MC_A Concise History of Africa

A Concise History of Africa

Herero and Tonga people, famous for their metalworking skills. Before the European conquest of Africa, Bantu tribes tended to be either pastoral and warlike or

agricultural and peaceful, and there were some highly developed Bantu states, including Buganda in present-day Uganda. Possibly through fear of European encroachment, several additional Bantu states developed in the 19th century, notably among the Zulu and the Sotho. The Bantu-speakers of modern Kenya are the agriculturalist Kikuyu, the largest group in the country, while possibly the best known are the Nilotic pastoral and nomadic Masai, the tall, scarlet-clad

warriors and tenders of cattle. The Masai have always been jealous of their particular way of life: they never condoned slavery, and their dislike of eating game and birds meant that fewer species disappeared from Masai territories than elsewhere, and are often where game reserves are now sited. Early archeologists found it hard to believe that such complex sites and organizations could be indigenous to Africa, particularly that of Great Zimbabwe. Subsequent work was intended to validate

OPPOSITE: Ugandan farmland. The Bantu state of Buganda is in present-day Uganda. ABOVE: Two Masai warriors clad in traditional scarlet clothing. Today this tribe mainly inhabits southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.

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