5 Ancient African social structures that thrived before colonisers imposed western versions

Nri Kingdom

Stateless Societies

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Stateless societies were smaller than city-states but bigger and more advanced than Hunter-gatherer communities. A stateless society had no form of leadership or governance and often rose through the coming together of hunter-gatherer states with exiled citizens of other societies include slaves seeking refuge. Such societies often dealt with issues democratically and became important trade centuries.

Unlike city-states, stateless societies lasted longer because of their strategic development as trading routes and centres. Many of the citizens in such societies were middlemen and explorers and gained contact with the Europeans first.