A History of Africa Combined Edition

Written by two senior scholars, A History of Africa introduces students to the history of the world's second largest continent. While it is not possible to discuss every event that ever happened in African history, the book comprises an historical narrative emphasizing key trends and processes illustrated by detailed examples. It represents a chronological and empirical history based on scholarly research and reconstructions of Africa's past. As a continental history, it seeks to cover all regions of Africa including North Africa, a region often seen as culturally and historically distinct. Furthermore, the narrative summarizes changing views and academic debates concerning aspects of African history. Richly illustrated with numerous maps and photographs, A History of Africa is the most comprehensive story of the place all humans call home.

A History of Africa is available in a combined print or eBook volume, or in split eBook volumes (Volume One: to 1880 and Volume Two: since 1870).

Toyin Falola is Professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, the University of Texas at Austin.

Timothy Stapleton is Professor in the Department of History and fellow of the Center for Military, Strategic and Security Studies at the University of Calgary.

List of Maps
Acknowledgements
About the Author

Introduction
Images and Stereotypes
Geography
Periodization and Evidence
Historiography
South African Historiography
Terminology

PART ONE: Africa to 1880

Chapter 1. Earliest Times
Human Origins in Africa
The Advent of Herding and Farming
The Beginnings of Metallurgy
The Expansion of Bantu Languages
Conclusion

Chapter 2. Ancient North Africa
Northeast Africa: Egypt
Northeast Africa: Nubia
Northwest Africa: Berbers, Carthaginians, and Romans
Roman North Africa
Conclusion

Chapter 3. Medieval North Africa, c.800-1500 CE
Early Arab Muslim Caliphates (c.661-905)
The Fatimid Empire (905-1171)
The Ayyubid Empire (1171-1260)
Mamluk Egypt (1260-1517)
Medieval Nubia (c.650-1500)
The Almoravid Empire (1040-1147)
The Almohad Empire (1121-1269)
The Marinid, Hafsid, and Zayyanid Kingdoms (c.1200-1500) of the Maghreb
Conclusion

Chapter 4. West Africa and the Trans-Sahara Trade, c.400-1700 CE
Empires of the Sahel: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
The Trans-Sahara Trade Moves East
The Coastal Forest
Interior West Africa in the Eighteenth Century
Conclusion

Chapter 5. Ottoman North Africa, c.1500-1800
Ottoman Egypt
Sudan
The Ottoman Maghreb
Independent Morocco
Conclusion

Chapter 6. West Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, c.1500-1800
Portuguese Origins
Slavery and Conflict in West-Central Africa
Expansion of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Conclusion

Chapter 7. East Africa to c.1800
Axum
Ethiopia and Its Neighbors
The Swahili Coast
The East African Interior
Conclusion

Chapter 8. Central Africa to c.1870
The Luba Kingdom
The Lunda Empire
The Maravi Empire
The Decline of the Luba and Lunda
Societies in the Kasai Region
North of the Zambezi River: The Lozi Kingdom
The Forest and Its Northern Fringe
Conclusion

Chapter 9. Southern Africa to c.1800
Iron Age Developments
The Zimbabwe Plateau
Successor States of Great Zimbabwe
South of the Limpopo River
European Colonization in the Cape
Conclusion

Chapter 10. North Africa, c.1800-1880
Egypt
Algeria
Tunisia
Libya
Morocco
Conclusion

Chapter 11. West Africa, c.1800-1880
Abolition of the Slave Trade
West Africa's New Economy
The Spread of Christianity
European Exploration of the West African Interior
Warfare and European Intervention
Freed Slave Settlements on the Coast
Jihads in the Hinterland
Conclusion

Chapter 12. East Africa, c.1800-1880
Madagascar
Ethiopia
Great Lakes Kingdoms
Hinterland Warlords
Pastoralist Expansion
European Explorers
Conclusion

Chapter 13. Southern Africa, c.1800-1870
State Expansion and Conflict in the Southeast
British Expansion
Boer Expansion
The Zimbabwe Plateau
Conclusion

Thematic Conclusion to Part One
Communalism
Trade and Commerce
Political Organization
Family
Religion and African Spirituality

PART TWO: Africa since 1870

Chapter 14. Introduction: Africa in 1870

Chapter 15. The Scramble for Africa, c.1880-1910
North Africa
Northeast Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Central Africa
Conclusion

Chapter 16. Southern Africa's Mineral Revolution, c.1870-1910
Diamond Discovery
Gold Discovery
The Scramble in Southern Africa
The South African War (1899-1902)
Conclusion

Chapter 17. Colonial Rule in Africa: The State and the Economy, c.1900-1939
The Early Years of Colonial Rule
Colonial States
Colonial Economies
People and the Environment
Conclusion

Chapter 18. Colonial Rule in Africa: Social and Cultural Change, c.1900-1950
Religion
Class, Gender, and Ethnicity
Popular Culture
Music
Sports
Conclusion

Chapter 19. New Forms of Protest between the World Wars, 1919-1939
Armed Resistance
New Ideas: Pan-Africanism and Communism
Elite Associations
Organized Labor
Rural Protest
Conclusion

Chapter 20. Africa and the World Wars, 1914-1945
The First World War in Africa
The Second World War in Africa
Impacts of the Second World War
Conclusion

Chapter 21. Decolonization and African Nationalism, Part One: 1945-1970
Changing Imperial Policies
British West Africa
Ghana (The Gold Coast)
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
The Gambia
British East Africa
Kenya
Tanganyika
Uganda
Conclusion

Chapter 22. Decolonization and African Nationalism, Part Two: 1945-1974
French Africa
Algeria
Madagascar and Cameroon
The French Community
The Belgian Territories: Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi
Congo
Rwanda and Burundi
Portuguese Africa
Conclusion

Chapter 23. White Supremacy and Apartheid in Southern Africa, 1948-1994
South Africa
The Apartheid System
Passive Resistance to Apartheid
The Sharpeville Massacre
The End of Apartheid
South West Africa (Namibia)
Independence in South-Central Africa
Conclusion

Chapter 24. Independent Africa in the Cold War Era: State, Economy, and Culture, c. 1960-1990
Military Coups and Regimes
Capitalism and Socialism in Africa
Personalist Dictatorships
Culture
Music
Literature
Conclusion

Chapter 25. Independent Africa in the Cold War Era: Cooperation and Conflict, 1960-1990
International Organizations
Regional Organizations
Civil Wars
Congo
Nigeria
Sudan
Inter-State Wars
Egypt and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Angola
The Horn of Africa
Chad
Conclusion

Chapter 26. Independent Africa after the Cold War: State, Economy, and Conflict
Democratization
Civil Wars in West Africa
Liberia and Sierra Leone
Cote D'Ivoire and Nigeria
Democracy and Authoritarianism in Southern Africa
South Africa, Botswana and Namibia
Mozambique
Angola
Zimbabwe
Secession and Failed States in East Africa
Ethiopia
Somalia
Sudan
Uganda
War and Genocide in Central Africa
Rwanda
Burundi
Zaire/Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central African Republic
Islamist Movements and the "Arab Spring" in North Africa and the Sahara
Civil War in Algeria
Mali and Niger
North Africa
Conclusion

Chapter 27. Independent Africa after the Cold War: Health, Environment, and Culture
Health Crises
Influenza
HIV/AIDS
Ebola
COVID-19
The Environment
Climate Change
Contested Culture
Homophobia and Homosexuality
Female Genital Mutilation
Popular Culture
Film
Music
Conclusion

Thematic Conclusion to Part Two
The Partition of Africa
Resistance to Colonial Conquest
Colonialism and "Modernization"
Colonial Economy and the State
Nationalism and the Decolonization of Africa
Africa and the Age of Political Independence
The Inherited Identity; Democracy and Democratic Practices in Africa
Post Independent African States and the Colonial Structure
Integration of African States and the Development of Regional Intergovernmental Bodies

Epilogue Future Africa
Further Reading
Credits
Index