He deals with to the space, geography, the cultural and linguistic units as well as of the ethnic groups. He tries to justify the fragilities of the African continent: precarious opening for the exterior, great cultural isolation, absence of previous cultural goods to the contact with the Europeans, ground poor and barren climate. It deals with to century VII, the Islamic expansion and some littoral empires, showing great unfamiliarity of the interior. With reason or not, Braudel affirms that it did not have knowledge concerning the past of Africa. Perhaps its little knowledge on this continent has favored its theoretical elaboration with these peculiarities. As well as in the Mediterranean, it suggests that the African culture if spoils from century XV, when its economy daily pay-monetary enters in contact with the dynamic developed commerce the north of the Mediterranean. The construction of its texts and the consultation of its bibliography evidence that the repertoire of the information gotten for Braudel gave account only of the slavery. It would be interesting to evaluate the quality of these information.
Braudeliana Africa enters for the History, fagocitada for its model of civilization, from century XV, when the European one comes back its look toward this continent and, of systemize form more in century XIX, with the imperialism. With partial reason it defends that Africa if benefited of the European settling, receiving cultural and material good; but also it recognizes that this brutal contact disarticulated the African culture, spoiling millenarian tribal, familiar and social structures fundamental in way of being and living of the African. Interest of the European powers was not enough to this the territorial division of Africa according to did not consider the regional especificidades of the cultures. Soon! In a briefing I capitulate is locked up the history of Africa, not faced as civilization, but yes as culture. We can in them now question the criterion of this framing, since the continent related one possesss a space with a consolidated society, comungando of a mentality, lasting and continuing in the space and the time.