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Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. From rain-making queens to dogged isolationists, the lives and rains of Africa's

female rulers have long been shrouded in mystery, misunderstanding and misogyny. Over the centuries and across the continent,

these individuals navigated the rigid traditions of their own cultures to wield power, even to the

detriment of their subjects. Paula Akpan's new book, When We Ruled, traces the lives of 12 powerful

African women, challenging prevailing narratives to reveal

a continent shaped by matriarchy and contested memories. Danny Bird spoke to her to find out more.

I want to start by talking about the women at the heart of your book. Many of them were figures

of high social status wielding immense power. Could you tell me about

some of these individuals and the time span you cover in your book? My book spans about the last

1,000 years, beginning with 12th century Princess Moremi from Offa, but came to rule in Ileifae, in present-day Nigeria. And then we go

through to the 17th century with Njinga, who's the ruler of Matamba and Ndongo, which is now

present-day Angola, who was this gender-blurring ruler and was requiring that people

...