PRE-ORDER.  ON SALE DATE: February 20, 2025

Much is known about what Europeans did in Africa, yet very little is known about Africa's history before its colonisation. In this surprising exploration, Max Siollun uncovers societies that were not part of a backward 'Dark Continent', but which instead had rich lore to rival the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Pre-colonial West Africa had a mesmerising cast of revolutionaries, intellectuals, innovators, and villainous assassins. These include the family that overthrew three different 1000-year-old empires, the royal court official who engineered the death of four kings, and the young enslaved boy who became the first Black bishop in history, befriending Queen Victoria along the way.

This story of a dynamic and artistic people is a vital read for those who want to discover a forgotten era of West Africa.

Max Siollun is a historian and author. He has written four acclaimed books on Nigeria’s history, most recently What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule,
which was shortlisted in BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year. He has written for the New York Times, Guardian, Independent and Foreign Policy.