The Cambridge History of Africa - Book Report/Review Example

The Cambridge History of Africa Introduction This paper examines and critically reviews African history as it is presented in the book Cambridge History of Africa. The book is part of a series that critiques the culture, social systems and structures that existed in Africa from the Medieval times to the 19th Century. However the book focuses on the incidents and matters that happened in the 1600s. To this end, the book analyzes dominant trends and patterns that existed on the continent and focuses on specific elements and aspects of different sections of the continent. This paper will review the central structure and presentation of the book as it mirrored the dominant trends and the dominant socio-political systems and structures in the period under review. Based on this the commonalities that were defined in the book about Africa in relation to the rest of the world is documented and a critical review is undertaken. Structure of the Book and Socio-Political Structures of 1600s Africa. Oliver arranged the book in such a way and manner that it reflected the dominant groupings that existed at that time. This is because for most parts of Africa, civilizations were built in a unique and distinct way and manner. Just like European nations around the world where nations were based on linguistic and cultural features, Africa built loose nations on the basis of a congregation of people with somewhat similar characteristics and features albeit with different linguistic and national structures and systems. In each of these niches of the continent, different political dynasties and systems sought to create nations and other quasi-state structures which provided some degree of structures within which the people lived and went on with their lives. One section of the book focused on Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Desert. This was inhabited by persons of Arabic and southern-European descent and the culture was strongly influenced by the Mediterranean practices and systems. Another section was about Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. This included an emphasis on the Axum dynasty and ancient markets that kept people in that region living a convenient life. The third identifiable segment is the East Coast which spanned across the Indian ocean from the south of Ethiopia to the periphery of Madagascar and the north of present-day Mozambique. This was a sphere of Arabic ruled and controlled nations that conducted trade with the Persian Gulf and North Africa. Concerning the interior and central Africa, Oliver provides discussions about Sudan and Guinea. Sudan refers to what is now Sub-Saharan Africa with fairly darker skinned persons than their north African counterparts. However, one distinct element of Sudan as was defined in the context of th 1600s was the fact that the people were practicing Muslims. And this include lands of present-day nation of Sudan spanning through Chad to northern Nigeria through to Senegal on the west coast of Africa. Guinea on the other hand refers to the darker skinned African with Bantu features who remained south of the Sudanic tribes and they were mainly animist in nature and they rejected the Islamic influence of the region. Two other regions of significance included Central Africa and southern Africa. Central Idea The Central idea of the book is that by the 1600s, Africa's social structures were being modified by the effects of the changing world around her. Africa had moved from the early and experimental phases throughout the Iron Age. And the concept of work had taken shape centuries before the 1600s. However, this period was somewhat volatile. This is because the nations and states were weaker and the influence of Islam was growing significantly. Black Africa's medieval empires had been torn down and Africa's culture was heavily modified by the Islamic kingdoms in North Africa including the Almohads, Almoravids, Fatimids, Mamluks and others. These dynasties sought to influence cultures deep in the interior of Africa including areas in West and East Africa. This led to the conversion of tribes in sub-Saharan Africa to Islam by the Muslim merchants and Muslim soldiers through various forms of Jihad. Africa in the 1600s lay in the shadow of the Portuguese and Spanish Age of Exploration. This is because the Arabs who interacted with the southern Europeans acted as middlemen and due to the fact that they could reach the depths of Africa that the Europeans could not reach, they exploited the trade. Thus, the discovery of naval routes to Africa was laying the foundation for the European trade in Africa. The European trade in Africa in the 1600s focused on the trade in firearms and slaves. The essence of the firearm trade was to empower nations and states allied to various European powers. This involved giving them firearms and encouraging them to exploit the local populations around them. This was the norm in West Africa and it affected virtually every part of West Africa or the Guinean and lower Sudan regions of Africa. In the East of Africa and the Nubian region south of Egypt, the capture and sale of slaves to Arab lands also increased in this period. Regional Trends In Egypt and the northeastern deserts, there was the rise and fall of various dynasties in the region. The Fatimids and Ayyubids and Mamluks conducted various power struggles that sought to create a stable dynasty. Egypt however came under the shadow of the Ottoman Empire and with the rise of European powers, the 17th Century acted as the preparation grounds for the European interest in Egypt and this interest was nursed by Britain and France in the 1800s. Egypt's economy was focused on the prosperous Nile valley which produced a fertile grounds for agriculture. This caused the nation to grow and enhance its potential and capability. Ethiopia in the 1600s was struggling under the shadow of Islam. The growth of Islam and the encirclement of the nation by Muslim rulers put the nation under threat. However, the rise of a Solomonic dynasty provided the basis for the nation to build a strong defense and rely on ancient pacts with the Islamic states to survive and preserve the Amharic culture that existed for years. On the other hand, the growth and expansion of Islam led to the expansion of Islam to various parts of the Horn of Africa including present-day Somalia. On the East coast of Africa, various forms of Islamic oriented dynasties sprang up. This included dynasties that sought to utilize their connection to the Arab world to create trade channels that involved slave trade. These dynasties formed trading pacts with European powers and authorities and this laid the foundation for the colonization of these lands by the European nations two centuries later. In the areas south of Egypt and east of Ethiopia, the desert trade in slaves and the penetration of Islam grew. There was a massive trade in iron, horses and guns in the region and this led to an enhancement of certain tribes and peoples over others. Meanwhile, in the Maghreb region or the northwest of Africa, the Almohad and Almoravid dynasties were founded. These were powerful nations that had relatively high-tech militaries and systems. And in the 1600s when Europe was in the early stages of its Age of Reformation, the Arab world and the kingdoms in northwestern Africa were relatively more modern and more sophisticated. And centuries earlier, they had destroyed Medieval empires in the interior of West Africa including the Mali, Ghana and Songhai Empires. As a result of this, such peoples who were of Guinean extraction (darker skinned persons) moved towards the southern coast of West Africa. They moved into nations like present-day Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana. These were the nations that provided most of the Africans captured and shipped to the Americas to work as slaves in European owned plantations. In central and southern Africa, people lived in small communities. And due to the influence of the relatively traders from north Africa, they remained isolated and distant from activities in the then known world (Europe, Asia and North Africa). These communities grew as small isolated African societies with different linguistic features. Due to the mild climate of Southern Africa, Europeans settled in the southern tip of Africa in the 1600s and this laid the impetus for the European domination of Southern Africa. Conclusion The book indicates that most of Africa save for the North Africans had lived in isolation from the rest of the world. Unlike their North African counterparts, most Africans south of the Sahara were living an isolated life that had basic features. However, North Africans had sophisticated cultures based on aspects of the Iron Age. The spread of Islam throughout the continent was central and nations sought to survive through various attempts to control trade routes that gave them exclusive regional access to fire arms. The trade in slaves was also beginning to grow in this era. Reference Oliver R. (1977) Cambridge History of Africa Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More