{"product_id":"9781471135453","title":"The Fortunes of Africa - A 5000 Year History of Wealth, Greed and Endeavour","description":"\u003cp\u003eEver since the era of the Pharaohs, Africa has been coveted for its riches. The pyramids of the Nile Valley dazzled the rest of the world as symbols of the wealth of Egypt's rulers. Legends about Africa's riches endured for millennia, drawing in explorers and conquerors from afar.\u003cbr\u003eLand was another prize. The Romans relied on their colonies in North Africa for grain to feed Rome. Another commodity in high demand from Africa was slaves.\u003cbr\u003eCotton, cocoa, coffee, rubber, ivory, gold, diamonds, copper and oil; in the space of twenty years, mainly for economic benefit and for national prestige, European powers claimed possession of virtually the entire continent.\u003cbr\u003eBy the end of the scramble, European powers had merged some 10,000 African polities into some forty colonies.\u003cbr\u003eNow the lure of Africa's riches remains as strong as ever.\u003cbr\u003eNew players have entered the field. The rising economic might of China has stimulated a boom in demand for Africa's oil and mineral resources. To secure food supplies, land too has become a prized commodity once more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMartin Meredith is a journalist, biographer and historian who has written extensively on Africa and its recent history. He is the author of many books, including Diamonds, Gold and War, The State of Africa, Mugabe, and Mandela: A Biography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"book-contributors\"\u003e\n  \u003cp class=\"contributor-item\"\u003e\n    \u003cspan class=\"contributor-role\"\u003eAuthor\u003c\/span\u003e\n    \u003ca href=\"\/search?q=Author+Martin+Meredith\" class=\"contributor-link\"\u003eMartin Meredith\u003c\/a\u003e\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Martin Meredith","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47375423963299,"sku":"9781471135453","price":395.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0741\/7836\/3555\/files\/img_9781471135453_eeee1f38-2360-411d-9e49-5604fc9ee7b5.jpg?v=1776541847","url":"https:\/\/graffitibooks.co.za\/products\/9781471135453","provider":"Graffiti Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}