Precolonial Black Africa

by Cheikh Anta Diop, Harold Salemson (Translation)

This comparison of the political and social systems of Europe and black Africa from antiquity to the formation of modern states demonstrates the black contribution to the development of Western civilization.

Genres: History, Africa, Nonfiction, Race, World History, Politics, Historical

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1987

About the author

Cheikh Anta Diop was an Afrocentric historian, anthropologist, physicist and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture.


Diop's first work translated into English, The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality, was published in 1974. It gained a much wider audience for his work. He proved that archaeological and anthropological evidence supported his view that Pharaohs were of Negroid origin. Some scholars draw heavily from Diop's groundbreaking work, , while others in the Western academic world do not accept all of Diop's theories. Diop's work has posed important questions about the cultural bias inherent in scientific research.
Diop showed above all that European archaeologists before and after the decolonization had understated and continued to understate the extent and possibility of Black civilizations.
The Swiss archaeologist Charles Bonnet's discoveries at the site of Kerma shed some light on the theories of Diop. They show close cultural links between Nubia and Ancient Egypt, though the relationship had been acknowledged for years. This does not necessarily imply a genetic relationship, however. Mainstream Egyptologists such as F. Yurco note that among peoples outside Egypt, the Nubians were closest ethnically to the Egyptians, shared the same culture in the predynastic period, and used the same pharaonoic political structure. He suggests that the peoples of the Nile Valley were one regionalized population, sharing a number of genetic and cultural traits.
Diop argued that there was a shared cultural continuity across African peoples that was more important than the varied development of different ethnic groups shown by differences among languages and cultures over time.

His books were largely responsible for, at least, the partial re-orientation of attitudes about the place of African people in history, in scholarly circles around the world.

Reviews

[Kisrene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides an analysis of Africa's contributions to modern Western civilization. Great African kingdoms such as Songhi, Mali and Zimbabwe is evidence of African genius and that Black history does not begin with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. White supremacist bias, anti-Black racism and discrimination in Egyptology, what we call "history", anthropology, and archeology, has geo-politically and ideologically removed Egypt from the continent of Africa. Professor Diop boldly offers readers an African-centred perspective that challenges such Eurocentric narratives. This book, and similarly Diop's "African Origins of Civilization" answers the question about what it truly means to look at Africa through anti-racist and African/Black eyes - outside of the white gaze. A highly recommended read for those interested in anti racism education, dismantling anti-Black racism, disrupting white supremacy, history, geography, politics and anthropology. A great book to kick start Black History/African Heritage Month.

[kripsoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until now (1960, date of the first edition), the history of Black Africa has always been written with dates as dry as laundry lists and no one has almost ever tried to find the key that unlocks the door to the intelligence the understanding of African society
Failing which no researcher has ever succeeded in revivifying the African past in bringing it back to life in our minds before our eyes so to speak while remaining strictly within the realm of science Yet the documents at our disposal allow us to do that practically without any break in continuity for a period of two thousand years, at least insofar as West Africa is concerned
Therefore it had become indispensable to unfreeze in a manner of speaking to defossilize that African history which was there at hand, lifeless, imprisoned in the documents
However this work is not properly speaking a book of history but it is an auxiliary tool indispensable to the historian It indeed affords him a scientific understanding of all the historical facts hitherto unexplained In that sense it is a study in African historical sociology It permits us no longer to be surprised at the stagnation or rather the relatively stable equilibrium of precolonial African societies: the analysis of their socio-political structures presented in it allowing us to gauge the stabilizing factors in African society One thereby understands the technical and other lags to be the result of a different kind of development based upon absolutely objective fundamental causes
Thus there is no longer any reason for embarrassment
Once the awareness achieved we can immediately and fully in almost every slightest detail relive all the aspects of Africans national life the administrative, judicial, economic, and military organizations, that of labor, the technical level, the migrations and formations of people and nationalities thus their ethnic genesis and consequently almost linguistic genesis etc
Upon absorbing any such human experience we sense deep within ourselves a true reinforcement of our feeling of cultural oneness

[Sincerae Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite lost while reading the first thirty or so pages of this history. I was expecting a more chronologically linear history of Africa, but in the preface Cheikh Anta Diop writes:

'This book is not properly speaking a book of history; but it is an auxiliary tool indispensable to the historian. It indeed affords him a scientific understanding of all the historical facts hitherto unexplained. In that sense, it is a study in African historical sociology.'

I did come to really enjoy this book. It's a patchwork of information on pre-colonial Africa, the history and societal structures. Diop directs the reader's attention throughout the book mainly to cultures and old empires of West Africa chiefly Songhai, Ghana, Mali, and Cayor. He compares the lives of the masses of African people and the nobility with that of those in Europe at similar time periods. West Africa after the coming of Islam is talked about extensively and how the religion often blended in well with local beliefs. He ends the book discussing the origins and similarities of names in West Africa to many found in the Nile Basin going back to pharaonic times. Much of the information that Diop presents comes from earlier sources such as the Tarikh es Sudan, a chronicle written in Arabic in the 17th century.

Comparing this book to others I've started reading in the last couple of years about African history, I'd say once past about page 36 Pre-colonial Black Africa is another very good introductory book for those starting to learn about Africa south of the Sahara.

[Whitlaw Tanyanyiwa Mugwiji · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for those who are interested in pre-colonial Africa and those who espouse the Pan African ideology. It is a difficult book to read, and must not be read quickly, but that as it may it is a worthy read.

[Adam Calhoun · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird book. Two of the first three chapters in this book about Precolonial Black Africa are about the history of Classical Greece and the development of Europe. A lot of the book is obviously factually incorrect (there has never been an uprising in Africa?!). When it says a history of Black Africa, it really means a very small region of Western Africa despite constantly referring to history in all of "Africa".

But it is still an interesting historical ethnography, even if the consistent inclusion of historical falsehoods make me question a lot of it.

[Fabio Bertino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una bellissima analisi dell'antropologo senegalese che controbatte e smentisce l'antropologia "bianca" funzionale al colonialismo europeo

[JRT · Rating 5 out of 5]

This classic by the great Cheikh Anta Diop is a comparative analysis of the social, political, and economic organization of various Black African states, and their European counterparts. Diop traces the development of both continents, focusing his attention on the advanced nature of African empires in the pre-colonial era.

Diop starts out by highlighting the differences in “caste” systems in West Africa, noting that while the continent did have social and economic hierarchy, it was not inherently exploitative the way European systems were. Diop states that European states formed out of a “self-centered” patriotism of the city-state, supported by the power of the Church. Contrarily, African states never revolved around individualism, and thus were able to keep hyper-nationalism and chauvinism at bay.

Diop continuously highlights the continuity of African kingdoms across the continent, a theme his work is known for. He also states that monarchic Africa, while dominant across the continent, did not preclude the tribalistic African traditions at the margins of the great African states. Diop links the traditional African “aristocratic collectivism” to notions of socialism, explaining that despite psychological and spiritual differences (with Europeans), Africans were naturally inclined to seek solidarity, disavow massive levels of individual wealth accumulation, and champion the sharing of resources. African clans also shared socialistic characteristics (“clanic collectivism was proletarian”).

Diop also details how domestic slavery was “rife” in African society, and how slavery was the “great chink in African social organization.” Diop explains that both Arabs and Europeans were able to acquire Black African slaves by attaching themselves to the structure and trade that already existed in pre-colonial Africa. Even Arab and Europeans living in the Ghana Empire were able to acquire slaves—not through conquest—but through regular imperial trade, and all under the auspices of a Black African emperor.

This book makes clear that political organization under the African empires were more developed and superior than that of the European states from the period of the fall of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages. The European masses suffered under a state of feudalism, while Africa did not. Diop explains this by identifying (1) African religion (which prevented them from taking advantage of political weaknesses to devolve the system into feudalism); (2) Africa’s strong imperial administrative control that left little chance for feudal tendencies or succession; (3) the lack of constant, persistent barbarian invasions that justified the need for feudal security (Arabs / Islam never “conquered” Africa the way Barbarians did Europe, due to the strength of Africa’s various empires); and (4) a different relationship to land (African Kings and nobility didn’t “possess” or “own” the land, the people did).

The abundance of gold in Africa also defined the differences between African and European economics. There was so much gold that African empires had no issue allowing “peasants” to accumulate wealth in the form of gold dust from the mines. European serfs got no such opportunity. I found Chapter 6, which covered the differences in economic organization between Europe and Africa, the most riveting in the whole book. Diop firmly dismissed the racist notion that pre-colonial Africa was “underdeveloped” or “primitive” economically, noting that only the tribes on the margins of African kingdoms maintained the traditional practices of bartering. The empires / kingdoms, to the contrary, were highly advanced in their utilization of currency (gold coins, salt, gold dust, etc.), stock markets, merchant classes, import and export taxation, and extensive foreign trade (Diop notes that precolonial Africa was “hospitable to foreigners”). Diop essentially explains that wealth was easily accumulated and widely distributed in Africa due to the abundance of land and natural resources. So much so that there was little to no poverty in pre-colonial Africa. Due to this abundance, African populations were healthy and robust, and would have remained that way but for the escalation of slave trade.

Citing Karl Marx, Diop briefly traces the rise of capitalism (born out of feudal relations) in Europe, noting that the goal was profit and super-profit, and relied on the enclosure of common land and subjugation of former surfs into a peasant, wage-laboring class. Diop notes that as capitalism created the conditions for unemployment and poverty, the European states turned to repressive measures to ensure that the peasants would not revolt against the system. These measures essentially resulted in the mass enslavement of the peasant class by European employers, ultimately leading to the fleeing from Europe by some of these peasants (Diop notes that many white Americans today are the descendants of enslaved Europeans).

Diop next details why capitalism was slow to develop in Africa, first explaining that capitalism is a “European export,” and thus never developed locally outside Europe independent of European imposition. Contrasted from Europe, African economies revolved around “domestic industry,” where every home produces the means for their own survival (depending on which labor “caste” they belonged to). For the other areas of basic need, Africans relied on open market purchases and trade by barter. Diop reinforces the differences between European and African property relations, explaining that Africans did not conceive of “private property” and “land ownership” the way Europeans did. As such, private land sales in Africa were basically non-existent. In effect, everyone in African society—even slaves—were land owners. It was truly a society of the commons.

Finally, Diop also spends time in chapter 6 contrasting European enslavement of other Europeans with its African counterpart. Diop makes clear that African slaves were in a much better social position than European slaves and lived under much better conditions. Further, the African slave trade directed by Europeans was far worse on Africans than the trade directed by Africans.

This summary doesn’t begin to touch on the depth and detail of of Diop’s analysis. This is a must-read for anyone looking to definitely refute the racist narrative that Africa has no history.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A HISTORICAL AND DOCUMENTARY PERSPECTIVE ON ANCIENT AFRICA

Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986) was a historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who was involved in the freedom and nationalization movements in Africa.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1960 book, “Until now, the history of Black Africa has always been written with dates as dry as laundry lists, and no one has almost ever tried to find the key that unlocks the door to the intelligence, the understanding of African society. Failing which, no researcher has ever succeeded in revivifying the African past, in bringing it back to life in our minds, before our very eyes, so to speak, while remaining strictly within the realm of science. Yet the documents at our disposal allow us to do that practically without any break in continuity for a period of two thousand years, at least insofar as West Africa is concerned. Therefore, it had become indispensable to unfreeze… that African history which was … imprisoned in the documents. However, this work is not properly speaking a book of history; but it is an auxiliary tool… [which] affords [the historian] a scientific understanding of all the historical facts hitherto unexplained.

“In that sense, it is a study in African historical sociology. It permits us no longer to be surprised at the … relatively stable equilibrium of precolonial African societies: the analysis of their socio-political structures presented in it allowing us to gauge the stabilizing factors in African society… Thus, there is no longer any reason for embarrassment. Once this awareness is achieved, we can immediately and fully in almost every slightest detail relive all the aspects of African national life: the administrative, judicial, economic, and military organizations, that of labor, the technical level, the migrations and formations of peoples and nationalities, thus their ethnic genesis, and consequently almost linguistic genesis, etc. Upon absorbing any such human experience, we sense deep within ourselves a true reinforcement of our feeling of cultural oneness.”

He notes, “It has often been maintained, without production of any conclusive historical documents, that it was the Aryans themselves who created the caste system after having subjugated the Black aboriginal Dravidian populace. Had this been the case, the criterion of color should have been at its foundation: there should have been at most three castes, Whites, Blacks, and the gamut of crossbreeds. However, this is not the case, and in India also the castes effectively correspond to a division of labor, without any ethnic connotations.” (Pg. 12)

He states, “Without any doubt, these universalist ideas derived from the southern world and in particular from Egypt. A thousand years before the Greek thinkers, Socrates Plato, Zeno, etc., the Egyptians, with the reform of Amenophis IV, had clearly conceived the idea of a universal God responsible for creation, whom all men, without distinction, could adore: He was not the God of any particular tribe, nor of any city, or even any nation, but indeed the God of all humankind.” (Pg. 31-32)

He observes, “It would not be outside the framework or our main topic---the meaning of royalty---for us to examine the nature of this new power which has been inaccurately dubbed a ‘republic.’ To do this, it is indispensable that we trace the genesis of events and return to the village of Koki-Diop. We cannot be certain of the origins of the Diop clan, for, in the present state of research, it is difficult to trace their migration across Africa by relying on totemic names, for example. There is no doubt, however, that some Diops were to be found in Nubia…” (Pg. 69-70)

He explains, “Insofar as there exists a certain persistent tendency to allude to more or less mythical White conquerors to explain African civilizations, it is worthwhile to reestablish the truth strictly based on facts and documents, with regard to the relationship between White and Black cultures toward the close of the First Millennium---when Africa’s history was beginning just about everywhere… as early as the eighth century… Arab traders crossed the Sahara as far as the Sudan… Henceforth new connections, never again interrupted, were being forged with the outside, particularly the Arab Orient and the Mediterranean world. These first traders discovered that the Sudan was governed by a Black emperor whose capital was Ghana…” (Pg. 89-90)

He continues, “The white populations then inhabiting the land were under the strict authority of the Blacks… All the white minorities living in Africa might own Black slaves, but slaves and white masters alike were all subjects of a Black Emperor; they were all under the same African political power. No historian worth his salt can permit the obscuring of this politico-social context, so that only the one fact of Black slavery emerges from it.” (Pg. 90, 92)

He points out, “Africa, in the eyes of the specialists, is depicted as a land which prior to colonization was only at the level of a subsistence economy: the individual, virtually crushed by the force of nature, was able to produce only what he absolutely needed to survive. No creation, no activity reflecting a society freed from material constraints might be found there. Exchange relationships were governed by barter. Notions of money, credit … belong to a type of commerce connected with a higher economic organization: they could not have been found at the alleged level of African economy. Seldom has an opinion been so little founded on fact. This one arose from a preconceived idea of African societies: they had to be specifically primitive, therefore endowed in every respect with systems characteristic of such a condition.” (Pg. 130)

He comments, “After it contact with Africa, sixteenth-century Europe progressively lost the custom of internal slavery and, taking advantage of its superiority of arms, substituted Black slavery. After the contact with Europe, the last of Africa’s slaves suddenly got worse, since it them became possible for them to be sold to persons who would export them, with the whole chain of well-known evils entailed in these forced crossings. Slavery is the great chink in African social organization; but the documents available prove that the African slaves who were not deported in general enjoyed living conditions incomparably superior to those of white slaves in Europe. Slaves of the kings of Mali and the Askias of Gao enjoyed complete liberty of movement.” (Pg. 152-153)

He suggests, “in Black Africa to this very day, despite the formal doctrines of the Koran, there are no believers who dedicate themselves only to God and his Prophet; a third personage, the one known as his marabout, is needed by all laymen, from the masses up to the sovereign. The power of Islam was such that it might have eliminated or attenuated slavery in the Middle Ages if it had decreed that the enslavement of one man by another was a mortal sin.” (Pg. 168)

He summarizes, “Long before colonization, then, Black Africa had acceded to civilization. It might be argued that these centers of civilization were, for the most part, influenced by Islam, and that there was nothing original, nothing specifically African about them. All that has gone before allows us to evaluate that. Moreover, we have already stressed that Christian Europe at the time was no more original than Mohammedan Black Africa.” (Pg. 184-185)

This book will be of great interest to those studying the history of Africa.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A somewhat patchwork appraisal of the economic and social structures of West Africa south of the Sahara - predominantly the successor empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai (found in approximately the modern nation of Mali). The book is somewhat difficult to follow for those not already familiar with the history of the region, and, while it starts with an interesting discussion of how the differences between European and African social structures led to differences in how the societies evolved, it doesn't really come together into a compelling narrative and diverges into a variety of more academic details.

I also found it a bit off-putting that it keeps referring to "black Africa" while almost entirely neglecting most of the continent.

As I'm looking for a good introductory narrative into the pre-colonial history of the region (ie. something like how "1491" did for the Americas), this really wasn't what I was looking for. I might give it another look when I've developed more familiarity with the subject.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have loved this book if it wasn't the case that it was so disorganized. Lots of interesting information, mostly about the West African empires, although a little bit also about Nubia and Zimbabwe.

More than a fluid story organized in chapters, the book seems like a patchwork of pieces of information scattered all across the pages. In many cases there are names and concepts thrown at the reader without any context (at least I'm ignorant enough to not know more of them). Sometimes there are writing inconsistencies in the names (there is a Mansa and a Mança, which seems suspiciously similar).

Again, the information is valuable, especially the comparison with medieval Europe, but the organization of the book is pretty poor. I hope I can find a book with a better structure that delivers the same information.

[Dion Engels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful but rather dull to read sadly

[A YOGAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'Afrique noire pré-coloniale – Der große historische Schock
Dieses Buch ist Cheikh Anta Diops intellektuelle Kriegserklärung an die koloniale Geschichtsschreibung. Mit der Präzision eines Naturforschers und dem Mut eines Revolutionärs nimmt sich Diop im Jahr 1960 – mitten in den Unabhängigkeitswellen – die Zeit, die politischen und sozialen Systeme des sogenannten „dunklen Kontinents“ systematisch mit jenen Europas von der Antike bis zur Moderne zu vergleichen.
Das Ergebnis ist entwaffnend: Afrika hat nicht auf Europa gewartet, um Politik zu erfinden. Diop zeigt, dass viele vorkoloniale afrikanische Gesellschaften hochentwickelte politische Strukturen, stabile Institutionen und ausgefeilte soziale Ordnungen besaßen – oftmals weit konsistenter als die der angeblich überlegenen Europäer.
Am Ende steht ein historischer Weckruf von maximaler Sprengkraft: Wenn Afrika vor der Kolonialisierung so gut organisiert war, worin bestand dann eigentlich der „zivilisatorische Beitrag“ des Westens?

[Jacob V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally a good read. Some of the claims are a bit over the top and unsubstantiated but these are not that difficult to identify. We can also appreciate alternative ideas and hypotheses about them because they give us some insight and food for thought. It is also interesting in the sense that other claims are very surprising -- and, indeed, verifiable and true. There's really a lot of interesting African history in here worth everyone's time.

Perhaps some of the more valuable observations are of a sociological nature and revelations about the West African psyche.

Diop's writing style is also entertaining and captivating.

Worth your time if you are interested in African history and I am a firm believer that it is best to have someone from that people or that region really tell us the history from a local perspective. You will not be disappointed with Diop in this regard at all.

[Juan Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's one thing to know vaguely that the people you come from, the numerous tribes & ways of life on the continent that is Africa, contributed heavily to what we call civilization. It is quite another to have it fleshed out with facts. That's what this book did for me.

From different cultures, to caste systems, to full on kingdoms. Diop also talks about significant historical realities, such as how land was viewed collectively as for everyone, that prevented certain developments that occurred in Indo-European & European cultures from taking place as they were unnecessary to the various African ways of life.

Diop also talks about societies that made contact with each other via trade & sometimes conquest, that makes it clear that civilization started in Africa & the world is indebted to it.

Short read but very thorough & packed with information that will have you thirsting for more.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheikh Anta Diop’s Precolonial Black Africa is a groundbreaking work that challenges Eurocentric narratives by highlighting the rich political, economic, and social structures of African civilizations before colonization. As a Gambian with Serer and Wolof heritage, I found this book deeply personal, especially seeing my own surname, Njie (Ndiaye), documented in its historical context. Diop’s linguistic analysis was particularly fascinating, especially the striking similarities between Wolof and ancient Egyptian words, reinforcing the deep historical connections between West and North Africa. The book not only restored knowledge I had lost about my roots but also strengthened my pride in the profound legacy of African civilizations.

[Jason Scoggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite scholarly work by one of the best African historians ever. This book is an excellent starting point for those looking for an introduction to pre-colonial civilizations in Africa, or those already deeply entrenched in the study looking to round a few corners. In a nutshell, Africa was thriving way before a foreign introduced what would be called "Civilization" in the form of "Christianity". Black Africa thrived out of a Mohammedan culture built on sharp principles and communion.

[Iman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can tell Cheikh changed the whole historical ballgame with this one. This is so well done and he is absolutely dedicated and brilliant. Despite being so full of tribal verbage, it was extensive and easy to follow. He cross examines theories and traces of lineage and movement using several historical works. Really well done. I even found two excerpts where he seems to uncover unnamed peoples talked about in the Quran (but these are my speculations).

[Tim Nowotny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very surprising book that does away with many stereotypes. I was fascinated by its perspective and how seemingly little things could shape the whole society. This should be known by more people. First to understand Africa better and to see how societies evolve

[H.R.H. Carpathia]

The book is interesting. Learning about the different nations and peoples was very helpful. The only thing about this book that bothered me was the title. "Pre-colonial" this makes it seem like Africa's history must be tied to Europe. Perhaps "Ancient and Medieval Africa" would fit better.

[Dingaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must-read for all mankind-the oppressor and the oppressed...it sets the record straight.

[Julius · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unstrukturiert, ohne roten Faden und nicht gut zu lesen. Stattdessen lieber A Companion to African Philosophy, herausgegeben von Wiredu.

[ERIC HALL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q

[Rigel Gotcho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. A testimony of African history before white supremacy.

[Laura]

Surprisingly accessible for a translated academic text. I recommend it to anyone interested in getting a more complete view of world history.

[BC Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some material is very dated, but the material on caste, architecture, social structures, cities was largely new to me. Informative.

[Monene Moila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read “Precolonial Black Africa” and “The African Origin of Civilization” by Cheikh Anta Diop three times, I continue to marvel at the depth and brilliance of these works.

Diop’s academic approach to African history is unmatched, as he dismantles Eurocentric narratives and uses evidence from history, linguistics, and science to reassert Africa’s pivotal role in the development of civilization.

Both books are dense but incredibly rewarding, offering a profound understanding of precolonial African societies and their global contributions. Each re-read feels like uncovering new layers of knowledge and empowerment, making these works essential for anyone passionate about African heritage and history.

[Samuel L · Rating 4 out of 5]

The information was very enlightening and interesting but the writing style was dry and boring😴 . Furthermore, at times the authors thoughts and the topics within each chapter didn’t always seem to fit, so at times I was lost and confused.

[Habeeb Akande · Rating 2 out of 5]

a useful read

[Reginald Boswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Unabridged account into the psychology of the age with stark contrasts to Western thought by the worlds leading modern scholar on African History Cheikh Anta Diop.

[Femi Kush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful from the great African scholar