PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
2. Writing West African History
3. Geography, Landscape, and Composition PART II: EARLY HISTORY, STATE FORMATION, AND SOCIETIES
4. Evolutions and Revolutions
5. Societies and Cultures in the Iron Age
6. The Trans-Saharan Trade in West Africa
7. States and Empires
8. Domestic Economies
9. Traditional Religions PART III: WEST AFRICA IN THE ERA OF ATLANTIC ECONOMIES AND GLOBALIZATION UP TILL THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
10. Islam in West Africa
11. Christianity in West Africa
12. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
13. Economy and Society: External Commerce
14. Transformations and Revolutions in the Nineteenth Century
15.The Nineteenth Century Jihads in West Africa PART IV: THE COLONIAL ERA
16. Colonial Rule and Its Impact
17. West Africa and the World Wars (1914-1919) and (1940-1945)
18. Nationalism and Independence
19. The Road to Independence in West Africa PART V: THE POSTCOLONIAL ERA
20. Postcolonial Politics
21. Economies and Development
22. Postcolonial Cultures
23. Cultural Changes and Popular Cultures
24. Religions and Religious Changes
25. Contemporary West African Identities
26. West Africa and the Wider World
27. Trajectories and Projections on the Future of West Africa
28. Timeline