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Why Africa's history is more than just the slave trade
Luke Pepera explains why he set out to write a book spanning 500,000 years of Africa's history – and why our focus on slavery has warped our view of the continent's past
- James Osborne
- , Matt Elton
Published: March 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM
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Has our focus on the impact of the transatlantic slave trade blinded us to the diversity and complexity of Africa's past? That's one of the arguments at the heart of Luke Pepera's new book Motherland, which spans 500,000 years of the continent's history. Luke speaks to Matt Elton about some of the stories that shine the spotlight back on African people.
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Luke Pepera is the author of Motherland: A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2025).
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Authors
James OsborneSenior content producer
James Osborne is a senior content producer at HistoryExtra
Matt EltonPodcast editor
Matt Elton is the podcast editor at HistoryExtra
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