A History of Africa

by Hosea Jaffe

Spanning more than two thousand years of African history, from the African Iron Age to the collapse of colonialism and the beginnings of independence, Hosea Jaffe's magisterial work remains one of the few to do full justice to the continent's complex and diverse past.

The great strength of Jaffe's work lies in its unique theoretical perspective, which stresses the distinctive character of Africa's social structures and historical development. Crucially, Jaffe rejects all efforts to impose Eurocentric models of history onto Africa, whether it be liberal notions of 'progress' or Marxist theories of class struggle, arguing instead that the key dynamics underpinning African history are unique to the continent itself, and rooted in conflicts between different modes of production.

The work also includes a foreword by the distinguished economist and political theorist Samir Amin, in which he outlines the contribution of Jaffe's work to our understanding of African history and its ongoing post-colonial struggles.

Genres: Africa, History

176 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 1985

Reviews

[hajduk]

A short history the African continent from by a South African Trotskyist who ended up in exile in Italy in the 1960s. Got lots from it but really wish he took the time and space to expand on his concepts and arguments about 're-tribalisation' under colonialism, 'super-exploitation' etc and sustain them.

Of the Third-Worldist stuff I've read he probably comes closest to the Brennerite caricature. I would love to read a polemic against them from him though as he was a true hater ( funny digs here include labeling Emmanuel and Bettelheim as 'Euromarxists' and accusing him of giving neocolonialist advice to African independence movements [Citation needed]).

[sube · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction into African history, from a Communist PoV, decidely eschewing eurocentric narratives. The first two chapters, dealing with pre-colonial and the colonisation of africa & the resistance respectively, i found the most interesting, as they set up a lot of the key terms ('communal despotism'). i would generally be more skeptical towards the later analysis, in some ways, like seeing the post-colonial states as 'communal despotic' states, where everything is nationalised but clan politics continue (while remaining capitalist thanks to the integration into the capitalist world-system). however, it's not an unreasonable position by any means - and made me think about it all. would really recommend it to everyone as introduction, does what it says very well.

[Naoise · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘No European Proletariat’ BS.
Sparse, lacking detail.

“[The African revolution] will help to reageiculturize, deindustrialize and humanize it, closing the material and cultural gap.”

Wtf does that mean ????