This masterful synthesis explains how Africa has come to be a land torn by incessant conflict among its impoverished peoples and countries, a continent living through the gravest social revolution of its history, experiencing the world's fastest demographic growth. Weaving together four major themes—population, political power, the peasantry, and the new growth of the cities—Coquery-Vidrovitch demonstrates the need to recognize the extremely complex heritage of African societies if one is to understand the present or act upon the future of the continent.
Africa Endurance and Change South of the Sahara
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"Coquery-Vidrovitch's book is not merely good; it's marvellous. It represents the finest product of the Annales tradition of structural history."—Immanuel WallersteinTable of Contents
LIST OF MAPS
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
PART I. AFRICAN DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH: THE MOST ERRATIC DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORY
1. Demography, Ecology, and History
2. The Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade
3. Demography and Colonization
PART II. THE STATE: FROM CHIEFSHIP TO MILITARY POPULISM
4. Precolonial Rule: From the Rural Community to the State
5. State Resistance to Colonial Control
6. From Chiefdom to Tribalism: The Contradictions of Government
PART III. THE LAND: FROM SUBSISTENCE TO SCARCITY
7. Peasant Societies: Endurance and Change
8. Capitalism or Socialism? Recent Developments in the Rural Sector
9. Revolt and Resistance, Collaboration and Assimilation
PART IV. LABOR AND THE CITY: AFRICA'S FUTURE
10. Workers: From Labor Migration to Proletarianization
11. Labor Action: Social Protest to the End of World War II
12. Trade Unionism and Nationalism: The Slow Growth of Sociopolitical Movements
13. Cities, Social Classes, and the Informal Sector: The Future of Poverty
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX: THE SOURCES OF AFRICAN DEMOGRAPHIC HISTORY
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX