Search

The article discusses the history of African engagement with the world separate from the slave trade, particularly focusing on its diplomatic efforts during the 17th and 18th centuries, significant educational opportunities of West African elite, and the influence of Islam on West African history and culture. It also discusses the kingdom of Dahomey.

The authors discuss the question of empires. They mention the Aztec empire, how the Roman Empire influenced later imperialism, the Mali and Songhay empires in West Africa, and the issue of the subjectivity of labeling empires as good or bad.

Describes the contribution of Mary Kingsley to the 19th-century image of West Africa. Attitude toward women's rights; Information on Kingsley's philosophy of separate development of the races and sexes; Difference of Kingsley's vision regarding imperial expansion from that of British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain.

Provides information on the reign of Behanzin, the last King of the Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa in the 1800s. Background on the rulers of Dahomey during the 1800s; Relations of the Dahomean monarchy with Europeans from 1889 through 1894; Details on a military expedition to Abomey in March 1892.

The article discusses challenges faced by historians of British and French colonial West Africa. Some of the issues considered include archaeology and history, academic disputations regarding interpretations of archaeological and historical source materials, lack of quantitative studies for both the external and internal African slave trade, nationalism and history, issues associated with a lack of precision in early navigation during the age of Portuguese discoveries and period travel writings, and historical myths and folklore associated with African oral traditions.

A bibliography is presented on topics of British and British West African history which includes the books "Rival Ambassadors at the Court of Queen Mary," by E. H. Harbison, "Oeuvres Complètes de John Law," 3 vols., edited by Paul Harsin, and "History of Nigeria," by A. C. Burns.