@re.john21: “If Africans were so advanced, why didn’t they invade Europe and enslave Europeans?” Since when did military conquest become the measure of technological achievement? In this episode of History Speaks, we respond to some remarkable questions about Africa’s ancient ironworking industries. Did Africans simply forget how to produce iron? Was production large enough to qualify as industry? And were these technologies limited to just a handful of communities? From the iron furnaces of Bassar in present-day Togo to the ironworking traditions of Nok, Lejja, Meroë, the Haya and the Mafa, the archaeological record tells a much richer story. We also examine why industries decline, why ancient Phoenician achievements remain historically significant despite the disappearance of their city-states, and why conquest is not a measure of technological intelligence. An army is not a furnace. A slave ship is not a measure of intelligence. #africa #discover #explore #History #story
C. Anre John
Region: US
Monday 26 October 2026 21:45:04 GMT
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Elheim :
Our education and cultural beliefs were not built on domination and savagery. The kingdoms of Africa was more focused on healthy communal living war was not the goal of their civilizations.
2026-10-26 21:55:19
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Phina :
Native American agriculture and politics were incredibly advanced and efficient in a lot of ways, allowing for extensive trade routes and massive religious ceremonies because safety could largely be assured when traveling. I mentioned it once in a comment and someone said, "how did that work out for them? Europe was stronger and killed them."
And all I could think was, "Admitting that you can't imagine culture and progress without violence and that your ancestors couldn't create anything without stealing it from people they murdered isn't the flex you think it is."
I really don't think a lot of that kind of person understands that white people aren't the originators of almost anything, really. Everything they "discovered" or "developed" was taken from other cultures and yet they think it's theirs because they killed people for it.
2026-10-27 07:21:07
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👑Malainayo👑 :
What the hell type of question is that??
2026-10-26 23:46:49
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BigL :
What they consider technology is weapons
2026-10-27 19:35:28
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Tenn 26 :
the same question can be asked if CHINA why is it so dominant NOW and wasn't in the 16 th or 17 th centuries
2026-10-26 22:40:26
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DeAun :
Well put.
2026-10-27 20:57:39
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Jjenette :
Greed is a way of life for some people.
2026-10-27 04:21:11
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FriedChickenconnisuer :
Cause We ain't evil 😭
2026-10-27 08:07:11
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ArchaeoloGuy :
It’s not my area of expertise in the least but that sounds like an an iron industry to me. That’s so cool! I would love to read more on this topic, do you have any suggestions on where to start?
2026-10-27 20:23:35
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Kira 🇨🇦🇹🇿 :
Thank you for saying it out loud.
2026-10-27 04:01:09
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SapphicMoca :
Whilst I didn't know about this, I'm not surprised that there were iron industries. This is cool shit and information benefits all when spread
2026-10-27 16:08:40
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Tégo :
ironwork and agriculture were two reasons they brought us over here lol
2026-10-27 02:14:14
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barbarafolse :
I think it's because they were so advanced that they DID NOT desire to enslave other people.
2026-10-27 04:27:52
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Ebony K :
Purpose of colonization was to steal resources for the mother country! To steal wealth and take it to the mother country! Africans had no need to do that because of the wealth in Africa now that’s my opinion I ain’t asking nobody to believe it
2026-10-26 23:33:45
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Tim Brooks :
This was extremely well said
2026-10-26 23:49:23
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BLAKSMYTH :
Well said Brother 💪🏾
2026-10-27 01:54:06
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Karen the Invincible :
I’m so glad you are here, spreading truth. Sincerely enjoy your content.
2026-10-27 01:47:52
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Tyler Sheeks :
didn't the Europeans show up to west Africa at the tail end of a couple of empires?
kinda like the barbarian tribes picking apart Rome
2026-10-27 03:37:21
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Mr M :
Our ancestors in Jamaica 🇯🇲 learnt their Irons work from their African ancestors. The British stole their technology and moved that to England. This help started the west Industrial Revolution.
2026-10-27 02:11:27
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Savri :
Well said brother
2026-10-27 02:32:53
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Learn Marxism, screw Zionism. :
The reason why people associate conquest with technological advancement is because the army is associated with huge sources of labor-power (the capacity to work). Capitalism did not naturally accrue labor-power for the capitalist class, it coerced and enslaved people in order to work in the factory through economic violence and military violence. If you did not cooperate with capitalists, you were forced into the reserved army of labor, the unemployed and under-employed people who are barely given enough to survive, thus forces them to aid in technological advancement or die from social murder. The reason why the supremacist does not see this murder is because it is disguised as a natural death, it's because they are conditioned to view unemployed people as lazy. This directly fuels into the conception that only capitalist accumulation represents technological advancement and "civilized" society, as not submitting to the capitalist is viewed as "barbaric" and "unrational".
2026-10-27 02:52:25
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tracytalks29 :
🔥💪🏽🔥💪🏽🔥💪🏽 thank you for posting.
2026-10-27 06:26:03
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Vonz :
American education also likes to skip the part about the Moors
2026-10-26 23:55:55
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Omar "Rivera" :
Daniel.7:7 🇺🇲
2026-10-27 16:08:29
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IhaveAnxiety :
Such an ignorant argument for that person to put forth on a historical basis. Lack of conquest in Europe doesn't mean technology didn't exist.
The Moors did conquer parts of Europe, and the Ottomans, and the Mongols did too. It's just that Africa is so gargantuan and diverse that the various kingdoms, clans, tribes, empires, etc etc didn't have reason to go ten thousand mikes north just for resources or whatever. Europe pushed west to the Americas and south around Africa because the European kingdoms couldn't go through the Ottomans.
2026-10-27 00:05:23
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