Table of contents

Covers the history of the entire African continent, from prehistory to the present day A Companion to African History embraces the diverse regions, subject matter, and disciplines of the African continent, while also providing chronological and geographical coverage of basic historical developments. Two dozen essays by leading international scholars explore the challenges facing this relatively new field of historical enquiry and present the dynamic ways in which historians and scholars from other fields such as archaeology, anthropology, political science, and economics are forging new directions in thinking and research. Comprised of six parts, the book begins with thematic approaches to African history—exploring the environment, gender and family, medical practices, and more. Section two covers Africa’s early history and its pre-colonial past—early human adaptation, the emergence of kingdoms, royal power, and warring states. The third section looks at the era of the slave trade and European expansion. Part four examines the process of conquest—the discovery of diamonds and gold, military and social response, and more. Colonialism is discussed in the sixth section, with chapters on the economy transformed due to the development of agriculture and mining industries. The last section studies the continent from post World War II all the way up to modern times. Aims at capturing the enthusiasms of practicing historians, and encouraging similar passion in a new generation of scholars Emphasizes linkages within Africa as well as between the continent and other parts of the world All chapters include significant historiographical content and suggestions for further reading Written by a global team of writers with unique backgrounds and views Features case studies with illustrative examples In a field traditionally marked by narrow specialisms, A Companion to African History is an ideal book for advanced students, researchers, historians, and scholars looking for a broad yet unique overview of African history as a whole.

Timed perfectly for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Chuck Korr and Marvin Close's More Than Just a Game tells the timeless true story of how political prisoners under apartheid found hope and dignity through soccer. In the hell that was Robben Island, inmates united courageously in an act of protest. Beginning in 1964, they requested the right to play soccer during their exercise periods. Denied repeatedly, they risked beatings and food deprivation by repeating their request for three years. Finally granted this right, the prisoners banded together to form a multi-tiered, pro-level league that ran for more than two decades and served as an impassioned symbol of resistance against apartheid. Former Robben Island inmate Nelson Mandela noted in the documentary FIFA: 90 Minutes for Mandela, "Soccer is more than just a game.... The energy, passion, and dedication this game created made us feel alive and triumphant despite the situation we found ourselves in."

This text tells the story of Robben Island. For more than four centuries it has been a place of banishment, exile and imprisonment but, since the 1960s, it has become an international symbol of the brutality of apartheid on one hand and of human dignity on the other.

In 1976, while imprisoned on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela secretly wrote the bulk of his authobiography, Long Walk to freedom. The manuscript was smuggled out, along with essays by other prominent political prisoners, by fellow prisoner Mac Maharaj. These essays are published in this volume.

A visual documentary of Mandela's twenty-seven years in prison on Robben Island, using images, documents, and diary and letter extracts.

This is a non-fiction book written as fiction, an harrowing task; the description of events are laid out differently than they happened; words and speeches have been changed to colourful words, meaning the same thing uttered by the non-actors inmates, words put into their mouths for effectiveness. All incidents, situations, conditions and confrontations are recognizable to inmates. The book Robben Island is not about geography or science; it is about struggle emotions, about how some could forgo the pleasures of a limited life, throw everything and answer the call for service, sacrifice and suffering for the liberation of mankind, to be cooped in Robben Island. A Sobukwe adage tells of a very lean hungry fox coming across a well-fed dog and ask asks something like this: dog where do we catch something to eat; the dog replied well I have plenty to eat where I come from, I am fed, come along with me. Along the way the fox notices a belt around the dogs neck and ask what this is on your neck? The dog replied I am being tied to a pole where I leave most times. Wow! the fox exclaimed: better hungry and free than plenty in bondage. By Robben Island we refer to the penal colony island where anti-colonial struggle heroes were imprisoned, from Makana the left-handed (Full name Makanda Nxele 1818) to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe (1963 after serving 3 years from 1960). Robben Island more pronounced prisoner was Nelson Mandela. But most sad is fact that Robben Island held unsung heroes of the PAC who spent full life sentences in a bid to free South Africa from apartheid colonialism and racism. Prominent were Jafta Masemola, Ike Mthimunye, Philemon Tefo, Samuel ChipsChibane, John Nkosi, Dimake Pro Malepe. A 20 year full term is also Life sentence that happened to Johnson Mlambo. We lament the names of those others we could not mention here because the design for the unsung heroes is that is that their names disappear out of mind. Robben Island is now a tourist attraction whose design was to help ex-Robben Island prisoners out of poverty and settle back in society in the manner Americans take care of their veterans, and a trust was formed called Makana Trust; but endemic corruption prevents the Makana Trust from fulfilling that duty, as tourism in Robben island makes millions of money. And corruption or politics of the Makana Trust, whichever, prevented help from them republishing this book that was hailed by the late Eskia Mphahlele as the best to come out of Robben Island. And why not, I was a small fry in that conundrum.