The popular notion praises the idea that Feudalism was/is an European idea,I don't find this to be totally accurate. I'm not defusing this notion instead I'm introducing a new notion "Feudalism in Africa".
Feudalism is a social system popularly directed to medieval Europe, it is a combination of legal, economical, military and social customs, structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor. It was system in which people were given lands and protection by people of higher rank that worked and fought for them in return. It is said to have evolved in western Europe in the 8th and 9th centuries, it is older .
This is not based on assumptions, I grew up in a Yoruba land in west Africa ,growing up learning the history of my people was a crucial part of the Yoruba culture ,though the social class order wasn't necessarily mentioned frequently but the social institution of ancient Yoruba empires or kingdoms(Oyo-Empire, ile-ife) were passed down to the current generation of dying monarchical authorities, there has always been a regional lord (BAALE) that pays tributes to a king or an higher lord ,this has been around for as long as the Yorubas first migrated to Ile-Ife.
I am positive that this is the same for the other tribes in Western Africa dating back centuries . Feudalism couldn't have been an European idea, the great Mensa Musa had provinces that tribute to his throne in his great Malian city. I was hoping to give name to this western Africa hierarchical titles , but they are out of my social circle a fact i blame on my social ignorance. I do firmly believe this system existed and still does , Africans fought battles for territories and resources before their conquests against European invasion they fought wars too, the stories of Sango and Ogun , ifabunmi cannot totally be fairy tales. Shaka Zulu is said to have totally reconstructed ancient African warfare in his time.
There were some ancient African kingdoms , through the 7th to the 3rd centuries , they ruled over the shores communities across of the Red sea, societies like Adulis that paid tribute to the kingdom of Axum , i feel it is safe to say that the Nubian Empire had provinces which they ruled over,proving my case Feudalism is older than Medieval Europe. I understand that to discuss Feudalism is to discuss Europe, i find this to be fanciful and concocted as history did not shed enough light on Africa besides stories about slaves and the imperial strength of colonialism, no one really asks what Africa was before that. No one asks questions about the social or political structure of Africa before colonialism, no one asks about the topography , military strengths and intra-Africa diplomacy that existed before imperialism and slavery broke through the continent.
Social class system is another factor Africa should be credited for , Plato classified his class system; Ruler , producers and soldiers, i am not sure he intend to but he basically described the social class order of ancient Africa , the idea of upper class,middle and lower classes totally disrupted the social structure of Africa so this Plato's representation of a society quickly faded away. Africans also ran city state systems ( Timburktu, Axum, Zaria) they were cities ruling over country-sides, river side communities , let also not disregard the fact that African immigrated around a lot
, constantly setting up new settlements across the second biggest continent in the world and out the world like the indigenous black culture in Australia.
My argument is based on the perspective of my society and my ethnic group , the history of the Yoruba people though vague, its social and political institutions from the time before imperialism survived. Although the power of monarchs has been greatly tampered with in recent time due to the totalitarianism of African democracy, in places like Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun and so on, this rigged form of feudalism survived ,the descendants of old kings and nobles still bear this mantle.
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