PhilBowles
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- Nov 20, 2011
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I don't know the Ashanti or Kanem, but I'll give it a shot (though African history is something I know less about than European or tropical Asian history).
ZULU
The Zulu are an ethnic group of Bantu-speaking people in part of what's now South Africa. In the 19th Century there was a short-lived unification of Zulu tribes under the warrior leader Shaka. The Zulu are well-known to the British for their surprise victory over colonial forces at the Battle of Isandlhwana; the Michael Caine film Zulu based on this and the story of the costly British victory at Rourke's Drift seems to have popularised them internationally, and is probably responsible for their original inclusion in Civ 1 as the representative of Africa. The Zulus lasted around 30 years as a power; after Shaka's assassination by Zulu rivals they broke up as a unified force.
Chances: Very high. The Zulu have been in all incarnations of Civ and have been the single most-requested returnee. Shaka is a popular leader. Although ultimately of no geopolitical consequence during the Scramble for Africa, the Zulu are seen as synonymous with this period and were in conflict with the colonial powers. If there is at least one civ to derive from that scenario, it will almost certainly be the Zulu - civs like Kongo and Portugal had their heyday a century or two earlier.
Cons: There's some resistance to tribal civs because in principle a tribal culture is not a civilization. However, this 'rule' has already been broken in Civ V (most egregiously with the Celts). There is only one Zulu city, BUlaweyo, which was not part of Shaka's kingdom - older Civ games have got round this by naming Zulu cities after battlefields.
NUBIA
Nubia was a significant civilization of classical antiquity, one of the earliest to develop agriculture in the Nile Valley and a longtime rival and eventual conquest of Egypt. Individual Nubian kingdoms never approached the power or longevity of the Egyptians, however Nubia retained a degree of independence in some form well into the late Middle Ages, resisting Arabisation until the start of the 16th Century. When people think of Nubia it is nevertheless the Nubia of antiquity (Kush) they mean; an often quoted statistic is that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt, testifying to the longevity and extent of Nubian civilization.
Chances: Indeterminate. They've recently come to prominence as a popular fan suggestion, but a classical African civilisation in North Africa seems an odd addition to BNW. I'd say that at best they're a dark horse candidate.
MOORS
The Moors were the dominant Islamic culture of the Middle Ages; indeed the name was used indiscriminately by Europeans to describe Arabic and Berber peoples generally. They played an important role in European history, and controlled much of Spain and, at times, other parts of the European mainland. Most importantly as a civilization, they (and the Arabs) were the repository of much of Greece's intellectual heritage, from which they developed the modern foundations of mathematics, medicine and astronomy. Morocco itself was an important and wealthy medieval and Renaissance kingdom, and the base of the Almohad dynasty that controlled Moorish territories in Europe.
Chances: Again, indeterminate. The Moors are one of the characteristic major civilisations of Mediterranean history, and among the few not to have been represented in Civ. As the number of civs in the game rises to 43, their omission seems increasingly strange.
KONGO
Kongo was the largest single African state, encompassing much of southern Central Africa. It originated in the late 14th Century and was finally formally dissolved in 1914, so it was roughly as long-lived as the Ottoman Empire, although it was under colonial rule during part of the intervening period. It was an advanced, developed trading state by the time of Portuguese contact, and during the European colonial period Kongo developed an extensive slave trade to supply the Europeans. It variously allied with both the Portuguese and the Dutch, and defeated the Portuguese (both independently and with Dutch help) on several occasions, before eventually being weakened by the end of the slave trade and internecine warfare.
Chances: High. Kongo is one of the most-requested civilizations that has never previously been in the game, and likely has the best chance of any non-Zulu civilization out of all the African candidates. Kongo was never part of the period generally known as the Scramble for Africa, which was mainly Anglo-German-Dutch rivalry in southern and southeastern Africa during the 19th Century, a period when Kongo was first in civil war and later ceded to the Portuguese by European treaty, however it sounds from hints so far as though the scenario will have a wider remit than the 'classical' Scramble for Africa.
SWAHILI
The Swahili are an language group who founded a number of independent trade-focused states in coastal East Africa during the Middle Ages. Their chances for inclusion in the expansion are nonexistent despite the trade focus since their best-known city-state - Zanzibar - is still a city-state in BNW.
MERINA KINGDOM
Madagascar has eight major ethnic groups, most of ethnic Malay descent with an origin in what is now Indonesia. The Merina are the inhabitants of the island's high central plateau; by the 16th Century they had developed a feudal culture while much of the rest of the island was tribal and agrarian; by the time of major European contact (the Portuguese had established trading ports in the north, but it was mainly the British and French who were involved in Madagascar's development) a kingdom was in the process of consolidating the entire island into a single state. European powers facilitated this process and assisted with Madagascar's rapid technological development - the London Missionary Society played a key role in developing the country's education system and creating factories to produce products for export (including firearms). The British of the 18th and 19th Centuries were interested in influencing Madagascar as a regional ally; the French wanted it as a colony. The Malagasy themselves tried to play off the rival powers; when Europeans tried to introduce a written language, the Malagasy queen Ranavalona I decreed that consonants would take on the English sounds, and vowels the French!
Chances: A dark horse, but a credible one. Madagascar was not part of the 'Scramble for Africa' but was active in the right time period and just off the mainland. Ranavalona was a strong, albeit brutal, queen who could provide a female African leader (something Firaxis may want). Madagascar's precolonial history is one of playing major powers off against each other so it may tie well with the expansion's diplomatic theme. Modern Madagascar is known mostly for wildlife tourism.
on the list!) IIRC Mediolanum was the ancient equivalent of Milan, but that's not a problem game-wise.
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