Abstract In Somalia Italiana, Africans and Arabs employed in the security forces were critical to the expansion and maintenance of the colonial state. Despite their significance, there is little research on these soldiers due to the scarcity of archival records and oral histories that sheds light on their lives and labor in the colonial military. This article examines colonial military tribunal records, the only available archive with substantive information on individual soldiers, and suggests possible themes for future research.
Spain in 1898-99 intended to lease "its" West African colony, Rio de Oro, today's Western Sahara, to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This article presents new archival evidence in order to show why this initiative was thwarted. The authors conclude that the Austro-Hungarian Empire failed to acquire colonies in Western Sahara and elsewhere due to the lack of appropriate means, opportunities, and also the internal Hungarian resistance; coupled with the risk averse nature of local entrepreneurial circles and the state apparatus.
In a posthumous publication in 1954, seven years after his death, Reuben Anywar became the second Acholi to publish a book. Acoli ki Ker Megi was released one year after Lacito Okech's Tekwaro ki Ker Lobo Acholi. Unlike Okech, who received little education, Anywar was among the first northern Ugandan graduates of Makerere College. He became one of the first Black teachers at the prestigious Gulu High School and was the founder and original editor of Acholi Magazine. By the mid-1940s, Anywar was arguably the most towering intellectual in northern Uganda. Yet, existing works overlook his significance in knowledge production. This article seeks to rectify this oversight. Dans une publication posthume datant de 1954, sept ans apr & egrave;s sa mort, Reuben Anywar est devenu le deuxi & egrave;me Acholi & agrave; publier un livre. Acoli ki Ker Megi parut un an apr & egrave;s Tekwaro ki Ker Lobo Acholi de Lacito Okech. Contrairement & agrave; Okech, qui avait re & ccedil;u peu d'instruction, Anywar fut parmi les premiers dipl & ocirc;m & eacute;s du nord de l'Ouganda du Makerere College. Il devint l'un des premiers enseignants noirs du prestigieux lyc & eacute;e de Gulu et fut le fondateur et le premier r & egrave;dacteur en chef de l'Acholi Magazine. Au milieu des ann & egrave;es 1940, Anywar & eacute;tait sans doute l'intellectuel le plus influent du nord de l'Ouganda. Pourtant, les travaux existants n & eacute;gligent son r & ocirc;le essentiel dans la production du savoir. Cet article vise & agrave; combler cette lacune.
This article uses digital Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to visualize changing crop choice over time in nineteenth-century equatorial eastern Africa. It maps the locations of crops mentioned in early imperial sources, using contemporary cartographic representations of the region as a base. This enables a novel visualization of changing agricultural potential and vulnerability to climate variability over time. The maps contextualize the growth of commercial and political centers, a series of famines during years and seasons of below average rainfall, and the well-known environmental challenges of the early colonial period. Les Dogons du Mali perp & eacute;tuent une tradition li & eacute;e & agrave; un po & egrave;te-proph & egrave;te du XIXe si & egrave;cle nomm & eacute; Abir & egrave; Goro. Chanteur aveugle, il parcourait la r & eacute;gion de la falaise de Bandiagara et composait des po & egrave;mes qui font encore partie des rituels fun & eacute;raires. Cet ensemble de chants, appel & eacute; baja ni, constitue une source inestimable d'informations historiques sur les relations entre Dogons et Peuls & agrave; l'& eacute;poque du royaume de Macina. De plus, Abir & egrave; a formul & eacute; des proph & eacute;ties concernant le d & eacute;clin des Peuls, qui prennent une nouvelle r & eacute;sonance dans le conflit actuel entre Dogons et Peuls, liant ainsi l'avenir des Dogons aux traditions mandingues.
The Dogon in Mali cherish a tradition about a nineteeth-century poet/prophet called Abir & egrave; Goro. As a blind singer, he roamed the area of the Bandiagara cliff and composed poems that are still part of the funeral rituals. This string of songs, called baja ni, forms a treasure trove of historical information about the relation between Dogon and Fulbe at the time of the Macina realm. Also, Abir & egrave; issued prophecies about the demise of the Fulbe that take on a new relevance in the present Dogon-Fulbe conflict, linking the future of the Dogon to Mande traditions. Les Dogons du Mali perp & eacute;tuent une tradition li & eacute;e & agrave; un po & egrave;te-proph & egrave;te du XIXe si & egrave;cle nomm & eacute; Abir & egrave; Goro. Chanteur aveugle, il parcourait la r & eacute;gion de la falaise de Bandiagara et composait des po & egrave;mes qui font encore partie des rituels fun & eacute;raires. Cet ensemble de chants, appel & eacute; baja ni, constitue une source inestimable d'informations historiques sur les relations entre Dogons et Peuls & agrave; l'& eacute;poque du royaume de Macina. De plus, Abir & egrave; a formul & eacute; des proph & eacute;ties concernant le d & eacute;clin des Peuls, qui prennent une nouvelle r & eacute;sonance dans le conflit actuel entre Dogons et Peuls, liant ainsi l'avenir des Dogons aux traditions mandingues.
The history of the KwaZulu-Natal region in the period under study has mostly been written round the evolution of a series of polities seen as more or less firmly bounded territorial "states." This approach goes hand in hand with readings of recorded oral source materials as "oral traditions." In this article, we reread the materials not simply as relayed historical accounts but as evidence of past discursive practices geared towards the navigation of change. This allows us to argue that a fundamental feature of the political order at this time was a degree of mobility and political flexibility that earlier studies hardly engage with. L'histoire de la r & eacute;gion du KwaZulu-Natal durant la p & eacute;riode & eacute;tudi & eacute;e a & eacute;t & eacute; principalement & eacute;crite autour de l'& eacute;volution d'une s & eacute;rie d'entit & eacute;s politiques per & ccedil;ues comme des & laquo; & Eacute;tats & raquo; territoriaux plus ou moins bien d & eacute;limit & eacute;s. Cette approche s'accompagne d'une lecture des sources orales enregistr & eacute;es comme des & laquo; traditions orales & raquo;. Dans cet article, nous relisons ces sources non pas simplement comme des r & eacute;cits historiques transmis, mais comme des t & eacute;moignages de pratiques discursives pass & eacute;es visant & agrave; traverser cette p & eacute;riode de changement. Cela nous permet de d & eacute;montrer qu'une caract & eacute;ristique fondamentale de l'ordre politique de l'& eacute;poque & eacute;tait une mobilit & eacute; et une flexibilit & eacute; politique que les & eacute;tudes ant & eacute;rieures ont rarement abord & eacute;es.
Unbeknownst to many in the fields of African history and archaeology, the South African archaeologist A. J. H. Goodwin conducted important research in Nigeria during the last decade of his life, from 1953 to 1957. Following work at the Yoruba town of Ile-Ife, Goodwin led the first systematic excavations in Benin City in 1954-55 and 1956-57. With little of this material ever published, this article outlines, analyzes, and discusses Goodwin's archives at the University of Cape Town that pertain to his research at Benin City, which contain important unpublished information in reports, sketch maps, photographs, and correspondence. Using this material, the article reconstructs important dimensions of the town's old palace landscape - including the locations and organization of compounds and shrines associated with past kings - and Goodwin and others' excavations within it, situating this novel spatial and archaeological information within the larger landscape of the city. Fait inconnu par de nombreux & centerdot;ses sp & eacute;cialistes de l'histoire et de l'arch & eacute;ologie africaines, l'arch & eacute;ologue sud-africain A. J. H. Goodwin a men & eacute; d'importantes recherches au Nig & eacute;ria durant la derni & egrave;re d & eacute;cennie de sa vie, de 1953 & agrave; 1957. Apr & egrave;s son travail dans la ville yoruba d'Ile-Ife, Goodwin a dirig & eacute; les premi & egrave;res fouilles syst & eacute;matiques & agrave; Benin City en 1954-1955 et 1956-1957. Peu de ces documents ayant & eacute;t & eacute; publi & eacute;s, cet article pr & eacute;sente, analyse et discute les archives de Goodwin relatives & agrave; ses recherches & agrave; Benin City conserv & eacute;es & agrave; l'Universit & eacute; du Cap. Ces archives contiennent d'importantes informations in & eacute;dites : rapports, croquis, photographies et correspondance. & Agrave; partir de ces donn & eacute;es, l'article reconstitue des dimensions importantes de l'ancien paysage palatial de la ville, notamment l'emplacement et l'organisation des complexes et des sanctuaires associ & eacute;s aux anciens rois, ainsi que les fouilles men & eacute;es par Goodwin et d'autres chercheur & centerdot;es, en situant ces nouvelles informations spatiales et arch & eacute;ologiques dans le contexte plus large de la ville.
This article examines the secret negotiations, hitherto neglected, between Fascist Italy and the Ethiopian Empire before, during and after the Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1940). Based on recently discovered Italian archival sources and Italian and British diplomatic documents, it reveals how Emperor Haile Selassie and other members of the Ethiopian court were involved in negotiations during and after the conflict. The study therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of the war between Italy and Ethiopia, interpreting it in the light of European events but also of secret negotiations. Cet article examine les n & eacute;gociations secr & egrave;tes, jusqu'ici n & eacute;glig & eacute;es, entre l'Italie fasciste et l'Empire & eacute;thiopien avant, pendant et apr & egrave;s la guerre italo-& eacute;thiopienne (1935-1940). S'appuyant sur des sources d'archives italiennes r & eacute;cemment d & eacute;couvertes et sur des documents diplomatiques italiens et britanniques, il r & eacute;v & egrave;le comment l'empereur Ha & iuml;l & eacute; S & eacute;lassi & eacute; et d'autres membres de la cour & eacute;thiopienne ont particip & eacute; aux n & eacute;gociations pendant et apr & egrave;s le conflit. L'& eacute;tude contribue ainsi & agrave; une meilleure compr & eacute;hension de la guerre entre l'Italie et l'& Eacute;thiopie, en l'interpr & eacute;tant & agrave; l'aune des & eacute;v & eacute;nements europ & eacute;ens, mais aussi de n & eacute;gociations secr & egrave;tes.
It is fitting that our final volume as the History in Africa editorial team features articles that reconceptualize classic archival sources and reimagine new forms of narrating the past.
In 1864, Umar Taal, one of the most consequential figures of nineteenth-century West Africa, perished in Maasina (Mali), a region he had conquered two years prior. Historians have studied the political and intellectual underpinnings of Taal's last conquest, but not its ramifications inside families. Exploring colonial-era migrations and marriages in my own family in Mali, I suggest intimate history as mode of historical inquiry and writing to elucidate the afterlives of war. I provide a translocal and gendered microhistory of the aftermath of Taal's jihad, showing how the ripples of past Islamic revolutions shaped the intimacies of twentieth-century family life.
This paper is situated within the context of the onset of British imperialism in Nigeria at the end of the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on the conquest of the Ijebu Kingdom. The episode, as discussed in the paper, is intended for stage or screen theatrical adaptation. It demonstrates the value of historical dramatization based on data foregrounded by standard historical and relevant research methodologies. The principal text in the paper, derived from primary and research-based sources, is outlined in a chronological narrative. The general idea is to enable the development of a script to create a historical drama.
The Ghana–Togo border separates the Ewe people from their ritual spaces and objects. In Nyive, a border town divided into Ghana Nyive and Togo Nyive, these ritual spaces and objects are in Togo Nyive. The liminal space of the border complicates ritual practice by preventing community members from moving the ritual drum Aɖaʋatram (madness has led me astray) across the river and the international border. Nonetheless, communities in Nyive use ritual archives to maintain their identities in the context of colonial separation. They remake their identities through the symbolism, origin narrative, handling, and use of the drum Aɖaʋatram.
The recovery of subaltern experiences in colonial contexts requires more than reading against the grain and interrogating silences. This paper describes "archival patchwork," a way of working across diverse sources from multiple repositories, collecting small scraps of evidence about subordinated individuals, reconstructing social relationships, and stitching together patterns of daily life that aren't visible otherwise. Archival patchwork accommodates present-day ways of working in neoliberal universities, acknowledges north-south disparities, and opens collaborative possibilities. The paper, pinned to South African history, enumerates digitization, transcription, and duplication projects that make archival sources for the colonial Cape more widely available. Although this paper's evidence is focused in time and place, the methodology is broadly applicable.
This note offers a preliminary survey of archives containing photographic material - both digitized and nondigitized - related to northern Ghana. Despite the region's historical marginalization, this condition has not necessarily resulted in a scarcity of sources. On the contrary, numerous archives preserve rich and underexplored photographic documentation. By identifying and describing key collections across institutions such as the White Fathers photot & egrave;que, the Ministry of Information in Accra, the University of Cambridge, the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, the Imperial War Museum, the National Archives in London, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, this note seeks to illuminate underexplored visual sources. Cette note propose une & eacute;tude pr & eacute;liminaire des archives contenant des photographies, num & eacute;ris & eacute;es ou non, prises dans le nord du Ghana. Malgr & eacute; la marginalisation historique de cette r & eacute;gion, cette situation n'a pas n & eacute;cessairement entra & icirc;n & eacute; une p & eacute;nurie de sources. Au contraire, de nombreuses archives contiennent une documentation photographique riche et peu explor & eacute;e. En identifiant et en d & eacute;crivant les fonds cl & eacute;s de diverses institutions telles que la phototh & egrave;que des P & egrave;res Blancs, le minist & egrave;re de l'Information & agrave; Accra, l'universit & eacute; de Cambridge, le British Museum, la Bodleian Library, l'Imperial War Museum, les Archives nationales & agrave; Londres et le Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, cette note vise & agrave; mettre en lumi & egrave;re des sources visuelles peu explor & eacute;es
In the course of seeking indigenous documentation in a European-centered colonial archival repository, we uncovered a collection of African sources that highlight the literary work of African and Asian literate agents. The research enabled us to identify numerous indigenous African and Asian writings within an archive originally intended to support the Portuguese colonial administration. This article presents an archival survey on African documentation from Mozambique held in the Overseas Historical Archive (Arquivo Hist & oacute;rico Ultramarino), in Lisbon, Portugal.
This study examines the significance of nonhuman actors in writing African history. It asks why things and animals are at the margin of African history. It probes how the intersection of presence and absence manifests in things, and how this can aid historians’ imagination of the past. Finally, it seeks to know how the recognition and integration of things in the historical narrative can help understand the unaccounted past. The article draws from the Yoruba visual and verbal arts, particularly the oriki and Ifa corpus to argue that “things” are important historical sources that are methodologically useful and theoretically relevant.
Drawing on newspaper articles and oral histories, this paper provides an initial sketch of some of the issues at stake within the Ga community in Accra, focusing on the founding of the Ga Shifimo Kpee, a nationalist movement founded at the heart of the first President Kwame Nkrumah’s new capital and the seat of his own power in the new country. Rather than providing a definitive account of the Shifimo Kpee, this article highlights the ways in which foundational published accounts have sometimes inhibited a richer understanding of this period and analyzes primary sources to point to new avenues of interrogation.
Court records are rich primary sources to social historians, and much attention has been paid to these types of documents in different African territories. In most cases only summaries have survived, but in Angola complete proceedings have been preserved. Examining the court case collection available at the Benguela District Court, we discuss its strengths and methodological challenges, and present possible themes for future research. The use of these records reveals new aspects of the Angolan past, including more information on local norms and the ability of African women to use the Portuguese courts. Les archives judiciaires sont des sources tr & egrave;s riches pour les historiennes des soci & eacute;t & eacute;s ; une grande attention a d & eacute;j & agrave; & eacute;t & eacute; accord & eacute;e & agrave; ce type de documents dans diff & eacute;rents territoires africains. Dans la plupart des cas, seuls des r & eacute;sum & eacute;s ont surv & eacute;cu, mais en Angola, des proc & eacute;dures compl & egrave;tes ont & eacute;t & eacute; pr & eacute;serv & eacute;es. Cet article examine les archives des affaires judiciaires disponibles au tribunal de district de Benguela et nous permet de discuter de leurs points forts et leurs d & eacute;fis m & eacute;thodologiques. Nous pr & eacute;sentons aussi des th & egrave;mes possibles pour des recherches futures. L'utilisation de ces documents r & eacute;v & egrave;le de nouveaux aspects du pass & eacute; angolais et nous fournit davantage d'informations sur les normes locales et la capacit & eacute; des femmes africaines & agrave; utiliser les tribunaux portugais.
