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100 African Cities Destroyed

By Europeans: WHY there are
seldom historical buildings
and monuments in subSaharan Africa!
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By: Mawuna Remarque KOUTONIN

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/author/admin/)
Saturday, November 1st, 2014 at 5:33 pm.

When tourists visit sub-Saharan Africa, they often

wonder Why there are no historical buildings or
monuments?

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The reason is simple. Europeans have destroyed most of them. We have only left drawings and
descriptions by travelers who have visited the places before the destructions. In some places,

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ruins are still visible. Many cities have been abandoned into ruin when Europeans brought exotic
diseases (smallpox and influenza) which started spreading and killing people. The ruins of those
cities are still hidden. In fact the biggest part of Africa history is still under the ground.

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In this post, Ill share pieces of informations about Africa before the arrival of Europeans, the
destroyed cities and lessons we could learn as africans for the future.
The collection work of facts regarding the state of african cities before their destruction is done
by Robin Walker (http://www.whenweruled.com), a distinguished panafricanist and historian

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who has written the book When We Ruled (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2858266when-we-ruled). all quotes and excerpts below are from the book. I highly recommend you to

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buy the book to get a full account of the beauty of the continent before its destruction.
Robin Walter has himself heavily quoted another great panafricanist Walter Rodney
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Europe_Underdeveloped_Africa) who wrote the book
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40630.How_Europe_Underdeveloped_Africa).

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Additional information came from YouTube channel dogons2k12 : African Historical Ruins, and
Ta Neter Foundation (http://www.taneter.org) work.
Many drawings are from the book African Cities and Towns Before the European Conquest

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(http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/315377.Richard_W_Hull) by Richard W. Hull,

published in 1976. That book alone dispels the stereotypical view of Africans living in simple,
primitive, look-alike agglomerations, scattered without any appreciation for planning and
design.
In fact, at the end of the 13th century, when a european traveler encountered the great Benin City
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_City) in West Africa (present Nigeria, Edo State), he wrote
as follows:
The town seems to be very great. When you enter into it, you go into a great broad street, not
paved, which seems to be seven or eight times broader than the Warmoes street in Amsterdam
The Kings palace is a collection of buildings which occupy as much space as the town of Harlem,
and which is enclosed with walls. There are numerous apartments for the Prince`s ministers and
fine galleries, most of which are as big as those on the Exchange at Amsterdam. They are
supported by wooden pillars encased with copper, where their victories are depicted, and which
are carefully kept very clean. The town is composed of thirty main streets, very straight and 120
feet wide, apart from an infinity of small intersecting streets. The houses are close to one
another, arranged in good order. These people are in no way inferior to the Dutch as regards
cleanliness; they wash and scrub their houses so well that they are polished and shining like a

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/facebookphone-soon-available-in-nigeria-egyptkenya-and-more/)

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Phone
Soon
Available
in
Nigeria,
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kenyaandmore/)

looking glass. (Source: Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40630.How_Europe_Underdeveloped_Africa), pg.
69)
Sadly, in 1897, Benin City was destroyed by British forces under Admiral Harry Rawson
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Rawson). The city was looted, blown up and burnt to the
ground. A collection of the famous Benin Bronzes
(http://www.richardlander.org.uk/benin_bronzes.html) are now in the British Museum in
London. Part of the 700 stolen bronzes by the British troops were sold back to Nigeria in 1972
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1896535.stm).

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/knowledgeis-not-logical/)

Here is another account of the great Benin City regarding the city walls They extend for some 16
000 kilometres in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They
cover 6500 square kilometres and were all dug by the Edo people. In all, they are four times
longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the
Great Pyramid of Cheops. They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and
are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet. Source: Wikipedia,
Architecture of Africa. Fred Pearce the New Scientist 11/09/99.
Here is a view of Benin city in 1891 before the British conquest. H. Ling Roth,
(https://archive.org/details/greatbeninitscus00roth)Great Benin

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/whitetourist-in-africa/)

(https://archive.org/details/greatbeninitscus00roth), Barnes and Noble reprint. 1968.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/followingrwanda-senegal-to-replace-french-byenglish-to-develop-the-country-faster/)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//2benin2.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//beninpicture_op_800x650.jpg)

Did you know that in the 14th century the city of

Timbuktu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu)
in West Africa was five times bigger than the city of
London, and was the richest city in the world?

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/saya-doesamerica/)

Knowledge
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(http://www.sil
isnotlogical/)

White
Tourist
in
Africa
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Following
Rwanda,
Senegal
to
Replace
French
by
English
to
Develop
the
Country
Faster
(http://www.sil
rwandasenegaltoreplacefrenchbyenglishtodevelopthecountryfaster/)

Saya
Does
America
(http://www.sil
doesamerica/)
Startups:
Prescription
BEFORE
Diagnosis

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/startupsprescription-before-diagnosis-ismalpractice/)

is
Malpractice!

Today, Timbuktu is 236 times smaller than London. It has nothing of a modern city. Its

malpractice/)

population is two times less than 5 centuries ago, impoverished with beggars and dirty street
sellers. The town itself is incapable of conserving its past ruined monuments and archives.
Back to the 14 century, the 3 richest places on earth was China, Iran/Irak, and the Mali empire in
West Africa. From all 3 the only one which was still independent and prosperous was the Mali
Empire. China and the whole Middle East were conquered by Genghis Kan
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan) Mongol troops which ravaged, pillaged, and
raped the places.
The richest man ever in the history of Humanity, Mansa Musa
(http://www.blackpast.org/gah/musa-mansa-1280-1337), was the emperor of the 14th century
Mali Empire which covered modern day Mali, Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea.
At the time of his death in 1331, Mansa Musa was worth the equivalent of 400 billion dollars. At
that time Mali Empire was producing more than half the worlds supply of salt and gold.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/in-searchof-a-black-jesus-why-the-white-manloves-so-much-mandela/)

Here below are some depictions of emperor Mansa Musa, the richest man in human history
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/mansa-musa-worlds-richest-man-alltime_n_1973840.html).

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Mansa-Musa-21.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/should-wechange-the-definition-of-capitalism/)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Mansa-Musa1.jpg)
When Mansa Musa went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, he carried so much gold, and spent
them so lavishly that the price of gold fell for ten years. 60 000 people accompanied him.
He founded the library of Timbuktu (http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=378&Itemid=233), and the famous manuscripts of
Timbuktu which cover all areas of world knowledge were written during his reign.
Witnesses of the greatness of the Mali empire came from all part of the world. Sergio Domian,

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/the-expertsafrica-doesnt-need/)

Malpractice!
(http://www.sil
prescriptionbeforediagnosisismalpractice/)

In
Search
of
a
Black
Jesus:
Why
The
White
Man
Loves
so
Much
Mandela?
(http://www.sil
searchofablackjesuswhythewhitemanlovessomuchmandela/)

Should
we
change
the
definition
of
Capitalism?
(http://www.sil
wechangethedefinitionofcapitalism/)

The
Experts
Africa
Doesn't
Need
(http://www.sil
expertsafricadoesntneed/)

need/)

an Italian art and architecture scholar, wrote the following about this period: Thus was laid the
foundation of an urban civilisation. At the height of its power, Mali had at least 400 cities, and
the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated.
The Malian city of Timbuktu had a 14th century population of 115,000 5 times larger than
mediaeval London.
National Geographic recently described Timbuktu as the Paris of the mediaeval world, on
account of its intellectual culture. According to Professor Henry Louis Gates, 25,000 university

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/africa-ecommerce-the-missing-ingredients/)

students studied there.

Many old West African families have private library collections that go back hundreds of years.
The Mauritanian cities of Chinguetti and Oudane have a total of 3,450 hand written mediaeval
books. There may be another 6,000 books still surviving in the other city of Walata. Some date
back to the 8th century AD. There are 11,000 books in private collections in Niger.
Finally, in Timbuktu, Mali, there are about 700,000 surviving books. They are written in Mande,
Suqi, Fulani, Timbuctu, and Sudani. The contents of the manuscripts include math, medicine,
poetry, law and astronomy. This work was the first encyclopedia in the 14th century before the

Africa
eCommerce:
The
Missing
Ingredients
(http://www.sil
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Europeans got the idea later in the 18th century, 4 centuries later.
A collection of one thousand six hundred books was considered a small library for a West African
scholar of the 16th century. Professor Ahmed Baba of Timbuktu is recorded as saying that he had
the smallest library of any of his friends he had only 1600 volumes.
Concerning these old manuscripts, Michael Palin, in his TV series Sahara, said the imam of
Timbuktu has a collection of scientific texts that clearly show the planets circling the sun. They
date back hundreds of years . . . Its convincing evidence that the scholars of Timbuktu knew a lot
more than their counterparts in Europe. In the fifteenth century in Timbuktu the
mathematicians knew about the rotation of the planets, knew about the details of the eclipse,
they knew things which we had to wait for 150 almost 200 years to know in Europe when Galileo
and Copernicus came up with these same calculations and were given a very hard time for it.
The old Malian capital of Niani had a 14th century building called the Hall of Audience. It was an
surmounted by a dome, adorned with arabesques of striking colours. The windows of an upper
floor were plated with wood and framed in silver; those of a lower floor were plated with wood,
framed in gold.
Malian sailors got to America in 1311 AD, 181 years before Columbus. An Egyptian scholar, Ibn
Fadl Al-Umari, published on this sometime around 1342. In the tenth chapter of his book, there
is an account of two large maritime voyages ordered by the predecessor of Mansa Musa, a king
who inherited the Malian throne in 1312. This mariner king is not named by Al-Umari, but
modern writers identify him as Mansa Abubakari II. Excerpt from Robin Walkers book, WHEN
WE RULED (http://www.amazon.com/When-We-Ruled-MediaevalCivilisations/dp/1580730450)
Those event were happening at the same period when Europe as a continent was plunged into the
Dark Age, ravaged by plague and famine, its people killing one another for religious and ethnic
reasons.
Here below are some depiction of the city of Timbuktu in the 19th century.

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(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//800px-Barthtimbuktu.jpg)
Kumasi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumasi) was the capital of the Asante Kingdom
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_Empire), 10th century-20th century. Drawings of life in
Kumasi show homes, often of 2 stories, square buildings with thatched roofs, with family
compounds arranged around a courtyard. The Manhyia Palace
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhyia_Palace) complex drawn in another sketch was similar to
a Norman castle, only more elegant in its architecture.
These 2 story thatched homes of the Ashanti Kingdom were timber framed and the walls were of
lath and plaster construction. A tree always stood in the courtyard which was the central point of
a family compound. The Tree of Life was the altar for family offerings to God, Nyame. A brass

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pan sat in the branches of the tree into which offerings were placed. This was the same in every
courtyard of every household, temple and palace. The King`s representatives, officials, worked
in open-sided buildings. The purpose being that everyone was welcome to see what they were up

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to.
The townhouses of Kumase had upstairs toilets in 1817.This city in the 1800s is documented in

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drawings and photographs. Promenades and public squares, cosmopolitan lives, exquisite
architecture and everywhere spotless and ordered, a wealth of architecture, history, prosperity
and extremely modern living
Winwood Reade described his visit to the Ashanti Royal Palace of Kumasi in 1874: We went to
the kings palace, which consists of many courtyards, each surrounded with alcoves and
verandahs, and having two gates or doors, so that each yard was a thoroughfare . . . But the part
of the palace fronting the street was a stone house, Moorish in its style . . . with a flat roof and a
parapet, and suites of apartments on the first floor. It was built by Fanti masons many years ago.
The rooms upstairs remind me of Wardour Street. Each was a perfect Old Curiosity Shop. Books
in many languages, Bohemian glass, clocks, silver plate, old furniture, Persian rugs,

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Kidderminster carpets, pictures and engravings, numberless chests and coffers. A sword bearing
the inscription From Queen Victoria to the King of Ashantee. A copy of the Times, 17 October
1843. With these were many specimens of Moorish and Ashanti handicraft.
The beautiful city of Kumasi was blown up, destroyed by fire, and looted by the
British at the end of the 19th century.
Here below are few depictions of the city.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Geopolitical-Africa-Kumasithe-Capital-of-Ashanti-1024x628.jpg)

In 1331, Ibn Battouta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta), described the Tanzanian city

of Kilwa (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/144), of the Zanj, Swahili speaking people, as follows
one of the most beautiful and well-constructed cities in the world, the whole of it is elegantly
built. The ruins are complete with `gothic` arches and intricate stonework, examples of
exquisite architecture. Kilwa dates back to the 9th century and was at its peak in the 13th and
14th centuries. This international African port minted its own currency in the 11th -14th
centuries. Remains of artefacts link it to Spain, China, Arabia and India. The inhabitants,
architects and founders of this city were not Arabs and the only influence the Europeans had in
the form of the Portuguese was to mark the start of decline, most likely through smallpox and
influenza.
In 1505 Portuguese forces destroyed and burned down the Swahili cities of Kilwa
and Mombasa.
The picture below shows an artists reconstruction of the sultans palace in Kilwa in the 1400s,
followed by other ruins photographs.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//kilwa-palace.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Kilwa.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//277332452.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//site_0144_0027-594-020121111133403.jpg)
A Moorish nobleman who lived in Spain by the name of Al-Bakri
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Bakri)questioned merchants who visited the Ghana Empire in
the 11th century and wrote this about the king: He sits in audience or to hear grievances against
officials in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses covered with gold-embroidered
materials. Behind the king stand ten pages holding shields and swords decorated with gold, and
on his right are the sons of the kings of his country wearing splendid garments and their hair
plaited with gold. The governor of the city sits on the ground before the king and around him are
ministers seated likewise. At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree that hardly
ever leave the place where the king is, guarding him. Around their necks they wear collars of gold
and silver studded with a number of balls of the same metals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana_Empire#Government
(%20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana_Empire#Government) the source of the quote is
given on wikipedia as p.80 of Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West Africa
(http://www.amazon.com/Corpus-Arabic-Sources-African-History/dp/1558762418) by
Nehemia Levtzion and John F.P. Hopkins)
Here below are few depictions of Ghana Empire.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//mauritania-ancient-cities-2.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//mauritania-ancient-cities.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//316619943_f4bf539b12.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//1175093587_g_0.jpg)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//tichitt.png)
In 15th when the Portuguese, the first europeans who sailed the atlantic coasts of Africa arrived
in the coast of Guinea and landed at Vaida in West Africa, the captains were astonished to find
streets well laid out, bordered on either side for several leagues by two rows of trees, for days
thet travelled through a country of magnificant fields, inhabited by men clad in richly coloured
garments of their own weaving! Further south in the Kingdom of the Kongo(sic), a swarming
crowd dressed in fine silks and velvet; great states well ordered, down to the most minute detail;
powerful rulers, flourishing industries-civilised to the marrow of their bones. And the condition
of the countries of the eastern coast-mozambique, for example-was quite the same.
For example the Kingdom of Congo in the 15th Century was the epitome of political organization.
It was a flourishing state in the 15th century. It was situated in the region of Northern Angola
and West Kongo. Its population was conservatively estimated at 2 or 3 million people. The
country was fivided into 6 administrative provinces and a number of dependancies. The
provinces were Mbamba, Mbata, Mpangu, Mpemba, Nsundi, and Soyo. The dependancies
included Matari, Wamdo, Wembo and the province of Mbundu. All in turn were subject to the
authority of The Mani Kongo (King). The capital of the country(Mbanza Kongo), was in the
Mpemba province. From the province of Mbamba, the military stronghold. It was possible to put
400,000 in the field.
Below is an depiction by Olfert Dapper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfert_Dapper), a Dutch
physician and writer, of the 17th century city of Loango (present Congo/Angola) based on
descriptions of the place by those who had actually seen it.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//loango-africa-kongokingdom.jpg)
Depiction of the City of Mbanza in the Kongo Kingdom

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//AngolaCityofMbanzaKongo1.jpg)
King of Kongo Receiving Dutch Ambassadors, 1642 DO Dapper, Description de lAfrique
Traduite du Flamand (1686)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//King-of-Kongo-ReceivingDutch-Ambassadors-1642-DO-Dapper-Description-de-lAfrique-Traduitedu-Flamand-1686.jpg)
Portuguese Emissaries Received by the King of Kongo, late 16th cent Duarte Lopes, Regnum
Congo hoc est warhaffte und eigentliche , Congo in Africa (Franckfort am Mayn, 1609)

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Portuguese-EmissariesReceived-by-the-King-of-Kongo-late-16th-cent-Duarte-Lopes-RegnumCongo-hoc-est-warhaffte-und-eigentliche-Congo-in-Africa-Franckfortam-Mayn-1609.jpg)
Until the end of 16 century, Africa was far more advanced than Europe in term of political
organization, science, technology, culture. That prosperity continued, despite the european
slavery ravages, till the 17th and 18th century.
The continent was crowded with tens of great and prosperous cities, empires and kingdoms with
King Askia Toure of Songhay, King Behanzin Hossu Bowelle of Benin, Emperor Menelik of
Ethiopia, King Shaka ka Sezangakhona of South Africa, Queen Nzinga of Angola, Queen Yaa
Asantewaa of Ghana, Queen Amina of Nigeria.
We are talking here about Empires, Kingdoms, Queendoms, Kings, emperors, the richest man in
the history of humanity in Africa.

Were these Kings and Queens sleeping on banana

trees in the bushes? Were they dressed with tree
leaves, with no shoes?
If they were not sleeping in trees, covered with leaves, where are the remainder of their palaces,
their art work?
The mediaeval Nigerian city of Benin was built to a scale comparable with the Great Wall of
China. There was a vast system of defensive walling totalling 10,000 miles in all. Even before
the full extent of the city walling had become apparent the Guinness Book of Records carried an
entry in the 1974 edition that described the city as: The largest earthworks in the world
carried out prior to the mechanical era.
Benin art of the Middle Ages was of the highest quality. An official of the Berlin Museum fr
Vlkerkunde once stated that: These works from Benin are equal to the very finest examples of
European casting technique. Benvenuto Cellini could not have cast them better, nor could
anyone else before or after him . . . Technically, these bronzes represent the very highest
possible achievement.
In the mid-nineteenth century, William Clarke, an English visitor to Nigeria, remarked that: As
good an article of cloth can be woven by the Yoruba weavers as by any people . . . in durability,
their cloths far excel the prints and home-spuns of Manchester.
The recently discovered 9th century Nigerian city of Eredo was found to be surrounded by a wall
that was 100 miles long and seventy feet high in places. The internal area was a staggering 400
square miles.
Loango City in the Congo/Angola area is depicted in another drawing from the mid 1600`s. Yet
again, a vast planned city of linear layout, stretching across several miles and entirely
surrounded by city walls, bustling with trade. The king`s complex alone was a mile and a half
enclosure with courtyards and gardens. The people of Loango had used maths not just for
arithmetic purposes but for astrological calculations. They used advanced maths, linear algebra.

The Ishango Bone from the Congo is a calculator that is 25 000 years old. The so-called Ishango
bone`s inscriptions consist of two columns of odd numbers that add up to 60,with the left
column containing prime numbers between 10 and 20, and the right column containing both
added and subtracted numbers. Source: Ta Neter Foundation (http://www.taneter.org). It is on
view in a museum in Belgium.
The beautiful city of Loango was destroyed
(http://www.africafederation.net/Kongo_History.htm) by European fortune
hunters, pseudo-missionaries and other kinds of free-booters.
On the subject of cloth, Kongolese textiles were also distinguished. Various European writers of
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries wrote of the delicate crafts of the peoples living in
eastern Kongo and adjacent regions who manufactured damasks, sarcenets, satins, taffeta, cloth
of tissue and velvet. Professor DeGraft-Johnson made the curious observation that: Their
brocades, both high and low, were far more valuable than the Italian.
On Kongolese metallurgy of the Middle Ages, one modern scholar wrote that: There is no
doubting . . . the existence of an expert metallurgical art in the ancient Kongo . . . The Bakongo
were aware of the toxicity of lead vapours. They devised preventative and curative methods,
both pharmacological (massive doses of pawpaw and palm oil) and mechanical (exerting of
pressure to free the digestive tract), for combating lead poisoning.
In Nigeria, the royal palace in the city of Kano dates back to the fifteenth century. Begun by
Muhammad Rumfa (ruled 1463-99) it has gradually evolved over generations into a very
imposing complex. A colonial report of the city from 1902, described it as a network of buildings
covering an area of 33 acres and surrounded by a wall 20 to 30 feet high outside and 15 feet
inside . . . in itself no mean citadel.
A sixteenth century traveller visited the central African civilisation of Kanem-Borno and
commented that the emperors cavalry had golden stirrups, spurs, bits and buckles. Even the
rulers dogs had chains of the finest gold.
One of the government positions in mediaeval Kanem-Borno was Astronomer Royal.
Ngazargamu, the capital city of Kanem-Borno, became one of the largest cities in the seventeenth
century world. By 1658 AD, the metropolis, according to an architectural scholar housed about
quarter of a million people. It had 660 streets. Many were wide and unbending, reflective of
town planning.
The Nigerian city of Surame flourished in the sixteenth century. Even in ruin it was an impressive
sight, built on a horizontal vertical grid. A modern scholar describes it thus: The walls of Surame
are about 10 miles in circumference and include many large bastions or walled suburbs running
out at right angles to the main wall. The large compound at Kanta is still visible in the centre,
with ruins of many buildings, one of which is said to have been two-storied. The striking feature
of the walls and whole ruins is the extensive use of stone and tsokuwa (laterite gravel) or very
hard red building mud, evidently brought from a distance. There is a big mound of this near the
north gate about 8 feet in height. The walls show regular courses of masonry to a height of 20
feet and more in several places. The best preserved portion is that known as sirati (the bridge) a
little north of the eastern gate . . . The main city walls here appear to have provided a very
strongly guarded entrance about 30 feet wide.
The Nigerian city of Kano in 1851 produced an estimated 10 million pairs of sandals and 5 million
hides each year for export.
In 1246 AD Dunama II of Kanem-Borno exchanged embassies with Al-Mustansir, the king of
Tunis. He sent the North African court a costly present, which apparently included a giraffe. An
old chronicle noted that the rare animal created a sensation in Tunis.
In Southern Africa, there are at least 600 stone built ruins in the regions of Zimbabwe,
Mozambique and South Africa. These ruins are called Mazimbabwe in Shona, the Bantu language
of the builders, and means great revered house and signifies court.
The Great Zimbabwe was the largest of these ruins. It consists of 12 clusters of buildings, spread
over 3 square miles. Its outer walls were made from 100,000 tons of granite bricks. In the
fourteenth century, the city housed 18,000 people, comparable in size to that of London of the
same period.
Bling culture existed in this region. At the time of our last visit, the Horniman Museum in
London had exhibits of headrests with the caption: Headrests have been used in Africa since the
time of the Egyptian pharaohs. Remains of some headrests, once covered in gold foil, have been
found in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe and burial sites like Mapungubwe dating to the twelfth
century after Christ.

On bling culture, one seventeenth century visitor to southern African empire of Monomotapa,
that ruled over this vast region, wrote that: The people dress in various ways: at court of the
Kings their grandees wear cloths of rich silk, damask, satin, gold and silk cloth; these are three
widths of satin, each width four covados [2.64m], each sewn to the next, sometimes with gold
lace in between, trimmed on two sides, like a carpet, with a gold and silk fringe, sewn in place
with a two fingers wide ribbon, woven with gold roses on silk.
Apparently the Monomotapan royal palace at Mount Fura had chandeliers hanging from the
ceiling. An eighteenth century geography book provided the following data: The inside consists
of a great variety of sumptuous apartments, spacious and lofty halls, all adorned with a
magnificent cotton tapestry, the manufacture of the country. The floors, cielings [sic], beams and
rafters are all either gilt or plated with gold curiously wrought, as are also the chairs of state,
tables, benches &c. The candle-sticks and branches are made of ivory inlaid with gold, and hang
from the cieling by chains of the same metal, or of silver gilt.
Monomotapa had a social welfare system. Antonio Bocarro, a Portuguese contemporary,
informs us that the Emperor: shows great charity to the blind and maimed, for these are called
the kings poor, and have land and revenues for their subsistence, and when they wish to pass
through the kingdoms, wherever they come food and drinks are given to them at the public cost
as long as they remain there, and when they leave that place to go to another they are provided
with what is necessary for their journey, and a guide, and some one to carry their wallet to the
next village. In every place where they come there is the same obligation.
In, 1571 Portuguese forces invade Munhumutapa, and started the destruction of the place. In
1629, Emperor Mavhura becomes puppet ruler of Munhumutapa on behalf of the Portuguese.
Chinese records of the fifteenth century AD note that Mogadishu had houses of four or five
stories high.
Gedi, near the coast of Kenya, is one of the East African ghost towns. Its ruins, dating from the
fourteenth or fifteenth centuries, include the city walls, the palace, private houses, the Great
Mosque, seven smaller mosques, and three pillar tombs.
The ruined mosque in the Kenyan city of Gedi had a water purifier made of limestone for
recycling water.
The palace in the Kenyan city of Gedi contains evidence of piped water controlled by taps. In
addition it had bathrooms and indoor toilets.
A visitor in 1331 AD considered the Tanzanian city of Kilwa to be of world class. He wrote that it
was the principal city on the coast the greater part of whose inhabitants are Zanj of very black
complexion. Later on he says that: Kilwa is one of the most beautiful and well-constructed
cities in the world. The whole of it is elegantly built.
Bling culture existed in early Tanzania. A Portuguese chronicler of the sixteenth century wrote
that: [T]hey are finely clad in many rich garments of gold and silk and cotton, and the women as
well; also with much gold and silver chains and bracelets, which they wear on their legs and arms,
and many jewelled earrings in their ears.
In 1961 a British archaeologist, found the ruins of Husuni Kubwa, the royal palace of the
Tanzanian city of Kilwa. It had over a hundred rooms, including a reception hall, galleries,
courtyards, terraces and an octagonal swimming pool.
The Bamilike structures of the Cameroon are of mind-blowing architectural delicateness and
beauty. The Bamum and Shomum scripts of the Cameroon are similar to those of Ethiopia.
There are over 7000 ancient Bamum manuscripts and the Bamum Palace is still perfectly
preserved.

As historical sources described above the continent

was full of monuments. Where are they?
The sad truth is that Europeans invaders have destroyed most of them either as punitive actions
or under the scramble for Africa Terra Nullius (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius)
law.
During the scramble for Africa by Europeans, the main way to prove that a land qualified for
colonization or take over was Terra Nullius, a Latin expression deriving from Roman law
meaning land belonging to no one, which is used in international law to describe territory
which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign
has expressly or implicitly relinquished sovereignty. Sovereignty over territory which is terra
nullius may be acquired through occupation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius)

Many islands were acquired that way when it was possible to slaughter the small population and
easily prove that the land was empty before the arrival of colonial powers.
But very soon, the colonial powers were in difficulty to find land belonging to no one. Africa
was not a Terra Nullius. Consequently, the terra nullius law was altered to include land
inhabited by savages and uncivilized people.
Again, very quickly the colonial power found it difficult to prove that Africa was a land of savages
and uncivilized people. Instead they found, as demonstrated above, queendoms and kingdoms
with great palaces and highly developed political and social norms.
At this stage, the colonial power have to destroy any sign of civilization.
From then on, the colonial power spent a lot of energy to destroy and burn african historical
building and monuments, slaughtered the african elite of engineers, scientists, craftsmen,
writers, philosophers, etc.
There is a museum in Paris with 18 000 human heads of people killed by the french colonial
troops and missionaries. Its called Muse dHistoire Naturelle de Paris.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Colonial-troops-with-africanheads.png)
Among the heads are the ones of African kings, kings families, african engineers, writers, army
officers, spiritual leaders, but also ordinary men, women, children that the french found
unusual, exotic enough or interesting to kill to enrich their Museum of natural history where
they display mainly animals skulls to represent bio-diversity and evolution.
France was not alone in the europeans competitions to behead the maximum of variety of exotic
people. The skulls and heads of many africans still could be found in museums and unusual
places around Europe.
Another consequence of the Terra Nullius law defined as a land inhabited by savages, lead to the
capture of Africans to display on zoos and public events around Europe, in primitive conditions,
to demonstrate the inferiority and barbarism of the African people.
From that moment till now, most europeans still think Africans are savages, inferior, grotesque,
unintelligent people. They more an african would display features that would fit that stigma, the
more he or she would be liked by them.
Stupid African is the best companion of European. A smart and assertive African is something
most europeans are still not used to, and would do anything to reject or ostracize.
For example in Paris, the Soninke people from Mali play a lot on that stigma. They will go to the
french public administration and play the most stupid African, speaking broken french,
displaying sign of unintelligence and dumbness. Suddenly, the public servant would found a long
awaited or dormant humanitarian mission to help an uncivilized African to sort out his papers
and get his head around even simple things.
In this way, the Soninke often get most of the things they want from the public servants. They
represent over 50% of the sub-sahararian africans living in France. An African who will go to the
French administration with the posture of a person who is smart and affluent will face lot

hurdles, because the instinctive reaction of the servants would be You want to show us that you
are intelligent, we will show you!.
Reason why youd see most Africans in Europe weaken themselves voluntary to be accepted.
Reason why we dont have anymore the modern version of the fearless African Warriors and
Civilization builders.
Sadly, nothing is left of our ancestors. When Europeans invaded Africa they applied the 4 basic
principles of any occupant forces:
1. First, Kill the strong and loot the place
2. Second, Breed the weak
3. Third, Kill, Deport or Exile the smartest and the skilled ones
4. Fourth, Impose the golden colonial rule My way or the Highway.
The Kings and their descendants were all killed. Additionally, 3 centuries of transatlantic slavery
exported over 12 millions of the finest men and women from Africa to America, tens of millions
have died in the process.
Imagine what would happen to any country or civilization when almost all writers, storytellers,
engineers, craftsmen, artists, leaders are killed or exiled? And, Any sign of heir past glory and
ingenuity destroyed or burned? Their books and records of knowledge stolen or destroyed.
Who will transmit the century accumulated knowledge to the ordinary men and women?
Its that broken link to knowledge and leadership for the last 3 centuries which has plunged the
whole continent into a dark age, its people left without guidance.
Our fearless Warriors and Civilization builders are gone. Our global traders, pyramid, Kingdom
and Empire builders are extinct.
Unsurprisingly none of these generations have being nurtured in creating empire, and waging
wars, defending their territory, protecting their children and women.
When some people ask why are they so poor, we answer they are not poor, they have been made
poor.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//Jacques-Chirac-africadestruction.jpg)

Today, If you want to see the glory of Africa, you have to go to Europe, where thousands and
thousands of stolen arts objects, civilization artifacts are in public museums and private
collection (in UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Germany, etc.). If you want to see the wealth of
Africa, you have also to go to Europe where they are stored in private and public accounts. 5
centuries of plundering and destruction brought the continent to its knees.

(http://www.siliconafrica.com/wpcontent/themes/directorypress/thumbs//African-art-pieces-inEurope.png)
As Robin Walter put it From Egypt to the Sudan, from Mali to Tanzania, from Zimbabwe to
Mozambique, Africa is full of the testimony to her past. In many cases the complete destruction
of structures has not been through natural elements but deliberate acts, most notably of the
British Empire. The museums of Britain and Europe are full of the results of` pillage and
plunder`. There are numerous ancient structures that are in a state of good preservation but in
the case of many of Africa`s cities, palaces, temples and trading ports of old we are left with
nothing other than the written reports and drawings of traders and travellers from medieval
times to the final days of complete destruction in the late 1800s.In terms of beauty and even on
occasion scale the architecture of Egypt`s pyramids pale in comparison to other African
historical structures. The diversity of architecture from this continent is staggering. The use
traditionally of what is termed fractal scaling in building highlights a religious tradition practiced
throughout the continent. Fractal scaling is the `Mandelbrot` idea of architecture where the
smallest parts of a structure resemble the largest parts. This cultural/religious tradition was/is
practised in all aspects of life from weaving, to grinding cereals to the building of homes and
palaces and is the incorporation of `history` and explanation of the Universe and our place
within it, into everyday lives, lest we forget.
We need to invest time and resources to unearth ourselves the ruins of our old cities to
strengthen the faith of a young generation in our ability to rebound.
Its time we revive in the mind of a new generation of Africans the true nature of their ancestors,
the past glory of their empires, the pride of its warriors, conquerors and civilization builders,
and clearly make them understand that the 5 Centuries of Shame under European occupation
shall end with a new generation of Leaders and Builders!
When europeans arrived into africa they found the people were so advanced, wealthier, and were
impressed by the abundance of nature and civility of its people. European became so jealous, and
bitter, and knew they could conquer the people because the people were so kind, so welcoming,
and have no gun or mounted mechanized armies as their.
Africans were exactly like what Christopher Columbus wrote about the Amerindians They are
artless and generous with what they have, to such a degree as no one would believe but him who
had seen it. Of anything they have, if it be asked for, they never say no, but do rather invite the
person to accept it, and show as much lovingness as though they would give their hearts.
Therefore, Columbus later wrote what he would do to those good Indians we shall powerfully

enter into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and
shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their highnesses; we shall take
you, and your wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and
dispose of them as their highnesses may command; and we shall take away your goods, and shall
do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey, and refuse to
receive their lord, and resist and contradict him; and we protest that the deaths and losses which
shall accrue from this are your fault, and not that of their highnesses, or ours, nor of these
cavaliers who come with us
The fate of Africa from then on has been sealed in the evilness of the Devil with blue eyes. They
looted what they found worthy, destroy and burned down anything that has worth but couldnt
be taken away.
As we have seen above, at the apex of Afrikan Civilization, they mastered development of a
stable high culture where the arts, sciences and human dignity flourished for thousands of years.
BUT they did not develop a solution to the problem of the violent ravenous invading european.
Neither did other parts of Afrika or Native America. We and our descendants will have to solve
that problem or continue to suffer never ending recyclings of slavery, massacre, second
classness, slavery, massacre, second classiness. Muai-Aakhu Meskheniten
A story said,
When Europeans started killing African writers, craftsmen, philosophers, nobles and kings, a
group of young apprentices and courtesans decided to find a place where to hide the books, and
manuscripts.
In many part of the continent the europeans have already killed many writers and philosophers,
and the few left have to flee. While Europeans were burning the books and manuscripts, a sage
passed some sacred manuscripts to two brothers to hide from the invaders.
Before the two brothers was caught and killed by the savages, they succeeded to hide the
manuscripts, split them in few parts, gave them to a dozen couriers to bring to sages of other
kingdoms on the continent.
The story said that the person who will find these manuscripts will uncover the secret that will
finally give the clues for africa renaissance. They contain a coded message, embedded in their
lines, which upon reading it will open and enlighten the minds of the African people, connect
them to an ancestral power uniquely African.
These manuscripts are reported to contain the secret for Africa to become all powerful once
again, and dominate the world. People will come from Europe, Asia, America to bow before
African kings. Black people as the original human beings will be first among all nations. People
will travel the world seeking their protection and knowledge.
Till, now no one has succeeded to find those manuscripts, but the time has come to try again, and
Im ready to commit my life in search of those documents. Ive already spent the last 15 years
asking around about these documents.
Its certain these manuscripts exist, and my mission is to find them. Ill uncover the name of the
two brothers, follow their fleeing path, travel the roads of the dozen couriers who carried the
dozen chapters, uncover the places the manuscripts have been hidden, and decrypt the message,
expose it to every african children as necessary to recover our ancestral glory and build our path
to millennial glory and greatness.
I dont know how long this search will take, but my determination is total and unwavering.
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Mawuna Koutonin is a world peace activist who relentlessly works to empower
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