A history of modern Africa : 1800 to the present / Richard J. Reid.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reid, Richard J. (Richard James)

Series:

Concise history of the modern world

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Africa--History.

Africa.

History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 386 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, U.K. ; Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

Summary:

As the world's second largest continent, Africa is home to a treasure trove of history. The geographical range of its environments and landscapes is only exceeded by - and inextricably intertwined with - the stunning diversity of its people, languages, and cultures. Much of Africa's variety is reflected in the dynamic historical events that transpired over the last 200 years. During this period the continent's population incorporated vastly different systems of polity, economy, and belief.

A History of Modern Africa recounts the full breadth of the last two centuries of African history. Author Richard Reid takes us on a thought-provoking and illuminating journey through the slave trade and colonization to the rise of Islam, struggles for independence, and beyond. Readers will see how Africa's rich diversity began to reemerge during the post-colonial era and discover the contrasting periods of despair and hope that emerged with it: the comforting dullness of Botswana and genocidal horrors of Rwanda; the bureaucratic routine of Ghanaian elections and violent political upheavals of Zimbabwe. Throughout these landmark events, Reid is ever sensitive to the richness and variety of Africa's people and societies, cultures, and cosmology. A History of Modern Africa is an essential recounting of the turning points of Africa's past and the myriad strands of African culture that will shape its future.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Understanding the Contours of Africa's Past 1

A Brief History of the Study of Africa 4

Land 7

People 10

Part I Polity, Society, and Economy in the Nineteenth Century 17

2 Western Transitions: Slave Trade and "Legitimate" Commerce in Atlantic Africa 23

States and Societies during the Atlantic Slave Trade 24

"Illegal" Traffic: The Nineteenth-Century Slave Trade 28

Mineral and Vegetable: "Legitimate" Commerce 31

Change and Continuity in Forest and Savannah 35

3 Eastern Intrusions: Slaves and Ivory in Eastern Africa 42

Commercial Horizons: Slaves and Ivory 43

Maritime Empire: Zanzibar 48

Statehood, Conflict, and Trade (1): The Lacustrine Zone 52

Statehood, Conflict, and Trade (2): Northeastern Africa 60

4 Southern Frontiers: Colony and Revolution in Southern Africa 64

African State and Society to around 1800 64

War, Revolution, and the Zulu Impact 66

Cape Colonialism: White Settlement and the "Native Question" 70

Voortrekkers: White Communities in the Interior 73

Balances of Power to around 1870 74

Part II Africa and Islam in the Nineteenth Century 77

5 Revival and Reaction: North African Islam 81

Old and New Identities: Brotherhoods of the Desert 81

Trade and Conflict in the Mediterranean World: Ottoman and European Frontiers 82

Changing Society (1): The Maghreb 85

Changing Society (2): Egypt 90

6 Jihad: Revolutions in Western Africa 94

Islam in Western Africa to the Eighteenth Century 94

The Wandering Fulani 96

Prophets and Warriors 97

7 The Eastern Crescent: The Islamic Frontier in Eastern Africa 102

Swahili Islam: Coastal Frontiers in the Nineteenth Century 102

Islam in the Central East African Interior 104

Cross and Crescent in Northeast Africa 105

Islam on the Nile 107

Part III Africa and Europe in the Nineteenth Century 111

8 The Lonely Cross: Missionary Frontiers 115

European Missionary Activity in Africa to around 1800 115

Evangelical Humanitarians: Missionary Revival 117

The Christian Impact on Culture, State, and Society 119

Mission and Empire 124

9 The Wandering White Man: Africa Explored 128

Interested Gentlemen and Learned Bodies: Explorers and Exploration 128

Creeping Hegemony and the Invention of Africa 132

10 "Whatever Happens...": Towards the Scramble 134

Africa and Theories of Imperialism 135

Race and Culture 137

Disorder and Civilizing Violence: Political and Economic Justifications 140

Part IV Consolidating Colonialisms 145

11 Africans Adapting: Conquest and Partition 149

Explaining the "Conquest" 149

Spears and Water: Violent Resistance 154

Histories Old and New: Colonialism and Historical "Knowledge" 164

Realities Old and New: Colonialism and Political "Knowledge" 167

12 Empires of Soil and Service 175

Cash Crops 176

White Settlement 179

Industry 183

Troops 186

Slaves and Labor 188

13 Bush Wars and Distant Shadows: Africa in Global War (1) 191

The War in the Continent 191

The Socioeconomic Impact 195

Africa, Versailles, and the League of Nations: New Principles for a New Era? 196

Part V Colonial Apex 199

14 "Pax Colonia"? Notions of Progress, Manifestations of Change 205

Social Change and Emergent Crisis 205

Hearts and Minds 208

The Environmental and Medical Impact 210

15 Hard Times: Protest, Identity, and Depression 217

Making Tribes 217

Emergent Protest in the Islamic world 220

Salvation and Resistance: The African Church 221

Class and Tribe: The Industrial Complex 223

Cash Crops, Rural Crises, and Peasant Protest 226

Other Voices 228

16 Other People's Battles (Again): Africa in Global War (2) 234

The War in the Continent 234

Shifts in Politics and Society 239

Part VI The Dissolution of Empire 245

17 The Beached Whale: Colonial Strategies in the Postwar World 249

Postwar Africa and the International Climate 250

Economic Policies and Visions, circa 1945-50 251

Political Plans, circa 1945-50 254

18 Conceiving and Producing Nations 256

The Roots of Invention 256

From Political Consciousness to Political Parties 258

Irresistible Force and Immovable Object: Nationalists and Settlers 265

19 Compromising Conflict: Routes to Independence 270

Debate and Debacle: "Constitutional" Transfers of Power 270

Violence: Growth, Form, and Impact 277

From Suez to Sharpeville, and Beyond: The End of High Imperialism 285

Part VII Legacies, New Beginnings, and Unfinished Business 289

20 Crowded House: Friends, Foes, and Ideologies in the Cold War 293

Africa and International Politics 293

Insurgence and Intervention 297

21 Unsafe Foundations: Challenges of Independence 300

Building the Nation (1): Economy and Society 300

Building the Nation (2): Polity 306

Political Stability and Islam 312

The Military in African Politics 317

22 Rectification, Redemption, and Reality: Contemporary Africa 324

Africa and the Post-Cold War World 324

"Good Governance," "People Power," and Conflict 327

Managing Modernity (1): Food and Famine 334

Managing Modernity (2): Debt and Development 337

Social Changes: Education and Health 339.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [343]-358) and index.

ISBN:

9781405132640

1405132647

9781405132657

1405132655

OCLC:

221152914