In East Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum connected Africa to Arabia, India, and beyond, even minting its own currency.
Africa had highly advanced societies:
Massive stone obelisks in Axum
Organized governance and armies
Sophisticated trade and economic systems
This was civilization, not chaos.
European colonization disrupted these systems.
Wealth was extracted, borders were redrawn, and local economies were reshaped to serve foreign powers.