Population dynamics in Africa: some historical notes.
The re-examination of the role of African peoples in human history and their place in modern society has become a subject of major research in the 20th century. However knowledge of the current demographic conditions of Africa is based on unsystematic analysis of data from divergent sources and periods. Understanding the demographic history of Africa confronts two basic challenges: theoretical or perspective and methodological. This essay reflects on these challenges. It begins with a description of Africa as the origin of humanity and views of African population size followed by a critical view of historical Africas place in theories of population growth. It then discusses the impact of the slave trades to Europe the Americas and the Middle East. The paper concludes that the development of a unified theory of human reproduction depends ultimately on an understanding of reproductive change in Africa. The development of such theory requires more systematic attention to the estimation of Africas population size and its evolution at the different stages of the continents long history.