Showing papers in "International Journal of African Historical Studies in 1973"

The First African Press in East Africa: Protest and Nationalism in Uganda in the 1920's

Abstract: The contribution o.f the independent African press toi the development of a social and political response to colo,nial rule in East Africa is now beginning to be recognized.1 Earlier students tended to emphasize the role of the press; in nationalist movements of West Africa, while the East African newspapers received only passing mention.2 The West African press had, of course, a much longer history and, perhaps most importantly, was largely an, English-language press.3 In East Africa the nationalist newspapers were almost all published in oine of the vernacular languages, usually Swahili, Kikuyu, or Luganda. Until recent years; many historians, political scientists, and other scholars lacked the necessary language skills to deal with this press, and the newspapers themselves rarely were collected by librarians or achivists. Thus standard works about East Africa made little or no use of these valuable sources.4

The National Archives of Ghana: A Synopsis of Holdings

Abstract: The resources of the National Archives of Ghana, both in their breadth and in their accessibility, offer an invaluable tool for the student of the history of that country Regrettably, however, no guide to these resources is presently available, although an office has recently been established by the chief archivist to prepare such a guide Nor, with but a few exceptions, has any attention been devoted in the literature to the holdings of the archives2 As a result, scholars who have consulted these materials often have been surprised and delighted by the riches they find available Sometimes, though, these feelings have been tempered by a sense of chagrin resulting from the necessity of reallocating research time and priorities in order to properly exploit these materials3 tnder these circumstances I have thought it useful to outline in a cursory fashion some of the holdings of the National Archives of Ghana in order to provide at least a rough indication of their scope and value This description is based on my own researches in the archives from February to June 1971, and the emphasis will necessarily reflect greater fa-