A History of Race in Muslim West Africa, 1600–1960

Racial categories deployed in contemporary conflicts across the southern Sahara Desert often trace their roots to pre-colonial era ideas, where blackness was associated with slavery and non-blackness with predatory banditry. This study reconstructs an African intellectual history of race spanning over 350 years in the Niger Bend region of northern Mali, using Arabic documents from Timbuktu, French colonial sources, and oral interviews. It reveals that these racial constructs, which persist today, predate European colonization and have significantly influenced inter-African relations since the 17th century.

Hall, B. S. (2011). A History of Race in Muslim West Africa, 1600–1960. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511976766