It's a Continent

Yoweri Museveni is a name you may have heard of during Uganda’s most recent elections where he was up against his main political rival Bobi Wine. This presidential election was entangled by fraud, threats, and sanctioned killings - but how did Ugandan politics get to this point? This episode is the first of a two-parter. We’ll look at Yoweri Museveni's rise to power: how his positioning as Uganda'...

During the Scramble for Africa, Italy was eager to develop a 'second Roman Empire' within the continent. It set its sights on Ethiopia, which they were 'awarded' during the Berlin Conference of 1884-85. Now, all they had to do was remove the Ethiopian government and occupy the land. This proved easier said than done. At the time, Ethiopia was under the leadership of Emperor Menelik II, who was abl...

Freetown is the capital city of Sierra Leone, a country in Western Africa. The name of the city has links to its origin as a British colony used to repatriate freed black people from across the British Empire (Jamaica and Canada) as well as other places as far and wide as The Congo and Lake Malawi. Britain insisted Freetown represented humanity, justice, and freedom but it didn’t represent any of...

We're joined by Farida Nabourema, a Togolese human rights activist, writer and Pan-Africanist who has fought for democracy in her country since her teenage years. Farida founded the "Faure Must Go" movement in 2011, where she organised Togolese youths to stand against the dictatorial regime of the Gnassingbés. The movement captures the civil resistance movement in Togo, of which Nabourema is one o...

In our final episode of season 3, we're exploring West Africa during the 13th century and the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. The Mali Empire was one of the continent's wealthiest and most prominent empires spanning across modern-day Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Mauritania, Gambia and Burkina Faso. Sundiata's life story is one of overcoming adversity, surviving jealous family members, and co...

Ceuta and Melilla are enclaved cities where the European Union has land borders with the African continent, as Spain continues to lay claims within Morocco. What is Spain doing in Morocco in the first place, and what are the wider implications? In this episode, we discuss why the two cities have been described as Europe’s “dirty secret" - the over-surveillance of the walls separating Africa from E...

We have a big announcement!! Pre-order It's a Continent (2022) here: Amazon Waterstones https://linktr.ee/itsacontinent  Visit our website: itsacontinent.com Follow us on IG: itsacontinentpod and Twitter: itsacontinent. We're on Buy me a Coffee too: buymeacoffee.com/itsacontinent Hosts: Chinny: Twitter/IG: chindomiee Astrid: IG: astrid_monologuesx Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhT...

In this episode, we learn about Africa’s longest-serving dynasties, the Gnassingbé dynasty. They have ruled Togo since the late 1960s. The rise of the dynasty began with Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who forged a successful military career and became the country’s President. Following Gnassingbé’s death in 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé became President following a questionable set of parliamentary changes,...

The Chagos Islands are located in the Indian Ocean, home to Chagossians. However, the islands' sovereignty remains disputed to this day. The UK continues laying claims to the islands, despite being urged to end its unlawful occupation. In this episode we’ll focus on the expulsion of Chagossians from their home country, and the steps the British government have taken to make it more difficult for C...

We're back with a bonus episode before we return to season 3! We discuss the consequences of the trans-atlantic slave trade on the continent with our special guest, Karis. We talk about the notion of Africans selling other Africans into slavery by applying the correct lens to examine a pre-colonial continent, how the slave trade gave way to European colonisation and the importance of education and...

In this episode, we're in Tanzania discussing its stint in socialism. The country's first post-independence President, Julius Nyerere, introduced the Arusha Declaration. A vital element of the declaration was the introduction of Ujamaa which means family-hood in Swahili. Ujamaa focused on freedom, equality and unity. He believed that colonialism had brought capitalism and individualistic thinking...

In this episode we discuss Somalia's socialist government between 1969-1991. This movement was led by Mohamed Siad Barre, a Somali Communist politician. Under the Supreme Revolutionary Council, Barre transformed Somalia into a one-party Marxist-Leninist communist state, renaming the country the Somali Democratic Republic and adopting a concept called scientific socialism, with support from the Sov...

In this episode, we discuss France's relationship with its African colonies, specifically Chad. Chad became part of the French empire during the Scramble for Africa and successfully gained its independence in 1960 following the empire's disbandment. France's response to this change was to form alliances with its former colonies in order to maintain some of the political and economic benefits they...

The Herero and Namaqua genocide is still not widely discussed or taught. Between 1904-1907, hundreds of thousands of Herero and Namaqua people were starved and tortured to death in response to a rebellion against German occupation and theft of land in Namibia. In this episode we discuss racist and fascist ideologies which led to this event (and later on, the holocaust), medical racism, and reparat...

We're back with an early Christmas present - a bonus episode with Lape Banjo! Lape is a British Nigerian broadcast journalist who has worked across both UK and African networks and is currently a reporter with Sky News. She has a passion for African culture and politics and has previously worked at political organisations, including The Economic Community of West African States, and UNICEF. In thi...

In this episode we're in Madagascar, one of Africa’s island countries and the fourth largest island in the world. We explore the Malagasy Uprising which took place between 1947-1948. The uprising saw thousands of Malagasy people fight the French to regain ownership of their country. The French government had suspicions that the uprising wasn’t just caused by Malagasy groups, but also their Europea...

Queen Nzinga was one of the greatest female rulers of the continent, ruling over the Kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba (modern day Angola). She was made famous by fighting against the slave trade and European influence. In this episode, we're taking it back to pre-colonial times and discuss how Queen Nzinga fought off Portuguese invasions and slave raids for more than 30 years. Apologies for the soun...

South Sudan gained independence from the Republic of Sudan in 2011. In this episode, we discuss South Sudan’s arduous road having struggled through two civil wars spanning over 20 years. South Sudan’s current state of affairs has very much been influenced by its relationship with the Republic of Sudan, in particular, conflict over regional borders and oil revenue. Music provided by Free Vibes: htt...

Steve Biko was a revolutionary and activist often regarded as the father of the Black Consciousness Movement, empowering black South Africans in the fight against apartheid. Biko was viewed as one of the first prolific anti-apartheid icons, and is viewed as a political martyr. In this episode we'll look at Biko's story, his impact and his legacy. Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhTg...

Following Germany's defeat in WW1, Cameroon was split and handed over to France and Britain - with the majority of the country under French rule alongside a small British minority. Upon reunification, this uneven split has lead to the country facing a socio-political issue involving minority English speakers and the declaration of the self-declared state Ambazonia. In this episode we discuss the h...

Western Sahara is often described as Africa’s last colony. Since 1884 the people of Western Sahara, the Sahrawis, have been fighting to regain access and ownership of their country from their former coloniser Spain, and most recently Morocco. The United Nations describes Western Sahara’s current situation as an ‘incomplete process of decolonisation,’ however, their ability to bring it to an end ha...

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was a divisive figure, as he represented very different things to different people. We begin the first episode of season two by discussing what motivated Gaddafi's Pan-Africanist ideas, as well as the impact of Arab colonisation in Northern Africa and the idea behind the term "sub-Saharan Africa".  Don't forget to leave us a review on your podcast platform! We are on Instag...

On the 6th March 1957, Ghana gained independence from British colonial rule, changing its name from the Gold Coast. In this episode we discuss the events leading to independence - from the mistreatment of African soldiers fighting for Allied forces in WW2, to a new constitution. We also draw similarities to Ghana's road to independence with the recent Black Lives Matter protests, demonstrating how...

Wangari Maathai was a distinguished environmentalist born in Kenya during British colonial rule. As a well-educated black woman, she used her knowledge and experience to educate and mobilise others in her community to fight for change, but faced numerous challenges: from discrimination at work to threats from the Kenyan government. Her determination and fearlessness never waned as she continued to...

Quite often – and misleadingly, Liberia is referred to as one of the only two African countries that were not colonised. Whilst Liberia was not carved up by Europeans in the Scramble for Africa, the country was actually founded by the American colonisation society, and many freed black Americans were sent to live in Liberia, despite living in America for generations. These black Americans and thei...