AAFS / AHIS 286: African Civilizations

Critical Response Paper: Guidelines

The critical response paper will consist of a 6-7 page critical response to the content of video #1:

‘Different But Equal’ listed on the syllabus and available on Blackboard. Students are expected

to provide critical summaries of the video and link them with specific examples from the class

texts. The response should highlight the main issues discussed in the video.

Guidelines:

1. What is the main focus of the specific video (What is the narrator/producer seeking to
discuss)?

2. Identify the main issues highlighted in the video and discuss them in specific paragraphs
(how are the issues presented?)

3. Explain how the discussed issues are relevant or irrelevant to the main focus of the narrator.

4. Explain whether the narrator has been successful in presenting his or her ideas. Did they
make any unsubstantiated claims? Where any points misrepresented or omitted?

5. Students must link the video to readings from the assigned texts (A minimum of SIX
examples are required). What issues discussed in the video are similar to points made in the

readings you have read so far? Cite specific examples from specific assigned readings where

applicable. Connecting the video to assigned class readings is a requirement.

Style: Do not editorialize!

6. Avoid personal references (example, I feel?, I think ?, In my opinion?)
Instead: It is apparent from the narrator?s choice of words that he/she? etc

7. Use the present tense in the essay: ex. Davidson highlights ?., the narrator discusses ? etc

8. Paraphrase specific quotes from the video to illustrate your points. But, be specific about the
issues you are discussing.

9. Underline the title of books/texts (except when written in italics)

Format: Your essay must follow the following format

a. Introduction: A paragraph introducing the main focus of the essay and the main issues
highlighted in the video.

b. Body: The body of your essay comprises of a point-by-point discussion of the themes/issues
identified in the video. The points are separated by paragraphs. Hence, the body of students?

reflections must comprise of paragraphs with each paragraph making a separate but specific

point.

c. Conclusion: The critical response must have a closing paragraph that sums up all that has
been discussed in the body of the essay.

d. Citations: In-text citation of class readings or other texts used in the essay are very
important (required). Students may use any citation style. See examples below:

APA (American Psychology Association):

Example ? (Khapoya, 2013, p.14)

MLA (Modern Languages Association):

Example ? (Khapoya, 14), or placing the exact page number after the quote: (14)

Chicago:

Example 1 ? (Davidson, 1994, 14) or Davidson (1994, 14)

Example 2 ? (Abarry & Asante, 1996, 14) or Abarry & Asante (1996, 14)

e. Works Cited: The Critical Response Paper must have a works-cited page listing the full
information of cited works (author, title, publisher, year etc.)

f. Cover Page: All Critical Papers must have a cover/title page which must have the specifics
of the assignment (name of student, class information, assignment, name of instructor etc.)

Miscellaneous:

1. Spelling: Students must make sure they spell-check their papers before turning them in.

2. Grammar: Students must use the correct grammar in writing their critical responses.

3. The critical response paper must be typed in MICROSOFT WORD format, using a 12 point
font. The writing MUST also be double spaced.

4. All Critical Papers must be submitted electronically via “PAPER? on Blackboard no later
than 11:59 PM on its due date. Papers submitted via email will not be accepted. A hard copy

of the paper is not required.

5. Students who complete their papers ahead of time may submit them any time before or by the
due date, but not after. Late papers will not be accepted (refer to class syllabus for complete

policy on late papers).

6. Students who need assistance with their writing skills should contact the University at
Albany Writing Center located in Humanities, Room 140 (518) 442-4061.

The History of Africa

Authoritative and comprehensive, The History of Africa provides an accessible narrative
from earliest prehistory to the present day, with unusual attention paid to the ordinary
lives of Africans. This survey includes a wealth of indigenous ideas, African concepts,
and traditional outlooks that have escaped the writing of African history in the West.
The fully updated new edition includes information on the recent conflicts in Libya
and the Sudan, as well as additional content on the experiences and contributions of
women. A companion website offers a wealth of supporting resources for each chapter,
including new historic maps, primary sources, video and audio clips, and links to sites for
further research. Richly illustrated and clearly written, this volume is an indispensable
introduction to the major developments, personalities, and events that have shaped the
history of the African continent.

Molefi Kete Asante is Professor and Chair of the Department of Africology and African
American Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, and President of the Molefi
Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies. He is the founding editor of the Journal
of Black Studies and has published 83 books, including Revolutionary Pedagogy (2017), As
I Run Towards Africa (2015), and The African American People: A Global History (2013).

The History of Africa
The Quest for Eternal Harmony

Third Edition

Molefi Kete Asante

Third edition published 2019
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

? 2019 Taylor & Francis

The right of Molefi Kete Asante to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.

First edition published by Pearson Education Ltd. 2007
Second edition published by Routledge 2014

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Asante, Molefi Kete, 1942? author.
Title: The history of Africa : the quest for eternal harmony / by Molefi Kete Asante.
Description: 3rd edition. | New York : Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical

references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018033406 (print) | LCCN 2018034403 (ebook) |

ISBN 9781315168166 | ISBN 9781138710375
Subjects: LCSH: Africa?History. | Africa?Civilization.
Classification: LCC DT20 (ebook) | LCC DT20 .A83 2019 (print) | DDC 960?dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018033406

ISBN: 978-1-138-71037-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-71038-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-16816-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Baskerville
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/asante

Dedicated to the fathers of African History
Cheikh Anta Diop
Joseph Ki-Zerbo
Kenneth O. Dike
J. F. Ade-Ajayi
Boniface I. Obichere
Albert A. Adu-Boahen
Djibril T. Niane
Mazisi Kunene
Ali Mazrui

Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Note on the Third Edition xiv

Introduction to Third Edition, The History of Africa 1

PART I
The Time of Awakening 5

1 Africa and the Origin of Humanity 7

PART II
The Age of Literacy 13

2 Africa and the Beginning of Civilization 15

3 The Rise of Kemet/Egypt 31

4 The Elements of Early African Civilization 39

5 Governance and the Political Stability of Kemet 49

PART III
The Moment of Realization 85

6 The Emergence of the Great River Kingdoms 87

PART IV
The Age of Construction 97

7 The Spread of Classical Empires and Kingdoms 99

8 The Sudanic Empires: Historians and Their Narratives 120

9 Generators of Traditional and Contemporary Africa 143

10 Societies of Secrets and Institutions 165

ContentsContentsContents

viii Contents

PART V
The Time of Chaos 201

11 Arab and European Missionaries, Merchants, and Mercenaries 203

12 Resisting European and Arab Slave Traders 223

PART VI
The Age of Reconstruction 267

13 Africa Regains Consciousness in a Pan-African Explosion 269

PART VII
The Time for Consolidation 329

14 Africa Consolidates Independence 331

15 Toward a United States of Africa without Compromise: Creation
of the African Union 387

Appendix 1: Chronology of Africa 427
Appendix 2: Resolution on the Situation in South Kordofan and the

Blue Nile State 450
Appendix 3: Some African Ethnic Groups 452
Appendix 4: Major Linguistic Complexes 456
Appendix 5: Largest Countries by Population 457
Bibliography 458
Index 468

It is customary to acknowledge those who have inspired, criticized, corrected, and
praised a manuscript in preparation; I will not ignore that custom for this Third Edition
of The History of Africa. I want to express my gratitude to all of the African scholars who
have granted me their commentaries on my work. I especially want to praise the cordial
friendship and fraternal spirit shown by the prolific Toyin Falola in his studied and
erudite responses to questions and his essays on African history. Of course, nothing that
I write on history and philosophy escapes the severe attention of my closest colleagues
Maulana Karenga, Ama Mazama, Simphiwe Sesanti, Vusi Gumede, Ana Monteiro Fer-
reira, Michael Tillotson, and Lewis Gordon. I have benefited from their wisdom, clarity,
understanding of the Afrocentric vision, and ideas.

The advantage I have had as a professor at Temple University with the support and
critique of clearheaded Africology graduate students has had a profound impact on my
work. The Nommo sessions allow all writers and researchers with courage to present their
ideas to be questioned, sometimes without mercy, by an energized cadre of Afrocentric
scholars. Let me also acknowledge the more than 125 doctoral dissertations that I have
supervised, because the authors of those dissertations, my students, have added to my
knowledge and information in many ways. I have learned from them as they have from
me, and I am thankful that they have become productive scholars in their own right.

In a special way I want to point out the brilliance and character of my technical
research assistant, Trey ?Taharka Ad? Lipscomb, whose intelligent search for additional
sources, information, data, and maps have made this Third Edition much more com-
prehensive and useful than previous editions. He has, from time to time, read particular
sections of the text at great benefit to me. Taharka Ad? has worked with my editors at
Taylor and Francis, Routledge to maintain a state-of-the-art program of technologically
accessible materials supporting this edition. I want to acknowledge the support of my
colleagues and students to whom I have sometimes seemed pre-occupied, but as they
know and have seen, I was always willing to engage. The great joy of loving to come to
work cannot be underestimated; I have relished the discussions about history, politics,
economics, culture, religion, and university strategy with my colleagues: Ama Mazama,
Nilgun Anadolu-Okur, Kimani Nehusi, Amari Johnson, Aaron Smith, and Sonja
Peterson-Lewis, all professionals and all seeking the same peace as I am. When I have
needed them, they have come, and when I needed to find time to write they have allowed
me to disappear.

I am indebted most of all to the African people whose tremendous leaps toward
re-centering their own narratives on the stage of human history have been remarkable
since the end of South African apartheid changed the continental prospects. It is not
just that Nelson Mandela walked out of prison hand-in-hand with Winnie Mandela and

AcknowledgmentsAcknowledgmentsAcknowledgments

x Acknowledgments

into the presidential offices of South Africa, but rather that the people of all African
nations rejoiced that the continent had finally been cleared of an insidious and often
brutal racism that distorted the life chances of the masses of people. I salute the young
people who made and are making new avenues as adventurous entrepreneurs, scien-
tists, artists, educators, builders, and ethical leaders. Africa, the continent with the first
Homo sapiens population, now has the youngest population on earth, with the average
age of the African person being approximately 19 years old.

My family has not left me alone, and that is a good thing, because there are issues that
cannot wait in families and one must quickly learn about priorities. As one who could
write for hours without eating or drinking, I have come to appreciate the caring expres-
sions of family, especially my grandchildren, Jamar, Ayaana, Aion, Nova, Akira, and
Akila, who are free to interrupt at any time. Praise to their parents, my children, Mario,
Eka, and M.K., and may they know that my love for them is unconditional. I salute Ana
Yenenga, who tries her best to keep me organized and without whom I would not be
able to flourish.

Standing on the banks of the mighty Congo River several years ago, I reflected on the
vastness of the African continent. This was just one of the great rivers of Africa, although
a magnificent one in its own right; the Congo impacted me with its size and volume and
suggestion of the massiveness of Africa.

By the time I had determined that this book must be written, I had climbed the pyra-
mids of Khufu and Khafre, entered the tombs of the dead in the Valley of the Kings,
walked across stretches of the hot Sahara, surveyed Great Zimbabwe from the hilltop,
and slept in the rainforest while the earth poured out its soul in massive pans of rain.
But there on the green fertile banks of the Congo, I could feel the years of power, and
sense the immensity of the continent from this particular angle. I think it was then that
I decided to write a narrative history of Africa.

I was born in southern Georgia, the great-great-grandson of enslaved Africans, accord-
ing to mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA tests, of Nubian and Yoruba ancestry,
amidst the tall pine trees of the coastal plains, a very long way from the African con-
tinent physically, but very close to the questing spirit and the collective psychology of
Africa. As if a magnet were pulling me, I have been drawn to the continent more than
75 times, living and working in Zimbabwe; serving as an external examiner in Kenya and
Nigeria; being made a king (Nana Okru Asante Peasah, Kyidomhene of Tafo) in Ghana;
consulting with presidents in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Senegal; and relaxing on the
beaches of Senegal, Ghana, and Tanzania. However, my interest in the continent was
more than casual or social; it was academic and intellectual. I realized that most of the
people I knew in colleges and in the general community understood very little about
Africa; I felt the need to write this book for those people.

My earliest intellectual interest in the African continent was provoked by several out-
standing professors at the University of California, Los Angeles, where I trained for a
doctorate in communication with a cognate field in history. My professors were Gary B.
Nash, Ronald Takaki, Terence Ranger, and, perhaps most influential, Boniface Obichere.
I also had the opportunity to listen to the lectures of Robert Farris Thompson, Mazisi
Kunene, and Janheinz Jahn. What characterized these scholars was a common excite-
ment about either African or African American history. I inherited much of their love
for the careful study of history. While none of my professors were Afrocentrist, they were
all committed to discovering as much as possible the meaning of African history in the
light of what they had been taught. Each of them went on to contribute to scholarship
about the experiences of Africans in the Diaspora or on the African continent.

Scholars in African American studies, African studies, and history have continued to
write books and articles exploring certain aspects of the vast history of Africa. Of course,
this has meant that there have been many eager students of African history seeking to

PrefacePrefacePreface

xii Preface

establish for themselves and others a place in the pantheon of writers on this subject.
Therefore, we have scores of books, many volumes of interpretations, and numerous vid-
eos and other documents explaining in detail every aspect of the continent. There is a
paradox about Africa: it remains a subject that attracts considerable attention, although
there has never been a full appreciation of its complexity.

The purpose of The History of Africa, given the many books that have been written
about Africa, is to provide a straightforward, illustrated, and factual text told from the
standpoint of Africans themselves. It is a book that allows African agency to dominate
the interpretations and explanations of the facts on the ground. In this way, The History
of Africa will give the readers a chronological and critical examination of the extensive
history of Africa. The objective of my endeavor was to use the cultural, social, political,
and economic lenses of Africa as instruments to explicate the ordinary lives of Africans
within the context of their own experiences.

This is not a book about Europeans in Africa, nor is it a book about how Europeans
interpret Africa. Rather, it is the story of Africa as Africans tell it themselves, and as they
see the grand movements and personalities that constitute the panoply of heroes who
have traversed that history. While the work draws upon the very extensive research that
has been done by European and American historians, I have tried to place the works of
African historians in the center of this narrative, thus rewriting and reorienting African
history from the standpoint of Africans as subjects.

We should not obfuscate the central tendencies of the African people in regard to
their vision of their own nations and leaders. What Africa sees, or has said it sees, is a
much more interesting subject for this book, since it is clear to me that the overwhelm-
ing emphasis in the literature and orature of the continent has been the subject of
harmony, balance, and order. These represent the calling cards of the eternal quest in
African history.

In one sense the aims of this book are modest: to present in the most challenging man-
ner a simple, basic book that will allow the student and lay reader access to the major
developments, personalities, and events on the African continent. To do this I begin
with humankind?s earliest origins, spend some time discussing the prehistory of Africa,
and then enter the fascinating world of African development through the origin of
human civilization. What grabbed my attention in my research was the wealth of indig-
enous ideas, African concepts, and traditional outlooks that have escaped the writing of
African history in the West. Too much of African historiography has been about writing
Africa for Europe without writing Africa for itself, as itself, from its own perspectives.
To truly know a continent, one must study, travel, allow the aromas, rhythms, dances,
and visual sights to dominate one?s being; only then, it seems to me, can one really ask
the proper questions, seek the best answers, and arrive at the most knowledgeable and
creative interpretations based on Africa?s own authentic voice. I have tried to present
to readers a book that expands our view and vision of the continent from the staid old
notions of Africa as helpless, stagnant, or crippled in its potential.

In the West, the ignorance of Africa is palpable, like a monster that invades our brains
with disbelief, deception, and disinterest, yet is everywhere around us. We are victims of
probably the most uninformed educated people in the world on the subject of Africa.
Owing to the colonial experiences of Europe, the Europeans tend to engage the African
continent in ways that have not been done by Americans. Nevertheless, what I desire
of this book is a wide readership in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia with
particular emphasis on those readers in schools and colleges, as well as among ordinary
people, in order that they may have a unifying view of the vast continent. The reader
should come away from the book with a fresh attitude about the continent and about its

Preface xiii

people. The intent in this work is to make no easy commentaries for which there is no
plausibility, and to argue only those lines that are rich enough to produce vast amounts
of data about the history of the continent that is ancestral home to more than 40 mil-
lion citizens of the United States, nearly 70 million Brazilians, another 50 million South
Americans, 5 to 7 million who live in Europe and the Pacific, and about 40 million peo-
ple of the Caribbean, as well as the nearly 1 billion Africans who live on the continent.

All books are written with debts. I owe a great debt to numerous mentors, collabora-
tors, and friends who, knowing of my interest in the subject, have encouraged me to
do what I had outlined on African history several years ago but had not found the right
moment to start. My reading in the field has been extensive, and I have written and
researched Africa for many years in English, French, and German, but I am also familiar
with Akan, Yoruba, KiSwahili, Arabic, and Mdw Ntr. Yet this is the first time that I have
embarked on such a comprehensive treatment of the African continent. It has been a
thrilling process; Africa has revealed yet more secrets to me in the writing of this book.
Thus, to write a history of Africa is to write a major part of the history of the world, since
Africa?s contributions to humanity are fundamental and expansive. I offer this book as
my contribution to human understanding.

One always delves into the infinite maze of African history with the eye of a novice,
because revelations dance in and out of one?s mind like the images one meets around
the corner in a magical haunted house. Surprise cautions us, and lets us know that what
we have learned from studying and reading other historians is only a small part of the
possible revelations. I have often felt like an observer wrapped in a blanket of knowl-
edge from which I could not escape when I approached African history, so I relaxed and
enjoyed myself examining the smallest aspects of a narrative or the largest symbols of a
culture.

In this Third Edition of The History of Africa, I have leaned more and more on the
wealth of individual scholars and observers for information, insight and interpretation.
This has hopefully bent this edition more towards the idea of African agency than ever
before. What do Africans say? What do Africans believe? How is this puzzle solved with-
out the understanding that comes from the people themselves? I have tried to allow my
sources, sometimes my colleagues in African history or philosophy, to tell me something
that I could only write about through texts, primary or secondary. In this way, I discov-
ered angles, edges, and periods that I did not realize were staring at me as I was unrave-
ling myself from the blanket of knowledge that had been fashioned by a combination of
what I had learned at Pepperdine and UCLA and from my readings of archival materials.
Try talking to Bhengu about the relationship of Zulu history to the ancient Egyptians,
and one thinks of Mubabingi Bilolo and his Baluba musings on what constitute the most
ancient African linguistic connections, or Wande Abimbola?s profound understanding of
the ethical foundations of Yoruba, and you realize that you will never be able to discover
the avenues through the maze of this incredible history without guides who are simply
much more than people who point you in a direction. These men and women who have
held my hand as I waded into the deeper waters of what Africans themselves say about
their own narrative have been the best friends of my work. Thus, there will be observa-
tions, concepts, and perspectives that are much more robust than in past editions.

However, I have had to recognize the changing situations on the continent of Africa
since the publication of the Second Edition. It is to be expected that change will happen;
what is not often expected is that change would be so dramatic that it would alter the
way we think about African history. Change could be easy, or it could be a re-ordering
affair in a society. The South Sudanese Civil War, for instance, still rages at the publish-
ing of this edition. Whether Salva Kiir or Riek Machar will relent and allow their country
to prosper, as it could, will only be known with time. Ethnic conflicts replacing racial
ones on the continent are rooted in the quest for power and the urge for domination;
neither of these actions are necessary for a productive society. Robert Mugabe has been
retired from the presidency of Zimbabwe, and only time will tell if the country will
regain its strong footing as a regional agricultural and mining giant in southern Africa.

Note on the Third EditionNote on the Third EditionNote on the Third Edition

Note on the Third Edition xv

The changing nature of contemporary Africa, largely shaped by one of the youngest
populations of any continent, will define the future in politics, economics, and culture.
The powerful demographic changes will have an impact on the international arena as
nations jockey for positions in the great stakes of African resources. What the histo-
rian asks is ?What propels the continent toward a United Africa, if anything?? On the
ground, among technocrats and the leadership class, there is a growing sentiment for
One Africa; however, the stakes are high for many national and regional stakeholders
who seek advantage in telling Africa?s narrative. In this edition, I have made adjustments
by reducing some imprints and allowing others to flourish a little more. I have also taken
time to listen to the voices of more women thinkers and educators who have always been
the shapers of a major part of Africa?s history. The priestesses and queens, often called
queen mothers by Europeans, have spoken on everything from matrilineality to the role
of men in society. Furthermore, historians have paid too little attention to women like
Nana Asma?u bint Shehu Usman dan Fodio, who was born in 1864 and lived until 1793
as a revered princess, teacher, poet, and regional leader. Her father Usman dan Fodio
was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, and like her father, Nana Asma?u became a
prolific author.

Madeira
(PT)

Canary Islands
(ES)

LEGEND

Country Boundary

River

Lake

Mountain Peak

ALGERIA

TUNISIA ASIA

EUROPE

MALI

BURKINA
FASO

SIERRA
LEONE

GUINEA-
BISSAU

LIBERIA

SENEGAL

LIBYA Libyan
Desert

Oattara
Depression

Lake
Chad

Nasser
Lake

Nubian
Desert

Lake
Tana

Lake
Victoria

Lake
Tanganyika

Lake
Malawi

Great
Karoo

Kalahari
Desert

L.Turkana

NIGER

NIGERIA

Cabinda

ANGOLA

C
O

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DEMO.REP.

OF THE CONGO

RWANDA
GABON

SUDAN
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NAMIBIA

BOTSWANA

SO
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ICA

LESOTHO

SWAZILAND

M
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COMOROS

SEYCHELLES

TANZANIA

ZIMBABWE

ZAMBIA
MALAWI

Kilimanjaro
5895 mBURUNDI

EGYPT

SOUTH SUDANCENTRAL
AFRICAN REP

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G
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SO
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AND PR?NCIPE

Equator

CAPE VERDE

Tropic of Cancer

Map 0.1 Modern Africa

xvi Note on the Third Edition

Of course, a history is a narrative as seen by the author; it is not a question of the right-
ness of a perspective, since rightness is only in the collection of facts and not in the inter-
pretation. However, as an Africologist I have a particular perspective on the emerging
philosophy of African history as a movement toward the reconstitution of an embracing
epistemology. Fragmentation happens, but unity can also happen. The reader will gain
a sense that this is an optimistic book, one that thrives on taking advantage of an Afro-
future that is more real than Wakanda.

Molefi Kete Asante, Philadelphia, 2018

Introduction to Third Edition,
The History of AfricaIntroductionIntroduction

The introduction to this third edition of The History of Africa is not unlike other intro-
ductions in that the aim is to establish for the reader the general context and reason for
writing history in the first place. I have done this for the first two editions and will do it
in this one as well. Clearly the pursuit of African history takes place within the formative
contours of narratives that we know and narratives that are unknown. This means the
historian is always learning about something else and this something else functions to