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African History: A Short Introduction

The oldest history of mankind comes from Africa, the idea of which was fashioned not by

Africans, but by non-Africans, owing to the stark difference that this major piece of land has

from the rest of the world. Africas history can be recovered back five millennia, to one of the

earliest of worlds civilizations: Pharaonic Egypt (Parker and Rathbone, 2007). [In MLA format,

page numbers should be given instead of year of publication. Please correct this throughout

your paper].

Africa carries with itself a rich heritage of religion, a majority of it being Abrahamic in

nature, mainly Islam and Christianity. Africas art, literature and have been deeply influenced by

religion, which is found in great depth and complexity. Religious affiliation represents perhaps

the most striking historical engagement between Africa and the world. [You are using a direct

quote; citation is a MUST here].

Religion in Africa is, however, very diverse. Religious beliefs are known to sometimes be

characterized with syncretism with older practices and native religions. Christianity formed its

roots in North African in the first century, and by the course of a hundred years had become

prevalent as the hegemonic religious doctrine. However, after the advent of Islam, many African

parts succumbed to Islamic expansion, though the Ethiopian church survives to modern day as
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one of the oldest. Africa has shown a great history, tumultuous oft times, and has displayed

marked ability to make its own destiny its own choices, essentially, which when seen from the

frame of time, brought visible changes in the way of life and all its many aspects. Same was the

case of it accepting Islam in an Africanized manner. That is not to mean that Africas version of

Islam was in some way inferior. Islam in Africa ranges from heterodox Sufiism to orthodox

Islamic traditions. However, in the eleventh-century, the Berber movement started with the aim

of purifying the religion of pagan practices.

North Africa, however, retained its native religion even in states where the ruling elites

had converted to Islam, for many centuries. Local believers did not entirely overthrow their

traditions, and accommodated them with their established ways of life. However, they became

part of and immersed themselves in Muslim scriptural culture and focused on the Quran.

Genealogies were sought which went back to the Prophet, peace be upon him, or his

companions. A great majority of Africa practices Islam or Christianity, both almost equaling in

percentages as per the percentage of believers (Parker and Rathbone, 2007).

Africa has a dark history of servitude and slavery, continuing to this day in some

countries of the continent. However, slavery was officially abolished in the nineteenth century.

The history, on the other hand, is stained with it. In between the fifteenth and nineteenth

centuries, around twelve million people were exported as commodities. However, these statistics

are thin to the core, as they exclude the death toll resulting from warfare, epidemic breakout or

maltreatment. It also is not inclusive of the native slaves who were never transported, or those

that died in the American slave system. In the words of Joseph Miller, slave trade in America was

a way of death.
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African slave trade was not limited to the Atlantic, and encompassed the Saharan, Red

Sea and East African routes to North Africa, Middle East and Indian Ocean. Most of this slavery

was a part of the Arab slave trade (Parker and Rathbone, 2007).

This trade of slaves impacted various parts of the world in a complex, but huge manner.

In Africa itself, one might wonder the effect of the slave trade on the demographics of the

continent, and its effect on the modern underdevelopment. There are also no certain answers

for whether slavery in Africa was caused or intensified due to its demands from the external parts

of the world. While these answers tend to be descriptive and uncertain, it is a mature way to

address a more fundamental theme at this point: All of these questions emerge from creating a

balance between the internal and external factors, the African agency and global forces. John

Thornton argues in Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World that Africans were

not merely victims, and held their own weight in the era of slave trade. They decided the terms of

trade and dominated the tradition of slavery by themselves, as well (Parker and Rathbone, 2007).

Africa went through a brief period of colonial rule, which was overthrown eventually.

Post the Second World War, the continent of Africa went through dramatic changes. The colonial

rule collapsed due to the economic development and increased demands of a better lifestyle.

While Britain and France sought to create reformed colonial systems, Africans politically

opposed them in pursuit of justice and self-government.

Social changes soared and political struggle integrated scholarly research into African

history. This change was brought by institutions of higher learning established as part of the

expansion of education in British West Africa. In 1948, important universities were founded. The

colonial rule was especially shattered by the determination of two scholars namely Basil

Davidson and Thomas Hodgkin. It was an age of great intellectual change as the pioneering
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practitioners of history, both African and European, felt a sense of mission as the imperial age

began to crumble.

Unity of Africa versus its diversity became a political issue that shaped the post-colonial

period. In 1957, Gold Coast gained independence as the first sub Saharan African country, and

adopted the name Ghana. Next was Guinea, and then Nigeria, Belgian Congo, so on and so

forth.
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Bibliography [In MLA, Bibliography is referred to as Works Cited (In APA, we call it

References, and in Harvard and Chicago styles, you can refer to this as Bibliography)]

Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. "The Idea of Africa." In African History, A Very Short Short

Introduction

Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. "Diversity and Unity." In African History, A Very Short

Short Introduction

Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. "Africa in the World." In African History, A Very Short

Short Introduction, 75 - 76.

Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. "Africa in the World." In African History, A Very Short

Short Introduction, 78 - 81.

Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. "Colonialism In Afria. In African History, A Very Short

Short Introduction

Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. "Imagining the Future, Rebuilding the Past." In African

History, A Very Short Short Introduction, 122 123

All the above sources are basically just ONE book source. You cannot cite the same book over

and over like this. Please refer to how you must reference a book in MLA format for different

chapters and pages. This book should have one single reference entry here. According to the

instructions, you needed to use THREE sources, which means three different sources, used

several times within the paper (in-text citations PLUS reference entries on this page). It doesnt

mean citing one source three or more times within the paper and here. Please be more careful

about these rules. Incorrect citation/referencing will lead to fines.

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