The beautifully complex history of how Nigerians lived before colonisation

'Siollun's books are gripping' Financial Times

'An essential book you'll want to re-read many times - there is no more eloquent and informed guide than Max Siollun' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland

'Incredibly necessary, magnificently done' Remi Adekoya, author of It's Not About Whiteness, It's About Wealth

'Max Siollun has succeeded at making Nigeria's pre-colonial history accessible without flattening the tremendous diversity of its many peoples' Alex Thurston, University of Cincinnati

'An unforgettable read' Matthew T. Page, former US State Department Nigeria expert

'Max Siollun brings history to life with a cinematic sweep and intellectual confidence' Gimba Kakanda, Co-Lead at the Presidential Initiative for Innovation, Policy Evaluation and Research

Much is known about what Europeans did in Africa, yet very little is known about Africa's history before its colonisation. 

In this surprising exploration, Max Siollun uncovers societies that were not part of a backward 'Dark Continent', but which instead had rich lore to rival the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Pre-colonial West Africa had a mesmerising cast of revolutionaries, intellectuals, innovators, and villainous assassins. These include the family that overthrew three different 1000-year-old empires, the royal court official who engineered the death of four kings, and the young enslaved boy who became the first Black bishop in history, befriending Queen Victoria along the way.

This story of a dynamic and artistic people is a vital read for those who want to discover a forgotten era of West African history.

Max Siollun is a historian and author. He has written four acclaimed books on Nigeria's history, most recently What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule, which was shortlisted in BBC History Magazine's 2021 Books of the Year. He has written for the New York Times, Guardian, Independent and Foreign Policy.