The European Footprint in Atlantic Africa

The European Footprint in Atlantic Africa

In Warfare in Atlantic Africa: 1500-1800, John K. Thornton systematically discusses pre-colonial warfare in five distinct regions of Atlantic Africa. These five regions were most affected by the slave trade between 1500 and 1800 and that is precisely why Thornton decides to investigate the connection between slavery and warfare as well as the connection between warfare and society. As stated in the beginning of his work, Thornton feels that this segment of world history has been distorted and even ignored in popular culture and scholarly works. Thornton aims to enlighten the public on the many misconceptions about pre-colonial Atlantic Africa as well as spearhead renewed discovery and research within the subject.

The most important element of Thornton's work is its emphasis on the fact that pre-colonial Atlantic Africa was not one contiguous region. Truthfully, Thornton's own implication that Atlantic Africa was comprised of five distinct regions is far to general. As Thornton expresses, there were over 100 different people, polities, states, and city-states in pre-colonial Atlantic Africa. Instead, Thornton concedes that it is the regional military cultures that link many of theses political cultures and consequently form the five distinct regions. For example, the Gold Coast region alone contains numerous kingdoms, languages, and cultures. To lump all the distinct cultures of the Gold Coast region into one sum would seem brash if not for Thornton's expertise in examining the military