This course will introduce you to major developments in the political, economic and socio-cultural history of Africa before 1880. We will examine the nature of interactions between Africans and their environment; look at state formation and socio-cultural processes; as well as examine economic activities within Africa and between them and the outside world. The course should give you a fairly broad grounding in the history of Africa and prepare you for engagement with topics and issues in the future that have to do with the history of the continent.