GENERAL HISTORY OF AFRICA-VI

Volume VI of the UNESCO General History of Africa covers the history of Africa from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the onset of the European ’scramble” for colonial territory in the 1880s.

In spite of growing European commercial, religious and political presence during the century, outside influences were felt indirectly most African societies, and they made a variety of culturally distinctive attempts to modernize, expand and develop. Two influential sequences of events – The Mfecane in Southern Africa with its ramification in Central and East Africa, and the movements of Muslim reformers in West Africa-owed little or nothing to foreign influences and figure prominently in eight of the chapters.

The book opens with four thematic chapters examining the major forces at work in African society at the beginning of the century; Africa’s changing role in the world-economy; new trends and processes; and the effects of the abolition of the slave trade. These are followed by twenty-three chapters detailing developments in the various regions. Two concluding chapters trace the African diaspora and assess the state of the Continent’s political, economic and cultural development on the eve of the European conquest.

Each chapter is illustrated with black and white photographs, maps and figures. The text is fully annotated and there is an extensive bibliography of works relating to the period.

Editor: F.F. Ade Ajayi

ISBN:9789966259875