One of the outstanding mysteries of the twentieth century, and one with huge political resonance, is the death of Dag Hammarskjold and his UN team in a plane crash in central Africa in 1961. Just minutes after midnight, his aircraft plunged into thick forest in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), abruptly ending his mission to bring peace to the Congo. Across the world, many suspected sabotage, accusing the multi-nationals and the governments of Britain, Belgium, the USA and South Africa of involvement in the disaster. These suspicions have never gone away. British High Commissioner Lord Alport was waiting at the airport when the aircraft crashed nearby. He bizarrely insisted to the airport management that Hammarskjold had flown elsewhere - even though his aircraft was reported overhead. This postponed a search for so long that the wreckage of the plane was not found for fifteen hours. White mercenaries were at the airport that night too, including the South African pilot Jerry Puren, whose bombing of Congolese villages led, in his own words, to 'flaming huts . . . destruction and death'. These soldiers of fortune were backed by Sir Roy Welensky, Prime Minister of the Rhodesian Federation, who was ready to stop at nothing to maintain white rule and thought the United Nations was synonymous with the Nazis. The Rhodesian government conducted an official inquiry, which blamed pilot error. But as this book will show, it was a massive cover-up that suppressed and dismissed a mass of crucial evidence, especially that of African eyewitnesses. A subsequent UN inquiry was unable to rule out foul play - but had no access to the evidence to show how and why. Now, for the first time, this story can be told. Who Killed Hammarskjoeld? follows the author on her intriguing and often frightening journey of research to Zambia, South Africa, the USA, Sweden, Norway, Britain, France and Belgium, where she unearthed a mass of new and hitherto secret documentary and photographic evidence.

Neopatrimonial analysts attribute the failure of development policies in Nigeria to entirely internal problems emanating from the personalization of state resources by rulers for their own benefits and as forms of patronage for securing the loyalty of clients. Based on elaborate theoretical and empirical analysis of development policies in Nigeria with special focus on development planning, this book argues that the neopatrimonial analysis is one-sided and does not adequately capture the fundamental factors responsible for the development malaise in the country. Understanding Nigeria's development problems entails looking beyond neopatrimonialism. The adverse effects of diffusionism that underlined development policies, and the associated external factors that fostered neocolonial dependence and peripheralization of Nigeria's economy are crucial for understanding and coming to terms with the development problem. This book makes a strong case for endogenous formulation of development policies and for the reformulation of the Nigerian state in order to make it more developmental.

The history of development has paid only little attention to cultural projects. This book looks at the development politics that shaped the UNESCO World Heritage programme, with a case study of Ethiopian World Heritage sites from the 1960s to the 1980s. In a large-scale conservation and tourism planning project, selected sites were set up and promoted as images of the Ethiopian nation. This story serves to illustrate UNESCO's role in constructing a "useful past" in many African countries engaged in the process of nation-building. UNESCO experts and Ethiopian elites had a shared interest in producing a portfolio of antiquities and national parks to underwrite Ethiopia's imperial claims to regional hegemony with ancient history. The key findings of this book highlight a continuity in Ethiopian history, despite the political ruptures caused by the 1974 revolution and UNESCO's transformation from knowledge producer to actual provider of development policies. The particular focus on the bureaucratic and political practices of heritage, bridges a gap between cultural heritage studies and the history of international organisations. The result is a first study of the global discourse on heritage as it emerged in the 1960s development decade.

This ground-breaking book offers unique insights into the careers of Indian doctors in colonial Kenya during the height of British colonialism, between 1895 and 1940. The story of these important Indian professionals presents a rare social history of an important political minority.

Written by two senior scholars, A History of Africa introduces students to the history of the world's second largest continent. While it is not possible to discuss every event that ever happened in African history, the book comprises an historical narrative emphasizing key trends and processes illustrated by detailed examples. It represents a chronological and empirical history based on scholarly research and reconstructions of Africa's past. As a continental history, it seeks to cover all regions of Africa including North Africa, a region often seen as culturally and historically distinct. Furthermore, the narrative summarizes changing views and academic debates concerning aspects of African history. Richly illustrated with numerous maps and photographs, A History of Africa is the most comprehensive story of the place all humans call home. A History of Africa is available in a combined print or eBook volume, or in split eBook volumes (Volume One: to 1880 and Volume Two: since 1870).

Born to an African king in colonial Sierra Leone at the beginning of the twentieth century, Princess Fatima Massaquoi lived an extraordinary life that encapsulated the contradictions, upheavals, and unprecedented opportunities of her time. This critical edition of her memoirs makes her story available to readers for the first time. Beginning with her lovingly recounted memories of growing up in Liberia, it follows her to Hamburg, Germany, where she pursued an education and forged friendships, but also experienced the racism, terror, and nationalistic fervor that accompanied the Nazis' rise to power. In the face of these mounting dangers, Massaquoi traveled to the United States, where she furthered her studies, embracing her newfound freedom even as she observed deteriorating conditions in the segregated American South in the early years of the civil rights movement. Spanning continents and cultures, this narrative introduces us to a truly remarkable woman while offering a fascinating window into the complex history of the twentieth century.

John Brown Russwurm and African American Settlement in West Africa examines Russwurm's intellectual accomplishments and significant contributions to the black civil rights movement in America from 1826 - 1829, and more significantly explores the essential characteristics that distinguished his thoughts and endeavours from other black leaders in America, Liberia and Maryland in Liberia. Not surprisingly, the most controversial of Russwurm's ideas was his unwavering support of the American Colonization Society (ACS) and the Maryland State Colonization Society (MSCS), two organizations that most civil rights activists found racist and pro-slavery. Beyan probes the social and intellectual sources, underlying motives and the legacies of Russwurm's thoughts and endeavours, all in an attempt to dissect why Russwurm acted and made the choices that he did.

A microcosmic study of nineteenth century British imperialism.

This book transforms our understanding of the recent political history of Central Africa. It charts the complex life and thought of Harry Nkumbula (ca. 1917-1983), the first openly nationalist African politician in Northern Rhodesia and, later, the leader of parliamentary opposition during Zambia's multi-party First Republic. Based mainly on his personal papers and the newly opened archives of UNIP, Zambia's ruling party between 1964 and 1991, the volume looks at how Nkumbula imagined a Zambian nation for the first time and, later, presented a liberal alternative to dominant state-led models of political and economic development. By exploring the trajectory of Nkumbula's ANC, a minority liberal party with strong ethnic roots, the book throws new light on the under-acknowledged fractiousness of Zambian nationalism and warns against reading African post-colonial politics solely in terms of clientelism.

The history of the modern world can be described through the history of the commodities that were produced, traded and consumed, on an increasingly global scale. The papers presented in this book show how in this process borders were transgressed, local agents combined with metropolitan representatives, power relations were contested and frontiers expanded. Including cases from Asia, Africa and the Americas, as well as a number of global commodities (sugar, tobacco, rubber, cotton, cassava, tea and beer), this collection presents a sample of the range of innovative research taking place today into commodity history. Together they cover the last two centuries, in which commodities have led the consolidation of a globalised economy and society - forging this out of distinctive local experiences of cultivation and production, and regional circuits of trade.

This handbook provides an overview of the society, culture, geography, history, and politics of contemporary Egypt. While such historic monuments as the pyramids at Giza, the Karnak Temple, and the Valley of the Kings draw visitors to Egypt each year, the country is today a large and varied collection of some 79 million people. An important political and cultural force in the Middle East and home to one of Africa's most advanced economies, Egypt is rapidly becoming a major player in the 21st-century world. This comprehensive text examines all facets of life in Egypt, including its land, history, politics, and culture. It is written in a manner that makes the subject accessible and engaging for readers with little prior knowledge about the country, but also provides a critical analysis of the latest research for students and scholars familiar with Egypt and its people. Special attention is given to the historical period following the rise of Islam to enable a greater understanding of Egypt's contemporary government, religious practices, popular culture, and current events. Includes informative sections on Egyptian art, literature, music, economy, politics, geography, and much more Provides a detailed, historical chronology of Egypt from ancient times to present day Contains a bibliography, glossary, and index to facilitate further research

Since 1997, the war in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has taken more than 6 million lives and shapes the daily existence of the nation's residents. While the DRC is often portrayed in international media as an unproductive failed state, the Congolese have turned increasingly to art-making to express their experience to external eyes. Author Cherie Rivers Ndaliko argues that cultural activism and the enthusiasm to produce art exists in Congo as a remedy for the social ills of war and as a way to communicate a positive vision of the country. Ndaliko introduces a memorable cast of artists, activists, and ordinary people from the North-Kivu province, whose artistic and cultural interventions are routinely excluded from global debates that prioritize economics, politics, and development as the basis of policy decision about Congo. Rivers also shows how art has been mobilized by external humanitarian and charitable organizations, becoming the vehicle through which to inflict new kinds of imperial domination. Written by a scholar and activist in the center of the current public policy debate, Necessary Noise examines the uneasy balance of accomplishing change through art against the unsteady background of civil war. At the heart of this book is the Yole!Africa cultural center, which is the oldest independent cultural center in the east of Congo. Established in the aftermath of volcano Nyiragongo's 2002 eruption and sustained through a series of armed conflicts, the cultural activities organized by Yole!Africa have shaped a generation of Congolese youth into socially and politically engaged citizens. By juxtaposing intimate ethnographic, aesthetic, and theoretical analyses of this thriving local initiative with case studies that expose the often destructive underbelly of charitable action, Necessary Noise introduces into heated international debates on aid and sustainable development a compelling case for the necessity of arts and culture in negotiating sustained peace. Through vivid descriptions of a community of young people transforming their lives through art, Ndaliko humanizes a dire humanitarian disaster. In so doing, she invites readers to reflect on the urgent choices we must navigate as globally responsible citizens. The only study of music or film culture in the east of Congo, Necessary Noise raises an impassioned and vibrantly interdisciplinary voice that speaks to the theory and practice of socially engaged scholarship.

This exciting new book marks a major shift in the study of the South African War. It turns attention from the war's much debated causes onto its more neglected consequences. An international team of scholars explores the myriad legacies of the war - for South Africa, for Britain, for the Empire and beyond. The extensive introduction sets the contributions in context, and the elegant afterword offers thought-provoking reflections on their cumulative significance.

The World Today Series: Africa provides students with vital information on all countries on the African continent through a thorough and expert overview of political and economic histories, current events, and emerging trends. Each country is examined through the following sections: Basic Facts; Land and People; The Past: Political and Economic History; The Present: Contemporary Issues; and The Future. In addition to country chapters, the book features extended essays on Africa's Historical Background and the Colonial Period. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students. The content is thorough yet perfect for a one-semester introductory course or general library reference. Available in both print and e-book formats and priced low to fit student and library budgets.

This volume explores the multiple meanings and implications of lobola in Southern Africa. The payment of lobola (often controversially translated as 'bridewealth') is an entrenched practice in most societies in Southern Africa. Although having a long tradition, of late there have been voices questioning its relevance in contemporary times while others vehemently defend the practice. This book brings together a range of scholars from different academic disciplines, national contexts, institutions, genders, and ethnic backgrounds to debate the relevance of lobola in contemporary southern African communities for gender equality.

Primary source documents are valuable learning resources preferred by many teachers because they give student the chance to decipher and interpret the history themselves. "Africa and the West" presents a range of hard-to-find primary source documents on Africa from the slave trade that started in the early part of the fifteenth century to independence and the problems of the post-colonial period.

This book offers a comprehensive political biography of Kingsley Ozuomba Mbadiwe, (1915-1990), a central figure in Nigerian political history for more than forty years. Starting in 1936 as a protege of Nnamdi Azikiwe, then Nigeria's most renowned nationalist, Mbadiwe himself by the 1950s became a frontline nationalist. And next to Tafawa Balewa from the North who became Prime Minster in 1957, he was the most important figure in the Nigerian Federal Government between 1952 and Nigeria's first military coup in 1966. During this time he held a succession of important Cabinet positions and was Parliamentary Leader of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), which was in a ruling alliance with the Northern People's Congress (NPC). In contrast, his older prominent political contemporaries, Azikiwe of the Eastern Region, Igbo Leader of the NCNC; Obafemi Awolowo of the Western Region, Yoruba Leader of the Action Group (AG); and Ahmadu Bello of the Northern Region, Fulani Leader of the NPC, all carved out their political careers totally or largely at the regional level. Throughout his political career Mbadiwe's focus was always at the national level. Truly, it has been stated that Mbadiwe was one of the founding fathers of the Nigerian State. Nonetheless, Mbadiwe's ambition for himself to lead Nigeria and for his nation to set it on the path to greatness faced insuperable difficulties. In a country of widespread poverty, high illiteracy, and a grossly underdeveloped private sector, there were fierce ethnic and regional conflicts for the control of governments and resources, leading to massive corruption and serious instability. This in turn led to prolonged military rule twenty years in Mbadiwe's lifetime which was often more corrupt and repressive than civilian rule, and was bitterly deprecated by Mbadiwe.

Ousmane Sembene was a Senegalese film director, producer, and writer whom the Los Angeles Times considered one of the greatest authors of Africa. Often called the "father of African film," Sembene strongly believed that African films should be geared primarily toward educating the masses and making the philosophical quandaries and political issues contested by elites accessible to the poor and those with little to no formal education.Although Sembene's central aim was to reach African audiences and encourage a dialogue within Senegalese society, his films are also extraordinarily effective in introducing non-African audiences to many of the most intriguing cultural issues and social changes facing African people today. The films are not fast paced in the manner of many Hollywood films. Rather, they are deliberately unhurried and driven by the narrative. They show actual ways of life, social relations, and patterns of communication and consumption, and the joys and tribulations of West African people. For people who have never been to Africa, the films offer an accessible first gaze. For those who have visited or lived in an African culture, the films provide a way to explore African society and culture more profoundly. Sembene was an independent filmmaker, solely and totally responsible for the content of his films, which were inspired by the realities of daily life. This focus on microcosmic social relations and day-to-day politics is so central to Sembene art, his films breed provocative commentary on social, historical, political, economic, linguistic, religious, and gender issues relevant to Senegalese society. Because of his concern with daily Senegalese life, Sembene targeted the common people whose voices are seldom or never heard. In fact, depicting the struggles and concerns of average Senegalese people was a central preoccupation of his films, as he himself has articulated. This study examines the artistry of Sembene's films as well as the multitude of signifying elements Sembene uses in them to communicate in less direct ways with his audience. The book interprets the meaning conveyed by images through their placement and function within the films, and it contributes new insights into Sembene's interpretations of cultural practices and the meanings he ascribes to social behaviors. It examines how Sembene uses language, mise-en-scene, cinematography, and creative editing to evoke the emotions of his targeted audience. Several chapters in the volume also demonstrate how the many ironies and political economic tensions that are so characteristic of Sembene's work are best understood within the sociocultural context of each film's production. Hence, to make sense of Sembene's cinema, one must be willing to read beyond the denoted meaning of the storyline and to dig into the cultural significance of the carefully selected and manipulated codes and images.