Quotes
“Ms. Otele, a black scholar at Britain’s University of Bristol, takes a broad view of her subject. Sometimes, the African Europeans of the title are, as one might expect, people living in Europe, but on many other occasions, they are blacks or people of mixed-race who have lived elsewhere, in other far-flung quarters of the Atlantic world. Her book is equally sprawling in terms of time, moving back and forth across the centuries, from antiquity to the present… Some of Ms. Otele’s most interesting material is future-looking, asking questions about the ambivalence experienced by blacks in contemporary Europe.”—Wall Street Journal
"This brisk, nuanced synthesis reminds us that there have been Africans in Europe for millenia."—Stephen Carter, Bloomberg Opinion, The 15 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021
“Magisterial....A story of violence and exclusion but also extraordinary destinies and achievements. Particularly admirable is Otele’s command of the subtleties of identity formation and change over time, as well as her marvellous cast of women characters, such as Jeanne Duval, Baudelaire’s muse and lover.”—Sudhir Hazareesingh, The Guardian, The Best Books of 2020
“A fascinating history, with a memorable cast of characters, of Africans who had a vital presence in European life….Though this is a work of synthesis, it’s an unusually generous and densely layered one. Otele is not just concerned to tell the life stories of her protagonists, but also to follow their changing portrayals after death – as well as explaining how and why they’ve been differently interpreted by generations of previous scholars.”—The Guardian (UK)
“In a sweeping history extending from the classical world to the twentieth century, Otele masterfully analyzes the changing relationship between Africa and Europe through the lives of individual Africans who in some manner dealt with Europeans....Otele argues convincingly that the hardening of racist European views about Africans was the inevitable result of the Atlantic slave trade and the subsequent colonial occupation of the continent. But even in this more recent hate-filled period, Otele finds examples of Africans or people of African descent who achieved prominence in Europe against the odds.”—Foreign Affairs
“Her cast of characters is as broad as her canvas, and by redrawing the centuries-long story of African immigration, her book changes how European history is understood.”—Christian Science Monitor
"Superbly researched....This richly layered history brims with stories of how African Europeans contributed to the culture, politics and language in the countries they lived in."—Prospect (UK)
“Intricately researched by renowned historian Olivette Otele, this is a much-needed addition to existing narratives of European history. It corrects the myth that the presence of Africans in Europe is recent and shines a light on their true and lasting contributions to the continent.”—Ms. Magazine
“In this sweeping chronicle, scholar Olivette Otele challenges white-centric narratives of European history by tracing African people’s presence on the continent from the 3rd century to the 21st. African Europeans artfully examines changing conceptions of race and how these ideas have shaped both real-world experiences and accounts of the past.”—Smithsonian, The Ten Best History Books of 2021
“A brilliant telling of a story that’s been too long overlooked.”—The New European (UK)
