Book Review :A History of The Yoruba People.
Date
2010-02
Authors
Akintoye, S.A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Amalion Publishing, Dakar,
Abstract
A History of the Yoruba People/ is an audacious comprehensive exploration
of the founding and growth of one of the most influential groups in Africa. With a
population of nearly 40 million spread across Western Africa and diaspora
communities in Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and North America, the
Yoruba are one of the most researched groups emanating from Africa. Yet, to date,
very few attempts have tried to grapple fully with the historical foundations and
development of a group that has contributed to shaping the way African
communities are analysed from prehistoric to modern times.
In this commendable book, S. Adebanji Akintoye deploys four decades of
historiography research with current interpretation and analyses to present the
most complete and authoritative volume since Johnson’s work of the early twentieth
century. The author traces the origins of the Yoruba from the legendary mythical
beginnings, development of early Yoruba society, the revolution and primacy of Iife
from the tenth to fifteen centuries, the founding of Yoruba kingdoms and the power
of frontiers, and the rise and fall of Oyo empire. With this intelligible narrative
backdrop, Akintoye then takes the reader through agencies of change in the
nineteenth century and the rise of new kingdoms, and the emergence of
transcontinental diaspora communities, down to the colonial and post-colonial
political histories of the twentieth century and the socio- economic and political
transformations of the present day.
This exceptionally lucid account gathers and imparts a wealth of research
and discourses on Yoruba studies for a wider group of readership than ever before.
About the Author
Description
To access the full text of this Book, kindly contact the University Librarian- Dr. Olukemi Fadehan via the administrators: Dr. Yetunde Zaid (yzaid@unilag.edu.ng) or Dr. Christopher Okiki (cokiki@unilag.edu.ng) of the University of Lagos Library.
Keywords
History , Development
Citation
Akintoye,S.A. (2010) Book Review :A History of The Yoruba People. Amalion Publishing, Dakar,