Abstract
Africa is commonly marginalized in global social studies, whether of present or past. This chapter makes the case for the substantial importance of Africa through a systematic comparison with Eurasia. It documents the large area and the relatively dense population of Africa, in past and present, as compared with Eurasia and with the Americas. The essay gives particular attention both to sub-Saharan Africa and to the long Afro-Eurasian borderland from Gibraltar to the Bab al-Mandab, and briefly explores the interactions of Africa, Eurasia, and their borderland since the beginnings of humanity. In the course of the comparison, the chapter raises the question of whether the theory and methodology of historical globalization studies need to be more fully specified in order to ensure inclusion of the African region and perhaps other historical situations that have been insufficiently represented in the understanding of globalization.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
An expanded version of this approach could include Iberia and the Mediterranean islands: indeed, this is what Fig. 4.4 shows.
- 2.
In tropical Asia the incoming Homo sapiens migrants may have encountered pre-existing communities descended from Homo erectus.
- 3.
Before the development of iron technology, Eurasia had a well developed bronze age, relying on smelting of copper and tin, from roughly 5000 to 2500 years ago. As a parallel, examples of early copper metallurgy are gradually becoming apparent for Africa.
- 4.
This transition was initially described by archaeologists in terms of Neolithic tools, but is here described in terms of human motivation.
References
Anthony, D. W. (2007). The horse, the wheel, and language: How bronze-age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bayly, C. A. (2004). The birth of the modern world, 1780–1914: Global connections and comparisons. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Brooks, G. (1993). Landlords and strangers: Ecology, society, and trade in Western Africa, 1000–1630. Boulder: Westview Press.
Chase-Dunn, C. (2006). Globalization: A world-systems perspective. In C. Chase-Dunn & S. Babones (Eds.), Global social change: Comparative and historical perspectives (pp. 79–105). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Chase-Dunn, C., & Hall, T. D. (2012). Global scale analysis in human history. In D. Northrop (Ed.), A companion to world history (pp. 185–200). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Chouin, G. L., & Decorse, C. R. (2010). Prelude to the Atlantic trade: New perspectives on Southern Ghana’s pre-Atlantic history (800–1500). Journal of African History, 51, 123–145.
Gills, B. K., & Thompson, W. R. (Eds.). (2006). Globalization and global history. London: Routledge.
Hall, T. D. (2009). Puzzles in the comparative study of frontiers: Problems, some solutions, and methodological implications. Journal of World-Systems Research, 15(1), 25–47.
Hopkins, A. G. (Ed.). (2002). Globalization and world history. New York: Norton.
Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification. (1997). World map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification for the period 1951–2000. http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at
Livestrong. (2013). Viewed January 12, 2013. http://www.livestrong.com/article/500181-what-is-average-caloric-intake-of-people/
Macintosh, S. K. (1995). Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 season. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Maddison, A. (2001). World economy: A millennial perspective. Paris: Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Manning, P. (Ed.). (1996). Slave trades, 1500–1800: Globalization of forced labour. Aldershot, UK: Variorum.
Manning, P. (2009). The African diaspora: A history through culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
Manning, P., & Nickleach, S. (forthcoming). African population, 1650–1950: The eras of enslavement and colonial rule.
Manning, P., & Trimmer, T. (2012). Migration in world history (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Mongabay. (2013). Viewed January 8, 2013. http://mongabay.com/igapo/world_statistics_by_area.htm
United Nations. (2011). Demographic yearbook. Viewed January 2, 2013. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2011.htm
United Nations. (2012). Department of economic and social affairs, population division. Viewed January 2, 2013 http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_population.htm
Yang, B. (2011). The rise and fall of cowrie shells: The Asian story. Journal of World History, 22(1 March), 1–25.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Manning, P. (2018). Africa’s Place in Globalization: Africa, Eurasia, and Their Borderlands. In: Hall, T. (eds) Comparing Globalizations. World-Systems Evolution and Global Futures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68219-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68219-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68218-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68219-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)