The following are short descriptions of the groups and organizations which have contributed to the shaping of Global African history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
In 1635, two Spanish ships were wrecked near what is now St. Vincent in the West Indies. The ships held West Africans who were to be sold as slaves in the West Indies. The West Africans escaped from the Spaniards, and hid themselves among the … Read MoreThe Garifuna People
The Indochina War (1947-1954) pitted the French Colonial government against the Vietminh, the Communist Vietnamese devoted to the liberation of their country from French colonial rule. During that conflict the French used thousands of Tirailleurs Sénégalais, soldiers recruited throughout the French African colonies, for service … Read MoreTirailleurs Sénégalais in the Indochina War (1947-1954)
The African Democratic Rally, known as Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA), was the first French-speaking Pan-African organization. Created in 1946 at Bamako, Sudan (now Mali), it emerged when African nationalist and anti-colonialist movements were growing rapidly at the end of World War II. In 1945 the … Read MoreAfrican Democratic Rally (1946- )
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) was officially established on April 5-6, 1959 with the goal of ending white domination in South Africa and returning the land to its original and rightful owners. The PAC came into being after a group of African National Congress (ANC) … Read MorePan Africanist Congress of Azania
The South African Students’ Organization (SASO) emerged in 1968 as a unique group that re-established opposition to the South African government’s apartheid system “aboveground,” as opposed to other black resistance movements that previously had been forced to operate underground. Until the creation of SASO in … Read MoreSouth African Students’ Organization (SASO)
The Mau Mau Uprising, a revolt against colonial rule in Kenya, lasted from 1952 through 1960 and helped to hasten Kenya’s independence. Issues like the expulsion of Kikuyu tenants from settler farms, loss of land to white settlers, poverty, and lack of true political representation … Read MoreMau Mau (1952-1960)
Chartered in 1672, the Royal African Company was a royally chartered company which had a legally based monopoly on English trade to West Africa until 1698. The monopoly specifically extended through five thousand miles of the western coast from Cape Sallee (in contemporary Morocco) to … Read MoreRoyal African Company
The Tirailleurs Sénégalais were West African Colonial Army troops who fought for the French during World War I, World War II, and in numerous conquest, police, and colonial counterinsurgency operations. Despite the name, the Tirailleurs Sénégalais were composed of soldiers recruited and conscripted from throughout … Read MoreTirailleurs Senegalais (1857– )
The Ligue Universelle pour la Défense de la Race Noire (LUDRN) was a Pan-African association created on April 30, 1924, by Kojo Tovalou Houénou, known as Tovalou, descendant of the last king of Dahomey (now Benin). The headquarters of the association was located in Paris … Read MoreLigue Universelle pour la Défense de la Race Noire (1924)
Founded in August of 1908 by veterans of Cuba’s War for Independence, El Partido de Independiente de Color (PIC) became the Caribbean’s first 20th century black political party. Created to support and facilitate Afro-Cubans’ integration into their country’s social and political spheres, the party also … Read MorePartido de Independiente de Color (Cuba, 1908-1912)
