Blog Post Title Four
Martin Meredith’s The Fortunes of Africa offers a sweeping, richly detailed narrative of the continent’s economic and political history spanning five millennia. Beginning with ancient Egypt’s riches and the Roman grain trade, Meredith traces the waves of conquest—Arab, European, and colonial—drawn by Africa’s abundant resources: gold, ivory, slaves, oil, diamonds, and rare-earth minerals . He charted the rise and fall of powerful kingdoms; the spread of Christianity and Islam; the violent incursions by explorers, missionaries, and imperial powers; and the enduring struggle over land and exploitation in modern times .
Through a diverse cast—Mansa Musa (possibly history’s richest man), Roman emperors, mining magnates, warlords, and dictators—Meredith illustrates how external greed and internal corruption have consistently hindered African prosperity . He culminates his epic chronicle with an assessment of post-independence Africa: a continent emerging from the "lost decades" of misrule and conflict, yet still wrestling with colonial legacies and the promise (and perils) of the future .