Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: understanding the contours of Africa's past -- Part I. Polity, society, and economy: ingenuity and violence in the nineteenth century -- Western transitions: slave trade and "legitimate" commerce in Atlantic Africa -- Eastern intrusions: slaves and ivory in Eastern Africa -- Southern frontiers: colony and revolution in Southern Africa -- Part II. Africa and Islam: revival and reform in the nineteenth century -- Revival and reaction: North African Islam -- Jihad: revolutions in Western Africa -- The eastern crescent: the Islamic frontier in Eastern Africa -- Part III. Africa and Europe: commerce, conflict and co-option, to c.1920 113 -- The compass and the cross -- "Whatever happens ... ": towards the scramble -- Africans adapting: conquest and partition -- Part IV. Colonialisms -- "Pax colonia"? Empires of soil and service -- Hard times: protest, identity, and depression -- Battles home and away: Africa in global war (again) -- Part V. The dissolution of empire -- The beached whale: colonial strategies in the postwar world -- Conceiving and producing nations -- Compromising conflict: routes to independence -- Part VI. Legacies, new beginnings, and unfinished business -- Unsafe foundations: challenges of independence -- Violence and the militarization of political culture -- Rectification, redemption, and reality: issues and trends in contemporary Africa.

"A History of Modern Africa" explores two centuries of the continent's political, economic, and social history. This thorough yet accessible text helps readers to understand key concepts, recognize significant themes, and identify the processes that shaped the modern history of Africa. Emphasis is placed on the consequences of colonial rule, and the links between the precolonial and postcolonial eras. Author Arthur Reid argues that Africa's struggle for economic and political stability in the nineteenth century escalated and intensified through the twentieth century, the effects of which are still felt in the present day. -- From publisher's description.