Dakar: Panafrika, 2008. 97 p.

Joseph Ki-Zerbo (1922-2006), a native of Haute-Volta (now Burkina Faso), is one of the most prominent African historians and political figures. After graduating from the Institute of Political Sciences of the University of Paris in 1949 and receiving an academic degree, he worked for a long time at the universities of Paris, Orleans, Dakar, and Ouagadougou. From 1975 to 1995, he was President of the Union of African Scientists, collaborated with UNESCO, and served as Secretary-General of the Afro-Malgash Council for Higher Education.

In 1957, Ki-Zerbo organized the Movement for National Liberation in Senegal, and in 1992 he founded the Party for Democracy and Progress of Burkina Faso (since 1994 he was its president), which was part of the Social International. The Association of Democratic Mass Organizations and Political Unions, which he founded in 1998, was defeated in the 2000 elections, after which Ki-Zerbo retired from political activity.

The main place in his life has always been occupied by science. He saw his goal in educating a "new African", combining the achievements of Western thought and traditional values. Ki-Zerbo was the first African scholar to write a history of the continent; he also did a lot for source studies, developed university courses, etc. In 1980, he created the Center for Studies for the Development of Africa (Center d'Etudes pour le Development de l'Afrique-SEDA). Unlike many of his contemporaries - African thinkers and politicians, he soberly approached the study of African history, did not accept popular Afrocentric theories, did not refuse to cooperate with European scientists. Ki-Zerbo welcomed those who would " throw off the imperial livery of civilizers for the more modest but far more beautiful clothing of humanists." As a member of the council for the preparation of the UNESCO multi-volume publication "A Universal History of Africa", whose authors include Africans, Europeans, Americans, and Russian scientists, Ki-Zerbo wrote a number of articles for this publication and became the executive editor of the second volume.

Critical History of Africa was released after Ki-Zerbo's death with the help of the UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar. Unlike his previous works, this is not a new scientific study, but rather a kind of summing up and bequeathing a new generation of Africans. Although small in volume, the book is nevertheless extremely rich. It begins with the author's address to African youth, in which he emphasizes that Africans, despite the difficulties and mistakes of the past, have something to be proud of in their history, the oldest in the world. The work is provided with a list of the main works of the author and a bibliography for readers who want to learn more about the history of the peoples of the continent.

The book consists of five sections: "The paths of African history from the beginning to colonization", "Cultural and civilizational dynamics", "Conditions for the civilizational rise of Africa", "Basic conditions for the flourishing of African civilizations", "Main causes of the decline of African civilizations". The first section, which is the largest in volume, provides a general picture of the history of the entire continent by individual regions (Ancient History and Egypt, North-East Africa, East and Central Sudan, forest zone, East Africa, South Africa and Madagascar). Ki-Zerbo's African history starts from two and a half to three million years ago, without taking into account that Homo sapiens did not exist at that time. But the author believes that the appearance of

* Joseph Ki-Zerbo. A critical History of Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa. Dakar: Panafrica Publ., 2008, 97 p.

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Australopithecus already marks the beginning of human history, and Africa is not only the cradle of humanity as a biological species, but also the creator of the "matrix of universal history", which was further developed in the ancient history of Mesopotamia and all the states of antiquity.

Although the author claimed to outline the history of all of Africa before colonization, the actual chronology varies from section to section of the book. If for East and Central Africa the story is brought to the XIX century, and for South Africa - to the XX, then for West Africa-only to the end of the XVII century, when, according to many African historians, the "golden age" of the region ended.

Ki-Zerbo considers the mutual influence and interaction of cultures of different peoples both within the continent and with the outside world to be an essential feature of the history of Africans. Summarizing the survey, he does not pay attention to the level of socio-economic development of African societies, only once calling Mali a "feudal" state. More significant, he considers the peculiarities of the political system, its sacred character, when "the king reigns, but does not rule", and real power is concentrated in the hands of advisers (most often-priests, although Ki-Zerbo himself does not mention this). In Mali, the author sees a classic example of the" positive balance "characteristic, in his opinion, of all pre-colonial societies in Africa - a multi-ethnic state with "decentralized" power, where many different peoples are "consistently included in a complex system" (p. 23). Pointing out the great role of trade and slave trade with Europeans, the author, to Unfortunately, it does not speak about an important feature of this region - the emergence of a "new elite" in this regard, as opposed to the old tribal nobility.

The second section contains several chapters: "Historicity", "Commerce", "Demography", "Ecology", "Religion and connection with nature", "The role of science and technology", "Ethnic groups, state and nations", "Social solidarity of Africans". Ki-Zerbo argues that, despite many differences from Europe, the general direction of development has the same "historical rhythm" (p.59), although in Africa it has changed markedly since the advent of Islam, Christianity, and especially the European slave trade. Unlike many Africanists, the author rightly points out that their influence cannot be evaluated unambiguously and that different African societies have chosen different types of interaction with these new phenomena through trial and error.

This ambivalence and ambiguity is also characteristic of all other aspects of development discussed in this section. Thus, trade "could enrich society, but it could destroy it": it enriched Ghana and Mali, but it destroyed the societies of Central Africa (p. 60). Gold, which was the main export commodity for many centuries, played a devastating role in South Africa in the 19th century, giving rise to the" gold rush " (p.63). The demographic factor is also ambivalent. For normal development, a demographic optimum is necessary (which existed only before the XVI-XVII centuries). Slave trade and colonization led to "under-population". However, there were also more populated areas, and "agro-cities" or "pseudo-cities" appeared here, which, according to the author, were only a byproduct of the destructurization of the"village world". The influence of climate and environment was positive during the period of hominization and ancient history, but later-then negative, then positive. Equally ambiguous is the role of science and technology, which, according to the author, were quite highly developed in African societies (especially medicine, metallurgy, etc. intellectual centers in West Africa), but, for example, "firearms destroyed Ghana" and many other pre-colonial societies.

Referring to the role of religion, Ki-Zerbo, like most of his African colleagues, considers it synonymous with "philosophy" (p. 66). Unlike Europe with its "dualistic approach" (man is outside of nature, he is "its master and user"), Africa is dominated by the idea of "embedded" man in nature and his responsibility for it, the concept of the "common good". It is achieved through ancestors, "leaders of the earth", "sacred priest-kings", which is "an undeclared brand of clericalism" (p. 66). The author regards the emergence of the "religions of the book" (Islam and Christianity) as a revolutionary, but ultimately positive phenomenon that shook society.

Ki-Zerbo opposes the frequently used division of peoples into "state" and "non-state (akephalous)". From his point of view, the presence or absence of state power is not related to the essence of society, but to the environment. African societies, on the other hand, successfully followed the path of forming "nations", creating "unity in diversity", and only colonization interrupted this natural process (p.74). In assessing the "social solidarity" of Africans, the author is not as optimistic as many of his colleagues. He considers collectivism, public concern for the sick and orphans, and loyalty to traditions to be absolutely positive features, but he also sees many negative features in traditions: the lack of a "spirit of personal responsibility and initiative", and hence the "stagnation of the production method" (pp. 75-76). Such solidarity is only good for

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the organization of traditional festivals, but does not work in the new conditions that require initiative, personal responsibility, investment (instead of accumulation) at the level of the state, not the community. In overcoming these shortcomings, the author, being a Catholic, assigns an important role to Christianity, which, in his opinion, provides the best adaptation of Africa to Western modernization.

Considering the conditions of the rise of African civilizations in the third section, Ki-Zerbo highlights the observance of human rights, the role of women, and the existence of a"civil society". He claims that human rights were guaranteed by the whole essence of African societies and States (he considers the main thing to be the general use of natural and other benefits), were regulated by taboos and customary law, and were guaranteed by "sacred rulers". The author emphasizes the important creative role of women-founders of dynasties and peoples; historical figures of ancient, medieval and modern times; fighters against colonialism and apartheid; politicians of modern Africa. "Diverse creativity in all areas of African women's lives is one of the most powerful engines of civilizational change on the continent," he says (p.78).

Among the main conditions for the flourishing of African civilizations for the future development of the continent, considered in the fourth section, Ki-Zerbo considers the geophysical conditions of Africa: the availability of minerals, a variety of natural zones that allow for a successful regional division of labor. The balance of the social structure, the balance between social classes and States, must also be a necessary condition. Not the least role he assigns to "progressive ideology", where, along with the "inspiring power of the Supreme Being", the role of age classes will also remain.

Ki-Zerbo divides the causes of the decline of African civilizations (fifth section) into internal and external ones. Internal causes - the continent's ecological features (deserts, mountains, impenetrable forests, tsetse flies, etc., everything that "dismembered the African world") - have always existed. New phenomena - "humanitarian causes": difficulties in adopting innovations due to conservative traditions and demographic scarcity. External causes include trade, contradictions in the social and property spheres, wars of ambitious rulers, and the slave trade, which led to losses of 50-100 million lives. They also gave rise to a psychosis of fear, a sense of inferiority, and a negative perception of "yourself". All this also makes it difficult for Africa to develop today. But the most destructive effect was produced by colonization - the "anti-system" (p.88), since the slave trade only weakened African societies, and colonization destroyed them. Globalization, which has replaced the slave trade and colonization, in his opinion, repeats the same tactics of the colonialists.

Summing up, Ki-Zerbo speaks of the need to build new connections - both individual and collective; to reproduce both the material, social, and cultural components of progress, hence the need to change and modernize education. He sees the strategic path of the "African Renaissance" in integration at the regional level, in the division of labor within the continent. Only integration can become the basis of African neoculture, restructure African civilizations, develop an African version of modernization, and create a modern type of "Afrikaner". And the main creator of this new type should be the African youth.

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