Based on substantial new research from primary sources and archives, this accessible interpretative history of West Central Africa from earliest times to 1852 gives comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the region. With equal focus given to both internal histories or inter-state interactions and external dynamics and relationships, this study represents an original approach to regional histories which goes beyond the existing scholarship on the area. By contextualising and expanding its range, to include treatment of the Portuguese colony of Angola, John K. Thornton provides new understandings of significant events, people, and inter-regional interactions which aid the grounding of the history of West Central Africa within a broader context. A valuable resource to students and scholars of African history.
- An accessible interpretative history of West Central Africa from earliest times to 1852
- Equal focus is given to both internal histories or inter-state interactions and external dynamics and relationships
- Features an expanded regional focus including treatment of the Portuguese colony of Angola
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Awards
- Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2021, Choice Reviews
Reviews & endorsements
'Highly recommended.' R. I. Rotberg, Choice

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Product details
- Date Published: March 2020
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781107127159
- length: 384 pages
- dimensions: 235 x 158 x 24 mm
- weight: 0.66kg
- contains: 7 maps
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
1. The Development of States in West Central African to 1540
2. The Struggle for Ambundu and the Founding of Angola
3. Ndongo and Portugal at War
4. Queen Njinga's Struggle for Ndongo
5. The Thirty Years' War Comes to Central Africa
6. The Emergence of Lunda
7. The Weight of Lunda on the West
8. Culmination: Lunda, Luba and the Ovimbundu
Epilog
Look Inside
Author
John K. Thornton, Boston University
John Thornton is Professor of History at Boston University where he is a specialist in the history of pre-colonial Africa and the African Diaspora. He is the author of numerous books, including Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World (1992, 2nd edition 1998), The Kongolese Saint Anthony (1998), Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles and the Foundation of the Americas (2007) which was awarded the Herskovits Prize by the African Studies Association, and A Cultural History of the Atlantic World (2012) which was awarded the World History Association Book Prize.
Awards
- Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2021, Choice Reviews