es of the Negro, in the hope that the obsolete antagonisms which
grew out of the relation of master and slave may speedily sink as
storms beneath the horizon; and that the day will hasten when there
shall be no North, no South, no Black, no White,--but all be American
citizens, with equal duties and equal rights.

GEORGE W. WILLIAMS.

NEW YORK, November, 1882.

CONTENTS.

Part I.

_PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS_

* * * * *

CHAPTER I.

THE UNITY OF MANKIND.

The Biblical Argument.--One Race and One Language.--One
Blood.--The Curse of Canaan. 1

CHAPTER II.

THE NEGRO IN THE LIGHT OF PHILOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND EGYPTOLOGY.

Cushim and Ethiopia.--Ethiopians, White and Black.--Negro
Characteristics.--The Dark Continent.--The Antiquity of the
Negro.--Indisputable Evidence.--The Military and Social
Condition of Negroes.--Cause of Color.--The Term
"Ethiopian." 12

CHAPTER III.

PRIMITIVE NEGRO CIVILIZATION.

The Ancient and High Degree of Negro Civilization.--Egypt,
Greece, and Rome borrow from the Negro the Civilization that
made them Great.--Cause of the Decline and Fall of Negro
Civilization.--Confounding the Terms "Negro" and "African." 22

CHAPTER IV.

NEGRO KINGDOMS OF AFRICA.

BENIN: Its Location.--Its Discovery by the
Portuguese.--Introduction of the Catholic Religion.--The
King as a Missionary.--His Fidelity to the Church purchased
by a White Wife.--Decline of Religion.--Introduction of
Slavery.--Suppression of the Trade by the English
Government.--Restoration and Peace.

DAHOMEY: Its Location.--Origin of the Kingdom.--Meaning of
the Name.--War.--Capture of the English Governor, and his
Death.--The Military Establishment.--Women as
Soldiers.--Wars and their Objects.--Human Sacrifices.--The
King a Despot.--His Powers.--His Wives.--Polygamy.--Kingly
Succession.--Coronation.--Civil and Criminal Law.--Revenue
System.--Its Future.

YORUBA. Its Location.--Slavery and its Abolition--Growth of
the People of Abeokuta.--Missionaries and Teachers from
Sierra Leone.--Prosperity and Peace attend the
People.--Capacity of the People for Civilization.--Bishop
Crowther.--His Influence.