When We Ruled is a history of twelve African queens and warriors, praised by Bettany Hughes as ‘a history the world needs’ and by Candice Carty-Williams as ‘the history we should have learned in schools.’

In this  history, Akpan takes us into the worlds of queens and warriors who ruled vast swathes of the African continent, yet beyond the lands they called home, so few of us have ever heard their names.

 When We Ruled follows their stories and how they came to rule and influence the futures of their people. With reigns spanning pre-colonial Nigeria to the farming villages of Rwanda, the hills of Madagascar to apartheid South Africa, these ruler’s stories offer us fascinating insight into life in these regions. Akpan shows how societies thrived, expanded and fractured before colonial influence, while also exposing the deep scars colonisation left behind.

Paula Akpan is a Black British historian and writer who gained a distinction in her MA in Black British History and who has credits in Vogue, Teen Vogue, The Independent, Stylist, VICE, i-D, Bustle, Time Out London and more.

Refreshments included