Covers the major forces at work in African society at the beginning of the 19th century until the onset of the European scramble for colonial territory in the 1880s. This study also looks at Africa's changing role in the world economy, and the effects of the abolition of the slave trade. The series is co-published in Africa with seven publishers, in the United States and Canada by the University of California Press, and in association with the UNESCO Press.

Eight Nigerian academics, including the distinguished historian of Africa, J.F. Ade Ajayi, here present a history of the slave trade. Their perspective is that the focus has hitherto been primarily on the external trade, particularly the trans-Atlantic trade to Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, and less so on the equally important and much older trans-Saharan and trans-Indian Ocean trades, the launch pad for the external trade. The profusion of documents and records on the European and American aspects, and the absence of African voices in these records, has given rise to this. However, new methods and approaches resulting from the revolution in historiography where non-written sources, especially the use of oral history and oral traditions, are increasingly enabling the capture not only of the African voices, but also the indigenous memories concerning the institutions. The expanding interest in African diaspora studies and the intervention of UNESCO through their Slave Route Project since 1993, have given increased attention to the indigenous slave trade and slavery in Africa. Structured to address important themes in slavery and slave trade studies in the Nigeria region, there are fourteen major themes, presented in nine chapters. An important strength of the book is that each contributor is from the area of focus and thus a speaker of one or more of the indigenous languages, and able to collect the oral traditions, histories and memories of the groups.

"Volume VI" of this acclaimed series is now available in an abridged paperback edition. The result of years of work by scholars from all over the world, "The UNESCO General History of Africa" reflects how the different peoples of Africa view their civilizations and shows the historical relationships between the various parts of the continent. Historical connections with other continents demonstrate Africa's contribution to the development of human civilization. Each volume is lavishly illustrated and contains a comprehensive bibliography.
"Volume VI" covers the period from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the onset of the European "scramble" for colonial territory in the 1880s.
In spite of a growing European commercial, religious, and political presence during the first three quarters of the century, outside influences were felt indirectly by most African societies, and they made a number of culturally distinctive attempts to modernize, expand, and develop. These are detailed in four thematic chapters, twenty-three chapters detailing developments in specific areas, and two concluding chapters tracing the African diaspora and assessing the state of the Continent's political, economic, and cultural development on the eve of the European conquest.

There have been institutions of higher learning for centuries in Africa, but the phenomenal growth has taken place in the last fifty years, first in the later days of colonialism and then in the heady days of independence and commodity boom. Without them, there would have been no development. The three highly distinguished authors have written the first comprehensive assessment of universities and higher education in Africa south of the Sahara. As can be seen from their biographies, they draw on experience from both francophone and anglophone Africa and from teaching in both the sciences and the arts.

A comprehensive assessment of universities and higher education in Africa south of the Sahara. The authors draw on their experience from both Francophile and Anglophile Africa, and from teaching both in the sciences and the arts. North America: Ohio U Press; Ghana: Association of African Universities