1. Angola, 16th century
European colonizers “visiting” Africa in the 16th century wasted no time in imparting judgment on the cultural practices of those they’d soon be enslaving. The Portuguese, responsible for such atrocities as the genocide of indigenous Americans, wrote home about the “unnatural damnation” of homosexual male sex in the Congo. A British traveler named Andrew Battell had unkind words for the Imbangala tribe of Angola, writing, “They are beastly in their living, for they have men in women’s apparel, whom they keep among their wives.” If only British travelers had found the slave trade and violent African and Indian colonization as beastly.
Despite hating the Imbangala for their homosexuality, the Portuguese came to prize them for their ferocity in battle, which was truly legendary and fear-inducing. The Imbangala were famed for raising their children, and captives of their conquests, in a Spartan-like fashion, training children rigorously in military tactics from a young age. Ritual violence and cannibalism were common practices which, somehow, the Portuguese were fine with. The Portuguese ended up turning a blind eye to the homosexuality among the Imbangala in favor of using them as mercenaries in their war of conquest against the Angolan kingdom of Ndongo. Beastly, indeed.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“All the Periods in History When Homosexuality Was Celebrated & Embraced” David Sharp, Ranker. n.d.
“Women’s Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt” Janet H. Johnson, Fathom Archive. 2002.
“Ancient Egyptian Sexuality: Life in Ancient Egypt” Caroline Seawright, Tour Egypt. August 2013.
“China’s Misunderstood History of Gay Tolerance” Yuxin Zhang, The Diplomat. June 2015.
“Homosexuality in Japan” Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. November 2018.
“LGBT history in Uganda” Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. June 2018.
“Mwanga II of Buganda” Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. March 2018.
“Zande” Eva Gillies, UCLA. n.d.
“Imbangala” Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. January 2018.
