Particularism and Integration in African History: A Reflection on Boubakar Barry's Contribution to African History

During the generation of independence, many Africans continued to aspire to continental unity, but most historians focused on the history of their own ethnic communities, or they sought to create a national history for nations that had only colonial antecedents. Boubakar Barry’s work is striking in its quest for larger themes, both the desire to confront the impact of the Atlantic slave trade and the quest for larger unities. This paper will discuss Barry’s Senegambia, look at the common experiences, and then look at the question of integration. In particular, I will look at three unities. The first is the unity of culture and religion. Large areas of Africa have been dominated by people with related languages and cultures, within which there is a degree of mutual understanding, common traditions, and musical forms. The spread of Islam, to a lesser degree Christianity, and occasionally earlier religious systems have increased this integration. Second, there are unities of trade and geography. Rivers are not barriers as links between different people. In more recent times, railroads have had similar effects. Lastly, there are unities imposed by history, for example, the slave trade, the mfecane, and colonial rule. This paper will argue against the tendency of earlier writers and contemporary journalists to classify Africans in distinct little boxes. It will argue for a view of Africa that stresses migration and interpenetration. Africans moved, sometimes in fear, sometimes to better themselves. They interpenetrated, met each other at local markets, hosted traders, provided hospitality to refugees, learned each other’s languages and often married each other. I finally also look at different integrative institution like sports and music.