The established historical view of the Upper Guinea Coast is that this naturally forested region was at first peripheral to the Manding civilization of the savanna zone. The arrival of Europeans on the coast in the fifteenth century then engendered a southward shift in the centre of gravity of historical processes. The Atlantic trade, in which the savanna states were also deeply involved, gave coastal populations vastly expanded opportunities for wealth accumulation and social mobility. In spite of numerous attempts at political centralization, ‘frontier’ conditions persisted in the region up to – and perhaps after – the establishment of colonial states. These conditions have been held to account for the region-wide importance of cultural institutions which either facilitate social accommodation between heterogenous groups (e.g. Islam, Manding and European linguistic creoles, Manding clan names, and secret societies), or reflect such processes (e.g. bilateral kinship, patron–client relations, and pre-colonial urbanization).