Table of Contents
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
1 Africa: The Continent and its People 1
Introduction 1
Geography 2
Demography 7
Language and Culture 12
Notes 20
2 African Traditional Institutions 21
Introduction 21
Kinship 25
Forms of Marriage 29
Nonkinship Groups 35
The Individual in African Societies 39
Family Life and Socialization 45
Family Life 45
Socialization 46
Traditional Religious Beliefs 49
Belief in God 50
Belief in Spirits 53
Belief in Ancestors 54
Religion as a Way of Life 55
Politics and Government in Traditional Africa 56
Segmental Systems 57
Hierarchical Systems 59
Pyramidal Systems 60
Notes 62
3 Political Development in Historic Africa 64
Introduction 64
Prehistoric Africa 68
Ancient Africa 71
The Kingdoms of Egypt 71
Other Ancient African Civilizations 76
Medieval Africa 77
Early Modern Africa 87
Nineteenth-Century Africa 89
North Africa (c. 1800-1900) 90
The African Sudan (c. 1800-1900) 91
West Africa (c. 1800-1900) 94
East Africa (c. 1800-1900) 99
Conclusions 103
Notes 106
4 Colonialism and the African Experience 107
Introduction 107
Reasons for Europe's Interest in Africa 108
Imperialism in Africa: The Rationale 111
Race and European Colonizers: "The Civilizing Missions" 115
The British Mission 115
The French Mission 117
The French and the British Contrasted: Senghor and Khama 118
Fanon's Theory of French Racism 120
The Portuguese Mission 121
The Belgian Mission 123
Colonial Administrative Styles 126
Indirect Rule 127
Direct Rule 129
Company Rule 131
Indirect Company Rule 133
The Economics of Colonialism 135
Expropriation of Land 136
Exploitation ofLabor 137
Hut and Poll Tax 138
Labor Conscription 139
Cash Crops and One-Crop Economies 141
Prohibition of Inter-African Trade and Communications 142
Immigrant Labor 143
Lack of Industrialization 145
Colonial Rule: Did the Africans Benefit? 145
Notes 148
5 African Nationalism and the Struggle for Freedom 150
Introduction 150
Modern African Nationalism 152
Colonial Oppression 153
Missionary Churches 154
World Wars I and II 160
Pan-Africanism 163
The League of Nations and the United Nations 170
Independence Movements 172
Conclusions 178
Notes 179
6 African Independence: The First Thirty Years 181
Introduction 181
Decolonization and the Transfer of Power 182
Centralization of Power 182
Regionalism and Separatism: Nigeria 184
Regionalism and Separatism: East Africa 185
Decolonization in French Colonies 187
Problems at Independence 188
Popular Expectations 188
Lack of Economic Development 190
Arbitrary Borders 192
Political Instability 194
Policy Choices after Independence 196
One-Party Systems 196
African Socialism 200
Tanzania 202
Ghana 207
Guinea 209
Senegal 211
African Capitalism 212
What Went Wrong in Independent Africa? 215
One-Party Systems 215
Personality Cults 216
Coups d'état and Civil Wars 216
Refugees 218
Centralized Economies 218
International Debt 219
Corruption 219
HIV/AIDS 220
The Gains of Independence 221
Notes 222
7 The African Struggle for Democracy and Free Markets 224
Introduction 224
The Struggle for Democracy 225
Economic Reforms 234
NEPAD 240
Conclusions 242
Notes 246
8 Africa in World Affairs 248
Introduction 248
The Cold War 251
The Non-Aligned Movement 254
The Organization of African Unity (OAU) 257
The African Union (AU) 265
Objectives of the African Union 266
Organs of the African Union 267
Financial Institutions of the AU 267
The United States and Africa 268
The Soviet Union and Africa 272
Conclusions 278
Notes 280
Index 283
