This book includes the first five, thematic, chapters from the Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 7. They deal with Africa south of the Sahara, during a period in which economic and cultural changes greatly enlarged the horizons of Africans, even though colonial rule seemed set to last for a very long time. The contributors break much new ground in exploring a variety of topics which transcend colonial frontiers: the impact of Africa on the thought of the colonial powers, impulses to economic growth, and new frameworks directing the movement of people, goods and money, the rapid expansion of world religions and their interaction with indigenous beliefs and colonial regimes, the circulation of ideas among Africans, and the growth of new social identities, as reflected in the press, literature, art and music. Each chapter is accompanied by a bibliography updated for this edition.