Abstract
Until the 1960's there was a common view among Western historians, both Marxist and conservative, that Africa had no history prior to the arrival of European invaders, but only a past, Africans being "savages" without a concept of a state. In the absence of written records, the writing of African history required the development of alternative resources, such as oral history, seen in Jan Vansina's ground-breaking 'De la Tradition Orale: Essai de Méthode Historique' (1961). Through the 'Journal of African History' (from 1960) Africanists have exerted a major influence on all historians which may be compared to that of the French journal 'Annales.' Much remains to be done in presenting the African view of colonialism, but there is no doubt that Africa does have a history, even if in some ways still a proto-history.