Books by Linda Heywood
“It’s a very thick book, with a lot of sources. The Portuguese wrote about Queen Njinga a great deal. But what Linda does—which is what most African and African diaspora historians do—is also rely on oral tradition, and what that tells us about Queen Njinga. That’s very important too. She pieces together the life of this remarkable, as Heywood calls her, warrior queen.” Read more...
Books About African History by African Writers
Zeinab Badawi, Broadcaster
Interviews where books by Linda Heywood were recommended
Books About African History by African Writers, recommended by Zeinab Badawi
The history of Africa is rich with stories of mighty empires, canny politicking, and complex belief systems. But too often history books written by outsiders focus solely on its colonial past. It’s time to read more books about African history by African writers, argues the broadcaster Zeinab Badawi—whose African History of Africa was recently shortlisted for a Nero Book Award. Here, she recommends five brilliant books to get you started.
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1
Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen
by Linda Heywood -
2
Cross-Cultural Exchange in the Atlantic World: Angola and Brazil during the Era of the Slave Trade
by Roquinaldo Ferreira -
3
Slave Trade and Abolition: Gender, Commerce, and Economic Transition in Luanda
by Vanessa Oliveira -
4
Lourenço da Silva Mendonça and the Black Atlantic Abolitionist Movement in the 17th Century
by José Lingna Nafafé -
5
A History of West Central Africa to 1850
by John Thornton
The best books on The History of Angola (pre-20th century), recommended by Mariana Candido
The best books on The History of Angola (pre-20th century), recommended by Mariana Candido
West Central Africa was involved in the transatlantic slave trade from its inception in the fifteenth century until it ended in the late nineteenth century. It’s the region that lost the largest number of enslaved people to the transatlantic slave trade, with over 5.6 million people taken away. And yet Angola, where three of the five main slaving ports were located, is little studied in English. Here, Mariana Candido, a professor at Emory University, introduces us to some of the best books (available in English) on this era of Angolan history, from the biography of one ruler, Njinga Mbandi, to a survey of the entire period.
