‘A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution’ by Toby Green (2019)

This is the best book by far that I have read on the history of West-Central Africa. My knowledge about the ‘Medieval’ West African empires and states, early diplomatic relations, the dynamics of trade, co-operation with the slave traders and why Islam expanded has increased exponentially as a result of reading this volume.

The book comprises 476 pages of text along with some great illustrations, supported by a bibliography of over 39 pages and an index and notes section comprising a further 100 pages. Part one focuses on Causes: Economic Divergence in West and West-Central Africa, with the second part studying Consequences: Politics, Belief and Revolutions from Below. This is indeed a scholarly piece of work.

As the author writes, “Where older (African) history is taught in the west, it is almost always relates to slavery, repeating the old trope of primitivism and oppression. Yet African history is much more complex than this allows, and the root cause of many of the problems of the present lie precisely in this more distant past”. Now I understand the validity of such a statement.

Published in hardback last year and now available in paperback, ‘A Fistful of Shells’ has been highly acclaimed by many scholars, including David Olusoga and Ben Okri. If you haven’t yet, I urge you to read it. It is a stunning piece of work.

‘A Fistful of Shells’ is published by Penguin, and is available from Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

‘Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire’ by Andrea Stuart (2013)

This is an excellent read about Barbados and the family of Andrea Stuart, as narrated through twelve generations of her ancestors. The story starts in the late 1630s with the initial settlers, who struggled just to survive.

Barbados was the first Caribbean island to start cultivating sugar, and the author explains the process, and how challenging it was. He also describes the shocking reality of slavery, and the revolts that first started in Barbados when Irish indentured labourers joined forces with the enslaved Africans.

The rebellions in Jamaica and Haiti are studied in depth, as is the subsequent migration to America, notably South Carolina. Greed and fear repeatedly come to the fore. The author writes in depth about the struggle for and the impact of abolition, as well as the road to independence.

It’s an easy-to-read book, but be warned, once you start you are likely to find it difficult to set aside! I have no hesitation in recommending this great book.

‘Sugar in the Blood’ is published by Portobello Books, and is available from Amazon. Also available on Kindle.