Isaac Samuel

Isaac Samuel

@rhaplord.bsky.social

Finance | History | Trance Patreon http://patreon.com/isaacsamuel64 Substack https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/

1.7K followers131 following7.8K posts

Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Fascinating accounts of Muslim travelers in East Africa who recognized the authority of local diviners during their voyages. -Buzurg ibn Shahriyar (955) in the indian ocean from Tanzania, -Selemani bin Mwenyi Chande (1891) across Lake Tanganyika

Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

The Congo River remains a vital waterway and tourist attraction. The River network functions as the primary “highway system” for moving people and heavy goods from the interior forests and mines to global markets. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Wage labour existed in pre-colonial Africa, contrary to popular claims that work was performed almost exclusively within the household or through slave labour. The History of Wage Labour on the Pre-colonial Gold Coast is the subject of my latest Patreon Article; ⤵️ www.patreon.com/isaacsamuel6...

patreon.comWage Labour on the Pre-colonial Gold Coast (Ghana) in Global Perspective. c. 1600-1900. | Isaac SamuelWage labour existed in pre-colonial Africa, contrary to popular claims that work was performed almost exclusively within the household or th
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

This indigenous river trade came to an abrupt halt in the 1890s. In the wake of Stanley’s discovery that the central Zaire basin contained an important network of navigable waterways, the Belgian King Leopold II formally annexed the Congo www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

In this region, commercial boundaries between competing firms did not impede the development of commercial diasporas or “trading peoples”. Most notable were the Irebu near Lake Tumba, whose capital Stanley called the “Venice of Africa” www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

The rising prices of Ivory at the coast during the 19th century made the transportation of significant quantities of ivory from the far interior profitable and activated a massive growth in the ivory trade in the central Congo basin. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

While the largest of these ‘incipient’ urban settlements, such as Isangi (population of 12,000), could not have rivaled large capitals like Mbanza Kongo; they were about the size of the smaller East African cities like Mombasa in the 19th century. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Along the Congo River and most of its Lualaba tributary were several market towns, entirely controlled by natives, that were considered neutral grounds by all parties, and represented the older economic exchanges of most of the river basin www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

The architectural layout of these incipient urban settlements, some of which possessed “lateral and transverse streets at right angles,” fascinated the explorers, who at times compared them to those in Egypt. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

The Congo Basin had some of the most unique forms of indigenous proto-urbanism featuring near-grid-like settlement patterns; straight streets over 40ft wide, and square houses built in parallel lines

Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

In most of the Upper Congo and its tributaries, large, complex societies were organised at the level of chiefdoms and ‘districts’, but more commonly as ‘firms’ and often less centralised than those in the Lower Congo. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

‘Firms’ consisted of different groups of carriers who carved out commercial spheres for themselves along the river Competition and warfare were rife between them, no doubt contributing to the “hostility” witnessed by Stanley www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Stanley’s account indicates that naval battles were a long-established part of local military systems. In one example, a “large flotilla” consisted of 54 “monster” canoes, each carrying 80 paddlers, with a platform at the bow to carry ten men. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

The extensive boat-building traditions of the riverine communities and the size of their navies demonstrate the importance of navigation on the Congo River in the emergence of organised society in the Central African interior. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Stanley encountered African boatmen navigating the Congo River and its tributaries, many of whom guided his expedition. The explorer managed to purchase, and in other cases, outright steal, dozens of large canoes for his journey www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Unfortunately, the history of the Congo Basin is known largely through biased accounts written by outsiders But when critically examined, they uncover the extent of local geographical knowledge and use of the river by Central African communities. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Resistance by Congo's riverine communities against intruders and explorers was misrepresented as “hostility” Yet the same explorers would eventually return as agents of Belgian King Leopold II and herald the infamous atrocities. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

The strategic importance of Congo's waterways, together with the region’s exploitable resources, would later turn the basin into a major arena of colonial exploitation, whose effects continue to influence the region’s political landscape. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Historically, the river system provided corridors through the Central African rainforest along which populations migrated, settled, traded, and established complex societies, including some of Africa’s most distinctive forms of urbanism. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

Although modern understandings of the Congo have been shaped by biased accounts of external observers, these same accounts document extensive traditions of boatbuilding, navigation, and commercial competition that were products of indigenous developments. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.
Isaac Samuel
@rhaplord.bsky.social

“Contrary to the misconception that Africa lacks navigable waterways, the Congo basin contains an estimated 8,400 km (5,249 miles) of navigable rivers. The Congo itself is navigable for approximately 1,734 km, about the distance from Berlin to Madrid.” www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/navigating...

africanhistoryextra.comNavigating the Congo River: Ancient Towns, Societies and Trade in Central Africa.The Congo River and its tributaries form one of Africa’s most extensive networks of navigable waterways.