Colonial Borders

To fully grasp the impact of European colonial boundaries on the geopolitical structures of Africa, it is important to look at the indigenous political structures of the continent before the 1880s, the period that marked a major European rush to occupy African territory. Before this time, numerous city-states and kingdoms coexisted with empires and confederations in various parts of the continent. Along the upper, lower, and middle Nile region, the Nubian states of Ta-Seti, Kerma, Napata, Meroe, Nobadia, and others, as well as Aksum and Egypt, prevailed in early and late antiquity and beyond, in diverse configurations. The city-states of the Swahili were on the eastern seaboard, and the kingdoms and empires of Mapungubwe, Thulamela, and Mwenemotapa prevailed in the eastern and southern regions in ...