Encyclopaedia Africana

Longangi (circa 1860-July 14, 1964) was a forceful and ambitious individual elevated by the colonial government to serve as chief over the politically decentralised Lega...

Montshiwa (circa 1814-October 19, 1896) became the chief of the BaRolong Boo Ratshidi, a southern Tswana chiefdom, in 1849 and led his people through nearly...

Kgari (?-c1826), son of Chief Kgama I, assumed the chieftainship over the Ngwato (Bomangwato) of what is now Botswana in about 1817. This was during...

Sir John Charles Molteno (June 5, 1814- September 1, 1886), a pioneer wool farmer and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, was born...

John Daniel Kestell (February 15, 1854-Febru-ary 9, 1941) was a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church (D.R.C.), Bible translator, and Afrikaner cultural leader. His mother...

Donald Molteno (February 13, 1908-December 24, 1972) was born into a family with deep political traditions and roots in the liberal history of the Cape...

Kajee Abdulla Ismail, (1896-1947) an able and energetic Moslem businessman and philanthropist known for his gradualist and accommodationist policy, dominated the Natal Indian Congress from...

Mukenge a Tunsele (circa 1830-1898), also known as Kalamba, dominated the Lulua people during the entire second half of the 19th century. His political importance...

M’Siri (or Mushidi) Ngelengwa (circa 1830-Decem-ber 21, 1891), a Nyamwezi interloper from east of Lake Tanganyika, established a vast commercial and political empire in the...

Mpanzu a Nzinga (circa 1460-1506), a contender for the throne of the Kongo kingdom in 1506, advocated a return to traditional religious values, thus reversing...