Internet African History Sourcebook
Editor: Paul Halsall
This page is a subset of texts derived from the three major online Sourcebooks listed below, along with added texts and web site indicators.
Notes: |
In addition to direct links to documents, links are made to a
number of other web resources. |
2ND
|
Link to a secondary article, review or discussion on a given
topic. |
WEB
|
Link to a website focused on a specific issue.. These are not
links to every site on a given topic, but to sites of serious educational value. |
Contents
African History:
General
General
Debates
Note that these "debates" may have more to do with modern United States
society than African history.
Black Athena Debate
Cheikh Anta Diop
Stolen Legacy
Back to Index
African Origins
Human Origins
Back to Index
Egypt
Back to Index
Other Ancient
African Societies
General
Nubia
Libya and Western North Africa/Mauretania
- Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): On Libya from The
Histories, c. 430 BCE [At this Site]
- Accounts of Ancient
Mauretania c. 430 BCE - 550 CE [At this Site]
From Herodotus, Strabo, and Procopius of Caesarea.
Nok Culture
Gambia
Back to Index
Greek and Roman Africa
General
- Accounts of Ancient Nubia
& Ethiopia c. 430 BCE - 550 CE [At this Site]
From Herodotus, Strabo, Diodorus, the King of Axum, and Procopius of Caesarea.
- Accounts of Ancient
Mauretania c. 430 BCE- 550 CE [At this Site]
From Herodotus, Strabo, and Procopius of Caesarea
-
The Periplus [Was At CCNY, now Internet Archive]
Written by a Greek resident of Alexandria in Egypt during the first century BCE, this text
is one of the oldest surviving accounts of the countries on Africa's east coast. A map
gives some idea of the size and scope of Africa and of the author's journey.
- The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century, complete. [At this Site]
Greek Colonies
Roman Africa
Byzantine Africa
- Procopius: The
Reconquest of Africa 534, from On the Wars IV:9 [At this Site]
A description of Belisarius' triumph, with Gelimer, King of the Vandal's in tow.
Back to Index
Ethiopia and
Christianity
General
Back to Index
Africa and Islam
General
Egypt
Maghreb
States
Culture
Back to Index
African Societies
General
West Africa
- WEB Saharan Trade: A Link Between Europe and Africa [Was At Advanced, now Internet Archive]
With maps of Ghana, Mali and Songhay.
- Gronniosaw, James Albert Ukawsaw: A narrative of the most remarkable particulars in the life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African prince, written by himself. published Newport,
RI, 1774 [At UNC] [Internet Archive version here]
- Early Arab Accounts of West Africa (Al Bakri; Al-Umari; Ibn Batutta; Leo Africanus), in one PDF file. [At AUI] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ghana [A non-Muslim Kingdom, lasts until c. 1235 CE]
- Mali [A Muslim Empire, from c. 1235 CE. Declines 15th Cent.]
-
2ND The Legend of Sundiata [Was At Princeton, now Internt Archive]
- Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by Djibriltamsir Niane, trans G.D. Pickett PDF file [At Boston] [Internet Archive version here]
-
MAP Map of Mansa Musa's Northern
Africa
From Bibliothèque Nationale de France. [Now Intertnet Archive]
Map of North Africa in which figures the Atlas Mountains, the king of Mali (Mansa Musa),
the king of Organa, the king of Nubia, the king of Bablyon, and the Red Sea. (BNF, ESP 30)
Atlas Catalan, Spain, Majorca, c, 14th Century
- Al Umri: Mali and Mansa Musa 1324 [At Boston] [Internet Archive version here]
- 2ND Richard Hooker: Mali [Was At WSU, now Internet Archive]
- Songhay [Exists from 11th Cent. Challenges Mali from c. 1400 CE.
Ends early 17th Cent.]
- Leo Africanus: Songhai 1500s [At Boston] [Internet Archive version here]
- 2ND Richard Hooker: Songhay [Was At WSU, now Internet Archive]
- The Hausa Kingdoms
- Kanem-Bornu
- Benin
- Richard Eden: Decades of the new World 1555 [Was At WSU, now Internet Archive]
European traders at the royal court of Benin.
- The Forest Kingdoms
East Africa
Zimbabwe
- Wikipedia: Kingdom of Mutupa/The Mwenemutapa Empire
- WEB Zimbabwe Slide Show [Was At Maricopa, now Internet Archive]
A 23 image slide show on Great Zimbabwe with text.
- Great Zimbabwe [Was At Then Again, now Internet Archive]
- Great Zimbabwe Ruins [Now at Internet Archive]
Modern dating techniques indicate that the city was started around 1200 CE and occupied
for about four centuries. For decades western researchers tried to deny that it was built
by Africans. [It was!]
Bands and Segementary Societies
Cultures
Religion
- African High Gods [Was At Mircea Eliade Page, now Internet Archive]
- Creation Stories [Was At Mircea Eliade Page, now Internet Archive]
- Relations with the Divine [Was At Mircea Eliade Page, now Internet Archive]
- Religious Specialists [Was At Mircea Eliade Page, now Internet Archive]
Back to Index
The Impact of Slavery
General
The Slave Trade
Enslaved People
- Oladuah Equiano: The Life of Gustavus Vassa [At this Site]
- Oladuah Equiano: The Life of Gustavus Vassa excerpts [Was At Northpark, now Internet Archive]
- Oladuah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, London, 1789 [At Brycchan Carey] [Internet Archive backup here]
- Oladuah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, London, 1789 [At newsreel.com] [Internet Archive backup here]
- WEB American Slave Narratives: An
Online Anthology [At Virginia] [Internet Archive backup here]
- WEB North American Slave Narratives [At UNC] [Internet Archive backup here]
- WEB Excerpts from Slave Narratives [At UHouston] [Internet Archive backup here]
Edited by Steven Mintz. Includes accounts from enslavement to the end of slavery in the US. All texts below are links to the Houston site]
- A European slave trader, John Barbot, describes the African slave trade (1682)
- A Muslim merchant, Ayubah Suleiman Diallo, recalls his capture and enslavement (1733)
- Olaudah Equiano, an 11-year old Ibo from Nigeria remembers his kidnapping into slavery (1789)
- Venture Smith relates the story of his kidnapping at the age of six (1798)
- A European slave trader, James Bardot, Jr., describes a shipboard revolt by enslaved Africans (1700)
- Olaudah Equiano describes the horrors of the Middle Passage (1789)
- A doctor, Alexander Falconbridge, describes conditions on an English slaver (1788)
- Olaudah Equiano describes his arrival in the New World (1789)
- An English physician, Alexander Falconbridge, describes the treatment of newly arrived slaves in the West Indies (1788)
- Olaudah Equiano describes West African religious beliefs and practices (1789)
- Charles Ball remembers a slave funeral, which incorporated traditional African customs (1837)
- Peter Randolph describes the religious gathers slaves held outside of their master's supervision (1893)
- Henry Bibb discusses "conjuration" (1849)
The Ending of Slavery
Back to Index
European Imperialism
General
Analyses and Criticism of Imperialism
- John A. Hobson (1858-1940): Imperialism
1902, excerpts [At this Site]
-
John A. Hobson (1858-1940): The
Economic Bases of Imperialism [At Marxists.org]
-
Vladimir Illyich Lenin (1870-1924): Imperialism and the Split in
Socialism 1916 [At Marxists.org][Full Text]
-
Vladimir Illyich Lenin (1870-1924): Imperialism, The Highest Stage of
Capitalism 1916 [At Marxists.org][Full Text]
- Edward Morel: The Black Man's Burden, 1903, excerpts [At this Site]
- Joseph Conrad (1857-1924): Heart of Darkness, 1902, short extracts [Was At WSU, now Internet Archive]
- Joseph Conrad (1857-1924): Heart of Darkness, 1902, full text [Project Gutenberg]
- Joseph A. Schumpeter: The Sociology of Imperialism 1918 [At this Site]
-
George Orwell: Shooting an
Elephant [At George Orwell.org][Full Text]
- 2ND Gerald Remphal: The New
Imperialism [Was At WNEC, now Internet Archive]
Exploration/Missionary Activities
British Africa
Belgian Africa
- Léopold II: Lettre de au Ministre Beernaert au sujet de l'Etat indépendant du Congo 3 juillet 1890. In French [Was at Skynet, now Internet Archive]
- Henry Morton Stanley: "Is he not in Congo-land?" Excerpts from the writings of the nineteenth-century explorer From Through
the Dark Continent (1878) and The Founding of the Congo Free State (1885)
[Was At The Atlantic Magazine, now Internet Archive]
- Roger Casement (1864–1916): The Casement Report Correspondence and Report from His Majesty's Consul at Boma Respecting the Administration of the Independent State of the Congo 1904 full text [Project Gutenberg]
"The Casement Report [Wikipedia] detailed abuses in the Congo Free State which was under the private ownership of King Leopold II of Belgium. This report was instrumental in Leopold finally relinquishing his private holdings in Africa. Leopold had held ownership of the Congolese state since 1885, granted to him by the Berlin Conference, in which he exploited its natural resources (mostly rubber) for his own private wealth. "
- Joseph Conrad (1857-1924): Heart of Darkness, 1902, short extracts [Was At WSU, now Internet Archive]
- Joseph Conrad (1857-1924): Heart of Darkness, 1902, full text [Project Gutenberg]
- WEB The Congo [Was At Cayuga, now Internet Archive]
French Africa
German Africa
Portuguese Africa
South Africa
Liberia
Back to Index
The Fight for Independence
General
Algeria
Ghana
Kenya
South Africa
Back to Index
Modern Africa
General
-
Syllabus: Ethnicity, Class
and Power in Twentieth-Century Africa [Was At H-Net, now Internet Archive]
- WEB Ancestors in Africa: [Was At University of
Kent, now Internet Archive]
Selected readings and Mambila case material prepared by David Zeitlyn as part of the
Experience Rich Anthropology Project
-
WEB Africa Speaks: West African University Students Write About Their Lives [Now At Internet Archive]
"The texts were written in 1990-92 at the University of Niamey, Niger Republic, in
classes taught by Patricia Stoll. They provide unique and authentic insights into the
lives of young Africans."
- Robert D. Kaplan: The Coming Anarchy February 1996, and Proportionalism August 1996, The Atlantic Monthly [Was At The Atlantic, now Internet Archive]
Address Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, and the US response.
- African
Lives [At Washington Post] [Internet Archive version here]
- WEB Africa: Country Studies
Prepared for Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. These are full descriptions of the countries
concerned, in terms of history, geography, economy, etc. There are also useful
bibliographies. [At LOC]
International Organizations
Continuing Imperialism
Angola
- Angola Constitution, 1992
[At Bern]
Algeria
-
The Islamic Salvation Front National Provisional Executive Bureau: Communique No. 42 Algiers, November 14 1993 [Was At Cornell, now Internet Archive]
Cameroons
-
WEB Mama for story [Was at UKC, now Internet Archive]
Texts from David Zeitlyn and Ian Fowler on Cameroons.
Congo [Brazzaville]
- Congo (Brazzaville)
Constitution, 1992 [At ICL]
Congo [Zaire]
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
-
WEB Richard Pankhurst: Collection of Essays [Was At Abyssinia Cyber Gateway, now Internet Archive]
Covers all aspects of Ethiopian history from ancient times to the present.
- Map of
Ethiopia [At Upenn]
-
WEB Images from Ethiopia
-
WEB Ethiopia Page [Was At Abbysinia Gateway, now Internet Archive]
A comprehensive listing of Ethiopia links, ancient and modern..
Gambia
- WEB Nijii [Was Momodou Camara's Homepage, now Internet Archive]
Kenya
Liberia
- Liberia: UN Report (excerpts) Security Council S/1996/47, 23 January 1996 Fifteenth Progress Report. [Was At
Africa Action, now Internet Archive]
Madagascar
- Madagascar Constitution,
1992 [At ICL]
-
David Graeber: The Disastrous Ordeal of 1987: an historical ethnography about a village called Betafo in
central Madagascar. [Was At H-Net, now Internet Archive]
Malawi
Mauritania
Morocco
- Morocco Constitution, 1992
[At ICL]
Namibia
-
2ND Elizabeth Marshall Thomas: The Desert [Was At One
World, now Internet Archive]
-
2ND Elizabeth Marshall Thomas: The Birth [Was At One
World, now Internet Archive]
- Namibia Constitution, 1990 [At ICL]
Nigeria
Rwanda
- Rwanda Constitution, 1991
[ICL]
- The Atlantic Report: Rwanda The Atlantic Monthly, June 1964, [Was At The Atlantic, now Internet Archive]
- Stanley Meisler: Rwanda and Burundi The Atlantic Monthly, September 1973, [Was At The Atlantic, now Internet Archive]
discusses the genocide of 1973, long before the genocide of1994.
- Violence and Unrest in Central AfricaThe Atlantic Monthly, November 1996, [Was At The Atlantic, now Internet Archive]
South Africa
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
- Rhodesia: Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Documents 1965 [At this Site]
- Prime Minister Ian Smith: Announcement of Unilateral Declaration of Independence,
November 11, 1965
- Prime Minister Harold Wilson: The Position of the British Government on the Unilateral
Declaration of Independenec by Rhodesia, Speech to Parliament, November 11,1965
- Soviet Government Statement: The Situation in Southern Rhodesia, November 15, 1965
Back to Index
Gender and Sexualities in Modern Africa
- Women's Lives
- Constructions of Masculinity
- Female Circumcision/Female Genital Mutilation
- Homosexuality
Back to Index
Further Resources on
African History
[Note this was once quite an extensive section, but guides to the web turned out to be very hard to maintain. Good advice now is to look up African history on Wikipedia and consult the further resources links at the bottom of many articles. Wikipedia is never a place to end research but it is a good place to start.]
- WEB GUIDES
- AFRICA INFORMATION SOURCES
- TIMELINE Timeline [Was At Central Oregon CC, now Internet Archive]
Splendid multi part chronology, with links to texts, images, discussions. The best of the
timelines online.
-
TIMELINE WebChron: Africa [Was At Then Again, now Internet Archive]
Useful chronology.
- ACADEMIC PAGES
- OTHER AFRICAN STUDIES RESOURCES
-
WEB Clyde Winters Page [Was Geocities, now Internet Archive]
Beyond "Afrocentrism." Winters posts article on the African origin of *every*
culture - China, Olmecs, Maya, Harrapa, etc.
- WEB Christine's
African American Genealogy Site [Internet Archive version here]
A really good site on African and African-American genealogy.
- WEB Mircea Eliade: From Primitives to Zen [Was at Eliade, now Internet Archive]
Complete texts of Eliade's religion anthology online.
Back to Index
Other Resources
Back to Index
© This text is copyright. The specific electronic form, and any notes and questions are
copyright. Permission is granted to copy the text, and to print out copies for personal
and educational use. No permission is granted for commercial use.
If any copyright has been infringed, this was unintentional. The possibility of a site such as this, as with other collections of electronic texts, depends on the large
availability of public domain material from texts translated before 1927. [In the US, all
texts issued before 1929 are now in the public domain. Texts published before 1964 may be
in the public domain if copyright was not renewed after 28 years. This site seeks to abide
by US copyright law: the copyright status of texts here outside the US may be different.]
Efforts have been made to ascertain the copyright status of all texts here, although,
occasionally, this has not been possible where older or non-US publishers seem to have
ceased existence. Some of the recently translated texts here are copyright to the
translators indicated in each document. These translators have in every case given
permission for non-commercial reproduction. No representation is made about the
copyright status of texts linked off-site. This site is intended for educational use.
Notification of copyright infringement will result in the immediate removal of a text
until its status is resolved.
NOTES:
The Internet Africa History Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The date of inception was
1998. Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site
name or location]. WEB indicates a link to one of small
number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable
overview.
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 24 October 2024 [CV]
|