Editing Sub-Saharan Africa (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Africa|History of West Africa|History of Central Africa|History of East Africa|History of Southern Africa}}
{{Further|African empires|List of kingdoms in pre-colonial Africa#List of African kingdoms|African archaeology}}

===Prehistory===
{{Further|History of Africa#Prehistory|Prehistoric West Africa|Prehistoric Central Africa|Prehistoric East Africa|Horn of Africa#Prehistory|Prehistoric Southern Africa|African archaeology}}
[[File:Olduvai stone chopping tool.jpg|thumb|Stone chopping tool from [[Olduvai Gorge]]]]

According to [[paleontology]], early hominid skull anatomy was similar to that of their close cousins, the great African forest [[great ape|apes]], [[gorilla]] and [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]. However, they had adopted a [[biped]]al locomotion and freed hands, giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open [[savanna]] at a time when Africa was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10&nbsp;million to 5&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name="Shillington, Kevin 2005 p. 2">Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: [[Palgrave Macmillan]], p. 2, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

By 3&nbsp;million years ago several [[Australopithecus|australopithecine]] [[hominid]] species had developed throughout [[Southern Africa|Southern]], [[East Africa|East]], and [[Central Africa]]. They were tool users rather than tool manufacturers. The next major evolutionary step occurred around 2.3&nbsp;million&nbsp;BCE, when primitive [[Lithic technology|stone tools]] were used to scavenge the carcasses of animals killed by other predators, both for their meat and their marrow. In hunting, ''H. habilis'' was most likely not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, although ''H. habilis'' likely did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small [[game (food)|game]] and weakened larger prey such as cubs and older animals. The tools were classed as [[Oldowan]].<ref name="Shillington, Kevin 2005 p. 2-3">Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 2–3, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

Roughly 1.8&nbsp;million years ago, ''[[Homo ergaster]]'' first appeared in the fossil record in Africa. From ''Homo ergaster'', ''[[Homo erectus]]'' (upright man) evolved 1.5&nbsp;million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small-brained and used primitive [[lithic technology|stone tools]], much like ''[[Homo habilis|H. habilis]]''. The brain later grew in size, and ''H. erectus'' eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the [[Acheulean]]. Potentially the first hominid to engage in hunting, ''H. erectus'' mastered the art of making fire. They were the first hominids to leave Africa, going on to colonise the entire [[Old World]], and perhaps later on giving rise to ''[[Homo floresiensis]]''. Although some recent writers suggest that ''[[H. georgicus]]'', a ''H. habilis'' [[lineage (anthropology)|descendant]], was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider ''H. georgicus'' to be an early and primitive member of the ''H. erectus'' species.<ref>Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 3, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

The fossil and genetic evidence shows ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' developed in East and Southern Africa by around 350,000 to 260,000 years ago<ref name=Schlebusch350-260>{{cite journal |last=Schlebusch |display-authors=etal |title=Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago |journal=Science |volume=358 |issue=6363 |date=3 November 2017 |pages=652–655 |doi=10.1126/science.aao6266 |pmid=28971970 |bibcode=2017Sci...358..652S |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="NAT-20190910">{{cite journal |last1=Mounier |first1=Aurélien |last2=Lahr |first2=Marta |title=Deciphering African late middle Pleistocene hominin diversity and the origin of our species |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=3406 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-11213-w |pmid=31506422 |pmc=6736881 |year=2019 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.3406M }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Scerri |first1=Eleanor M. L. |last2=Thomas |first2=Mark G. |last3=Manica |first3=Andrea |last4=Gunz |first4=Philipp |last5=Stock |first5=Jay T. |last6=Stringer |first6=Chris |last7=Grove |first7=Matt |last8=Groucutt |first8=Huw S. |last9=Timmermann |first9=Axel |author-link9=Axel Timmermann|last10=Rightmire|first10=G. Philip |last11=d’Errico |first11=Francesco |date=1 August 2018 |title=Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter? |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=582–594 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005 |issn=0169-5347 |pmid=30007846 |pmc=6092560 |bibcode=2018TEcoE..33..582S }}</ref> and gradually migrated across the continent in waves. Between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, their expansion [[Single-origin hypothesis|out of Africa]] launched the colonisation of the planet by modern humans. By 10,000&nbsp;BCE, ''Homo sapiens'' had spread to all corners of the world. This dispersal of the human species is suggested by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence.<ref name="Shillington, Kevin 2005 p. 2-3"/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Tishkoff SA, Reed FA, Friedlaender FR, etal |title=The genetic structure and history of Africans and African Americans |journal=Science |volume=324 |issue=5930 |pages=1035–44 |date=May 2009 |pmid=19407144 |pmc=2947357 |doi=10.1126/science.1172257 |bibcode=2009Sci...324.1035T }}</ref>

During the 11th millennium [[Before Present|BP]], pottery was independently invented in West Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali.<ref name=swissinfo>{{Cite web |last1=Bradley |first1=Simon |title=Swiss archaeologist digs up West Africa's past |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-archaeologist-digs-up-west-africa-s-past/5675736 |date=18 January 2007 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |publisher=Swiss Broadcasting Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306002155/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Swiss_archaeologist_digs_up_West_Africas_past.html?cid=5675736 |archive-date=6 March 2012 |language=en }}</ref> It spread throughout the [[Sahel]] and southern [[Sahara]].<ref name="Pottery">{{cite journal |last1=Jesse |first1=Friederike |title=Early Pottery in Northern Africa - An Overview |issue=2 |pages=219–238 |journal=[[Journal of African Archaeology]] |volume=8 |jstor=43135518 |year=2010 |doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10171 }}</ref>

After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of the application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. Prior to the introduction of the [[camel]],<ref>Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 16. {{ISBN|0-395-65237-5}}.</ref> the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of [[Oasis|oases]] that were strung across the desert. The [[trans-saharan trade]] was in full motion by 500&nbsp;BCE with [[Carthage]] being a major economic force for its establishment.<ref>Collins, Robert O. and Burns, James. M(2007). A History of Sub-saharan Africa. Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], p. 62, {{ISBN|978-0-521-86746-7 }}</ref><ref>Davidson, Basil. Africa History, Themes and Outlines, revised and expanded edition. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], p. 54, {{ISBN|0-684-82667-4}}.</ref><ref>Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 47, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref> It is thought that the camel was first brought to [[Egypt]] after the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] conquered Egypt in 525&nbsp;BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade.<ref>McEvedy, Colin (1980) ''Atlas of African History'', p. 44. {{ISBN|0-87196-480-5}}.</ref>

===West Africa===
{{Main|History of West Africa}}
{{Further|Ghana Empire|Mali Empire|Songhay Empire|Kingdom of Benin|Kingdom of Nri}}

[[File:Nok sculpture Louvre 70-1998-11-1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Nok culture|Nok]] sculpture, terracotta, [[Louvre]]]]

The [[Bantu expansion]] is a major migration movement that originated in West Central Africa (possibly around Cameroon) around 2500&nbsp;BCE, reaching East and Central Africa by 1000&nbsp;BCE and Southern Africa by the early centuries&nbsp;CE.

The [[Djenné-Djenno]] city-state flourished from 250 BCE to 900 CE and was influential to the development of the [[Ghana Empire]]. The [[Nok culture]] of Nigeria (lasting from 1,500 BCE to 200 CE) is known from a type of [[terracotta]] figure.<ref name="PB 2014">Breunig, Peter. 2014. Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context: p. 21.</ref> There were a number of medieval empires of the southern Sahara and the Sahel, based on [[trans-Saharan trade]], including the [[Ghana Empire]] and the [[Mali Empire]], [[Songhai Empire]], the [[Kanem Empire]] and the subsequent [[Bornu Empire]].<ref>Davidson, Basil. ''Africa History, Themes and Outlines'', revised and expanded edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 87–107, {{ISBN|0-684-82667-4}}.</ref> They built stone structures like in [[Tichit]], but mainly constructed in [[adobe]]. The [[Great Mosque of Djenne]] is most reflective of Sahelian architecture and is the largest adobe building in the world.

In the forest zone, several states and empires such as [[Bono state|Bono State]], [[Akwamu]] and others emerged. The [[Ashanti Empire]] arose in the 18th century in modern-day [[Ghana]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meyerowitz |first=Eva L. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3lyAAAAMAAJ |title=The Early History of the Akan States of Ghana |date=1975 |publisher=Red Candle Press |isbn=9780608390352 |language=en }}</ref> The [[Kingdom of Nri]], was established by the [[Igbo people|Igbo]] in the 11th century. Nri was famous for having a priest-king who wielded no military power. Nri was a rare African state which was a haven for freed slaves and outcasts who sought refuge in their territory. Other major states included the kingdoms of [[Ife|Ifẹ]] and [[Oyo Empire|Oyo]] in the western block of Nigeria which became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively, and center of [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] culture. The Yoruba built massive mud walls around their cities, the most famous being [[Sungbo's Eredo]]. Another prominent kingdom in southwestern Nigeria was the [[Kingdom of Benin]], whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well-known city of Eko which was named [[Lagos]] by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. The [[Kingdom of Benin|Edo]]-speaking people of Benin are known for their famous bronze casting and rich coral, wealth, ancient science and technology and the [[Walls of Benin]], one of the longest man-made structures on the world.

In the 18th century, the Oyo and the [[Aro Confederacy]] were responsible for most of the slaves exported from modern-day Nigeria, selling them to [[Atlantic slave trade|European slave traders]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/7.htm |title=The Slave Trade |publisher=Countrystudies.us |access-date=9 June 2008 |archive-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623172414/http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/7.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the British expanded their influence into the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in the following year the [[Royal Niger Company]] was chartered under the leadership of [[George Taubman Goldie|Sir George Goldie]]. In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria [[Colonial Nigeria|became]] a [[British protectorate]] as part of the [[British Empire]], the foremost world power at the time. Nigeria was granted its [[independence]] in 1960 during the period of [[decolonization|decoloniszation]].

===Central Africa===
{{Main|History of Central Africa}}

[[File:Ann Zingha.jpg|thumb|left|Fictionalised portrait of [[Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba|Nzinga]], queen of the [[Kingdom of Ndongo|Ndongo]] and [[Kingdom of Matamba|Matamba]] kingdoms]]

Archeological finds in Central Africa provide evidence of human settlement that may date back over 10,000 years.<ref>{{cite book |author=Philippe Lavachery |title=Komé-Kribi: Rescue Archaeology Along the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=3937248285 |display-authors=etal }}</ref> According to Zangato and Holl, there is evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon that may date back to 3,000 to 2,500&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=É. Zangato |author2=A.F.C. Holl |title=On the Iron Front: New Evidence from North-Central Africa |journal=Journal of African Archaeology |volume=8 |issue=1 |date=2010 |pages=7–23 |doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10153 |url=http://www.african-archaeology.de/index.php?page_id=154&journal_id=24&pdf_id=172 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226002521/http://www.african-archaeology.de/index.php?page_id=154&journal_id=24&pdf_id=172 |archive-date=26 December 2013 }}</ref> Extensive walled sites and settlements have recently been found in [[Archaeology of Zilum|Zilum]], Chad. The area is located approximately {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} southwest of Lake Chad, and has been [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to the first millennium&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite book |author=J. Cameron Monroe |title=Akinwumi Ogundiran, Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives |page=316 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1107009391}}, citing Magnavita 2004; Magnavita et al. 2004, 2006; Magnavita and Schleifer 2004.</ref><ref>Peter Mitchell et al., The Oxford Handbook of African Archeology (2013), p. 855: "The relatively recent discovery of extensive walled settlements at the transition from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age in the Chad Basin (Magnavita et al., 2006) indicates what enormous sites and processes may still await recognition."</ref>

Trade and improved agricultural techniques supported more sophisticated societies, leading to the early civilisations of [[Sao civilization|Sao]], [[Kanem Empire|Kanem]], [[Bornu Empire|Bornu]], [[Shilluk Kingdom|Shilluk]], [[Kingdom of Baguirmi|Baguirmi]], and [[Wadai Empire|Wadai]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Appiah|first1=Kwame Anthony|last2=Gates|first2=Henry Louis Jr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC&pg=PA254|access-date=2013-05-06|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533770-9|page=254}}</ref>

Following the [[Bantu Migration]] into Central Africa, during the 14th century, the [[Luba Kingdom]] in southeast Congo came about under a king whose political authority derived from religious, spiritual legitimacy. The kingdom controlled agriculture and regional trade of salt and iron from the north and copper from the Zambian/Congo copper belt.<ref name="History of Africa pp. 138,139,142">Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 138–39, 142, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

Rival kingship factions which split from the Luba Kingdom later moved among the Lunda people, marrying into its elite and laying the foundation of the [[Lunda Empire]] in the 16th century. The ruling dynasty centralised authority among the Lunda under the Mwata Yamyo or Mwaant Yaav. The Mwata Yamyo's legitimacy, like that of the Luba king, came from being viewed as a spiritual religious guardian. This [[imperial cult]] or system of divine kings was spread to most of central Africa by rivals in kingship migrating and forming new states. Many new states received legitimacy by claiming descent from the Lunda dynasties.<ref name="History of Africa pp. 138,139,142"/>

The [[Kingdom of Kongo]] existed from the Atlantic west to the Kwango river to the east. During the 15th century, the Bakongo farming community was united with its capital at [[M'banza-Kongo]], under the king title, [[Manikongo]].<ref name="History of Africa pp. 138,139,142"/> Other significant states and peoples included the [[Kuba Kingdom]], producers of the famous raffia cloth, the [[Eastern Lunda]], [[Bemba people|Bemba]], [[Burundi]], [[Rwanda]], and the [[Kingdom of Ndongo]].

===East Africa===
{{Main|History of East Africa}}

====Sudan====
{{Further|History of Sudan}}

[[File:SphinxOfTaharqa.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sphinx]] of the Nubian Emperor [[Taharqa]]]]

[[Nubia]], covered by present-day northern [[Sudan]] and southern [[Egypt]], was referred to as "[[Aethiopia]]" ("land of the burnt face") by the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Lloyd A. |title=Romans and blacks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7MQOAAAAQAAJ&q=%22Sub-Saharan+Africa%22+Ethiopia+Aethiopia&pg=PA57 |page=57 |year=1989 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=0-415-03185-0 |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032003/https://books.google.com/books?id=7MQOAAAAQAAJ&q=%22Sub-Saharan+Africa%22+Ethiopia+Aethiopia&pg=PA57 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nubia in her greatest phase is considered sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban civilisation. Nubia was a major source of gold for the ancient world. Nubians built famous structures and numerous pyramids. Sudan, the site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere else in the world.<ref>Mokhtar (editor), AnciGent Civilizations of Africa Vo. II, General History of Africa, UNESCO, 1990</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}}

====Horn of Africa====
{{Main|Horn of Africa#History}}
{{Further|History of Ethiopia|History of Somalia|History of Eritrea|History of Djibouti|Ethiopian historiography}}

[[File:Gondereshe2008.jpg|thumb|[[Architecture of Somalia|Stone city]] of [[Gondershe]], Somalia]]

The [[Axumite Empire]] spanned the southern Sahara, south Arabia and the Sahel along the western shore of the [[Red Sea]]. Located in northern [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]], Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and the Mediterranean. Growing from the proto-Aksumite [[Iron Age]] period ({{circa}} 4th century&nbsp;BCE), it rose to prominence by the 1st century&nbsp;CE. The Aksumites constructed monolithic [[Stele|stelae]] to cover the graves of their kings, such as [[King Ezana's Stele]]. The later [[Zagwe dynasty]], established in the 12th century, built churches out of solid rock. These rock-hewn structures include the [[Church of Saint George, Lalibela|Church of St. George at Lalibela]].
[[File:ET Gondar asv2018-02 img03 Fasil Ghebbi.jpg|thumb|[[Fasil Ghebbi|Fasilides Castle]], [[Ethiopia]] ]]
In [[History of somalia#Ancient|ancient Somalia]], city-states flourished such as [[Opone]], [[Cape Guardafui|Mosyllon]] and [[Malao (ancient)|Malao]] that competed with the [[Sabaeans]], [[Parthia]]ns and [[Axumite Empire|Axumites]] for the wealthy [[India|Indo]]–[[Greco-Roman|Greco]]–[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] trade.<ref>Oman in history By Peter Vine Page 324</ref>

In the Middle Ages several powerful Somali empires dominated the region's trade, including the [[Ajuran Sultanate]], which excelled in [[hydraulic]] [[engineering]] and fortress building,<ref>Shaping of Somali society Lee Cassanelli pg.92</ref> the [[Sultanate of Adal]], whose General [[Ahmed Gurey]] was the first African commander in history to use cannon warfare on the continent during [[Abyssinian–Adal War|Adal's conquest]] of the [[Ethiopian Empire]],<ref>Futuh Al Habash Shibab ad Din</ref> and the [[Geledi Sultanate]], whose military dominance forced governors of the [[Oman|Omani empire]] north of the city of [[Lamu]] to pay tribute to the [[Somali people|Somali]] Sultan [[Ahmed Yusuf (Gobroon)|Ahmed Yusuf]].<ref>Sudan Notes and Records&nbsp;– 147</ref><ref>Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years - Virginia Luling (2002) Page 229</ref><ref name="Dic xxix">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC |title=Historical Dictionary of Somalia |page=xxix |date=25 February 2003 |isbn=9780810866041 |access-date=15 February 2014 |last1=Mukhtar |first1=Mohamed Haji |publisher=Scarecrow Press |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216062140/https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Southeast Africa====
{{Further|Southeast Africa#History|History of Africa#Southeast Africa}}

According to the theory of [[recent African origin of modern humans]], the mainstream position held within the scientific community, all humans originate from either Southeast Africa or the Horn of Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/505436 |pmid=16826514 |pmc=1559480 |title=A Geographically Explicit Genetic Model of Worldwide Human-Settlement History |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=230–237 |year=2006 |last1=Liu |first1=Hua |last2=Prugnolle |first2=Franck |last3=Manica |first3=Andrea |author-link4=Francois Balloux |last4=Balloux |first4=François }}</ref> During the first millennium&nbsp;CE, [[Nilotic]] and [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]-speaking peoples [[Bantu expansion|moved into the region]], and the latter now account for three-quarters of Kenya's population.

[[File:Tongoni Ruins.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Tongoni Ruins]] south of [[Tanga, Tanzania|Tanga]] in [[Tanzania]]]]

On the coastal section of Southeast Africa, a mixed Bantu community developed through contact with [[Muslim]] [[Arab]] and [[Persian people|Persian]] traders, leading to the development of the mixed Arab, Persian and African [[Swahili Coast|Swahili City States]].<ref>{{cite book |author=James De Vere Allen |title=Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon |year=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/swahilioriginssw0000alle |url-access=registration }}</ref> The [[Swahili culture]] that emerged from these exchanges evinces many Arab and Islamic influences not seen in traditional Bantu culture, as do the many [[Afro-Arab]] members of the Bantu [[Swahili people]]. With its original speech community centered on the coastal parts of [[Tanzania]] (particularly [[Zanzibar]]) and [[Kenya]]{{snd}} a seaboard referred to as the [[Swahili Coast]]{{snd}} the Bantu [[Swahili language]] contains many [[Arabic language|Arabic]] [[loan-words]] as a consequence of these interactions.<ref>Daniel Don Nanjira, African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy: From Antiquity to the 21st Century, ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 114</ref>

The earliest Bantu inhabitants of the Southeast coast of Kenya and Tanzania encountered by these later Arab and Persian settlers have been variously identified with the trading settlements of [[Rhapta]], [[Azania]] and [[Menouthias]]<ref>{{cite book |author=Jens Finke |title=The Rough Guide to Tanzania |year=2010 |publisher=Rough Guides Limited |isbn=9781848360754 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781848360754 |url-access=registration }}</ref> referenced in early Greek and Chinese writings from 50&nbsp;CE to 500&nbsp;CE.<ref>Casson, Lionel (1989). The Periplus Maris Erythraei. Lionel Casson. (Translation by H. Frisk, 1927, with updates and improvements and detailed notes). Princeton, Princeton University Press.</ref><ref>Chami, F. A. (1999). "The Early Iron Age on Mafia island and its relationship with the mainland." Azania Vol. XXXIV 1999, pp. 1–10.</ref><ref>Chami, Felix A. 2002. "The Egypto-Graeco-Romans and Paanchea/Azania: sailing in the Erythraean Sea." From: Red Sea Trade and Travel. The British Museum. Sunday 6 October 2002. Organised by The Society for Arabian Studies</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |title=Weilue: The Peoples of the West |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |date=23 May 2004 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=23 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223070446/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Miller, J. Innes. 1969. Chapter 8: "The Cinnamon Route". In: The Spice Trade of the Roman Empire. Oxford: University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-814264-1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua_tAAAAMAAJ |title=Perspectives on the African past |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=10 August 2018 |last1=Klein |first1=Martin A. |last2=Wesley Johnson |first2=G. |archive-date=27 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627010025/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua_tAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |translator1=Hill, John E. |date=September 2004 |url=http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |title=The Peoples of the West from the Weilue: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265&nbsp;CE |orig-date=429 CE |author1=Yu Huan |access-date=17 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050315032618/http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |archive-date=15 March 2005 |language=English |at=Section&nbsp;15 and notes |via=Silk Road Seattle }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Evelyne Jone Rich |author2=Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein |title=Africa: Tradition and Change |year=1971 |page=124 |publisher=Random House School Division |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqafAAAAMAAJ |isbn=9780394009384 |access-date=9 June 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510082208/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqafAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> These early writings perhaps document the first wave of Bantu settlers to reach Southeast Africa during their migration.<ref name="Gonzales2009">{{cite book |author=Rhonda M. Gonzales |title=Societies, religion, and history: central-east Tanzanians and the world they created, c. 200&nbsp;BCE to 1800&nbsp;CE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6owAQAAIAAJ |date=30 August 2009 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-14242-7 |page=222 |access-date=9 June 2016 |archive-date=10 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610094154/https://books.google.com/books?id=o6owAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between the 14th and 15th centuries, large medieval Southeast African kingdoms and states emerged, such as the [[Buganda]],<ref name="Roland Oliver 1800. pp. 24-25">Roland Oliver, et al. "Africa South of the Equator," in Africa Since 1800. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 24–25.</ref> [[Bunyoro]] and [[Karagwe]]<ref name="Roland Oliver 1800. pp. 24-25"/> kingdoms of Uganda and Tanzania.

During the early 1960s, the Southeast African nations achieved independence from colonial rule.

===Southern Africa===
{{Main|History of Southern Africa}}
{{Further|Kingdom of Mutapa}}

[[File:Great-Zimbabwe-2.jpg|thumb|[[Great Zimbabwe]]: Tower in the Great Enclosure]]

Settlements of [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]-speaking peoples, who were [[iron]]-using agriculturists and herdsmen, were already present south of the [[Limpopo River]] by the 4th or 5th century displacing and absorbing the original [[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]] speakers. They slowly moved south, and the earliest ironworks in modern-day [[KwaZulu-Natal|KwaZulu-Natal Province]] are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the [[Xhosa people]], whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoisan inhabitants. They reached the [[Great Fish River|Fish River]] in today's [[Eastern Cape|Eastern Cape Province]]. [[Monomotapa]] was a medieval kingdom (c. 1250–1629), which existed between the [[Zambezi]] and [[Limpopo River|Limpopo]] rivers of [[Southern Africa]] in the territory of modern-day [[Zimbabwe]] and [[Mozambique]]. Its old capital was located at [[Great Zimbabwe]].

In 1487, [[Bartolomeu Dias]] became the first European to reach the southernmost tip of Africa. In 1652, a [[Victualler|victualling station]] was established at the [[Cape of Good Hope]] by [[Jan van Riebeeck]] on behalf of the [[Dutch East India Company]]. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] possession. In 1795, the Dutch colony was captured by the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. The British intended to use [[Cape Town]] as a major port on the route to [[Australia]] and [[Indian subcontinent|India]]. It was later returned to the Dutch in 1803, but soon afterward the Dutch East India Company declared bankruptcy, and the Dutch (now under French control) and the British found themselves at war again. The British captured the Dutch possession yet again at the [[Battle of Blaauwberg]], commanded by [[Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet|Sir David Blair]]. The [[Zulu Kingdom]] was a Southern African tribal state in what is now [[KwaZulu-Natal]] in southeastern South Africa. The small kingdom gained world fame during and after their defeat in the [[Anglo-Zulu War]]. During the 1950s and early 1960s, most sub-Saharan African nations achieved independence from colonial rule.<ref>M. Martin, Phyllis and O'Meara, Patrick (1995). ''Africa''. 3rd edition, Bloomington and Indianapolis: [[Indiana University Press]], p. 156, {{ISBN|0-253-32916-7}}.</ref>