The Congo Free State: Leopold's Private Empire of Terror

The Herero Genocide: Germany's First Mass Murder of the 20th Century

Long before the Holocaust, Imperial Germany carried out a campaign of deliberate annihilation in its colony of German South West Africa. Between 1904 and 1908, the Herero and Nama peoples were subjected to a war of extermination that included forced marches into the Omaheke Desert, systematic concentration camps on Shark Island, and medical experiments on prisoners. This episode explores the origins of the uprising under Herero leader Samuel Maharero, the genocidal orders of General Lothar von Trotha, the role of settler colonialism, and the shadow this atrocity casts over German history. We also discuss the 2021 German government acknowledgment and the long struggle for reparations. With specific dates, military details, and the experiences of individuals like Hendrik Witbooi, we trace how a frontier rebellion became the first genocide of the 20th century. #HereroGenocide #GermanSouthWestAfrica #SamuelMaharero #LotharvonTrotha #HendrikWitbooi #Nama #OmahekeDesert #SharkIsland #Namibia #ColonialAtrocities #20thCenturyGenocide #ImperialGermany #History #FexingoHistory #ScrambleForAfrica #SettlerColonialism #Vernichtungsbefehl #Reparations Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Fashoda Incident: Britain and France Nearly Go to War Over Sudan

In 1898, a small French expedition led by Major Jean-Baptiste Marchand arrived at the abandoned fort of Fashoda on the White Nile, claiming the region for France. Waiting for them was a much larger British force under General Horatio Kitchener, fresh from his victory at Omdurman. What followed was a tense standoff that brought Europe's two largest imperial powers to the brink of war — all over a muddy outpost in South Sudan. This episode unpacks the geopolitics, the personalities, and the surprising resolution that redrew Africa's colonial map without a single shot fired between the French and British. We examine Marchand's epic two-year trek across central Africa, Kitchener's calculated diplomacy, and the role of the Suez Canal and the Nile waters in shaping the outcome. A pivotal moment that defined the boundaries of modern Sudan and cemented British dominance in the region. #Fashoda #FashodaIncident #Marchand #Kitchener #ScrambleForAfrica #Sudan #WhiteNile #Omdurman #BritishEmpire #FrenchEmpire #ColonialHistory #JeanBaptisteMarchand #HoratioKitchener #NileWaters #AfricaHistory #FexingoHistory #History #1898 Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The African Queen Who Defeated the Portuguese: Nzinga of Ndongo

This episode tells the story of Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, the 17th-century ruler who led a decades-long war of resistance against Portuguese colonialism in present-day Angola. We dive into her brilliant diplomatic maneuvers, including her famous 1622 meeting with the Portuguese governor where she used a servant as a human chair to maintain her status. We explore her alliances with the Dutch, her use of enslaved Portuguese deserters to modernize her army, and the significance of her transformation from a monarch into a guerrilla military leader after her brother's death. We also touch on the cultural context of Ndongo society, the role of the ngola (divine king), and how Nzinga's legacy was later distorted by European accounts. The conversation highlights her strategic genius in playing European powers against each other and her complex relationship with the transatlantic slave trade. #QueenNzinga #Ndongo #Matamba #PortugueseColonialism #Angola #AfricanResistance #FemaleWarrior #17thCentury #SlaveTrade #DutchWestIndiaCompany #MilitaryHistory #Diplomacy #GuerrillaWarfare #ColonialWars #AfricanHistory #History #FexingoHistory #ScrambleForAfrica Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Arms Trade That Fueled the Scramble for Africa

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore one of the most consequential yet overlooked forces behind the Scramble for Africa: the international arms trade. Before European conquests could begin, African kingdoms had to be outgunned—and that required a massive flow of firearms from European and American factories. They trace the journey of thousands of breech-loading rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition from Liège and Birmingham to the coasts of West and Central Africa, where they were exchanged for palm oil, ivory, and rubber. The episode examines how King Leopold II's Congo Free State used the arms trade as a tool of control, flooding the region with cheap guns to fuel conflicts and extract resources. It also looks at the unintended consequences: African armies like Samory Touré's Sofa warriors used European weapons to resist colonization for years. The conversation touches on the role of Zanzibar's sultanate as a trading hub, the impact of the 1890 Brussels Act which tried (and largely failed) to regulate the traffic, and how the gun trade reshaped power dynamics from the savannah to the rainforest. A revealing look at how commerce and violence intertwined to redraw Africa's map. #History #FexingoHistory #ScrambleForAfrica #ArmsTrade #KingLeopoldII #CongoFreeState #SamoryTouré #BrusselsAct1890 #Liège #Birmingham #BreechLoaders #IvoryTrade #RubberTrade #Zanzibar #SofaWarriors #WestAfrica #CentralAfrica #Colonialism Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Scramble for Africa: The Forgotten Resistance of the Mandinka Empire

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the resistance of the Mandinka Empire under Samory Touré against French colonial expansion in West Africa. Samory Touré, a brilliant military strategist and state-builder, created the Wassoulou Empire, modernizing his army with captured firearms and implementing a sophisticated scorched-earth strategy. The episode covers his early rise as a Dyula trader, his capture of Kankan, his conflict with the French under Colonel Borgnis-Desbordes, and the eventual fall of his empire in 1898. It also examines the role of the Sofa army, the Treaty of Niako, and Samory's legacy as a symbol of African resistance. The conversation highlights the complexities of pre-colonial statecraft and the often-overlooked African perspective on the Scramble for Africa. #SamoryTouré #WassoulouEmpire #MandinkaResistance #ScrambleForAfrica #FrenchColonialism #SofaArmy #Kankan #Niako #BorgnisDesbordes #WestAfrica #PrecolonialAfrica #AfricanHistory #ColonialResistance #19thCentury #EmpireBuilding #History #FexingoHistory #AfricanEmpires Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]