Isaac Samuel

Royal Palace at Gondar, Ethiopia, ca. 1880

#archivesxt

Fortress of Ibrim, Nubia, ca. 1845-1859
Derr, La Capitale de la Nubie, ca. 1860
(el-Derr is now submerged under Lake Nasser)

#archivesxt

The indigenous and the foreign in Benin Art ca. 1500-1900CE. | Isaac Samuel Get more from Isaac Samuel on Patreon

icymi

The indigenous and the foreign in Benin Art ca. 1500-1900CE.
www.patreon.com/posts/indige...

Loved so many fab posts on African history from @rhaplord.bsky.social recently:

C16 material culture bsky.app/profile/rhap...

C16 fortresses: bsky.app/profile/rhap...

C15 complex agricultural practices bsky.app/profile/rhap...

pioneering intellectuals: bsky.app/profile/rhap...

oil lamp
19th century,
Bozo, Mali
-Yale University Art Gallery

standard lamp
ca. 1883-1895
northern Nigeria
-British Museum

hanging lamp
ca. 1935
Bibiani, Ghana
-British Museum

hanging lamp
ca. 16th-19th century
Benin City, Nigeria
-British Museum

#randomxt

copper-alloy headress surmounted by a lion
19th century
Dahomey, Benin.
-Yale University Art Gallery
#randomxt

carved ivory salt-cellar

16th century,
Benin City, Nigeria.
-National Museum of Denmark
#randomxt

Taleh, Somalia
www.patreon.com/posts/stone-...

The stone forts at Nioro and Koniakary, Mali
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

Tata of Tiong-i, Mali. ca. 1892.
Palace of the emir of Kano, Nigeria, ca. 1891
Gate in the city walls of Logone-Birni, ca. 1930, Cameroon.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

The stone fortresses of northern Somalia and the anti-colonial Dervish movement (ca. 1899-1920) | Isaac Samuel Get more from Isaac Samuel on Patreon

The history of the Dervish fortresses is the subject of my latest Patreon Article:
⤵️

The stone fortresses of northern Somalia and the anti-colonial Dervish movement (ca. 1899-1920)
www.patreon.com/posts/stone-...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

The dervishes constructed several massive stone fortresses with 12-14 ft thick walls rising 35-50ft above the barren landscape.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

One of the clearest demonstrations of the enduring strategic value of such fortifications is provided by the Dervish movement of Muḥammad ʿAbdille Ḥasan in present-day Somaliland, which held out against British incursions from 1899 to 1920.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

As late as 1902, the heavily fortified zawiya (Sufi lodge) of Bir Alali in Kanem (present-day Chad) served as a major military stronghold for local resistance against the French, with operations supported and coordinated by the Sanusiyya movement.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

Examples of fortifications that forced colonial armies to rely on heavy artillery include the walled cities of Yorubaland (e.g., at Bida in 1897) and the Bukusu forts of Kenya (e.g., at Chetambe in 1895).
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

The slow and uneven spread of gunpowder technology meant that fortifications remained the most effective means of defensive warfare in Africa until the close of the 19th century, where more modern artillery proved decisive in siege warfare
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

The fortress’s double walls of masonry stood up well to the fire of Archinard’s 80 mm mountain guns, and the defenders stood firm under bombardment until a breach was made through the walls after 8hours of uninterrupted artillery barrage
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

Nevertheless, the small contingents left to defend other strongholds, such as the 300-man garrison at Koundian, mounted significant resistance.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

During the French invasion of Tukulor in 1889-93, tactical miscalculations by the Tukulor ruler Ahmadu, whose armies met the colonial armies of Louis Archinard in the open, left the fortresses of Koniakary and Nioro undefended.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

Umar Tal constructed several fortifications capable of withstanding contemporary military technology, the most notable of which were the stone forts at Koundian, Nioro, Farabugu, and Koniakary, built in 1857
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

The Tukulor ruler Umar Tal deployed artillery against the walled town of Woitala in December 1860, and his successors used the same against the fortified towns of Sansanding and Dina

www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

Mungo Park documented several fortifications in the Upper Niger region, built of stone and clay, many of which were loopholed and constructed for fighting with gunpowder weapons. He also describes counterworks used to attack a fortified place
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

Advancements in technology and siege tactics led to the evolution of defensive systems: walls were constructed thicker and taller, observation towers and galleries were added to provide gunmen with elevated positions from which to engage attacking forces
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

According to the military historian Robert Smith, “The widespread and numerous remains of fortifications are a recurring and sometimes conspicuous feature in the West African landscape.”
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

The widespread use of fortifications and other forms of defensive architecture across the continent provides compelling evidence for the complexity of pre-colonial African military systems, which has until recently been overlooked in African historiography
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

While pre-colonial African states often deployed large armies to engage in open-field battles, they also invested in the construction of fortifications and maintained garrisons to defend key towns and settlements.
www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military history. In November 1575, the army of Bornu encamped before the walled town of Amsaka, initiating what would become one of the best-documented episodes of siege warfare in pre-colonial West Africa.

The history of warfare and military systems in pre-colonial Africa is incredibly complex and quite unlike the spontaneous and short-lived affairs often found in Hollywood depictions (which are inaccurate even for most European military history)

www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

On the Enduring Role of Forts and Fortifications in Pre-Colonial African Military History.

www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/on-the-end...

Classics and Race: A Historical Reader
free download ⤵️
uclpress.co.uk/book/classic...

It should probably be titled "Early-modernists and Race," but it's still an interesting read.

We all here in America need to do a major deep dive into the many amazing cultures & art of our African American friends, neighbors & families. Teach it in schools like we do European history. Asian, Native & Latin American too. Others might have more open minds if they realized how beautiful it is.