Born in Blackness

Howard W. French argues that Africa played a central role in the creation of the modern world, a deliberately erased role that Europe-centered histories sideline. His narrative runs from Portugal's first commercial dealings with Africa in the fifteenth century to the onset of World War II. French contends that the first impulse behind the Age of Discovery was not a European wish for ties with Asia but a centuries-old desire to trade for gold with legendarily rich Black societies in the heart of West Africa. He traces Europe's economic rise, the rooting of democracy in the West and the realization of so-called Enlightenment ideals to its dehumanizing dealings with Africa, combining detailed history with personal reportage.

Bill Gates, who calls himself a student of Africa, said he still learned a great deal from this thoughtful, carefully researched book, one of his 2023 summer picks.