The idea that Africa was a "dark continent" of primitive people, waiting for Europeans to bring civilisation, was a myth invented in the 1800s to justify colonisation. The real history is one of great empires, rich cultures and global trade.

Mali Empire

Founded in 1235 by Sundiata Keita, Mali controlled the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt. Its most famous ruler, Mansa Musa, ruled from 1312-1337. On his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, he gave away so much gold in Cairo that the value of gold there crashed for 12 years. Some historians estimate his wealth at $400 billion in today's money.

Timbuktu and Islamic Learning

The city of Timbuktu housed the Sankore University - one of the oldest universities in the world. Its libraries held tens of thousands of manuscripts on astronomy, medicine and law, many of them in Arabic.

Great Zimbabwe (1100-1500)

In modern Zimbabwe, the stone city of Great Zimbabwe was the capital of a powerful kingdom that traded with India, China and Persia. Its huge dry-stone walls were so impressive that 19th-century Europeans refused to believe Africans could have built them.

Benin Bronzes

The kingdom of Benin in modern Nigeria produced some of the finest metalwork in the world - the famous Benin bronzes. Many were looted by British troops in 1897 and are still in the British Museum today.

Year 8 Power & Protest

Africa before the 1500s