Why did many ancient African tribes not have written language before the 1800s?
First I would like to mention, that for some reason, I have this mental block that when I think of Egypt, I never think of Africa. I guess that is why I don’t really associate the ancient writings of the Egyptians as being African, but they are. In North and Eastern Africa, there was trade as early as the 8th century with places such as India, Greece and China. African ports of importance at the time were at Mombassa, Zanzibar, Mogadishu and Kilwa. At one point in time, Timbuktu, which we now associate with “the middle of nowhere,” is considered to be the focal point of African history. Timbuktu apparently played a large role as a centre of African scholarship that went largely unrecognized until 2001 when the South African President, Thabo Mbeki paid an official visit to Mali. He spent time in the capital Bamakoand in Timbuktu with Mali’s then president, Alpha Oumar Konaré. Being as both men held PhDs in history, it was naturally a topic that came up during their time together. Konaré
