On this day — January 24 in African history

Enslaved and freed Muslims of West African origin staged the Malê Revolt in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, one of the largest urban slave uprisings in the Americas.

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Boer forces halted a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith at the Battle of Spion Kop, inflicting a costly defeat on British troops during the Second Boer War.

European settler militants seized government buildings in Algiers in an insurrection known as 'barricades week', protesting French moves toward Algerian self-determination.

Thesupermat — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rokia Traoré, Malian singer-songwriter celebrated for blending traditional Malian instruments with contemporary sounds, was born.