The Environmental History of Subsistence and Extraction in Africa before 1900

How did Africa become the poorest continent? To answer this, this course explores relationships between environment and society from ancient times through the beginning of the colonial era. Topics include foraging, cultivating, herding, metallurgy, population movement, long-distance trade, the Atlantic slave trade, European conquest, and imperial occupation. We also examine concepts of wealth, poverty, and justice. Reviewing case studies from different regions, we consider the ecological, demographic, social, economic, and political factors that shaped production, as well as the global developments that made Africa vulnerable to resource extraction for external profit. No experience of African history required. P