There were numerous emperors, kings and other hereditary rulers of nations in pre-colonial Africa, though European conquerors with racist perspectives common in the age of empire often demeaned them as only ‘chiefs’ of ‘tribes’.

Many of the African rulers lost their political power under European overlordship, though their dynasties retained much cultural influence. Some managed to stave off foreign occupation, at least for a while, and a few even survived under colonial rule – and afterwards. In this podcast, we look at one of the most famous African sovereigns, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia – still revered by Rastafarians.

Then, with Dr Hilary Sapire of Birkbeck, University of London, we turn to the Zulu dynasty of South Africa: kings who defeated the British, then were vanquished by them, but whose dynasty survived colonialism, apartheid and the transition to democracy.

Image - Emperor Haile SelassieI on Coronation Day (1930) - Creative Commons

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