African Europeans: An Untold History (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781541619678)

A dazzling history of Africans in Europe, revealing their unacknowledged role in shaping the continent

One of the Best History Books of 2021 -- Smithsonian

Conventional wisdom holds that Africans are only a recent presence in Europe. But in African Europeans, renowned historian Olivette Otele debunks this and uncovers a long history of Europeans of African descent. From the third century, when the Egyptian Saint Maurice became the leader of a Roman legion, all the way up to the present, Otele explores encounters between those defined as "Africans" and those called "Europeans." She gives equal attention to the most prominent figures--like Alessandro de Medici, the first duke of Florence thought to have been born to a free African woman in a Roman village--and the untold stories--like the lives of dual-heritage families in Europe's coastal trading towns. African Europeans is a landmark celebration of this integral, vibrantly complex slice of European history, and will redefine the field for years to come.

Author: Olivette Otele
ISBN-10: 1541619676
ISBN-13: 9781541619678
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 05/04/2021
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.00w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2021
Publishers Weekly 04/12/2021
Library Journal 05/01/2021 pg. 81