Jan Mostaert’s Portrait of a Moor (1520-1530)

In the following account University of Cincinnati historian John K. Brackett describes the famous 16th Century painting of a black courtier at the court of Margaret of Austria, the Duchess of Savoy and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.  The name and rank of this courtier … Read MoreJan Mostaert’s Portrait of a Moor (1520-1530)

Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins (1912-1982)

Image Ownership: 33stradale (CC BY-SA 3.0) Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins, blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, was born in Centerville, Texas in 1912 to sharecropping parents whose exact identities are unknown. At eight, Hopkins met legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson at a social function in Buffalo, Texas. … Read MoreSam “Lightnin’” Hopkins (1912-1982)

Ashanti Empire/ Asante Kingdom (18th to late 19th century)

The Ashanti Empire was a pre-colonial West African state that emerged in the 17th century in what is now Ghana.  The Ashanti or Asante were an ethnic subgroup of the Akan-speaking people, and were composed of small chiefdoms. The Ashanti established their state around Kumasi … Read MoreAshanti Empire/ Asante Kingdom (18th to late 19th century)

East African City States (1000-1500)

From approximately 1000 to 1500 AD, a number of city-states on the eastern coast of Africa participated in an international trade network and became cosmopolitan Islamic cultural centers. The major autonomous, but symbiotic, city-states stretched over 1,500 miles from Mogadishu (in modern day Somalia) in … Read MoreEast African City States (1000-1500)