Medieval West Africa
History: KS3, topic 4.1.2
Medieval West Africa
In the past, Africa was often written about through a colonialist lens.
A colonialist lens
- We based our understanding of Africa on the tales of outsiders.
- For example, the Greeks and Romans wrote about the Ancient Egyptians.
Further examples of the colonial lens
- Scholars wrote about trade routes across the Sahara.
- European missionaries wrote about the need to ‘civilise’ African people.
Results of colonialism
- Colonialist historians didn't look much at the richness of Africa's history.
- For example, they didn't focus on West African kingdoms.
African kingdoms
- Africa has many histories, cultures and languages.
- Advanced kingdoms existed before Europeans arrived.
Learning more about African history
- Recently, historians have started to unpack these histories.
- They are learning more about African history.
- They are focusing in particular on medieval West African empires.
Test yourself on Medieval West Africa
When we look at history through a colonialist lens, what does this mean?
Which time period of West African history are historians now focusing on?