Search results for ""u press""

In highlighting the role of East Africa's commercial connections to the Middle East and India during the colonial period, this book makes a major contribution to African history as part of world history. Conventional history assumes that the rise of the steamship trade killed off the Indian ocean dhow trade in the twentieth century. This study argues that the dhow economy played a major role in shaping the economic and social lifeof colonial Zanzibar. Dhows and the regional trade they fostered allowed a class of indigenous entrepreneurs to thrive in Zanzibar. These entrepreneurs, whose economic interests stretched across continents and colonial boundaries, were able to thwart or shape many of the colonial state's pet projects. Not only did steamships fail to drive out indigenous sailing craft, but in some cases dhows were able to drive the steamer out of specific market niches. North America: Ohio U Press; Tanzania: Zanzibar Gallery

Read more less

The first integrated history of the Ghana-Togo borderlands. The current border between Ghana and Togo is usually regarded as a classically arbitrary European construct, resisted by Ewe irredentism. Paul Nugent challenges this conventional wisdom, contending that whatever the origins of partition, border peoples quickly became knowing and active participants in the shaping of this international boundary. This book straddles the conventional divide between social and political history. It offers a reconstructionof a long-range history of smuggling and a reappraisal of Ewe identity. It should be of interest to African historians, political scientists, anthropologists, comparative borderlands scholars and others concerned with issues of criminality, identity and the state. North America: Ohio U Press

Read more less

The conditions for democracy in South Africa cannot be taken for granted as many South African citizens remain on the margins, outside of the formal democratic system. The post-apartheid public sphere in South Africa has been characterised by race tensions and distrust. Socio-economic inequalities and structural unemployment are contributing to widespread crises. In addressing the conceptual andempirical questions relating to the transition to democracy, the contributors to this volume take the questions of culture and identity seriously, drawing attention to the creative agency of citizens of the 'new' South Africa. They raise important questions concerning the limits of citizenship and procedural democracy. Steven L. Robins is Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Stellenbosch North America: Ohio U Press

Read more less

A considerable revision in the understanding of the history of colonial Kenya and, more widely, colonialism in Africa. In the sister two volumes entitled Unhappy Valley 1 and Unhappy Valley 2, the authors investigate major themes including the conquest origins and subsequent development of the colonial state, the contradictory socialforces that articulated African societies to European capitalism, and the creation of new political communities and changing meanings of ethnicity in Africa, in the context of social differentiation and class formation. There issubstantial new work on the problems of Mau Mau and of wealth, poverty and civic virtue in Kikuyu political thought. The authors make a fresh contribution to a deeper historical understanding of contemporary Kenyan society and, in particular, of the British and Kikuyu origins of Mau Mau and the emergency of the 1950s. They also highlight some of the shortcomings of ideas about development, explore the limitations of narrowly structuralist Marxisttheory of the state, and reflect on the role of history in the future of Africa. North America: Ohio U Press; Kenya: EAEP WINNER OF THE TREVOR REESE MEMORIAL PRIZE 1994

Read more less

A considerable revision in the understanding of the history of colonial Kenya and, more widely, colonialism in Africa. In the sister two volumes entitled Unhappy Valley 1 and Unhappy Valley 2, the authors investigate major themes including the conquest origins and subsequent development of the colonial state, the contradictory socialforces that articulated African societies to European capitalism, and the creation of new political communities and changing meanings of ethnicity in Africa, in the context of social differentiation and class formation. There issubstantial new work on the problems of Mau Mau and of wealth, poverty and civic virtue in Kikuyu political thought. The authors make a fresh contribution to a deeper historical understanding of contemporary Kenyan society and, in particular, of the British and Kikuyu origins of Mau Mau and the emergency of the 1950s. They also highlight some of the shortcomings of ideas about development, explore the limitations of narrowly structuralist Marxisttheory of the state, and reflect on the role of history in the future of Africa. North America: Ohio U Press; Kenya: EAEP WINNER OF THE TREVOR REESE MEMORIAL PRIZE 1994

Read more less

Analysis of South African politics under the administration of Mandela and Mbeki This insightful study, now completely revised and in its second edition, examines the pattern of politics that has emerged in South Africa under the Mandela and Mbeki administrations. In considering the changes brought about in power relations in the country since 1994, the book looks at, among other things, the shape of regional and local politics; land reform; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and the extent of political corruption. Further chapters consider the future prospects of South African democracy and provide assessments of both Nelson Mandela and his successor as President, Thabo Mbeki. This well-informed and crisply written introduction will appeal to both students of contemporary politics and general readers interested in the new democracy. North America: Indiana U Press; South Africa: David Philip(NAB)

Read more less

This volume explores the relationship between environment and rural culture, politics and economy in Tanzania. In his conclusion, Isaria Kimambo reflects on the efforts of successive historians to strike a balance between external causes of change and local initiative in their interpretations of Tanzanian history. He argues that nationalist and Marxist historians of Tanzanian history, understandably preoccupied through the first quarter-century of the country's post-colonial history with the impact of imperialism and capitalism on East Africa, tended to overlook the initiatives taken by rural societies to transform themselves. Yet, he suggests, there is good reason for historians to think about the causes of change and innovation in the rural communities of Tanzania, because farming and pastoral people have constantly changed as they adjusted to shifting environmental conditions. North America: Ohio U Press; Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota

Read more less

Designed as a textbook for the undergraduate and graduate levels. There has long been a need for a new textbook on West Africa's history. This comprehensive collection brings together leading scholars on key themes from West Africa's prehistory to the present. It discusses various disciplinary approaches to West African history, provides overviews of the literature on major topics, and breaks new ground through the incorporation of original research. Part one provides perspectives on West Africa's history from archaeology, ecology and culture, linguistics, and oral traditions. Part two provides longue duree perspectives on environment, society, agency and historical change. Part three examines how economic and political developments haveshaped religious expression and identity in significant ways. At the end of each chapter is a short list of recommended reading. EMMANUEL KWAKU AKYEAMPONG is Professor of History at Harvard University NorthAmerica: Ohio U Press; Ghana: Woeli Publishing Services

Read more less

A study of hunting and poaching during the colonial era in Kenya. In 1977 the Kenyan government banned all hunting, whether by sportsmen or Kenyan Africans, in response to the poaching crisis that was then spreading across the African continent. This brought an end to the era of the 'Great WhiteHunters' in this 'sportsman's paradise'. This book traces the history of hunting during Kenya's colonial era from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Three main themes emerge: first, is the importance of hunting to Kenyan farmers and herders; second is the attempt during European colonization of Kenya to recreate in Africa the practices and values of nineteenth-century European aristocratic hunts, which reinforced an image of African inferiority and subordination; third, is the role of the conservationists, who claimed sovereignty over nature and wildlife, completing the transformation of African hunters into criminal poachers. North America: Ohio U Press; Kenya: EAEP

Read more less

Describes the manner in which the Herero of Namibia struggled to maintain control over their own freedom in the face of advancing German colonial control. The Herero-German war led to the destruction of Herero society in all of its pre-war facets. Yet Herero society re-emerged, re-organizing itself around the structures and beliefs of the German colonial army and Rhenish missionaryactivity. Taking advantage of the South African invasion of Namibia in World War I the Herero established themselves in areas of their own choosing. The effective re-occupation of land by the Herero forced the new colonial state,anxious to maintain peace and cut costs, to come to terms with the existence of Herero society. The study ends in 1923 when the death and funeral of Samuel Maherero - first paramount of the Herero and then resistance leader - thecatalyst that brought the disparate groups of Herero together to establish a single unitary Herero identity. North America: Ohio U Press

Read more less

Readers at all levels will find even-handed coverage of politics in sub-Saharan Africa's more than thirty states from the early years of independence to today. Readings in African Politics provides an overview of key topics and themes that collectively contribute to an understanding of politics in Africa. The selections included here come from a wide range of Western and non-Western sources and together represent core knowledge in the field of African politics. Topic areas covered are methods for appraising the modern African state, approaches to understanding African states and their politics, dimensionsof regional conflict, conflict between traditional and modern values, the politics of new social forces, and the meaning of contemporary trends. An introductory essay by Tom Young sketches the terrain of politics in Africa from national and international efforts toward development to local problems such as corruption and ethnic conflict. TOM YOUNG is Senior Lecturer in Politics with reference to Africa, SOAS, London Contributors include: ROBERT H. BATES, GORAN HYDEN, Jean-FRANCOIS BAYART, MAHMOOD MAMDANI, PATRICK CHABAL & JEAN-PASCAL DALOZ, ROY MAY, MARGARET HALL & TOM YOUNG, TOYIN FALOLA, RICHARD FANTHORPE, MAMADOU DIOUF, AILI MARI TRIPP, BESSIE HOUSE-MIDAMBA,JOCELYN ALEXANDER, SALLY FALK MOORE, ADAM ASHWORTH Published in association with the International African Institute North America: Indiana U Press

Read more less

Ouidah, an African town in Dahomey, now Benin, was the principal pre-colonial commercial centre of its region and this is the first detailed study of the town's history and its role in the Atlantic slave trade. Ouidah, an indigenous African town in the modern Republic of Benin, was the principal pre-colonial commercial centre of its region, and the second most important town of the Dahomey kingdom. It served as a major outlet for the export of slaves for the trans- Atlantic trade. Between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries Ouidah was the most important embarkation point for slaves in the region of West Africa known to outsiders as the 'Slave Coast'. Exporting over a million slaves, it was second only to Luanda in Angola for the embarkation of slaves in the whole of Africa. The author's central concerns are the organization of the African end of the slave trade, and the impact participation in the trade had on the historical development of the African societies involved. It shifts the focus from the viewpoint of the Dahomian monarchy, represented in previous studies, to the coast. Here is a well documented case study of pre-colonial urbanism, of the evolution of a merchant community, and in particular the growth of a group of private traders whose relations with the Dahomian monarchy grew increasingly problematic over time. North America: Ohio U Press

Read more less

This volume throws light on the ways in which violence, political culture and development have interacted in African history. Africa has witnessed a number of transitions to democracy in recent years. Coinciding with this upsurge in democratic transitions there also have been spectacular experiences of social disintegration. An alternative to discourses of the 'failed' and 'collapsed' state in Africa is an approach that takes seriously the complexity of historical processes, on which the political development of individual nation states was based. The chapters in this volumerun in a continuum from discussions of 'warlord politics' to an understanding of the 'new wars' in Africa as outcomes of fundamental changes in social solidarity. Wars and violent conflicts in Africa can thus be understood as responses to economic emergencies and political problems which are real, have histories, and can be engaged with constructively through both intellectual and practical efforts. Preben Kaarsholm is Associate Professor of International Development Studies at Roskilde Contributors include: WILLIAM RENO on state insurgencies, KOEN VLASSENROOT on eastern Congo; NIGEL ELTRINGHAM on Rwanda; DOUGLAS H. JOHNSON on Darfur; JOCELYN ALEXANDER on Matabeleland; ALESSANDRO TRIULZI on Ethiopia; PREBEN KAARSHOLM on KwaZulu-Natal; MATS UTAS on Liberia and PAUL RICHARDS on Sierra Leone. North America: Ohio U Press

Read more less

Challenges the myth of an African wilderness, and the conflict between conservation policies and the livelihoods of rural people. Many conservationists insist that conservation that ignores local costs cannot be sustained. For if conservation is greeted with hostility locally then guards and patrols will simply not prevail against determined, and more numerous, rural opponents. This is welcome thinking. It is vital to recognise the problems that conservation policies can pose, and it makes sense strategically to build local alliances. But this thinking also risks overstating thepower of rural groups, and under-estimating the power of the state. It also fails to realise how some conservation visions can become powerful, and the role of international finance and sponsorship in imposing injustice. FortressConservation is a detailed look at a dark underbelly of international wildlife conservation. By exploring one, now famous case of 'successful' conservation, the Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania, it shows how complex and messy thehistory of conservation initiatives can be, how uncertain the ecological theories underpinning particular policies, and how problematic the social consequences. But it also shows how little all of this matters when the fund-raising machines that sustain these fortresses kick in. Published in association with the International African Institute North America: Indiana U Press

Read more less

Offers analyses of a range of African conflicts and demonstrates that peace is 'too important to be left to outsiders'. In this companion volume to The Roots of African Conflicts African scholars analyse a number of conflicts and their resolution - demonstrating the importance of their resolution and their impact on the wider continent '...The studies in these two books seek to advance our understanding of African conflicts by going beyond the conventional and fashionable analyses of Africanist scholarship, often inflected with, if not infected by, Afropessimism, or the simplistic stereotypes conveyed in the western media that is infused with Afrophobia....these conflicts must be understood in comparative perspective, not in isolation. Violent conflict in Africa is indeed part of the human drama, but the tendency to impose universalist models of conflict driven from stylized western experiences or faddish theorising must be resisted... such paradigms lead to poor analysis and bad policy. Conflict is too serious a matter, and its costs too grave, for glib modeling or lazy journalistic speculation uninformed by the histories of, and unmindful of the concrete conditions in, the societies under scrutiny.' - From the introduction to The Roots of African Conflicts by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza 'The search for peace is too important to be left to outsiders, however well-intentioned. It is encouraging to see that a growing number of African scholars areinterested in exploring and engaging this crucial subject'. - From the introduction to The Resolution of African Conflicts by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza North America: Ohio U Press; South Africa: Unisa Press

Read more less

Winner of the Aidoo-Snyder Prize. This groundbreaking book by two leading scholars offers a complete historical picture of women and their work in Uganda, tracing developments from pre-colonial times to the present and into the future. Setting women's economic activities into a broader political, social, and cultural context, it provides the first general account of women's experiences amidst the changes that shaped the country. Prior to the 1970s, relatively few Ugandan women broughtin their own income, despite producing most of the food and craftwork that was taken to local markets. Educational expansion in the 1950s and 1960s were years of gradual evolution for women and their work, with many employed as lower level teachers or nurses. Since the 1970s, there have been a number of dramatic changes which have led to many more women earning their own income: high mortality of men from conflict and HIV/AIDS, increased migration of women into urban areas, the collapse of the state-controlled economy and the emergence of a magendo economy, the development of a free market economy within a system of global capitalism, deepening poverty through Structural Adjustment Programmes, and the expansion of women's roles in many areas. This book traces the origins of the current situation, highlighting the challenges working women now face, and recommending strategies that will improve their circumstances in the future. North America: Ohio U Press; Uganda: Fountain Publishers

Read more less

Examines one society's reaction to a period of prolonged, rapid population decline, a trauma that seems likely to become ever more common in African in years to come. Colonial rule triggered rapid population growth in most of Africa. Why then did Bunyoro suffer exceptionally low levels of fertility and high levels of mortality right through the colonial period? The crucial event was the invasion of Bunyoro by British forces in 1893. By 1899, when her resistance was finally broken, much of Bunyoro's best rangeland had been transferred to her neighbours, and what remained of the kingdom was largely depopulated and overrunby disease-bearing insects and game. As a consequence of this ecological disaster Bunyoro had the lowest livestock levels in colonial East Africa. The lack of livestock lay at the heart of the problems of malnutrition, low marriage rates, poverty and emigration that, in combination with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, obstructed Bunyoro's demographic recovery for half a century. This book addresses a number of issues of contemporaryrelevance. It considers the conflict between traditional African rulers and the modern state, the relationship between demography and environmental change, the history of the STDs, and the impact of cash-cropping on rural inequality. SHANE DOYLE is a Lecturer in History at Leeds University Published in association with The British Institute in Eastern Africa North America: Ohio U Press; Uganda: Fountain Publishers; Kenya: EAEP

Read more less