Para envío
'Siollun's books are gripping' Financial Times
'An essential book you'll want to re-read many times - there is no more eloquent and informed guide than Max Siollun' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland
'Incredibly necessary, magnificently done' Remi Adekoya, author of It's Not About Whiteness, It's About Wealth
'Max Siollun has succeeded at making Nigeria's pre-colonial history accessible without flattening the tremendous diversity of its many peoples' Alex Thurston, University of Cincinnati
'An unforgettable read' Matthew T. Page, former US State Department Nigeria expert
'Max Siollun brings history to life with a cinematic sweep and intellectual confidence' Gimba Kakanda, Co-Lead at the Presidential Initiative for Innovation, Policy Evaluation and Research
Much is known about what Europeans did in Africa, yet very little is known about Africa's history before its colonisation.
In this surprising exploration, Max Siollun uncovers societies that were not part of a backward 'Dark Continent', but which instead had rich lore to rival the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Pre-colonial West Africa had a mesmerising cast of revolutionaries, intellectuals, innovators, and villainous assassins. These include the family that overthrew three different 1000-year-old empires, the royal court official who engineered the death of four kings, and the young enslaved boy who became the first Black bishop in history, befriending Queen Victoria along the way.
This story of a dynamic and artistic people is a vital read for those who want to discover a forgotten era of West African history.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Prelude: In the Beginning: Nok
1. The Hausa Seven
2. Son of the Learned
3. Mohammed from Kanem
4. Northern Nigeria's First Family
5. Oduduwa's Children
6. The Men on Horseback
7. The Kings from Heaven
8. A Remarkable and Mysterious People
9. The Masterpieces of World Sculpture
10. The God Who Carries the World
11. Unknown Characters
12. The Black Bishop
13. The Sisterhood
Conclusion
