In most accounts of warfare, civilians suffer cruelties and make sacrifices silently and anonymously. Only recently have historians turned their attention to those who are caught up in events beyond their control or understanding. This volume details the dismal impact war has had on the African people over the past five hundred years, from slavery days, via the Zulu War, World Wars I and II, to the horrific civil wars following decolonisation and the genocide in Rwanda. Chapters provide a representative range of civilian experiences during wartime in Africa extending from the late eighteenth century to the present, representing every region of Africa except North Africa. Timelines, glossaries, suggested further readings and maps are included, and the work is fully indexed. The book ends with a discussion of African mechanisms that could and should be put in place to ensure effective peacekeeping in Africa, and so save civilians in future from the horrors of war.