Yoruba Warfare in
HIS book, by J. F. Ade Ajayi
(Professor of History, University of Ibadan) and Robert S. Smith (Lecturer in History, University of Ife), is published by Cambridge University Press in association with the Institute of African Studies, Ibadan. Although this is not the main purpose of this very good book, “Yoruba Warfare in the 19th Century” explodes the myths and conceptions spread by imperialist apologists concerning pre-colonial Africa. As the title suggests, the reader is given a factual and excellently documented analysis of the causes, courses and consequences of military conflict between the different Yoruba kingdoms. But it does more than this. The Yoruba people number several millions. They are to be found not only in their homeland of Western Nigeria, but also throughout West Africa and as far afield as Brazil and Cuba, where their culture exerts a strong influence.