Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide

(Paperback)

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This reference guide to African history provides substantive entries on 36 watershed events that shaped the history of the continent from the prehistoric past to the dawn of the 21st century. Noted African scholar Toyin Falola clearly and articulately chronicles the growth and change of the continent from the agricultural revolution through colonial rule to African independence and the end of apartheid, examining the powerful moments at which Africa became drawn into the global world. Each entry appears in chronological order and consists of a comprehensive essay on the event, its historical, social, and geographic context, and its long-term significance. Many illustrations and maps provide valuable visual tools for the reader. Each entry concludes with suggestions for further reading. A narrative introduction to the history of the continent and a timeline of events place the events in historical and global context. Based on the latest scholarship, this reference work analyzes the major events in African history and their ramifications, and draws connections between the past and the present. Key themes recur throughout: the development of diverse African cultures, Arab and European incursions and influence, and the efforts of African peoples to gain independence in the 20th century. Among the events recounted are the Iron Age, the rise of the Kush, the spread of Islam, the 19th-century outbreak of Islamic Jihad, the Atlantic slave trade, European conquest and the African response, Pan-Africanism, the women's decade of 1965-1975, and environmental and political challenges of the last years of the 20th century. Well written and objective, this work is an essential reference tool for students and an excellent complement to the study of African history.

Reviews

.,."contains information about 36 important events in African history....This book draws upon the many changes in the African continent from governments to the environment and describes the connections between past and present African history. This is a valuable resource for updating the school library's Africa resources. Recommended."-Library Media Connection
"A compact overview and summary of events that shaped the history of the African continent....This survey will prove useful as a reference source for advanced students. It should also find a home in circulating collections.."-School Library Journal
"Falola has made a valuable contribution to educate the lay reader by compiling a book that surveys the history of Africa from its prehistoric past to the end of the twentieth century....recommended."-MultiCultural Review
"High-school and college libraries will find this book a valuable addition to their collections."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Targeted at high school and college libraries for students taking survey courses in African history, this is an intriguing book....useful for its intended audience....Recommended. General and undergraduate libraries."-Choice

Author Bio

TOYIN FALOLA is the Frances Higginbothom Nalle Centennial Professor in History at the University of Texas, Austin. A distinguished Africanist, Falola serves on the editorial board of many journals, co-edits the Journal of African Economic History, and serves as the series editor of the University of Rochester's Studies in African History and the Diaspora. He is also series editor of the Greenwood Press series Culture and Customs of Africa. His publications include many essays and books on Nigeria, including Decolonization and Development Planning (1996), Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies (1998), and The History of Nigeria (Greenwood, 1999).