Africa, the denied history
For centuries, the history of the African continent was relegated, oversimplified, or simply ignored by Western historiography. This lecture on the history of Africa offers a rigorous reassessment of that narrative through an examination of some of the most significant civilizations of the pre-colonial world: the empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai in West Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum in the Horn of Africa, and the trading cities of the Swahili coast on the Indian Ocean.
Drawing on historical sources, archaeological remains and the accounts of medieval travelers such as Ibn Battuta and al-Umari, the talk will reconstruct a dynamic Africa, shaped by great trans-Saharan trade routes, by the flow of gold, salt and knowledge, and by an intellectual and artistic output of the highest order — of which the Timbuktu manuscripts are perhaps the best-known example.
The lecture will also explore the historical connections between the African continent, the Mediterranean world and Islam, placing Africa in its rightful place within global history. And it will do so with an explicit aim: to dismantle the stereotypes that still persist about pre-colonial African societies, to restore the complexity and diversity of their political and cultural forms, and to reclaim history as a tool for understanding the present.
Carlos Micó is a historian, lecturer and regular collaborator with L’Iber, Museo de los soldaditos de plomo. He has previously given lectures at the museum on underwater archaeology and other historical subjects.
📅 Date: Thursday, June 18, 2026 🕖 Time: 7:30 p.m. 📍 Location: L’Iber, Museo de los soldaditos de plomo, Tapestry Hall — Calle Caballeros 20-22, Valencia 🎟 Admission: Free until full capacity is reached
