One of my favorite subjects to research are leaders. I love learning about past, present leaders of countries. I guess I enjoy seeing how individuals decide for large communities, societies. I enjoy reading about how different cultures perceive their leaders. I suppose I’m a nut for social science.
The five leaders on my list became my favorite because I never grew tired of researching them. I’m still gathering information on most, however, I have gained enough to create responsible profiles others may gain information from.
Queen of Sheba
The first leader on my list is Makeda, better known as the Queen of Sheba. There are few records giving factual accounts of Mekeda. However, the Bible mentions the Queen of Sheba, especially in relation to her romantic relationship with Solomon, King of Israel.
In Jewish legend, the Queen of Sheba was the Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia and is credited with bringing the first balsam tree to Israel. A species of balsam tree, found in Israel, is believed to be native to Israel. In one Jewish account, King Solomon was informed that Sheba was the only Kingdom that was not subject to him. This did not make him happy. He sent a letter to Sheba commanding that the Queen of Sheba come to him as one of his subjects. The Queen of Sheba agreed to visit Jerusalem and sent many ships filled with gifts prior to her arrival. King Solomon had a glass floor in his palace. Thinking the floor was water, the Queen raised her dress, revealing her hair legs in which the King took offense.
Muslims do not refer to the Queen of Sheba, but to the “Queen of the South”. The story in the Quran is essentially the same as that followed by Christians and Jews with a few differences. The queen is named Bilkis and there was no reference to a romantic relationship with King Solomon or the Queen’s hairy legs.
Ethiopia refers to the Queen of Sheba as Makeda and includes her trip to King Solomon’s kingdom and also omits the story of the glass floor and hairy legs. In this version of the legend, the Queen warned King Solomon that he was not to touch her, because she was an unmarried woman. He agreed, so long as she agreed not to take anything of how while she stayed as his guest. The king tricked the queen and served her a spicy meal, then had a glass of water placed near her bed as she slept. In the middle of the night, she took the glass of water and the King used the opportunity to declare that she had broken her agreement, therefore, he could break his. A relationship ensued, and the Queen became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Menelik.
Years later, the Queen took her son to visit his father, King Solomon, supposedly returning to Ethiopia with the Ark of the Covenant, and the sacred container that held the Ten Commandments.
There is agreement among scholars that Sheba refers to the South Arabian kingdom of Saba, which is in present day Yemen. I tried to figure out the connection between Ethiopia and the Queen. Ethiopia claimed the Solomonic era through Yekuno Amlak, who overthrew Ethiopia in 1270 and claimed to be a descendant of King Solomon through Menelik - the son of Solomon and Makeda.
I like the Queen of Sheba because of her intrigue. We know little about her and we have multiple spiritual accounts which provide colorful stories adding to her mystery. I feel that she existed. But that is all we know today.
Oba Ewuare the Great
Ewuare, also known as Ewuare the Great, is the first King of the Benin Empire in 1440. Oba means ‘king’ and he became one after a violent coup against his brother Uwaifiokun. Prior to Ewuare, the Obas of Benin had limited power. The authority came from the uzama, a group of hereditary chieftains throughout the kingdom. Upon becoming king, Ewuare reduced the power of the uzama, which annulled their power of appointing the Obas. This reduced conflict among the Empire and brought the people closer together.
Under Ewuare, the capital city of Benin supported a large population. He built many roads and constructed nine gateways into the city. Oral traditions extol Ewuare as a clever magician, doctor, and warrior who helped to make Benin one of the largest and best known empires of ancient West Africa. He created administrations in the towns and villages to have better control over the structure of society and not make the Oba have the sole power. This did not reduce the power of the Oba, but made his rule more structured and controlled.
The strength of the Benin Empire didn’t just come from taking over other settlements. Ewuare used foreign investment to fund his city. He opened his borders to European and Asian travellers, merchants and settlers to whom the Edo people traded and interacted. By establishing a robust economy, line of succession, and security within his borders, Benin City and the Edo people underwent a period of a golden age which saw the region become well known for its sculptures, particularly in ivory and bronze. Ewuare also established the practice of scarification; a practice which remains in Nigeria and parts of Africa. Scarification was for the freeborn population, designed to differentiate the classes between freeborn and slave and the Edo citizens from the rest of the world.
When I first read about Oba Ewuare the Great I was instantly intrigued. He wasn’t a leader who just enjoyed his power; he was smart and innovative. He reconstructed his kingdom to protect against enemies while opening his borders to foreigners for trade. Ewuare died before all of his work in fortifying his kingdom was complete. The fortifications he did complete measured to 6214 miles around Benin City, making it the second longest man-made structure of all time; second only to the Great Wall of China.
Abu Bakr II
King Abubakari II is perhaps one of the most historically significant kings of the Mali Empire. The little information about Abubakari comes from griots, which are West African storytellers and advisors to royal personages. They record an ocean expedition, organized by Abubakari that caused significant controversy still today.
King Abubakari longed to explore the ocean, often longingly looking out over the open sea that bordered his kingdom. He thought it possible to find the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. He sent an expedition out over the Atlantic only to have one of his generals return. Frustrated, King Abubakari outfitted a second expedition in 1311 totalling 2,000 ships with another 1,000 ships loaded with food to last him and his team two years.
Various historians believe that Abubakari arrived in what is now Haiti in 1312. Ivan Van Sertima’s, They Came Before Columbus gives an interpretation of such events based on Christopher’s Columbus’ personal diary. He never returned to his kingdom, which gave way for Mansa Musa to ascend the throne.
Out of all pre-colonial African leaders, Abubakari II is perhaps my favorite. I think because we know what he was thinking - he had dreams. I know what it’s like to look out over an ocean and dream. I can relate - on an emotional level - to King Abubakari. It wasn’t until I studied Abubakari that I firmly believed that he and his crew reached the Caribbean and South America over 100 years before Christopher Columbus.
Cetshwayo kaMpande
King Cetshwayo kaMpande was King of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1879. He famously led the Zulu nation to victory against the British in the Battle of Isandlwana in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. He was later defeated in that same war and exiled.
Cetshwayo is the half-nephew of Zulu King Shaka and was installed as king by Sir Theophilus Shepstone (British statesman responsible for annexing the Transvaal for Britain). Shepstone crowned him in a shoddy, wet affair which was more of a farce than anything else. He later turned against the Zulus and Cetshwayo when he felt undermined by Cetshwayo’s negotiating for land area compromised by encroaching Boers (Dutch Europeans).
As a result, Cetshwayo expanded his army and readopted military methods of King Shaka. He banished European missionaries from his land and encouraged other native Africans to rebel against Boers in the Transvaal.
Most of my studies on Cetshwayo kaMpande uncover his acts in the Anglo-Zulu War. But I think of him as standing strong against European colonialism. Western history typically excludes stories of how Blacks and Africans resisted slavery, colonialism, and oppression.
King Behanzin
Behanzin was the last independent King of Dahomey, in modern day Benin. He succeeded his father, Glele, and ruled from 1889 to 1894.
King Glele signed an agreement with the French putting the territory of Cotonou under their administration. Glele, exercising his moral rights in that territory, complained of the installation of French customs and became hostile to their presence - he then renounced his agreements. The French tried negotiating but were unsuccessful - they went to Prince Kondo (Behanzin) in 1889. It was then that one of the greatest resistance to the European invasion occurred.
Kondo insulted the French, so they came into town armed in order to protect their position in Benin.
When Prince Kondo became king, he took the name of Behanzin, which meant, “The universe holds the egg the earth desires”. This is a reference to the ‘egg' being in the center of creating the universe; this is a theory that has also been used by the Debnen in the ancient Egyptians. All kings in Benin use a symbol to characterize themselves. Behanzin symbolism was for the shark and his motto was ‘The angry shark will terrorize its enemy’. This was a warning to all enemies and his way to show his willingness in defending the land of his ancestors against the French.
Contrary to some accounts, Dahomey didn’t make a fortune during their collaboration with European slavers. They were very lenient about participating in the slave trades and fought as much as they could for their people not to be taken away. Those that were sent away, however, were captured fighters or unruly citizens amongst them.
Behanzin is an extraordinary example of great African leaders that resisted the integration of colonizers on the continent. I enjoy reading about him, because he nor his father had any reason to fear Europeans and they acted accordingly
Bibliography
Encyclopedia.com. “Oba Ewuare Ogidigan.” Encyclopedia.com, 5 November 2019, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/oba-ewuare-ogidigan. Accessed 1 November 2020.
Johnson, Elizabeth O. “Oba Ewuare I, The Great King of a Nigerian Empire Who Gained Power After a Coup in the 1400s.” Face2Face Africa, 1 August 2018, https://face2faceafrica.com/article/oba-ewuare-i-the-great-king-of-a-nigerian-empire-who-gained-power-after-a-coup-in-the-1400s. Accessed 1 November 2020.
Mingren, Wu. “The Queen of Sheba: How A Legend Was Born.” Ancient Origins, 17 January 2020, https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/queen-sheba-0013158. Accessed 1 November 2020.
Reese, M. R. “The Legendary Queen of Sheba and Her Iconic Visit with King Solomon.” Ancient Origins, 9 January 2015, https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/legendary-queen-sheba-and-her-iconic-visit-king-solomon-002547. Accessed 1 November 2020.
Rob, Abdul. “Black Histories: Oba Ewuare & Benin City.” Black History Month, 23 October 2015, https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/pre-colonial-history/black-histories-oba-ewuare-benin-city/. Accessed 1 November 2020.
South African History. “King Cetshwayo.” South African History Online, 23 August 2019, https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/king-cetshwayo. Accessed 3 November 2020.
Wikipedia. “Ewuare.” Wikipedia.org, 24 June 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewuare#. Accessed 1 November 2020.
Wikipedia. “Solomonic Dynasty.” Wikipedia, 14 September 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomonic_dynasty. Accessed 1 November 2020.
Wikipedia. “Wikipedia.org.” Cetshwayo kaMpande, 4 July 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetshwayo_kaMpande. Accessed 3 November 2020.
“Yekuno Amlak.” Wikipedia, 11 October 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekuno_Amlak. Accessed 1 November 2020.
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