This user is a member of
WikiProject Africa.
This user is interested in the
History of Africa.
This user's ethnicity is
African American.
This user is descended from an African slave †
This user likes Horror Movies.
RAPThis user enjoys Rap and Hip Hop music.
This user believes that the death penalty should never be used.*


This user is interested in tanks.
CthulhuThis user is interested in the Great Old One.





Hey this is 4shizzal, some of y'all know me as Scott Free. Happy lovely (always wanted to say that). I specialize in (obsessed with) African history. If you're researching anything on pre-colonial Africa on here, i've probably contributed to it. My biggest interest is the Mali Empire. I think it is one of the most overlooked empires in history and of great importance. I've also done a fair amount of net research on the dynamics of the Atlantic Slave Trade. I've produced a lot of statistics (who was selling, who was buying and how many were dying). Holla at ya boi if you have any useful info or just for questions. One luv to everyone at WIKI keepin the info FREE.

--Scott Free 16:36, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

I am mainly devoted to compiling info on the Mandé civilization. I am a Black American with hereditary ties to these great people, which has boosted my zeal for researching them. Last year I discovered via African Ancestry DNA testing that my maternal heritage stretches back to the Mendé (a branch of the Mandé of Sierra Leone). It was amazing to find that I came from the same people I had been researching for the past five years! Also, my paternal heritage is shared with the Igbo people of Nigeria (don't know which dialect, but probably northern or central) and also the Mbundu of Angola. I've been told the Mbundu match is likely just due to sharing fragments of DNA contributed to those populations during the Bantu Migration. In all likelyhood, my ancestors were taken directly from northern and central Igboland to Louisiana via French slave vessels.

What I'm Working on Right NOW

Recently Completed

Library

Here is a list of my private library on African and African-American history. It's forever increasing. I put this list here for folks looking for good data on hard to find subjects.



Africa At A Glance

I've decided to use my page as a crash course in African history for anyone that's interested. The biggest problem with African history is that most Africans don't have written language of their own. That doesn't mean they're stupid, however; it simply means they are very different from the rest of the world. From what I've garnered, literature wasn't really necessary for them so it was never invested in. Another startling difference between Africa and Eurasia is the value of land (or lack thereof). Africa is huge so land has little value. Things grow well so agricultural advancements weren't sought (like the plough for instance). Populations are dispersed into clumps around valuable tracts of land creating densly populated cities with complex systems of government tending toward strikingly republican types of rule. Very few absolute monarchs or leaders prior to Cold War. Slavery was big business since labor was more scarce than land. Chattel slavery was pretty much unheard of, but certain civilizations could be quite brutal. Africa was more or less a decent place to live prior to the 16th and 17th century. This was changed by the destruction of the big African Empires and the arrival of Europeans with their insatiable appetite for cheap labor. Both of these instances led to political instability that has never been fully resolved. The troubles of Africa continued as more African leaders fed into this irresistable chance at power and wealth. Between 1502 and 1853, some 20 million Africans died as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. By 1900, Europeans had the knowledge and firepower to conquer most of Africa. World War II pretty much killed Europe's hold on Africa and by 1975 about every colony was independent. Africa reemerged under a series of dictators and idealist who squandered their resources, slaughtered thousands and repressed the population. Africa's still going through its growing pains, and HIV/AIDs isn't making it any easier (thanks a lot Belgium). That's Africa in a nutshell. Below is a timeline of Africa based off of the wiki article on African History. I took the liberty of adding some dates to paint a clearer picture.

African Monuments

Here are some African structures/monuments of note. People always talk of going to Europe or Asia to see historical sites while Africa is largely slept on. Well, you don't know what you don't know. Take a look and hit me up if you have any other suggestions. I'm always adding stuff.

Great Africans in History

Here's a list of some very interesting men and women in African history. I count many of them in my list of heroes.

Men

Women

African Military History

Below is an index of battles waged by African states. This list will grow as I get more organized and familiar with Wiki's current articles. I'm very interested in expanding info on lesser known wars such as the conflicts involving the Kingdom of Kongo and those of the Ethiopian Empire

African Wars

African Battles

African Empires

When the average western reader thinks of empire, they don't usually think of Africa. Well, they should. I've done a lot of research on African Empires. Hell, I was the guy that started the article. Below are a list of all the African Empires according to chronology. There are 34 here, but not all are native African empires (Ptolemaic and Fatimid for instance). Not all are "Black" African empires (Almoravid and Almohad are native Berber states). But they are all empires.

African Kingdoms

Beyond the great expires in African history, there are a plethora of kingdoms throughout the continent's history.

Categories