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African History

Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

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Nelson Mandela(Original Caption) Nelson Mandela outside his Soweto home three days after his release. (Photo by Gideon Mendel/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela’s Childhood and Education Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, into a royal family of the Xhosa‑speaking Thembu tribe in the South African village of Mvezo, where his father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa (c. 1880‑1928), served as chief. His mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was the third of Mphakanyiswa’s four wives, who together bore him […]

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Colorized illustration of Saladin (1138 - 1193), the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria.

Saladin

Early Life and Rise to Power in Egypt Saladin was born Yusuf Ibn Ayyub in the central Iraqi city of Tikrit in 1137 or 1138. His family was of Kurdish descent, and his father Ayyub and uncle Shirkuh were elite military leaders under Imad al‑Din Zangi, a powerful ruler who governed northern Syria at the […]

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Scenes in Rwanda following the civil war, 30th July 1994.

Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occured in 1994 when members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east‑central African nation of Rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority.

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EGYPT-POLITICS-TRANSPORT-SUEZ-CANAL-HISTORYThis picture taken on November 17, 2019 shows the Liberia-flagged container ship RDO Concord sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal in the canal's central hub city of Ismailia on the 150th anniversary of the canal's inauguration. - One hundred and fifty years after the Suez Canal opened, the international waterway is hugely significant to the economy of modern-day Egypt, which nationalised it in 1956. The canal, dug in the 19th century using "rudimentary tools" and which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, was opened to navigation in 1869 and was expanded in 2015 to accommodate larger ships. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Suez Canal

Where Is the Suez Canal? The Suez Canal stretches 120 miles from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt southward to the city of Suez (located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Suez). The canal separates the bulk of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula. It took 10 years to build, and was […]

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Apartheid

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44:59 minTV-14
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Gorilla War

Poachers are killing the rare Gorillas of Congo, and they are paying Rwanda’s genocidal maniacs to protect them while they practice their deadly trade. For the park rangers protecting the Gorillas, it’s all out war and they are heavily outnumbered. The team brings in special communications equipment that allows the rangers to track the Gorilla […]

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This Day in History Video: What Happened on January 25

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44:58 min

Black Gold

The team joins forces with a rag‑tag group of park rangers who are trying to stop the destruction of Congo’s most critical national forest. Rebel crime units are cutting down the forest to manufacture charcoal and killing anyone who gets in their way. The park is the last holdout for rare mountain gorillas: and it’s […]

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0:59 secTV-PG

This Day in History Video: What Happened on February 11

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Senegalese soldiers after attack, circa 1914-circa 1918. The Senegalese Tirailleurs were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were recruited from Senegal and other sub-Saharan regions of the French empire.

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6 Key World War I Battles Fought in Africa

Battles in Africa were waged between colonial powers, but most of those compelled to fight were conscripted Africans.

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Ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu.

How Timbuktu Flourished During the Golden Age of Islam

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Timbuktu, located in Mali, served as a major intellectual hub of Islamic civilization.

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The Nubian Queen Who Fought Back Caesars Army

The Nubian Queen Who Fought Back Caesar’s Army

Queen Amanirenas commanded soldiers of the ancient Kingdom of Kush and successfully resisted Roman rule.

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Emperor Negus Menelik II of Ethiopia at Battle of Adwa 1896 Ethiopia (Photo by Chris Hellier/Corbis via Getty Images)

How Ethiopia Beat Back Colonizers in the Battle of Adwa

In 1896, Ethiopia fended off an invading Italian army and secured its independence.

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This Day in History

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This Day in History Video: What Happened on January 25

African History
1992

Apartheid comes to an end in South Africa

African History
2009

Somali pirates hijack Maersk Alabama ship

African History
1963

Kenya declares independence from Britain

African History
2013

South African president Nelson Mandela dies at 95

African History
2016

EgyptAir flight 804 disappears over the Mediterranean Sea

African History
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