Now fully revised and updated, this classic text offers an illustrated and critical narrative introduction to the history of Africa from earliest times to the present. Beginning with the evolution of mankind itself, the book traces the history of Africa through the millennia of the ancient world to the centuries of medieval and modern Africa. The clear and simple language and the wealth of carefully chosen maps and photos combine to make an essential and accessible text.

Kevin Shillington is currently based in London and works as a freelance historian. He holds an MA and PhD in African History from the University of London and his publications include Jugnauth: Prime Minister of Mauritius (1991) and Ghana and the Rawlings Factor (1992).

Early Prehistory of Africa * Later Prehistory * The Impact of Iron in Northeast and West Africa * The Early Iron Age and Bantu Migrations * North and Northeastern Africa to 1000 AD * Trans-Saharan Trade and the Kingdom of Ancient Ghana * Islam and the Sudanic States of West Africa * Eastern Africa to the 16th Century * Trading States of the East African Coast to the 16th Century * Later Iron Age States and Societies of Central and Southern Africa to 1600 AD * North and Northeastern Africa to the 18th Century * The Atlantic Slave Trade, 16th-18th Century * West African States and Societies to the 18th Century * Central and Eastern Africa to the 18th Century * Southern Africa to the 18th Century * West Africa in the 19th Century and the Ending of the Slave Trade * Central and East Africa in the 19th Century * Pre-Industrial Southern Africa in the 19th Century * North and Northeast Africa in the 19th Century * Prelude to Empire in Tropical Africa * The European "Scramble," Colonial Conquest and African Resistance in East, North-Central and West Africa * Industrialization, Colonial Conquest and African Resistance in South-Central and Southern Africa * Consolidation of Empire * Africa between the Wars * The Second World War and Africa * The Winning of Independence (1) * The Winning of Independence (2) * Africa since Independence (1) * Africa since Independence (2) Early Prehistory of Africa * Later Prehistory * The Impact of Iron in Northeast and West Africa * The Early Iron Age and Bantu Migrations * North and Northeastern Africa to 1000 AD * Trans-Saharan Trade and the Kingdom of Ancient Ghana * Islam and the Sudanic States of West Africa * Eastern Africa to the 16th Century * Trading States of the East African Coast to the 16th Century * Later Iron Age States and Societies of Central and Southern Africa to 1600 AD * North and Northeastern Africa to the 18th Century * The Atlantic Slave Trade, 16th-18th Century * West African States and Societies to the 18th Century * Central and Eastern Africa to the 18th Century * Southern Africa to the 18th Century * West Africa in the 19th Century and the Ending of the Slave Trade * Central and East Africa in the 19th Century * Pre-Industrial Southern Africa in the 19th Century * North and Northeast Africa in the 19th Century * Prelude to Empire in Tropical Africa * The European "Scramble," Colonial Conquest and African Resistance in East, North-Central and West Africa * Industrialization, Colonial Conquest and African Resistance in South-Central and Southern Africa * Consolidation of Empire * Africa between the Wars * The Second World War and Africa * The Winning of Independence (1) * The Winning of Independence (2) * Africa since Independence (1) * Africa since Independence (2)