“What is important, and in fact original, is that the texts presented in this collection deal with social facts, with forces of production, with production yields, social classes, material and economic life, which in effect constitute the bases of political, judicial, religious and philosophical concepts.” “In the context of the propaganda of the received tradition of the West, the testimonies of these European chroniclers weigh significantly in their descriptions of what they had seen in Africa during the precolonial era. These testimonies dispel many of the prejudices which are contained in the representation of Africa as other, which is a figment of lively imaginations rather than the rational reflection of what was presented before their eyes. The texts that make up this book are varied and multi-authored. In this way, the reader can gauge the extent to which what the chroniclers had seen are accurately compared from one observer to the next.” “Among the many observations made by the varied travelers is the fact of the industry, science, technology and art traditions which black Africans inherited, expressed themselves in and extended to a remarkable level of achievement. Thus the editing and annotation of this book have been informed by the necessity to reflect as accurate as possible a history as the sources and the data allowed.” “We wish to express our gratitude to colleagues and students of the Department of History, University of Brazzaville, who provided us with the opportunity to assemble these documents of living African History based on our own teaching.” Theophile Obenga “Readings in Precolonial Central Africa: Texts & Documents” Page v
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 09:51:16 +0000
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