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From Timbuktu to Venice: The Global Currency Shock of 1324

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  The Global Stage Before Mali’s Gold Shock Before the 14th century, Venice was already a financial superpower . The city-state controlled Mediterranean shipping lanes, dominated salt and spice traffic, and operated extensive loan networks that financed crusades, pilgrimages, nobles, and popes. Venice’s bankers functioned as proto-central banks, lending at calculated interest to kingdoms without any political army behind them—only ports and credit. Professor Frederic C. Lane explained that Venice’s political stability made its treasury unusually dependable : “Venice attracted capital because it was one of the rare Italian cities whose constitutional structure prevented the concentration of wealth into the tyrannical hands of a single family.” Lane, Venice: A Maritime Republic . The gold that serviced this system came primarily from Europe and North Africa —but was limited. Venetian coins, financiers, and insurers operated in an economy where the value of gold was stable, car...
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Africans Who Ruled the Holy Land: The Forgotten Governors, Generals, and Kings

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The Holy Land—stretching across ancient Israel, Palestine, Jordan, parts of Syria, and Lebanon—is often imagined as a region shaped exclusively by Near Eastern and Mediterranean peoples. But the historical record tells a different, more complex story: Africans not only lived in the Holy Land—they ruled parts of it, governed its cities, commanded its armies, and shaped its politics for centuries. Ancient texts, archaeology, and modern academic studies reveal a deep African presence — particularly Egyptian, Nubian, and sometimes Ethiopian — in the governance of the Levant. Their influence spans from the Late Bronze Age through the Classical period and into the early Christian and Islamic eras.   1. The Egyptian Pharaohs Who Ruled Canaan For nearly 400 years, much of the Holy Land was under direct Egyptian rule. Cities like Megiddo, Hazor, Jaffa, Lachish, and Gaza were governed by Egyptian commanders or loyal vassals. Egypt’s control is confirmed by the Amarna Letters , a co...
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Black Lineages in Ancient Cyprus: African Presence in a Mediterranean Crossroads

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Cyprus, located at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe, was never an isolated island. For thousands of years it served as a major node in a network connecting Egypt, Nubia, the Levant, Anatolia, and the wider Mediterranean world. While the idea of “Black lineages” in ancient Cyprus is sometimes exaggerated by modern myths, archaeology clearly shows that people of African origin—Egyptian, Nubian, Kushite, and other Nile Valley groups—moved through, lived in, or influenced the island in various periods . Modern scholarship paints a picture of Cyprus as a multicultural hub in which Africans were one of many groups participating in trade, religion, and military life.   Cyprus and Africa: A Very Old Connection Egyptian–Cypriot contact dates back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE. Cypriot copper traveled to Egypt, and Egyptian goods made their way to the island. Archaeologist Edgar Peltenburg notes: “Cyprus and Egypt were in continuous contact throughout the Bronze Ag...
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Transnational Corporations in Nigeria: Contributions, Contradictions, and Neo-Colonial Realities

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  Transnational Corporations (TNCs), also referred to as multinational enterprises, have been key actors in Nigeria’s political economy since the colonial era. From the early commercial ventures of the Royal Niger Company to the modern operations of Shell, Chevron, Unilever, MTN, and Nestlé, these corporations have profoundly shaped Nigeria’s development trajectory. Their presence, however, remains a paradox — simultaneously driving economic modernization and perpetuating structural dependency. As Stephen Hymer (1976) notes in his seminal work The International Operations of National Firms , TNCs are “not merely vehicles of trade, but instruments of control over production and distribution systems across national boundaries.” This dual role — as agents of growth and domination — forms the basis of Nigeria’s complex relationship with TNCs.   Positive Contributions of TNCs in Nigeria Capital Inflow and Employment Creation TNCs have provided Nigeria with substantial...
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