A fascinating account which discusses the indigenous peoples at the Cape at the time of the Dutch colonisers' arrival through to the years of apartheid. This includes the colonial conquest of Zambia expanding upon the role played by venture capital and the demands of manufacturing capitalism in the colonisation of large parts of Africa. The place of women in both colonial settler society and indigenous society is also dealt with. Through all the chapters runs the thread of the lives of the common people, and how their interactions are circumscribed by social conditions.

Home to some of the most impressive monuments of the Islamic world, Cairo's City of the Dead is also home to hundreds of thousands of Egypt's urban poor. This book presents a comprehensive look at this unique informal community, and includes biographies of some of the residents of the cemeteries.

This book presents a comprehensive look at one of the most unusual informal communities in the world. The City of the Dead is a group of vast Islamic cemeteries that have been the primary burial grounds for the city of Cairo for 1200 years. Within its borders are some of the most impressive monuments of the Islamic world. The City of the Dead, however, is also home to the living, as it was always an active part of the community of Cairo.

Qu'ran reciters and tombkeepers have always made their homes among the graves. The cemeteries have also been a popular destination for Islamic pilgrims seeking spiritual blessing, as well as thieves and runaways seeking refuge from the law. In more modern times, given the housing crisis that has plagued Cairo in the 20th century, the cemeteries have become the primary source of shelter for hundreds of thousands of otherwise homeless Egyptians. This community of people includes both rural migrants to Cairo and more established city dwellers. This book takes an in-depth look at these individuals' lives and introduces the reader to the life stories of some residents. The future of this unique community is also explored. An important work for students, scholars, and researchers of Egypt and the Islamic world.

Using newly-discovered documentation from the French military archives, A History of Violence in the Early Algerian Colony offers a comprehensive study of the forms of violence adopted by the French Army in Africa. Its coverage ranges from detailed case studies of massacres to the question of whether a genocide took place in Algeria. It begins by asking whether French brutality in Algeria was a consequence of Europeans mirroring a culture of atrocities they believed they would find on 'the Barbary Coast', and goes on to study the manner in which an exterminatory policy was agreed upon by Ministers, generals and soldiers in the campaigns of the 1840s.

In this innovative new history, Erin Pettigrew utilizes invisible forces and entities - esoteric knowledge and spirits - to show how these forms of knowledge and unseen forces have shaped social structures, religious norms, and political power in the Saharan West. Situating this ethnographic history in what became la Mauritanie under French colonial rule and, later the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Pettigrew traces the changing roles of Muslim spiritual mediators and their Islamic esoteric sciences - known locally as l'hjab - over the long-term history of the region. By exploring the impact of the immaterial in the material world and demonstrating the importance of Islamic esoteric sciences in Saharan societies, she illuminates peoples' enduring reliance upon these sciences in their daily lives and argues for a new approach to historical research that takes the immaterial seriously.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was not just a world-historical event in its own right, but also struck powerful blows against racism and imperialism, and so inspired many black radicals internationally. This edited collection explores the implications of the creation of the Soviet Union and the Communist International for black and colonial liberation struggles across the African diaspora. It examines the critical intellectual influence of Marxism and Bolshevism on the current of revolutionary 'black internationalism' and analyses how 'Red October' was viewed within the contested articulations of different struggles against racism and colonialism. Challenging European-centred understandings of the Russian Revolution and the global left, The Red and the Black offers new insights on the relations between Communism, various lefts and anti-colonialisms across the Black Atlantic - including Garveyism and various other strands of Pan-Africanism. The volume makes a major and original intellectual contribution by making the relations between the Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic central to debates on questions relating to racism, resistance and social change. -- .

Jan Smuts, one of the most infamous South Africans of the twentieth century remains a controversial figure. Was he one of the outstanding statesmen of his time or was he perhaps a traitor of Afrikaner interests and possibly a racist? Today there are still strong opinions on Smuts’s role.

Like Paul Kruger at the end of the nineteenth century, and Nelson Mandela as the twentieth century drew to a close, it was Jan Smuts who stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries in the first half of the twentieth century; he was a leader of extraordinary stature and his statesmanship is recognised internationally. And yet, the NP and ANC governments have downplayed his contributions for decades, because it did not endorse their Afrikaner and black nationalist versions of South African history. A reappraisal of Smuts will fill a gap in the literature on the history of South Africa in the first half of the twentieth century. Many of the biographies and other works on Smuts appeared during his lifetime or soon after his death. Today, a few generations later, we have a better perspective on his contributions within the historical context of his time. New evidence continues to come to light, making it possible to reach a more informed opinion on questions about Smuts, issues which previously could not be answered conclusively.

The purpose of the book, written almost three generations after his death, is to recall and re-evaluate Smuts’s contributions in various fields and in this way introduce him to the younger generation. It is important that Smuts be judged in the context of his particular time and circumstances. As far as his outlook on war and peace, civilisation, race and class differences, the capitalist system and South Africa’s place in the wider world are concerned, Smuts was certainly a product of his time. It would be unfair to measure him and his contemporaries against today’s norms and values. To do justice to him, his supporters, as well as his opponents and critics, due consideration should be accorded to how they lived, thought and reasoned in that era.

This book examines the work of prominent South African geologist Alex Du Toit as a means of understanding the debate around continental drift both in segregation-era South Africa and internationally. It contextualises Du Toit's work within a particularly formative period of South African science, from the paleoanthropological discoveries that sparked debates about the origins of humankind to Jan Smuts' own theory of holism. Beyond South African scientific discoveries, the book sets Du Toit's work against a backdrop of ideological struggles over space, both domestically in terms of segregation and nationalism, as well as internationally as South Africa sought to assert its position within the Commonwealth. These debates were embodied by Du Toit's work on the theory of continental drift, which put Africa - and South Africa - at the centre geologically and geographically. The author also focuses on the divisions in geology caused by drift theory, tracing the vigorous intellectual debate and dissent indicative of the ideological milieu within which scientific thought is constructed. It traces the history of continental drift from its inception in the nineteenth century and later work of Alfred Wegener, which was both elaborated upon and substantiated by Du Toit. The study further focuses on Du Toit's research on continental drift in South African and South America, and the geological, fossil and climatological evidence used to bolster this theory.

..".this specialist-oriented volume is a rich contribution to the literature on this region. Notably it seems directed as much toward the ongoing historiographical conversation in Bali itself as it is toward external scholars." JASO Online

..".constitutes an outstanding contribution in the study of history outside the traditional perspective of recourse to narrative sources (whether these be oral or written)." African Affairs

"This amazing book...represents a model for scholars seeking to blend the tools of history writing and political/ cultural anthropology; its value is applicable not only in Cameroon, but elsewhere." International Journal for African Historical Studies

"With the suspense of a detective novel, this slim, richly detailed volume] proceeds in a series of comparisons...This charming book is an exacting exercise in comparison and historical reconstruction." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

..".an important contribution - not only to the local history of the Grasslands of Cameroon. It offers a better understanding of processes of transformation of rituals and asks important methodological questions, which should be of interest to anybody dealing with the history of early photography in Africa and visual anthropology. As to be expected from the "Cameroon Studies" series the volume is rounded up by a comprehensive bibliography and a very useful index." Anthropos

"As in his previous works, Fardon does not make it easy for his readers to labour through his dense writing. However, it is absolutely worthwhile. This unconventional book contains a wealth of insights with far-reaching methodological consequences. It demonstrates how to recover history without even for a moment losing sight of the constructivity of the knowledge produced." Journal of African History

Lela in Bali tells the story of an annual festival of eighteenth-century kingdoms in Northern Cameroon that was swept up in the migrations of marauding slave-raiders during the nineteenth century and carried south towards the coast. Lela was transformed first into a mounted durbar, like those of the Muslim states, before evolving in tandem with the German colonial project into a festival of arms. Reinterpreted by missionaries and post-colonial Cameroonians, Lela has become one of the most important of Cameroonian festivals and a crucial marker of identity within the state. Richard Fardon's recuperation of two hundred years of history is an essential contribution not only to Cameroonian studies but also to the broader understanding of the evolution of African cultures.

Richard Fardon, Professor of West African Anthropology in the University of London, is the author of four monographs on West Africa, as well as numerous works of anthropological theory. Since 1988 he has taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies, where he chaired the University of London's Centre of African Studies for eight years. In addition to its obvious archival sources, this book draws upon ethnographic research he began in Nigeria (from 1976) and in Cameroon (from 1984). Richard Fardon has been editor of the journal AFRICA since 2001.

Ambitious, intelligent, and desired by men and Emperors, Cleopatra VII came to power at a time when Roman and Egyptian interests increasingly tended to concern the same object: the Egyptian Empire itself. Cleopatra lived her whole life at the center of this complex and persistent power struggle, and her death simultaneously heralded the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the loss of Egyptian political independence, and the beginning of Caesar Augustus's Roman rule in Egypt. Cleopatra's legacy has since lost much of its former political significance, as she has come to symbolize instead the potent force of female sexuality and power. In this engaging and multifaceted account, however, Stanley M. Burstein displays Cleopatra in the full manifold brilliance of the several cultures, countries, and people that surrounded her throughout her compelling life, and in so doing develops a stunning picture of a legendary Queen, and a deeply historic reign. Designed as an accessible introduction to Cleopatra VII and her time, this book offers readers and researchers an appealing mix of descriptive chapters, biographical sketches, and annotated primary documents. An overview of the Ptolemaic Dynasty is presented in the introduction, and is followed by chapters on Cleopatra's life, the reality of Ptolemaic Egypt, Cleopatra's multicultural Egyptian society, and Alexandria's culture and conflicts. The narrative chapters conclude with a section discussing Cleopatra's significance as a person, a queen, and a symbol. An annotated bibliography and index are also included in this work.

Muslims from the region that is now Nigeria have been undertaking the Hajj for hundreds of years. But the process of completing the pilgrimage changed dramatically in the twentieth century as state governments became heavily involved in its organization and management. Under British colonial rule, a minimalist approach to pilgrimage control facilitated the journeys of many thousands of mostly overland pilgrims. Decolonization produced new political contexts, with nationalist politicians taking a more proactive approach to pilgrimage management for both domestic and international reasons. The Hajj, which had previously been a life-altering journey undertaken slowly and incrementally over years, became a shorter, safer, trip characterized by round trip plane rides. In examining the transformation of the Nigerian Hajj, this book demonstrates how the Hajj became ever more intertwined with Nigerian politics and governance as the country moved from empire to independence. -- .

South Africa's future is increasingly tied up with that of India. While trade and investment between the two countries is intensifying, they share long-standing historical ties and have much in common: apart from cricket, colonialism and Gandhi, both countries are important players in the global South. As India emerges as a major economic power, the need to understand these links becomes ever more pressing. Can the two countries enter balanced forms of exchange? What forms of transnational political community between these two regions have yet to be researched and understood? The first section of South Africa and India traces the range of historical connection between the two countries. The second section explores unconventional comparisons that offer rich ground on which to build original areas of study. This innovative book looks to a post-American world in which the global South will become ever more important. Within this context, the Indian Ocean arena itself and South Africa and India in particular move to the fore. The book's main contribution lies in the approaches and methods offered by its wide range of contributors for thinking about this set of circumstances.

This collection of essays analyzes different iterations of African unity, exploring the political and cultural visions that informed projects aimed at African unification. It explores the cultural, economic and non-state aspects of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) as the principal institution dedicated to the cooperation of African states, from its establishment in 1963 to its transformation into the African Union (AU) in 2000, as well as how ideas of African unity shaped the Cold War and African liberation struggles. Bringing together contributors from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds across Africa, Europe and the US, this book investigates the ideological origins and historiography of Pan-African and unification projects, and considers how African intellectuals, leaders and populations engaged with these ideas.

This volume comprises a selection of essays by scholars from a variety of disciplines that discuss the exchange relationship between Africa and the wider Indian Ocean world (IOW), a macro-region running from East Africa to China, from early times to about 1300 CE. The rationale for regarding this macro-region as a "world" is the central significance of the monsoon system which facilitated the early emergence of long-distance trans-IOW maritime exchange of commodities, peoples, plants, animals, technologies and ideas.

Mazrui examines the importance of Africa--historically, culturally, and economically--in the development of the West, particularly the United States. And he contrasts this demonstrable importance with the combination of neglect and malice directed at Africa and those of African descent by the West and by the United States in particular. As Mazrui illustrates throughout, this is a tale of two Edens: Africa as the Eden of Lost Innocence and America as the Eden of Current Power and Future Fulfillment. People of African ancestry have been part of the vanguard for the Edenization of America. But America is also influencing the first Eden: Africa. America is a major force in the liberalization of black people in Africa; and black people are a major force in the democratization of all people in America.

This book explores and problematises the war discourse regarding Egypt's victory in the 1973 War. It traces the process through which this discourse was constructed and reconstructed by the state throughout the periods of President Anwar Sadat, his successor Hosni Mubarak, and afterwards. It uses Critical Discourse Analysis to combine analysis of texts commemorating the war with a study of the socio-political milieu related to personal authoritarianism and the state's intricate relations with the army, the press and Islamists.

An attempt to use archaeological materials to investigate the colonization of southeastern Africa during the period 1500 to 1900. Perry demonstrates the usefulness of archaeology in bypassing the biases of the ethnohistorical and documentary record and generating a more comprehensive understanding of history. Special attention is paid to the period of state formation in Swaziland and a critique of the Settler Model', which the author finds to be invalid.

This is a biography of Sir Humphrey Gibbs, an upper-class Englishman who settled in Southern Rhodesia soon after it became a self-governing colony. He was a leading farmer and churchman, an MP, and eventually Governor of the country. In 1964 the Rhodesian Front declared UDI, but he remained at his post in Government House for a further five years, and was a conduit for negotiations between the British Government and the rebel regime.

This book constitutes a major reassessment of the mortuary remains from the two X-Group royal cemeteries at Qustul and Ballana in Lower Nubia (c. AD 380-500). Since their excavation more than seventy years ago, and the subsequent flooding of the sites following the building of the Aswan High Dam, and despite the spectacular nature of the finds, the sites have received remarkably little scholarly attention. This book offers the first interpretation of social life at these key sites, and proposes a series of innovative, theoretically informed frames for exploring the significance of the material remains found there. In doing so, it sheds new light on a culture which, although less well known than the Meroitic Empire that preceded it and the subsequent development of the Christian Kingdoms of the Sudan, is nevertheless of considerable archaeological and historical significance. The sites present a series of archaeologically unique monumental tumuli and multi-chambered tomb structures containing evidence of human and animal sacrifice, as well as a highly sophisticated material culture. The interpretations presented here draw on the emergent field of sensory archaeology to address the key issue of identity formation. It makes a case for the heretofore unrecognised significance of an 'aesthetic' identity mediated by material culture. It approaches X-Group culture as a materially complex indigenous culture that created and altered identities through time via the manipulation of materials, colours and patterns (the 'aesthetic' basis of identity). This study explores the relationships between humans, animals, and artefacts. It demonstrates how a less stable society, which based control on aggressive public displays, became a more stable state, as power was mediated by magico-ritual performances, festal occasions, and the rise of certain individuals. The interpretations put forward here are based on a systematic quantitative analysis of the archaeological material from the sites. These analyses draw on complex typologies differentiating objects according to use, ware, colour, decoration method, designs, surface finish, contents, grafitto, location in a tomb, location near a body, etc. Such a quantification and synthesis of tens of thousands of individual pieces of data enabled the identification of key trends in the dataset--the empirical basis for the modelling of socio-political change undertaken here. The study was undertaken to combat the limited and unsatisfactory set of questions posed by previous debates about the activities at Qustul and Ballana. It constitutes a significant departure from previous work which restricted the discussion of life at the sites to a limited debate about the identity of tribal groups and the chronology of activity at the sites. In contrast, this research demonstrates that the way in which the X-Group(s) dynamically created, maintained, and altered their identity through various forms of praxis. The book is essential reading for anybody researching ancient Sudanese civilisations. It has a wider appeal for researchers and graduate students interested in new developments in approaches to the archaeology of North-East Africa. It also has a broader appeal to all those interested in the theorisation of identity, the practical application of archaeological theory to the study of material culture and the human relationship to the sensory nature of the sensory world.

Upton Sinclair's main concern is social justice. He wanted, through his writings, to make the common people aware of the many hypocrisies of organized religion. He saw the aligment of religion with the forces of capitalism and exploitation of the poor and the working clases of America. He wrote this book in 1918 at the end of World War I and it is a fascinating look at the American left and its thinking during this period of American history. A Collector's Edition.

This is the only available book on the Congo war, the most important current conflict in Africa. Two chapters situate the war in its historical and theoretical context, while others survey the interests of the Congolese government, of the rebel groups, and of intervening states in the war. These chapters reveal the underlying sources of the war and explain the strategies of the various combatants. Other chapters examine the impact of the war on neighboring countries, individual citizens, refugees, and other non-state actors in the zone of conflict and beyond.