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A History of West Africa, 1000-1800
This text is designed for students preparing for O Level history, offering an examination of some of the major trends and events in West African history from AD 1000-1800.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
Basil Davidson
103 books78 followersBasil Risbridger Davidson was an acclaimed British historian, writer and Africanist, particularly knowledgeable on the subject of Portuguese Africa prior to the 1974 Carnation Revolution .
He has written several books on the current plight of Africa. Colonialism and the rise of African emancipation movements have been central themes of his work.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
From 1939, Davidson was a reporter for the London "Economist" in Paris, France. From December 1939, he was a Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)/MI-6 D Section (sabotage) officer sent to Budapest (see Special Operations Europe, chapter 3) to establish a news service as cover. In April 1941, with the Nazi invasion, he fled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In May, he was captured by Italian forces and was later released as part of a prisoner exchange. From late 1942 to mid-1943, he was chief of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Yugoslav Section in Cairo, Egypt, where he was James Klugmann's supervisor. From January 1945 he was liaison officer with partisans in Liguria, Italy.
After the war, he was Paris correspondent for "The Times," "Daily Herald" ,"New Statesman", and the "Daily Mirror."
Since 1951, he became a well known authority on African history, an unfashionable subject in the 1950s. His writings have emphasised the pre-colonial achievements of Africans, the disastrous effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the further damage inflicted on Africa by European colonialism and the baleful effects of the Nation State in Africa.
Davidson's works are required reading in many British universities. He is globally recognized as an expert on African History.
He currently lives in Staffordshire.
He has written several books on the current plight of Africa. Colonialism and the rise of African emancipation movements have been central themes of his work.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
From 1939, Davidson was a reporter for the London "Economist" in Paris, France. From December 1939, he was a Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)/MI-6 D Section (sabotage) officer sent to Budapest (see Special Operations Europe, chapter 3) to establish a news service as cover. In April 1941, with the Nazi invasion, he fled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In May, he was captured by Italian forces and was later released as part of a prisoner exchange. From late 1942 to mid-1943, he was chief of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Yugoslav Section in Cairo, Egypt, where he was James Klugmann's supervisor. From January 1945 he was liaison officer with partisans in Liguria, Italy.
After the war, he was Paris correspondent for "The Times," "Daily Herald" ,"New Statesman", and the "Daily Mirror."
Since 1951, he became a well known authority on African history, an unfashionable subject in the 1950s. His writings have emphasised the pre-colonial achievements of Africans, the disastrous effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the further damage inflicted on Africa by European colonialism and the baleful effects of the Nation State in Africa.
Davidson's works are required reading in many British universities. He is globally recognized as an expert on African History.
He currently lives in Staffordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 12, 2015
A more than adequate historical survey of the history of West Africa from pre- to early-colonial times. For the time being, this is probably the best high-level survey on this period, though I suspect that it is badly outdated. This was still being used while I was in graduate school working on my MA in African History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (class of '99), despite the original publication year of 1968 (the year before I was born!). Even my professors acknowledged that no one has one-upped Davidson's book, but, then again, no one has really tried. In the age of academic specialization, who has time to do up a good, broad survey book and still gain tenure?
June 24, 2014
It's hard not to love the enthusiasm prevalent in this work. It hearkens back to a certain kind of history writing prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s, when historians just laid it all out like it was and didn't gussy shit up with weird jargon and superfluous, crappy "theories" and "analysis". Basil fucking digs West Africa and he makes this clear throughout. It makes works like this, ever in danger of being dry, staid affairs, really fun to read even if they are a little dated. Think of it as the Marshall Hodgson of African studies maybe: a little older, a little more tolerable, and engaging as shit.
Topic-wise, Basil finds himself at an impasse not of his own making. West African history is complex and notoriously sourceless. He makes no bones about this, nor does he make excuses. What's there he discusses. Unfortunately, said complexity makes political and social histories of the region writ large daunting tasks. He does pretty well, though. Giving himself a cutoff date of 1800 allows him to forego colonialism and focus on local developments and the entry of the area into world trade and whatnot.
This book would serve the layman well, but is probably a little too dense for the Afro-novice.
Topic-wise, Basil finds himself at an impasse not of his own making. West African history is complex and notoriously sourceless. He makes no bones about this, nor does he make excuses. What's there he discusses. Unfortunately, said complexity makes political and social histories of the region writ large daunting tasks. He does pretty well, though. Giving himself a cutoff date of 1800 allows him to forego colonialism and focus on local developments and the entry of the area into world trade and whatnot.
This book would serve the layman well, but is probably a little too dense for the Afro-novice.
November 29, 2020
History is always here to guide us. As an African, I got some important information from this book. The author tried even though everything wasn’t broadly written on.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews