Bill Freund is Professor Emeritus of Economic History at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

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List of Illustrations and Tables.- Preface.- Abbreviations.- 1. Africanist History and the History of Africa.- 2. Material and Cultural Development in Africa before the Nineteenth Century.- 3. The European Intrusion in the Era of Merchant Capital.- 4. The Era of Legitimate Commerce, 1800-1870.- 5. The Conquest of Africa.- 6. The Material Basis of Colonial Society, 1900-1940.- 7. Culture, Class and Social Change in Colonial Africa, 1900-1940.- 8. Industrialisation and South African Society, 1900-1940.- 9. The Decolonisation of Africa, 1940-1960.- 10. Tropical Africa 1960-80: Class, State and the Problem of Development.- 11. Southern Africa: the Liberation Struggles.- 12. Structural Adjustment Kicks In.- 13. Democracies, Dictatorships and Disasters: Africa into the Twenty-first Century.- 14. A New Africa: Cultural and Social History since Independence.- Annotated Bibliography.- Index.

An established introductory textbook that provides students with a refreshing account of the complex events in sub-Saharan Africa since 1800. Aligning itself with the new critical tendencies emerging in Africa, the text examines indigenous social developments prior to the Industrial Revolution and the impact of colonialism from the perspective of class formation and capital penetration.

This is an ideal core text for modules on Modern African History or African Politics - or a supplementary text for broader modules on African History - which may be offered at the upper levels of an undergraduate History, Politics or African Studies degree. In addition it is a crucial resource for students who may be studying modern African history for the first time as part of a taught postgraduate degree in African History, African Politics or African Studies.