The Kingdom of Dahomey was an African kingdom that existed from about 1600 until 1894. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Platea in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century.
The different Betsileo kingdoms (Fandriana, Fisakana, Manandriana, Isandra, etc.) existed independently of each other with oral traditions dating back to the 17th century.
Luanda is now the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola’s primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban center.
The period between the 16th and the 19th centuries saw the emergence of organized Iron Age kingdoms in Zambia. Four kingdoms were established in this period – the Kazembe-Lunda, the Bemba, the Chewa, and the Lozi.
On 15 March 1503, Vasco da Gama, crossing from India to East Africa, sighted what was almost certainly Silhouette Island and the next day, Desroches Island. The granitic islands began to appear on Portuguese charts as the Seven Sisters.
Maravi was a kingdom which straddled the current borders of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, in the 16th century. The present-day name ” is said to derive from the Chichewa word “malaŵÔ, which means “flames”.
Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people in the 15th century. Under the leadership of the Oloye Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island.
At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its leading ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai.
The Cap-Vert peninsula was settled no later than the 15th century, by the Lebou people, an aquacultural ethnic group related to the neighboring Wolof and Serer. Dakar is now the capital and largest city of Senegal.
The Kingdom of Kongo was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo as well as the southernmost part of Gabon. From c. 1390 to 1859 it was mostly an independent state.
