THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF THE ALMORAVIDS (MOORS)
The almoravids were a fanatical group of islamized West Africans from deep within the Senegal river, who had gone up to the Iberian peninsula and taken over the lands of the Visigoths, an European tribe that was in what became Spain. This had collapsed the Visigoth kingdom, starting from 711 CE.
The Almoravids had taken over what became Portugal as well, and had moved up into the South of France. Their advance into Europa was halted by Charles Martel.
Their control of the Iberian peninsula brought material civilization into the South of Europa that made Portugal and Spain the most Advanced places in Europa. This had made Portugal to become the maritime nation of Europa, followed by Spain. Britain and France were to join the seafaring countries of Europa in the 16th century CE.
During the rule of these Africans in Spain, the Jews in the south of Europa were liberated from the repressive control of the Visigoths. Street lighting was introduced into Spain for the first time during the reign of these Africans. Statecraft and organized agriculture was also introduced, modelled after the agriculture of the regions of the Niger river in West Africa.
Before then, no European country had ever become an agricultural society. That was to come into some societies of Europa in the 18th century CE. Soap was introduced by the Romans into Europa during the era of PAX Romana in the 1st century CE, but by the 7th century CE, after the fall of Rome, Europe had forgotten soap.
Queen Victoria once boasted that she was 'the most clean person in Europe,' for taking one bath in a month. According to historian, Walter Rodney, in 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa', the idea in Oxford of the 14th century CE was that "bathing was a dangerous affair" and Europeans desisted from bathing. This had brought about deadly plagues in Medieval Europe, so much so that historian and Anthropologist, Ivan Van Sertima (in the Golden Age of The Moor) stated that when people in Europe took out garbage in the morning, dead bodies were also collected and disposed of, daily.
The Almoravids had changed the situation by reintroducing bath houses and soap into the lands they controlled. This was to later spread into Europe over several centuries.
The university of Salamanca, in Spain, was the first university in Europe, it was modelled after the university of Djenne in West Africa, a university that began from the 3rd century CE. It was built and taught in by African scribes and later some Jews from north Africa. The number system, known to us today as hindu-arabic numerals (123) was brought into Europe by these Africans from the Senegal river. 'zero' was later introduced by the Arabs. Europeans of this era had rejected this number system as "signs of the devil." Europeans who were caught using these member system risked being lynched. This had slowed down the development of mathematics and engineering in Europe until about the 13th century CE when Europe decided to connect back to Roman ways (and of course, Greek ways), that it had rejected in the 5th century CE; a situation that, among many other awkward events of that time, had led to the collapse of the western Roman empire.
Public water system, air-conditioning, eyeglasses (which were first produced in the university of Djenne in the 11th century CE), paved roads, literature, musical instruments, university education, science, medicine, organized architecture, alchemy and so on were introduced into most of Europe from Spain where the Africans had settled. This was to later birthed the 'renaissance era' in Europa (which became Europe in the 17th century CE).
In the 14th century CE, these Africans began to fight among themselves, together with the Arabs. Almoravids, Almahads and Ummayads Muslims were often in disagreement, while at the same time, Christianity that had began to spread into most of Europe from the 9th century CE was unifying European tribes like the Magyars (under Almos), Lombards, Goths, Franks, Saxons, Gauls and so on under the Papacy.
In 1455 CE, Pope Nicholas V., wrote a Roman bull (Romanus pontifex), declaring all Moors, Saracens and non-christian black-skinned people to be sentenced to perpetual slavery and charged as heretics during the early stages of the inquisition. On February, 2, 1492, Africans that were known as Moors in Europe (like the Moor in Shakespeare's Othello) surrendered all their castles in the Iberian peninsula with Spain claiming more of the Moorish territories.
The persecutions that followed was so great and inhumane, to a point that the new caliph of the Ottoman empire had to send ships to escort fleeing Jews to settle in his conquered lands. Those Africans who were Christians remained a part of Europa up to the 18th century CE, even after racialism became prevalent in Europe. Among such was king Kasper (whose statue was erected in Schaffhausen, Switzerland in 1520 CE), St Maurice (who was from what is today Nigeria) and several notable African figures in Medieval Europe.
Some Africans had fled back to North and West Africa, especially into Mauritania, Morocco and the Songhai empire. This eventually brought unrest into West Africa that had spread down to the Songhai empire and led to its collapse in 1593 CE, under emperor Askia Ishaq. This had happened when the Moroccan crown hired Judar Pasha and European mercenaries to loot Songhai empire, using canons and gunpowder which was yet to be introduced at a large scale in West Africa. It had taken 1400 goldsmiths to melt down the gold that was brought back to Morocco by Judar Pasha in 1599 CE. Judar Pasha was given 30 camels load of gold for his services to the Moroccan crown.
By this time, the Almoravids were long forgotten in history.
After the fall of the Songhai empire, West Africa split into different polities as can been seen in the maps. When Europeans began invading the coastal areas, there was no organized, central polity to stand up with 'one voice' and action against the foreigners.
"The Almoravids did not change the language of the people in Spain and Portugal, they did not suppress their culture, they did not deny their humanity"
-(Dr John Henrik Clarke)
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