This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The Advance of Our West African Empire The idea of writing a work upon the stirring events which took place in Sierra Leone in 1898 was suggested to me by a General Officer who at one time in his career had seen a good deal of service in West Africa. On my return from that country in the following year he remarked that the difficulties and hardships of our "little wars" in that part of the world were not always appreciated by those at home. Commenced in India - continued, as far as official duties would permit, in West Africa; and completed during my leave of absence in England - I now place this volume before the public, in the hope that all shortcomings will be forgiven. It is intended to be a plain statement of facts, and although I am aware that I have been unable to describe all the incidents of the various expeditions, and have given none of the "Protectorate Expedition" in 1899, what I have said is, I believe, correct in detail. If the hints on Bush Fighting and for the Preservation of Health will benefit any one in West Africa, and if the remainder of the work succeeds in arousing any interest in that much abused part of the globe, I shall be fully compensated. My thanks arc due to Sir Norman R. Pringle, Bart., Captain C. C. W. Troughton, G. Whiteley Ward, Esq., and to the Intelligence Division of the War Office for the use of their maps, &c. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

In a radically new account of the importance of early Africa in global history, Gomez traces how Islam's growth in West Africa, along with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire.