Primary Sources for the Study of African History

      Primary sources are important for the study of any historical topic. They offer the student a first-hand view of the subject. A problem with studying pre-colonial African history, however, is that most of the primary sources were produced by Europeans and offer eurocentric and racist views of Africans and their culture.

      Used with care, however, these European accounts can be useful in delineating African activities. It has been asserted that while Europeans may not have understood what Africans were doing when they were describing them, in most cases the descriptions were accurate.[1]

      The following reader is designed to familiarize the student with some of the basic primary accounts in studying African history. It is by no means exhaustive; it is by nature selective. Readings have been chosen with an eye to their illumination of important themes in African history and the history of the slave trade.

Comments and suggestions may be directed to Tom Costa, at tmc5a@pluto.clinch.edu.

Notes

1. J.D. Fage, ed., A Guide to Original Sources For Precolonial Western Africa Published in European Languages, (rev. ed., African Studies Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994), vii.