African History A Very Short Introduction [Paperback]

ThisVery Short Introductionlooks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented, both in Africa and beyond. The author illustrates important aspects of Africa's history with a range of fascinating historical examples, drawn from over 5 millennia across this vast continent. The multitude of topics that the reader will learn about in this succinct work include the unity and diversity of African cultures, slavery, religion, colonial conquest, the diaspora, and the importance of history in understanding contemporary Africa. The book examines questions such as: Who invented the idea of Africa ? How is African history pieced together, given such a lack of documentary evidence? How did Africa interact with the world 1,000 years ago?

Africa has been known as 'the cradle of mankind', and its recoverable history stretches back to the Pharaohs. But the idea of studying African history is itself new, and the authors show why it is still contested and controversial. ThisVSI, the first concise work of its kind, will prove essential reading for anyone interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history.

1. The idea of Africa
2. Africans: unity and diversity
3. Africa's past: historical sources
4. Africa in the world
5. Colonial rule in Africa
6. Imagining the future, rebuilding the past
7. Past and present, memory and forgetting

John Parkerteaches African history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He specializes in the history of Ghana and is the author ofMaking the Town: Ga State and Society in Early Colonial Accraand (with Jean Allman)Tongnaab: The History of a West African God. He is currently researching a book on the history of death and burial in Ghana.

Richard Rathboneis Honorary Professor of History in the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Emeritus Professor in l.