What was the real stage of social, political and economic advancement of imperial Africa before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century? At that time, was Africa still wild or had it already reached the stage of civilization, meeting Western criteria? The colonial and neocolonial thesis which has been distilled to us until now, claims that it is to slave Europe that black Africa owes its civilizational development. But what is the truth? An examination of travel notes from Arab, Asian and European explorers shows that black Africa already enjoyed the privileges of civilization for millennia before the arrival of the slave nations. It is therefore a particularly erroneous account which is presented to the public, hence the interest of this work by N. Kalala Omotunde Technical details Author: Nioussérê Kalala