This critically acclaimed work provides a comprehensive history that both illuminates and clarifies events past and present. It surveys Africa’s history from its earliest beginnings to the present day, exploring themes that cut across time and place to furnish their own unity and consistency: the migrations of peoples, the power of religion, the enduring impact of Africa’s climate, and Africa’s relationship with the wider world–that is, the invasion of foreign peoples, ideas, and institutions that has been a pervasive influence in shaping African political, economic, and social life. This volume addresses the role of Africa’s women in Africa’s history, includes additional sections on slavery and the slave trade, and discusses the persistent difficulties of African societies to gain the economic and social advantages hoped for from independence. July examines Africa’s peoples and its cultures with a authority that has made this book the standard in the field and an indispensable guide to understanding the complexity of the African struggle for nationhood.
Robert W. July, received his History PhD in history from Columbia University. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Hunter College and Graduate School of the City University of New York. He has previously taught at the University of Ibadan and Kenyatta University.
