Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch is Professor of History at the University of Paris. She is the author and editor of numerous books on historical and contemporary Africa.

• LIST OF MAPS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTION PART I. AFRICAN DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH: THE MOST ERRATIC DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORY1. Demography, Ecology, and History 2. The Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade3. Demography and ColonizationPART II. THE STATE: FROM CHIEFSHIP TO MILITARY POPULISM4. Precolonial Rule: From the Rural Community to the State 5. State Resistance to Colonial Control 6. From Chiefdom to Tribalism: The Contradictions of Government  PART III. THE LAND: FROM SUBSISTENCE TO SCARCITY 7. Peasant Societies: Endurance and Change8. Capitalism or Socialism? Recent Developments in the Rural Sector 9. Revolt and Resistance, Collaboration and AssimilationPART IV. LABOR AND THE CITY: AFRICA'S FUTURE10. Workers: From Labor Migration to Proletarianization11. Labor Action: Social Protest to the End of World War II 12. Trade Unionism and Nationalism: The Slow Growth of Sociopolitical Movements 13. Cities, Social Classes, and the Informal Sector: The Future of PovertyCONCLUSION APPENDIX: THE SOURCES OF AFRICAN DEMOGRAPHIC HISTORY NOTESBIBLIOGRAPHYINDEX