History of West Africa

The history of West Africa is a rich and complex story that stretches back thousands of years. West Africa lies west of an imagined north–south axis near 10° east longitude, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Sahara Desert. Over time, many different groups of people lived there, moving around and interacting with each other.

Early West Africans were skilled toolmakers and farmers. They developed iron tools and weapons as early as 2631 BCE, and by 400 BCE they were trading with peoples from the Mediterranean regions. Great kingdoms like the Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, and Songhai rose to power, controlling important trade routes across the Sahara Desert.

In more recent history, European traders arrived and began the Atlantic slave trade. This brought great suffering to many people. Later, in the late 1800s, European powers colonized much of West Africa during what is called the Scramble for Africa. After World War II, many West African countries fought for and won their independence. Since then, the region has faced challenges like political unrest, but also seen growth and development, especially where oil and minerals were discovered.

Geography

Further information: Geography of Africa

West Africa lies to the west of an imaginary line close to 10° east longitude. The Atlantic Ocean borders the western and southern sides, while the Sahara Desert forms the northern edge. The eastern border is less clear, with some people placing it at the Benue Trough and others along a line from Mount Cameroon to Lake Chad.

North of West Africa is mainly desert, including the Western Sahara. Long ago, the Sahara was part of West Africa but turned into a desert around 3000 BCE. During past cold times, the Sahara stretched much further south than it does today. South of the desert is a dry, grassy area called the Sahel, which lies between the desert and the greener Sudanian Savanna to the south. The Guinean region is the name for the area along the Gulf of Guinea, stretching north through forests to the Sahel. The Guinean Forests of West Africa are lush, moist forests along the coast, running from Sierra Leone through Guinea, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo to the Sanaga River in Cameroon. These forests are split into the Upper Guinean forests and Lower Guinean forests by the Dahomey Gap, a drier area in Togo and Benin.

Climate

Further information: Climate of Africa

Long ago, around 15,000 years back, the West African Monsoon changed the land in Africa and started a time called the Green Sahara. During this time, there was much more rain in the summer, which helped create wet places like lakes and wetlands, and grassy areas called savannas in North Africa. This special time lasted until between 5,500 and 4,000 years ago, when it slowly came to an end.

Cultural history

Further information: West Africa § Culture, and Culture of Africa

Colonial borders are shown in the modern borders between West African countries, often splitting groups of people and cultures apart. Unlike much of Central, Southern, and Southeast Africa, West Africa was not mainly home to people who speak Bantu languages.

Prehistory

Main article: Prehistoric West Africa § Early Stone Age 2

West African people moved around a lot and interacted with each other throughout history. Early humans who used stone tools lived in West Africa between 780,000 and 126,000 years ago. During a time when the climate changed, new groups of people arrived in West Africa, bringing different ways of life. By around 12,000 years ago, people were living along the coasts and moving northward into areas like Mali and Mauritania.

During a warmer period known as the Holocene, people in West Africa began making pottery around 9400 BCE in Mali, one of the earliest in Africa. They also used bows and arrows and eventually moved into the Sahara Desert. Over time, as the Sahara became drier, these people moved toward the Niger River and Lake Chad. By 2000 BCE, a statue known as the "Venus of Thiaroye" was created in Senegambia, possibly showing early complex societies. West African farmers grew crops like yams, rice, and millet in different parts of the region.

Iron Age

Further information: Blacksmiths of western Africa and Iron metallurgy in Africa

See also: History of Africa § West Africa, and History of Africa § West Africa 2

The use of iron for tools and weapons began in West Africa between 2600 and 1200 BCE. By around 500 to 1000 BCE, iron smelting was happening in places like Niger and Nigeria. The use of iron helped farmers grow more food and supported the growth of cities and empires.

By 400 BCE, West Africa had begun trading with Mediterranean cultures, exchanging gold, cloth, and other goods for items like copper and salt. This trade grew even more after the introduction of camels, allowing goods to travel farther across the Sahara Desert.

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details

  Iron Age

Tichitt culture

Main article: Tichitt Culture § Tichitt Cultural Tradition

Around 4000 BCE, herders in the Sahara developed complex social structures, including trading cattle. By 1800 BCE, this culture spread across the Sahara and Sahel regions. In what is now Mauritania, the Tichitt Tradition created large settlements with social hierarchies, farming, metallurgy, and stone structures. These early towns may have been among the first large, organized societies in West Africa.

Nok culture

Further information: Nok culture § Origin

The Nok culture, which began around 1500 BCE in Nigeria, is known for its terracotta sculptures. These sculptures show people and animals and were part of a rich cultural and spiritual life. Nok people also used iron tools and may have influenced later West African art.

Mouhoun Bend

Further information: Kirikongo § Archaeology of the Mouhoun Bend

At Mouhoun Bend in Burkina Faso, people lived in communities in the first few centuries BCE. They farmed, hunted, fished, and made iron, salt, and pottery. Their culture included special burial practices with food and goods placed with the dead.

Djenné-Djenno

Further information: Djenné-Djenno § Origins

The city of Djenné-Djenno in Mali was one of the oldest urban centers in Africa, located near the Niger River. It was an important trading town and may have been involved in farming African rice. The city had many people and buildings and later moved to become the famous city of Djenné.

Serer people

Further information: Serer prehistory and Serer history

The history of the Serer people of Senegambia has been studied through archaeology and traditions. Ancient objects made of gold, silver, and other metals have been found, showing their skill in working with materials. Large stone circles built from around the third century BCE to the sixteenth century CE are also a part of their history.

Senegambian stone circles

Further information: Serer prehistory

The Senegambian stone circles are large stone structures found in Gambia and Senegal. These monuments, made mostly of laterite stone, were built between the third century BCE and the sixteenth century CE. They show the skill and organization of the people who built them.

The building of these stone structures suggests a society with enough resources and organization to support large projects. Some believe the Serer people may have been responsible for building them.

Bura culture

Main article: Bura culture

Further information: Bura archaeological site

The Bura culture lived in the Niger River valley in Niger and Burkina Faso. From the third to the thirteenth century CE, they created clay, iron, and stone artifacts, including early equestrian statues. The Bura culture may be linked to later West African kingdoms, though exactly how is still unknown.

Sahelian kingdoms

Further information: Sahelian kingdoms § History of Sahel kingdoms

The Sahelian kingdoms were empires along the Sahel, south of the Sahara Desert. They grew rich by controlling trade routes across the desert and used camels and horses to manage large territories. These kingdoms included Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

Ghana

Further information: History of the Soninke people and Ghana Empire § Origin

The Ghana Empire began around the third century CE among the Soninke people near Kumbi Saleh. By the eighth century, it was well known to Arab writers and grew to control much of western Sudan. At its peak, it had a large army and became wealthy from taxing trade between North Africa and West Africa, especially gold and salt.

Ghana converted to Islam around 1050 CE. The empire began to decline in the eleventh century, partly due to changes in trade routes and internal political problems. By 1230, it had been taken over by the Takrur people from northern Senegal.

Sosso

Further information: Takrur § Origin, Susu people § History, and Sosso Empire

The Sosso Empire followed the Ghana Empire and was built by the Takrur people. However, it was defeated in 1240 by Sundiata Keita, who founded the Mali Empire.

Mali

Further information: Mali Empire § Pre-imperial Mali, and Keita dynasty

The Mali Empire started in the thirteenth century CE after Sundiata Keita defeated the Sosso king. It grew to include much of West Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sahara Desert. Sundiata made Niani its capital.

Mali was important for trade, agriculture, and raising animals. The empire followed Islam but also kept traditional beliefs. Under rulers like Mansa Musa, Mali became famous for its wealth and learning. Cities like Timbuktu became centers of education and trade.

After Mansa Musa's time, Mali began to weaken due to attacks from neighboring groups and internal problems. By the fifteenth century, the Songhai Empire had taken over some of Mali's territory.

Songhai

Further information: Songhai Empire § History, Askiya dynasty, and Sonni dynasty

The Songhai people lived along the Middle Niger River. They started in Kukiya and later moved to Gao. Sonni Ali began taking over towns like Timbuktu in 1468, expanding the empire far and wide.

After Sonni Ali died in 1492, his nephew Muhammad Ture took over and created the Askiya dynasty. He used Islam to strengthen his rule, brought trade back to the region, and made Timbuktu a center of learning. The Songhai Empire grew until Morocco invaded in 1591, weakening it greatly.

Muhammad Ture's son Askiya Daoud ruled from 1529 to 1582. After that, the empire began to fall apart. By the seventeenth century, Songhai split into smaller states.

Sokoto Caliphate

Further information: Sokoto Caliphate § History

The Fulani people moved across West Africa and by the fourteenth century had converted to Islam. In the early 1800s, Usman dan Fodio started a movement against leaders he felt were not following Islam properly. This led to the Fulani War, creating the Sokoto Caliphate, which lasted until British rule in 1903.

Forest empires and states

Akan Kingdoms and emergence of Asante Empire

Further information: Akan people § Origin and ethnogenesis, Bono state § Origin, Ashanti Empire § History, and List of rulers of Asante

The Akan people speak languages from the Kwa family and originally came from East or Central Africa. By the eleventh century, they had formed the Bonoman kingdom in modern Ghana and Ivory Coast. This kingdom was important for gold trading and later gave rise to other Akan states.

The Ashante Empire began in the seventeenth century when Osei Kofi Tutu I brought together different Akan groups. With a strong army and good leadership, the Ashante expanded their lands, taking over many nearby states. By the nineteenth century, they controlled much of present-day Ghana and parts of Ivory Coast before being taken over by the British in 1900.

Dahomey

Further information: Aja people § History, and History of the Kingdom of Dahomey

The Dahomey Kingdom was founded in the seventeenth century by the Aja people who moved north to join the Fon people. King Houegbadja organized Dahomey into a strong centralized state. Later kings expanded the kingdom by taking over areas like Whydah and Allada, gaining access to trade with Europeans.

During the nineteenth century, France took over Dahomey, ending its independence.

Yoruba

Further information: History of the Yoruba people, List of rulers of the Yoruba state of Oyo, and Ife Empire

The Yoruba people traditionally saw themselves as one big group, living in many city-states ruled by kings called obas. The first Yoruba state was Ile-Ife, which became an important religious and cultural center.

The Oyo Empire grew powerful by the end of the sixteenth century, using cavalry to expand its lands. It traded with other regions and lasted for two hundred years before breaking apart in the late nineteenth century.

Benin

Further information: Kingdom of Benin § History, and Oba of Benin

The Benin Empire, ruled by the Edo people, began expanding in the fifteenth century under Oba Ewuare. It grew to include areas from Dahomey to the Niger Delta. The oba ruled with the help of a council of chiefs and later added other leaders.

Benin traded goods like pepper and ivory with Europeans. By the early eighteenth century, internal disputes weakened the empire, but it regained strength later. In 1897, British forces attacked Benin City.

Sungbo's Eredo and the walls of Benin were built during the first millennium CE, before the tenth century.

Niger Delta and Igbo

Further information: Igbo people § History, Kingdom of Bonny § Early history, Kalabari Kingdom § History, Kingdom of Warri § History, Kingdom of Nri § History, and List of rulers of Nri

The Niger Delta had many small city-states with different kinds of governments. Some had kings, while others were republics or ruled by trading groups. The Igbo people lived mainly east of the delta and formed the Kingdom of Nri in the tenth century, which was a loose group of villages with democratic traditions.

Later migrations

Painted rock art from Manding peoples is found mainly in Mali, where the Malinke and Bambara people live. This art includes geometric shapes, animals, and people, and may be linked to rituals. Migrations during the fifteenth century may have spread this art to other parts of West Africa.

Slave trade

Further information: Trans-Saharan slave trade and Atlantic slave trade

After the Songhai Empire fell in the sixteenth century, smaller states grew up across West Africa. European traders arrived in the fifteenth century and began the Atlantic slave trade, which grew huge after European voyages to the Americas. Millions of people from West Africa were taken to work on farms in the New World.

Some West African leaders fought wars to capture people to sell, while others suffered attacks from these states. The slave trade hurt West Africa's growth for centuries and created large populations of West Africans in places like Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United States.

Colonial period

Main article: Colonisation of Africa

In the early 1800s, the Fulanis in Fouta Djallon started a movement to change their society, followed by similar movements in other parts of West Africa. Europeans also began exploring and trading in the interior of Africa.

Scramble for Africa

Main article: Scramble for Africa

In the 1880s, during the Scramble for Africa, Europeans colonized most of West Africa. France controlled much of the region, while Britain took smaller areas along the coast. Only Liberia remained independent. After the slave trade ended, Denmark and the Netherlands sold their small colonies.

Britain ruled from four coastal colonies: Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, Lagos, and the Niger area. French ambitions were larger, aiming to build a big empire across Africa.

Post-colonial period

Further information: Decolonisation of Africa, Postcolonial Africa § West Africa, and Neocolonialism

See also: Neocolonialism § Françafrique, West African CFA franc, and Status of forces agreement

After World War II, many West African countries fought for independence. Ghana was the first in 1957, followed by others like Guinea. By 1960, nine West African nations had gained independence. Leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Sékou Touré worked to build strong governments, sometimes limiting democratic freedoms.

Since independence, West Africa has faced problems like dictatorships, corruption, and military takeovers. There have been few international conflicts, but some civil wars have occurred.

Civil wars

The region of West Africa has experienced several civil wars in recent history, including conflicts in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and Côte d'Ivoire.

Historiographic and conceptual problems

The study of African history faces big challenges because of old ideas that still affect how people think about Africa. These ideas come from European views that separated Africa into different parts. One part is Sub-Saharan Africa, seen as “Black Africa,” and the other is North Africa, seen as closer to the Middle East and Europe.

These old ideas have caused problems. For example, people in North Africa with darker skin, like the Haratin, have often been treated unfairly and seen as different from others. This separation also makes it hard to understand the real history and connections between different parts of Africa, such as West Africa, North Africa, and East Africa, which have shared history, culture, and trade for a long time.

Scholars are working to change these old views and better understand Africa as one connected continent.

Health

Medicine

Traditional African medicine is a way of healing that uses plants and spiritual beliefs. People who practice it say they can help with many health problems. In the past, some people thought these methods were old-fashioned or magical. During colonial times, leaders tried to stop these practices and build Western-style hospitals instead. Recently, scientists have started to study traditional medicines more closely.

Disease

Diseases have always been a challenge in West Africa because of the warm, wet climate. Before the slave trade, people tried to keep nature balanced to stay healthy. But with more wars, diseases spread more easily. Some people even developed natural protections in their bodies, like a change that helps fight a certain sickness.

HIV/AIDS

In the 1990s, a sickness called AIDS became a big problem in parts of West Africa, like Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Nigeria. It started in the mid-1980s. At first, people thought it only affected certain groups, but it spread widely. Efforts to stop it focused on helping mothers and children and talking about poverty and unfair treatment. Funding for fighting AIDS has increased, but the number of people with the disease kept rising.

As of 2011, the spread of AIDS was lowest in Senegal and highest in Nigeria, which has many people living with the disease, though not as many as in South Africa.

Ebola virus disease

Ebola is a serious disease that causes outbreaks in tropical parts of Africa, including West Africa. The biggest outbreak happened in 2014, affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. It started in Guinea in late 2013 but wasn’t found until months later. The disease spread quickly, causing many illnesses and deaths. The World Health Organization called it a major emergency. Many groups helped, including aid organizations and government agencies.

Famine

Famine has sometimes been a big problem in West Africa. Long ago, severe food shortages happened, like in the 1680s and 1730s. During colonial times, some rules made farming harder and led to hunger. In the 1960s, a big famine happened in parts of Nigeria and Biafra, where many people suffered. Droughts and bad weather have also caused famines in the Sahel region. Today, better warning systems and help from others have saved many lives, but some places still struggle to grow enough food. Problems like dry weather, poor soil, and pests can make farming difficult.

Cuisine

Main article: West African cuisine § History

West African peoples traded with the Arab world long before Europeans arrived. Spices like cinnamon became part of their cooking traditions. Later, European explorers brought new foods such as chili peppers and tomatoes from the New World. These, along with peanuts, maize, cassava, and plantains, became common in West African meals. African ingredients like black-eyed peas and okra also traveled to the New World.

During the colonial period, European rulers drew borders that split tribes and mixed different cooking styles. Even with new ingredients from Europeans, the way people cooked in West Africa stayed mostly the same.

Architecture

Further information in the sections of Architecture of Africa:

• Prehistoric West African Architecture
• Ancient West African Architecture
• Medieval West African Architecture

Science and technology

Further information in the sections of History of science and technology in Africa:

• Education
• Astronomy
• Mathematics
• Metallurgy
• Medicine
• Agriculture
• Textiles
• Maritime technology
• Architecture
• Communication systems
• Warfare
• Commerce
• By country

Military

Main article: Military history of Africa § Military history of Western Africa

The military history of West Africa includes many battles and changes over time. Different groups and kingdoms built strong armies and sometimes fought for power or to protect their lands. Understanding this history helps us see how West Africa developed and changed through the years.

Genetics

Main article: Genetic history of West Africa

Further information: Basal West African and Genetic history of the African diaspora

Archaic human DNA

Further information: Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans § Archaic African hominins

A study from 2020 suggests that some West Africans have a small amount of DNA from ancient humans who lived long ago. These ancient humans lived between 360,000 and 1,020,000 years ago. This DNA might also be found in people from outside Africa.

Ancient DNA

As of 2017, scientists have not found ancient DNA from West Africa. By 2020, this was still the case.

West African hunter-gatherers, living between 8000 and 3000 years ago, were related to modern Central African hunter-gatherers.

Y-chromosomal DNA

Further information: Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of Sub-Saharan Africa

Males from places like Guinea Bissau and Niger carried certain DNA groups.

Many African Americans have ancestry from West Africa due to history.

Mitochondrial DNA

Further information: Haplogroup L2 (mtDNA)

Studies of DNA from our mothers suggest all humans originated in Africa. A specific DNA group, L2, evolved between 87,000 and 107,000 years ago and is common in West Africa.

Between 75,000 and 60,000 years ago, people with L3 DNA moved from East Africa to West Africa and other places.

Autosomal DNA

During 9000 years ago, people related to Khoisan mixed with ancestors of the Igbo people.

Between 2000 and 1500 years ago, people from East Africa mixed with people in West Africa.

Medical DNA

Africans have DNA changes that help protect against diseases like malaria.

Pediculus

West Africans may have brought lice to ancient Israel.

Sickle cells

The mutation for sickle cells originated in Africa at least 7,300 years ago.

Schistosomes

Schistosomes may have spread from Egypt to Western Africa.

Thalassemia

A mutation for thalassemia may have come to North Africa from West Africa.

Domesticated animal DNA

People may have brought and domesticated guineafowls in West Africa by 3000 BCE.

These animals later spread to other parts of Africa.

Timeline of archaeological cultures and sites

• Ounjougou (Middle Pleistocene)

• Ugwuele (1,600,000 BP - 95,000 BP)

• Ngodo

• Mousteroid (30,000 BP)

• Bingerville (13,000 BP)

• Bosumpra Cave (11th millennium BCE)

• Iwo Eleru Rockshelter (11,000 BP)

• Iwo Eleru Skull

• Kiffian Culture (8400 BCE)

• Gobero

• Ifetedo Rockshelter (9000/7000 BP)

• Dutsen Kongba Rockshelter (6th millennium BCE)

• Konduga (6300 BP)

• Ita Ogbolu Rockshelter (5000/2000 BP)

• Kagoro Rockshelter (5000/2000 BP)

• Tenerian Culture (4300 BCE - 2400 BCE)

• Adrar Bous

• Yengema Cave (2560 BCE)

• Kamabai Rockshelter (2560 BCE)

• Kintampo Complex (2500 BCE - 1400 BCE)

• Birimi

• Karkarichinkat (4500/4200 BP)

• Rim (4000 BP)

• Dhar Tichitt (2000 BCE - 500 BCE)

• Tichitt

• Dhar Walata (2000 BCE – 500 BCE)

• Walata

• Dhar Nema (2000 BCE - 800 BCE)

• Daima (2nd millennium BCE – 16th/17th century CE)

• Sekkiret (2nd millennium BCE)

• Lejja (2000 BCE)

• Gajiganna (1800 BCE - 800 BCE)

• Nok Culture (1500 BCE – 1 BCE)

• Kagara

• Katsina-Ala

• Samun Dukiya

• Taruga

• Yagala Rockshelter (1070 BCE)

• Mouhoun Bend (1st millennium BCE)

• Kissi (1st millennium BCE – 13th century CE)

• Azelik (1st millennium BCE)

• Dia (9th century BCE)

• Walalde (800 BCE)

• Kursakata (800 BCE)

• Zilum (7th/5th century BCE)

• Opi (5th century BCE)

• Senegambian Stone Circles (3rd century BCE – 16th century CE)

• Itaakpa Rockshelter (271 BCE)

• Djenne-Djenno (250 BCE – 1100 CE)

• Afikpo Rockshelter (105 BCE)

• Akjoujt (1st century BCE)

• Rop Rockshelter (25 BCE)

• Kirikongo (100 CE - 1700 CE)

• Hambarketolo (300 CE - 1000 CE)

• Bura Culture (3rd century CE - 13th century CE)

• Bura

• Birnin Lafiya (4th century CE – 13th century CE)

• Ifẹ (4th century CE - 15th century CE)

• Niani (6th/10th century CE)

• Tondidarou (635/670 CE)

• Gao (700 CE)

• Tegdaoust (810 CE – 1800 CE)

• Chinguetti (8th century CE)

• Tissalaten (8th century CE – 11th century CE)

• Toyla (890/980 CE)

• Igbo-Ukwu (9th century CE)

• Koumbi Saleh (9th century CE – 15th century CE)

• Kawinza (950/715 CE)

• Begho (1000 CE)

• Walls of Benin (1st millennium CE)

• Sungbo's Eredo (10th century CE)

• Diouboye (1000 CE – 1400 CE)

• Azugi (11th century CE)

• Cekeen Tumuli (11th century CE)

• Ouadane (11th/12th century CE)

• Bandiagara Escarpment (11th century CE – 13th century CE)

• Ruins of Loropeni (11th century CE – 17th century CE)

• Ma'adin Ijafen (1170/1260 CE)

• Kwiambana (1260 CE)

• Mejiro Rockshelter (1300 CE)

• Benin (13th century CE)

• Durbi Takusheyi (14th century CE – 16th century CE)

• Agbaku Rockshelter (1403 CE)

• Bono Manso (1420 CE)

• Sidi Yahya Mosque (1440 CE)

• Ngazagamu (1488 CE)

• Bonduku (1586 CE)

• Agongointo-Zoungoudo Underground Town (16th century CE)

• Ksar El Barka (1690 CE)

• Jenini (1870 CE – 1895 CE)

Food production lifeways maps

Map of livelihood distributions in 1400 BCE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 1000 BCE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 600 BCE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 200 BCE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 200 CE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 600 CE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 1100 CE Western Africa

Map of livelihood distributions in 1500 CE Western Africa