Africans in Southern Europe
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Welcome to Europe Level 1, Lesson 2: Africans in Southern Europe
In this lesson, you will learn about:
The Kushites in Europe
The Phoenicians
Africans in Greece
The Romans
The Moors
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will understand:
Where the Kushites occupied
Where the Phoenicians set up their colony
Who Saint Maurice was
When the Moors conquered Spain
Who built the city of Cordova
The cultural advancements of the Moors
The Black population of Lisbon in the 16th century
Between 2500 and 3000 years ago Africans were travelling into Europe for various reasons.
The Kushites invaded parts of Europe during the height of their empire and occupied sections of modern-day Spain and the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians, who were a mix of Africans and Asians, also traveled into Europe. As they traveled often, they set up a colony in Spain. This was a place where they could dock their ships and stock up on products before continuing their journey into Northern Europe.
Africans were also in Greece around this time. Prior to their invasion, Greece had connections to Kemet, and many scientists and philosophers would travel to Kemet to study. Naturally, some people of Kemet would also travel to Greece. Once Greece invaded and ruled Kemet, an increase in this mutual migration was observed.
2000 years ago the Roman Empire conquered parts of North Africa, and many Africans joined their ranks. African soldiers were stationed right across Europe in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Britain. Africans weren’t just soldiers, however, and many high ranking officials were Black such as Saint Maurice, the leader of the Roman Theban Legion. The African presence in Europe continued for hundreds of years.
Approximately 1300 years ago, Africans emerged in Europe in huge numbers. The Moors, who were predominantly Black Muslims from North Africa, invaded and conquered Spain. The country was then ruled by an Afro-Arab Islamic collective stemming from Yemen, Arabia and North Africa. The Muslim city of Cordova was then built in southern Spain with paved streets drained by sewers, raised pavements and street lamps. Valencia and Granada were also significant cities. Portugal was subsequently conquered as this area of Europe, known as the Iberian Peninsula, became Islamic with a huge African population. About 100 years later, the Moors also conquered southern Italy.
The Moors introduced many scientific, cultural and agricultural practices into Europe. The practice of bathing twice a day with soap came from the Moors, who also introduced toothpaste. The guitar and other stringed instruments were also brought into Europe via the Moors. Libraries were set up in Cordova that held 400,000 books. Manuscripts on ethics, language, philosophy, religion, mathematics, astronomy, agriculture and other subjects were all found in Moorish libraries.
Methods of navigation were developed by the Moors and taught to the sailors of Europe. The mathematics of algebra and algorithms were also brought into Europe from the Moors, as denoted by their name, Al, meaning the in Arabic. Finally, the 0-9 number system used throughout the world today was brought into Europe via the Moors, although this system originally came from India.
After the fall of the Moorish Empire in 1492, Africans continued to live throughout Europe. Black people were ever-present during Europe’s Renaissance Period, dwelling throughout the western and southern portions of the continent and even as far as Russia. During the centuries of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Africans were still living in Europe. They were sometimes students who were the offspring of African royalty or the sons of white plantation owners. Others were formerly enslaved and had gotten their freedom through a variety of means. In 16th-century Lisbon, Black people made up as much as 20% of the city’s population.
The Black presence in Europe stretches back millennia, and Africans have influenced Europe culturally and scientifically for thousands of years.