The Heart of Darkness, this is the image that most in the West hold of pre-colonial Africa. Joseph Conrad's description of a continent lacking in civilization, commerce, and Christianity is familiar to many readers. Historians have been working to dispel this notion before since the institution of African independence after World War II.

Collins seeks to familiarize the reader with pre-colonial Africa, the Africa that began with the migrations of the Bantu from their homeland in 500 B.C. and ended with European control in the 19th century, revealing the culture, events, achievement and rulers of Africa from this time.