THE MAKING OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA. The Development of African Society since 1800.

The Making of Contemporary Africa eamines the complex events in Sub- Saharan Africa since the eighteenth century, in the light of scholarly appraisal in recent years. The themes of class and labour are highlighted. It enables the reader to come to grips with contemporary problems instead of falling into the easy trap of looking on independence as a 'happy ending'. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Africanist History and the History of Africa....Pages 1-15 Material and Cultural Development in Africa before the Nineteenth Century....Pages 16-38 The European Intrusion in the Era of Merchant Capital....Pages 39-58 The Era of Legitimate Commerce, 1800–1870....Pages 59-82 The Conquest of Africa....Pages 83-110 The Material Basis of Colonial Society, 1900–1940....Pages 111-142 Culture, Class and Social Change in Colonial Africa, 1900–1940....Pages 143-169 Industrialisation and South African Society, 1900–1940....Pages 170-190 The Decolonisation of Africa, 1940–1960....Pages 191-233 Tropical Africa since Independence: Class, State and the Problem of Development....Pages 234-260 Southern Africa in Crisis....Pages 261-288 Back Matter....Pages 289-357 The Making of Contemporary Africa provides a reinterpretation of the events in sub-Saharan Africa since the eighteenth century. It also serves as an introduction to the history of modern Africa, incorporating in the text a critical appraisal of the best scholarship in recent years.