Boubacar Barry is one of the leading figures in West African historiography. His authoritative study of 400 years of Senegambian history is unrivalled in its detailed grasp of published and unpublished materials. Taking as its subject the vast area covering the Senegal and Gambia river basins, this book explores the changing dynamics of regional and Atlantic trade, clashes between traditional African and emergent Muslim authorities, the colonial system and the slave trade, and current obstacles to the integration of the region's modern states. Professor Barry argues cogently for the integrity of the Senegambian region as a historical subject, and he forges a coherent narrative from the dismemberment and unification which characterised Senegambia's development from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. This newly-translated study is a vital tool in our understanding of West African history.

"Originally published in French in 1988 by this exile from Guinea living in Senegal, Barry's account of the `geopolitical dismemberment' of the west African region that encompasses six contemporary states is encyclopedic in its details of the political history of the communities involved." R. T. Brown, Choice

"The author sheds more light and gives an extended analysis on the statistical data of the Atlantic slave trade.... ...the book will be an important resource for both undergraduate and graduate courses, not only for African history, but also for the Atlantic societies and economies." Canadian Jrnl of History

"Exhibiting a thorough knowledge of the history of the region, the author narrates the extraordinary complexity and mobility of its population, particularly migrations, and the rise and demise of numerous states and rulers." Johannes Postma, The Historian