Medieval Africa: Did you mean...?

The Portuguese Empire was established from the 15th century and eventually stretched from the Americas to Japan. Very often a string of coastal trading centres with defensive fortifications, there were larger territorial colonies like Brazil...

The history of medieval Japan (1185-1603 CE) involved the rise of the military and such figures as the shoguns and samurai but there were many other cultural developments in between and during the many wars that troubled the country. In this...

From the voyages of the Portuguese navigators under the patronage of Henry the Navigator in the 15th century to the transcontinental expeditions of Henry Morton Stanley in the 1870s, European exploration of Africa gradually transformed European...

Roman involvement in North Africa began with the destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War (149-146 BCE), after which Rome established the province of Africa and gradually expanded its authority across the Maghreb. Over the following...

Monasteries and other religious institutions such as priories and nunneries were a quintessential part of the medieval landscape and an important component of a community's social fabric. Providing spiritual guidance, employment, education...

Medieval literature developed in Europe from medieval folklore between c. 476 and c. 1500. The works ranged from poetry to drama, romance, prose, philosophical dialogues, and histories. Literary works were at first composed in Latin but...

In the aftermath of World War I (1914–1918), Africa remained overwhelmingly under European colonial domination, despite widespread African participation in the war effort. While the conflict weakened several European powers, it did not dismantle...

A photograph showing Allied troops landing in Algeria, North Africa as part of Operation Torch, the Allied North Africa Landings of November 1942. (Imperial War Museums)

Prince Henry the Navigator (aka Infante Dom Henrique, 1394-1460) was a Portuguese prince who famously helped capture the North African city of Ceuta, sponsored voyages of exploration with the aim of building colonies in the North Atlantic...

The causes of the Boer War (aka Second Anglo-Boer War, South Africa War, and Second War of Freedom, 1899-1902) stretched back to the early 19th century and competition for land and resources between British and Boer settlers. The rivalry...