Rediscovering African
Geographies (Part Three)
Postcolonial Africa
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Borders & Nation States
Languages & Borders
Terminologies & Classifications
Misrepresentations & Names
Influential Africans
Contemporary Perspectives on Africa
African Identities, the African Diaspora & Family Histories
Borders & Nation States
“Most of the borders were random and don’t say much about the linguistic relationship between two neighbouring
countries or regions, and the linguistic and cultural spaces here. It is not only about mapping languages and
communities – it is about the cultural impact of creating nation states that have spilt people from sacred spaces
that they can no longer visit because of borders.” Chenjerai Shire
Most of today’s African countries gained their independence from European colonisers, whether peacefully or by
violent independence struggles, from the1950s onwards. Africans inherited new nation states which often had little in
common with traditional boundaries based on ethnicity, language, religion or natural features. These colonial
geographical boundaries created border disputes, secessionist movements and underpinned many African conflicts
such as those between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Somalia and ‘Somaliland’, and North and South Sudan.
However, despite these inherited borders, many countries sought to establish national identities by naming and
historically rooting the newly independent states in an indigenous African, rather than a colonial, history. For example,
the modern states of Ghana and Benin, although geographically unrelated to the ancient Kingdoms of the same
names, sought to evoke a pride and memory of these once great centres of African power and culture.
“Nkrumah (the first Ghanaian President 1957-66) did us a great service by having studied the history of the ancient
kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai, to connect these areas and ourselves to that history and say let’s call
ourselves Ghana, it does not matter where the boundaries are in this respect…” Miochopari Vincent Segwai
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Africa south of the equator: showing existing boundary treaties by George Cawston, 1891 & 1893. Note: These two maps show
the development of borders over a two year period. Portugal are noted here for conceding a large area of Angola to Britain.
View 1891 enlarged map / View 1893 enlarged map
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Languages & Borders
“Congo is the size of Europe. It is as if I come from Britain, she comes from Moscow, and he comes from Sweden.
Lingala (language) is the common denominator.” Wanzola Hamba
Language in Africa is of great significance, linking communities and different ethnic groups which may be
geographically separated. For example, the Sandawe and Hadza people of Tanzania share common linguistic ancestry
with Khoisan people of Southern Africa. According to Professor K K Prah from the Centre for Advanced Studies of
African Society (CASAS), South Africa, 13 core languages are spoken in some 2000 dialects by 75% of Africans.
Such diversity leads to many Africans being multilingual, speaking several African dialects/ languages that often also
include those introduced by European colonisers.
Although, language groups were often recognised and classified during the colonial period, the creation of colonial
borders did not always take into consideration this information on distribution of linguistic groups. This resulted in
many communities that shared a language being separated.
Following independence, a number of African states have sought to establish an African national language to aid trade
and development, examples include Wolof (Gambia), Bambara (Mali), Krio (Sierra Leone), Swahili (Eastern Africa),
Lingala (the Congo Basin), Creole (Seychelles and Mauritius) and Kriolu (Cape Verde). However, as Zagba Oyortey
notes, “Language by itself is not an indicator of unity or condition for unity. (But) it allows us to participate and give
expression. Africa could have fewer languages and that would make administration easier and increase the status
of African languages as tools for development. This would be empowering.”
Map of the tropical regions of Africa… showing the approximate localities of the languages collected by Rev. S.W. Koelle…to accompany his
"Polyglotta Africana". (London: Church Missionary Society, 1853). View enlarged map
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Terminologies & Classifications
“What is so 'sub' about Sub-Saharan Africa? You know for the last 200 years, Europe tried to deny the connection of
Egypt to Africa because they could not believe Africans would be capable of building pyramids and they also said
the Zimbabwean Palace (Great Zimbabwe), must have been built by visiting foreigners!” Miochopari Vincent Segwai
Much of the language, terminologies and classifications used to describe Africa and Africans are rooted in the colonial
period. Many of these terms reflect the prejudicial and grossly inaccurate views held by Europeans about African
people. The notes and comments jotted in an explorer’s journals, and then transcribed onto a map of Africa, were also
often used to justify 19th and early 20th century scientific theories that categorised people by race. These theories
condemned Africans, simply by virtue of their race, to the lowest rungs of human intelligence and evolution.
“The sophistication with which Africa is depicted in the 1626 map is so interesting - the detail is incredible. In this
map, we were starting to see classification and we can see, there’s a game plan going on. This isn’t just a question
of ‘Oh, let’s just see what’s happening’…there’s an end, and they (Europeans) were moving through a game plan.”
Femi Omere
Detail from ‘Africae, described, the manners of their Habits and buildings: newly done into English by Jon Sudbury’. (London: G. Humble, 1626)
View complete enlarged map
Such categorisation distorted the reality of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic Africa that was culturally and linguistically
inter-connected, creating a new division between the Mediterranean coast of the North and an Africa South of the
Sahara. In addition, the terms used by colonisers also helped to ‘fix’ an image of the continent in the minds of
Europeans, such as Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’.
“They used words like chief, hut, tribes, shaman and cult to describe all things African, but for themselves they used
kings instead of chief, they used cottage instead of hut. This is insulting and was used to demean us. When you read
really old accounts by the Dutch and Portuguese, this insulting terminology doesn’t exist at all.” Robin Walker
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Detail from ‘Tribal Map of Eastern Africa’, Sheet 1 (EAF 1548). ([Nairobi]: 157 (EA & SR) Base Survey Coy. EAE,1943).
View complete enlarged map
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Misrepresentations & Names
“Victoria Falls is not known as such locally and has a very poetic name that means ‘the smoke that thunders’, the
name is Mosi-Oa-Tunya.” Wala Danga
The importance of names, whether of people, places or things are important to communities across the world. They
often retain and convey geographical, historical and social links to cultures or peoples. Whilst it was common place for
many early explorers and geographers to document the ‘local’ names for the features and environments they
encountered, the allure of reflecting colonial prestige by naming them after key European figures also took place.
The ‘renaming’ of newly independent nations such as Zimbabwe from Rhodesia and Zaire from the Belgian Congo
provided the opportunity for African communities to reconnect with an indigenous African past on their own terms.
Many of the new post-independence buildings, such as Ghana’s Independence Monument incorporate aspirations as
well as recalling their heritage. It features a black star that is symbolic of the ‘Black Star Line’, a shipping line created
by Jamaican Marcus Garvey from 1919 – 1922 with the aim of bringing back Africans of the Diaspora to Africa. This
star also appears on the Ghanaian flag.
“To confer a name is to invest meaning, to indicate a marker and a cultural context. This is always an indication of
history and often an aspiration. Such rights are now seen as natural and recognised by the UNESCO Convention for
the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.” Zagba Oyortey
“Places like Gaborone in Botswana used to have meaning and link to royalty. We have lost a lot of names in
Southern Africa and now many regions have naming committees to look into the history and see if names can be
reclaimed. Some place names have been misspelt and Europeans there say, ‘What’s in a name? Don’t be petty.’ The
British give the name of Victoria to places all over the world, and whilst they take their heritage very seriously, to
the point of preserving houses and landmarks, they question us when we want to preserve our heritage which is
nearly lost.” Miochopari Vincent Segwai
It was not just Africa that was the canvass upon which British and other colonial powers imprinted their names. From
South America to the Far East, there are many other places which also bear the imprint of colonial expansion, not
least the use of Queen Victoria, whose 64 year reign spanned much of Britain’s colonial period.
Above: Birds eye view of the Victoria or Mosioatunya – ‘smoke sounding falls’, Zambesi
River, Zambia & Zimbabwe by Thomas Baines, 1862
Top right: Lake Nahuel Huapi, photo taken from Victoria Island, Patagonia by Liborio Justo,
1928
Bottom right: Curzon Statue and Victoria Memorial Hall at Calcutta, West Bengal, East
India by T R J Ward, 1919
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Influential Africans
Africa has, and continues to produce, men and women that have helped shape the history of Africa and the wider
world.
Particular individuals were mentioned by the community groups involved in this project for a variety of reasons, such
as the first leaders of independent African nations, and post-apartheid South Africa. They include Kwame Nkrumah
(Ghanaian President,1957-1966), Sekou Toure (President of Guinea, 1958-1984), Jomo Kenyatta (President of Kenya
1964-1978), Sir Milton Margai (Prime Minister for Sierra Leone 1961-64), Julius Nyerere (President of Tanzania 19641985), Nelson Mandela (President of South Africa,1994-1999) and Dr Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (current President of
Liberia), the first female leader of an African country.
Outside the political arena, the community groups also highlighted the contribution of people of the African Diaspora
to a wide range of areas. These included Queen Nanny of the Maroons (Jamaica, 1686-1733), poet Phillis Wheatley
(USA, 1753-1784), anti-slavery politician Olaudah Equiano (Barbados and Britain, 1745 -1797), musician &
businessman Ignatius Sancho (Britain, 1729 -1780), Pan Africanist George Padmore (Trinidad and Ghana, 1903-1959),
writer Maya Angelou (USA, born 1928), President Barack Obama (USA, born 1961) and Archbishop Dr John Sentamu
(Uganda and UK, born 1949).
The ‘Map of African Literature' (1873) reflects the geographical proximities of mainly, but not entirely, European
explorers. In a 21st century parallel, the accompanying map of influential Africans highlights just a small selection of
individuals of note from the past and present. These provide only a glimpse of the contributions made by African
people.
Detail from ’Map of African Literature’ (produced by Stanfords Geographical
Establishment), from The African Sketch-Book. (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1873)
View complete enlarged map
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Influential Africans – modern map providing a glimpse of the contributions made by Africans over the centuries
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Contemporary Perspectives on Africa
“How do you transfer what we’re discussing - this notion of our greatness and of our abilities…How many people at
village level in Africa, for example, will be aware of some of the amazing things that we have contributed towards
over the millennia? Because that is important; we’re talking about how people here (in the UK) perceive us but is
that necessarily as important as how we perceive ourselves?” Femi Omere
Africa faces many challenges that inhibit development.
Some can be overcome through international
partnerships by businesses, governments and civil
society. Ultimately, African people themselves have to
address the issues that can enhance their capability;
knowledge of history is one such issue, as is the search
for local solutions to local problems.
Africans have only relatively recently had a chance to
reclaim their own histories, promote their aspirations and
influence perceptions of themselves to the wider world.
The African Diaspora also plays a part in this process;
being distant from their ‘home’ countries, often resident
in ex-colonial European/ Western countries, they can
influence these perceptions.
“We raise the question, what is ‘Sub Saharan Africa’? It
flies against the unity of the continent. It divides us
along issues that are fairly recent. It takes Egypt,
Morocco, Libya and all of these countries out of Africa
and into the Middle East. In spite of this variety there is
also unity; a unity that we jeopardise by concentrating
on other things.” Miochopari Vincent Segwai
Community partners raised a number of topics that were
important to them; areas where African countries can
individually and collectively make progress economically
and culturally. These included development of trade and
commerce within Africa. Femi Omere noted.
“Regional integration is absolutely necessary. In Europe,
you have convergence, so Poland can join the EU, and
they converge to the centre with the big power blocs like
the UK, Germany and France. In Africa, they diverge.
Presently their markets are not internal to Africa. They
need to be developed sufficiently and strengthened.”
In addition, Zagba Oyortey argued, “With regional
planning we can maximise the prospects for
development because we can distribute and exchange
abundant resources from one region with goods or
facilities from another; creating an incentive and need
to trade directly – like we did centuries ago!
Communication and transport links are developing at a
fast rate and we can, and should use these. Regional
integration is currently discussed at the Africa Union in
terms of when rather than if.”
Fanta Kabangu highlighted recent progress, “Rwanda is a
good example of how they have turned things around.
They have purchased resources from the Congo to lift
themselves but this money coming into the Congo goes
into someone’s back pocket! In Rwanda, they welcome
everyone, opening doors for the locals to come back and
regulations that protect everyone. Very recently, they
have asked to become part of the British
Commonwealth. This is a country that is deciding how
they will go forward.” She also highlighted the
importance of national unity in diverse nations such as
the Democratic Republic of Congo. She said,
“If you look at the Congolese community, they do not
realise there are many regions. If someone comes from
Kinshasa, they will consider the Congo as only Kinshasa.
People say I am not from there even though I speak
Lingala, just because I speak it with a different accent. I
would be identified as being from the East and they will
assume I’m a stranger. Once people have a better sense
of all the different people that make up the Congo then
we can make progress. “
The ‘Worldmapper’ maps links below are developed by the Sasi Research Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark
Newman (University of Michigan). The maps show territories re-sized according to data related to a particular subject.
The full range of maps can be viewed at www.worldmapper.org
1.
HIV prevalence: The bulging regions in Africa on this map illustrate problems the continent is facing in relation to the spread of
HIV in comparison to other countries. India is similarly inflated.
2.
Refugee destination: This map shows the countries to which refugees go to. Europe and America are commonly mentioned in
the media. However, the map gives a more accurate description, especially that of refugee migration of Africans within Africa,
often as a result of natural disasters and conflict on the continent.
3.
Wealth 1900s & Wealth 1500s: These two maps display the wealth in countries in the 1900s and 1500s. Africa is only just
recognisable in the 1500s, during the early stages of colonisation. The map from the 1900s contrasts sharply with this with the
African continent almost disappearing. The trend in North America shows the reverse.
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African Identities, the African Diaspora
& Family Histories
“I laugh when people say … ‘I’m a pure Zulu boy, or I’m a pure Khoisan boy’. There’s no such thing as a pure
anything in the world, because the world is made up of migrations. The history of change and continuity happens in
space and time. Therefore these maps only make political sense, or self-interested sense. So, looking at the Khosian
as a different class of human being from the Bantu is a political act of division.” Miochopari Vincent Segwai
Detail of Emigration map of the World [on] Geographical and physical Map of the World. By Smith Evans.
(London: Letts, Son & Steer, [1851]). View complete enlarged map
Whether voluntary or forced, as the result of trade, slavery, natural disasters or conflict, migration has had a
significant influence on African history and geography. This has created a wide range of mixed ancestry both within
Africa and also the African Diaspora. The issue of defining who is an ‘African’ has become more complex, drawing on
histories of conquest and domination, and those of resistance and national pride which ensure that race and identity
issues are never completely divorced from each other.
A relationship between Africans living abroad and those on the continent has always existed. Originally, the African
who crossed the Atlantic as enslaved peoples retained Africa as an important point of reference that is easily traced in
religion, language, music and cuisine, as seen in the USA, Caribbean and Brazil. In the years of decolonisation in Africa,
many people of African heritage sought to return to Africa. Among the best known are Pan Africanists George
Padmore, from Trinidad and W E B Du Bois, an African American, both eventually moved to Ghana.
“When I see Africans that were taken from Africa, the descendants of the enslaved, and see the deep connection
they feel to Africa and their thirst for a reconnection, it is far beyond anything you see in Africa itself… that gives me
hope.” Miochopari Vincent Segwai
Such connections with Africa as a place continue within the contemporary Diaspora. For example, the Congolese
community partners involved in this project reflected on the fact that different African communities were clustered in
different parts of London; Congolese migrants from the West of the Democratic Republic of Congo tended to settle in
North London. While those from the East, who were often Swahili speaking, tended to settle in the Southeast and
Northeast of London near the settlement of Swahili speaking East Africans from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. In
addition, these communities are aware of the economic potential of their country, but pointed to the lack of social
cohesion, good governance, conflict and too much outside intervention as being restrictive to development. Many
members of the community considered this project an opportunity to build new connections within the Congolese
Diaspora.
“If you see the progress made by the Rwandans in the last few years (since the genocide in 1994), I tell myself that it
isn’t magic. If they achieved so much with very little, it makes me think that the Congo can do so much.” Fanta
Kabangu
Connection of the African Diaspora with Africa today also takes the form of financial support to families in Africa .The
total amount sent through remittances is believed to rival, and in some cases, exceed bilateral aid.
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Family History – a case study
“As I stood on the rocky ledge, at the ‘Door of No Return’, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, I could almost see
the huge death ships that had taken my ancestors away from their African homeland with little or no prospect of
ever returning back to their families, friends and loved ones.” Patrick Vernon
The Society’s Collections provide an important resource for people of African descent seeking to trace their family
history through the Caribbean and back to Africa. For example Patrick Vernon, a specialist in African and Caribbean
genealogy, used a number of maps to trace his own family history. Patrick’s parents migrated to Britain from Jamaica
in the 1950s, as part of the ‘Windrush Generation’. He traced his mother’s family, using her surname ‘Shirley’ back
four generations in Jamaica. In common with other enslaved Africans, Patrick’s ancestors had been given the name of
their plantation owner, a Henry Shirley whose Jamaican holdings were recorded on an 1804 map of Jamaica from the
Society’s collection. This line of enquiry helped Patrick trace his family back to a relative named Sally Skiers who had
bore a son by the plantation owner Henry Shirley in the late 18th century.
In order to continue enquires into his African ancestry Patrick undertook a Mitochondrial DNA test that traced his
mother’s ancestors to the Mandinka peoples of West Africa to a village called Kendougou in Senegal. The Mandinka
people were identified on a 1626 map of Africa shown earlier.
Patrick then travelled to Africa to visit his ancestral village. His journey first took him to Gambia, then Goree Island, an
th
18 century French fort known as the ‘The House of Slaves’ that was the final destination for Africans before
departing for the Americas. In Senegal he travelled the same route that was previously used to carry enslaved people
and then to the village of Kedougou.
“I would ask people which tribe do you think I came from? The answer would always be Fulani. I explained my
descendants were from Jamaica, and my heritage mixed with Europeans, Chinese, Indian and other people from
Africa. However, the answer remained Fulani! I have accepted this and researched them; they were a nomadic
group from North and West Africa and many travelled from Guinea to settle around Kedougou. Although I could not
find the ancestors of Sally Skiers here, I did see St James (Jamaica) in the landscape here with its lush foliage,
flowing rivers and hills. This was my homecoming, a journey of a life time that I reflect on everyday as part of
reclaiming and sharing my family history.” Patrick Vernon
Detail showing St James from the series: Maps of the Counties of Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey in the Island of Jamaica.
(London: James Robertson, 1804). View complete enlarged map
Download a family history research guide developed by Patrick Vernon for people interested in, or of African / Caribbean heritage.
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Credits
Exhibition:
Vandana Patel RGS-IBG Project Coordinator with consultants Zagba Oyortey and Clifford Pereira FRGS
With thanks to our community partners:
Dede Amanor-Wilks
Grace Amanor-Wilks
Omar Bakalandwa
Victor Bantu
Alphonse Buapanga
Wala Danga
Fanta Kabangu
Kiasuka Kiakanda
Matone Kimbangu Kongo Bolombo
Elvis Kinkela
Baronesse Matone-Bin-Mat
Norbert Mbu-mputu
Etienne Muakadi
Ekofo Mvuzi
Abibatu Oluwa
Femi Omere
Chenjerai Shire
Nanou Thassinda
Julianah Tiongarero
Miochopari Vincent Segwai
Robin Walker
Hamba Wanzola
Special thanks to:
Steve Brace, Alasdair Macleod and the Collections team, RGS-IBG
Phoebe Amis (transcription)
Project Advisory Group:
Dr June Bam-Hutchinson
Professor Felix Driver, Royal Holloway, University of London
Patrick Vernon
Frederick Yamusangie
Worldmapper links by Benjamin D Hennig and Danny Dorling, University of Sheffield
All images copyright of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) unless stated otherwise. The maps presented in this
exhibition are for illustration purposes only.
Supported by:
Museums, Archives and Libraries Council
Rolex (for public access to the Society’s Collections)
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