and utilized this military formation with great success (Howcroft.)
The “head” of the buffalo was where the bulk of the forces were centered, the “horns” which flanked out from the head and consisted of his youngest and fastest soldiers and finally the “loins” which was a reserve group behind the head and sealed any holes in the lines. (Source: Reitz) This relatively simple tactic won Shaka many victories in his lifetime. (Reith)
Under his rule, a strong thriving kingdom emerged, one that had no existing rivals, and that continued to expand its realm of power. (Reitz)
Shaka Zulu reformed his kingdom into a military, economic, and political powerhouse by organizing people into military communities and enforcing good discipline, and strict moral and societal standards. (Reitz) Under his reign, cattle wealth thrived in the land of Zulu, something that was shared amongst the people. There was a lot of prestige in being associated with the Zulu kingdom, as their royal herds and unparalleled military power united all of its people under one banner. (Reitz)
Although he brought much power to his people, Shaka Zulu was also a fierce and strict ruler. (Reitz) Those who defied him were faced with imminent death, yet for all his flaws, it remains true that Shaka Zulu was a warrior king who changed the tapestry of tribal kingdoms, and to this day has remained a powerful influence on his people and those who live in South Africa. (Reitz)
He remains to this day one of the most prominent leaders in South Africa, and one who united the Zulus under one banner. He ruled a kingdom far and wide and instituted peace amongst his people. To this day, he is still revered. (Howcroft)
Sources:
Howcroft, P. (undated). South Africa Encyclopaedia: Prehistory to the year 2000, unpublished papers with SA History Online.
Reitz, Michelle. "Shaka Zulu | Powerful King in the History of South Africa." Cape Town Guide. Cape Town Guide, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
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