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Encyclopaedia Africana

Heroes and Heroines

  • 2 Min Read

The Waterboers were a leading Griqua (Khoikhoi or “Hottentot”) family of the 19th century who flourished near the northern border of Cape Colony. The principal...

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Gombu Smart or Koko (18th-early 19th centuries) was an ex-slave who became a powerful chief, ruling at Rokon near the Rokel (Sierra Leone River in...

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Gbanya Longo (18?-1878) was the last great ruler of the Kpaa-Mende (the western branch of the Mende, in south central Sierra Leone) in the pre-colonial...

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Gbanka (?-May 1898) was Fula Mansa of Yoni Temne, a chiefdom about 112 km (70 mi) due east of Freetown. He opposed the British in...

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Fomgboe (who lived in the mid and later 19th century), a Loko leader, was the ruler of Tembu, a town in Lower Loko country, to...

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Ensala (187-circa 1926), a former slave, rose to prominence in colonial times as  ruler over the large Bobangi chiefdom extending from the mouth of the...

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Edjumbu (circa 1880-1937), an extremely wealthy polygamous trader of the Ndolo people, used his riches, geographical location, and local influence to gain an important position...

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Dusu Sori (circa 1840-circa March 15 or 16, 1940), was ruler of the Dembelia-Musaia chiefdom in north-eastern Sierra Leone from about 1881 to 1940, except...

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Alimamy Dura I (later 19th century-September 14, 1946) was paramount chief of Safroko Limba, a former chiefdom under the Biriwa Limba in northern Sierra Leone....

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Bai Bureh of Kasseh (circa 1840s?-circa 1908), originally called Kebelai, was the resilient general and military strategist who led the 1898 Temne uprising against the...

Editor’s Note

This website features a collection of articles largely from previously published volumes of the Encyclopaedia Africana, specifically the Encyclopaedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography, which highlights notable individuals from various regions of Africa. Please note that in these volumes, some names of people, towns, and countries were spelled differently than they are today. We have retained these historical spellings to preserve the integrity of the original publications. In some instances, the current spellings are also provided for easy reference.
Please report errors to: info@encyclopaediaafricana.com / research@encyclopaediaafricana.com

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