For decades, an idea spread by colonial discourse repeated that Africa was “a continent without history,” a land without writing and without its own memory before the arrival of Europeans.
In short: precolonial Africa had its own writing systems (Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Ge’ez script of Aksum, the Bamum script created by Ibrahim Njoya, Vai, N’Ko, Tifinagh) and complex kingdoms and empires, from Bunyoro and Buganda to Ghana, Mali and Songhai. The idea of a continent “without history” before European colonization is a colonial myth, not a fact.
It was a self-serving view: presenting African societies as lacking complex political, cultural or intellectual structures served to justify colonial domination.
But the historical reality is very different.
It’s enough to look at two aspects — the written word and political power — to dismantle this old cliché.
We hear about it from Carlos Micó Tonda, historian and archaeologist specialising in indigenous African history, who has spent years combining fieldwork with outreach to bring the public closer to a history of Africa that was, for too long, sidelined.
Did Africa have its own writing systems?
Yes. The history of precolonial Africa shows that different societies across the continent developed their own writing systems and ways of recording and passing on knowledge.
Oral tradition played, and continues to play, a fundamental role in many African cultures, but identifying Africa solely with orality means ignoring an extraordinarily diverse written history.
From the ancient writing systems of the Nile Valley to alphabets created in modern times, we find numerous examples of how African societies developed their own ways of preserving and transmitting information.
The hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt
Among the oldest examples are Egyptian hieroglyphs, known in ancient Egypt as medu neter, “words of the god.”
Their use dates back to the late 4th millennium BC and they make up one of the first great writing systems known to us.
The Narmer Palette, dated to approximately 3200–3000 BC, is one of the oldest testimonies related to writing and the representation of power in ancient Egypt.
Egyptian writing evolved over thousands of years and was used in temples, tombs, monuments, administrative documents and numerous objects of everyday life.
The Kingdom of Aksum and Ge’ez script
In the Horn of Africa we find another key example: the Kingdom of Aksum.
Aksum developed an important written tradition linked to Ge’ez, a language that still has a presence in religious contexts in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The kingdom was also one of the great powers of Antiquity in north-eastern Africa and took part in extensive trade networks connecting Africa with Arabia, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
The existence of monuments, inscriptions and written documents is material evidence of the political and cultural complexity these societies achieved.
African writing systems did not disappear in Antiquity
The history of African writing systems doesn’t end with the great civilisations of Antiquity either.
In different parts of the continent, systems were later created to write African languages and preserve their own knowledge, traditions and histories.
Ibrahim Njoya’s Bamum script
One of the most fascinating examples is that of Sultan Ibrahim Njoya, ruler of the Bamum kingdom, in present-day Cameroon.
In the late 19th century he developed his own writing system for the Bamum language. The script evolved through different stages and came to be used to record knowledge, history and documentation of the kingdom.
The Library of Congress preserves and studies materials related to this written tradition and points precisely to the singular character of the system developed by Ibrahim Njoya.
Vai, Nsibidi and other African systems
In Liberia, Momolu Duwalu Bukele developed the Vai syllabary, used to write the Vai language.
In present-day Nigeria we also find Nsibidi, a system of signs associated with different communities in the region and used to convey certain messages and information.
Among the Akan of West Africa we find the Adinkra symbols, used to express concepts, values, proverbs and ideas. Although they do not form a conventional alphabet, they make up an important symbolic system that is still present on textiles, ceramics and other objects.
N’Ko, Osmanya and Tifinagh
New writing systems linked to linguistic and cultural identity also appeared during the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1949, the Guinean Soulemayne Kanté created the N’Ko alphabet to write different Mandé languages.
In Somalia, Osman Yusuf Kenadid developed the Osmanya alphabet, designed to represent the Somali language.
And in North Africa, Tifinagh, linked to the Amazigh (Berber) written tradition, has undergone a contemporary revival and is part of Amazigh cultural and linguistic identity.
The diversity of these examples shows that there is no single “African script.” There are multiple written traditions, developed in different eras, regions and contexts.
What happened to these writing systems during colonisation?
European colonial expansion profoundly transformed the educational, administrative and cultural structures of numerous African territories.
In some cases, local scripts were displaced by European alphabets or by Arabic writing systems that already had a significant presence in certain regions.
In others, their teaching and use became limited.
The case of Bamum is especially significant. The script developed under Ibrahim Njoya became an expression of the kingdom’s identity and heritage, but its use was later affected by the colonial context.
The contemporary recovery of many of these writing systems is not only a linguistic matter.
It is also a way of recovering memory, identity and cultural heritage.
Africa also had kingdoms and complex political structures
The second major cliché worth dismantling is the idea that African societies before colonisation lacked complex political structures.
History shows the opposite.
Africa was home to kingdoms, empires, trading cities and political systems with institutions, hierarchies, economic networks and their own forms of organisation.
The empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai in West Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum in the Horn of Africa, or the trading city-states of the Swahili coast are just some examples.
But we also find complex political structures in the interior of the continent.
Bunyoro and Buganda: two great kingdoms of Uganda
Uganda’s history clearly illustrates the political complexity of precolonial Africa.
From roughly the 16th century onward, the kingdoms of Bunyoro and Buganda competed for control of different territories and resources in the Great Lakes region.
Bunyoro came to exercise significant control over resources such as grain, pasture land and, especially, salt.
Buganda, for its part, experienced remarkable expansion thanks, among other factors, to agriculture based on banana cultivation.
By the 18th century, Buganda had become one of the leading powers in the region.
Kabalega and Bunyoro’s resistance
During the 19th century, the omukama Kabalega managed to temporarily recover some of Bunyoro’s power.
His confrontation with British expansion proved decisive. In 1899, British forces, allied with sectors of Buganda, defeated Kabalega and destroyed Bunyoro’s capital.
His story is also part of the resistance of African political structures against European colonial expansion.
Other kingdoms of the region
Bunyoro and Buganda were not the only political systems in the region.
We also find:
- Busoga, traditionally organised into different hereditary chiefdoms.
- Toro, established as a kingdom in the 19th century.
- Ankole, whose social structure was shaped, among other elements, by relations between the pastoralist Bahima elites and the Bairu farmers.
These societies had their own political and social structures long before British colonial rule was consolidated.
The kingdoms were abolished as political institutions in Uganda in 1967 and later restored in 1995, though in a cultural capacity and without exercising the political power of their historical structures.
The so-called “Baganda question,” relating to relations between the Ugandan government and the kabaka of Buganda, shows that the legacy of these historical structures still holds relevance in contemporary Uganda.
From Ghana to Songhai: the great African empires
Uganda’s examples are part of a much broader phenomenon.
In West Africa, great political entities emerged linked to the trans-Saharan trade routes.
The Empire of Ghana, the Empire of Mali and later the Songhai Empire controlled territories, trade routes and strategic resources during different periods of the Middle Ages.
Gold, salt and other goods travelled along extensive trade networks connecting regions of West Africa with the north of the continent and, through it, with the Mediterranean.
In Mali’s case, figures such as Mansa Musa have become symbols of the wealth and international standing that some of these states achieved.
On the eastern coast, the Swahili city-states took part in turn in the trade networks of the Indian Ocean, connecting East Africa with Arabia, Persia, India and other territories.
Africa was not isolated: it was part of the great exchange networks of the medieval world.
Carlos Micó Tonda: a view from fieldwork
This journey through the history of Africa is guided by Carlos Micó Tonda, historian and archaeologist born in Valencia in 1992.
Trained at the Universitat de València, he specialises in indigenous history of Africa and underwater archaeology.
His work combines research with historical, anthropological and documentary outreach.
Carlos Micó Tonda has worked as a naturalist and anthropological guide in various African countries and has taken part in documentaries broadcast by outlets such as National Geographic, TVE and Netflix.
He is also the author of El país de la grulla. Historia de un viaje iniciático a Uganda (“The Land of the Crane: The Story of an Initiatory Journey to Uganda”), a work born of his experience in the field.
His connection with L’Iber and the Fundación Libertas 7 makes it possible to bring the public in Valencia a view of Africa built not only from books, but also from direct experience on the continent.
You can follow his work on Carlos Micó Tonda’s Instagram.
Africa. The Denied History: much more than a cliché
African writing systems and precolonial kingdoms are just two examples of a much broader history.
Talking about Africa means talking about thousands of years of history, of extraordinarily diverse societies, of great population movements, trade networks, empires, kingdoms, cities, religions, knowledge and cultures.
That is why understanding African history requires abandoning the image of a passive continent that only begins to exist historically with the arrival of Europeans.
Africa had history before colonialism. And knowing it lets us understand the history of the world much better.
Discover the course “Africa. The Denied History” at L’Iber
Everything we’ve covered in this article is just a brief introduction to some of the topics Carlos Micó Tonda will address in the course Africa. The Denied History, organised by the Fundación Libertas 7 and L’Iber, Museo de los Soldaditos de Plomo.
The course begins on 28 September 2026 and offers a journey through the history of the African continent from the origins of humanity to the challenges of the 21st century, covering its great empires, trade networks, colonialism and contemporary history.
The course is part of L’Iber’s course programme, which carries out educational and outreach work with offerings in history, art, literature and other disciplines.
Want to discover the history of Africa from another perspective?
Find out all the information about the course and sign up for “Africa. The Denied History.”
Information and registration for the course “Africa. The Denied History”
You can also check L’Iber’s course programme and discover other educational offerings at the museum.
About the author — Carlos Micó Tonda, historian and archaeologist from the Universitat de València, specialising in indigenous history of Africa and underwater archaeology. Naturalist and anthropological guide in Africa and regular collaborator with L’Iber and the Fundación Libertas 7.
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