A synthesis of more than 3000 years of equatorial African history.The rainforests of equatorial Africa cover an area almost as large as Western Europe and some 12 million people live there. So why has this area remained without a historiography? Vansina disputes the myth of an unchanging past ina hostile environment and demonstrates that there are rich and complex political, social and economic histories to be uncovered, as varied as the forest habitats themselves.North America: University of Wisconsin Press