Born in Blackness
Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War
by Howard W French

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Author(s)

Howard W. French

Publication, year

New York : Liveright, 2022

Scope

517 Pages, illustrated, maps, 21 cm.

ISBN

9781324092407

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In a narrative spanning more than six centuries, Howard W. French reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe’s dehumanizing engagement with the “dark” continent. According to French the first impetus for the Age of Discovery was not Europe’s yearning for ties with Asia, but rather its centuries-old desire to forge a trade in gold with legendarily rich Black societies in the heart of West Africa.

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Location

Cabinet 29 - 6: Expanded Space ; Global Art ; Theorie

Remarks

Includes notes, index