Showing papers in "The Journal of African History in 1971"
TL;DR: The tradition of religious revolution directed against partially Muslim rulers is traced to the religious reform movement among the zwaaya of Mauritania in the 1660s, and to the jihad that brought them briefly into control of Futa Toro, Cayor, Walo, and Jolof as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The tradition of religious revolution directed against partially Muslim rulers is traced to the religious reform movement among the zwāya of Mauritania in the 1660s, and to the jihad that brought them briefly into control of Futa Toro, Cayor, Walo, and Jolof in the 1670s. In spite of the reconquest of these states by their secular rulers and the re-establishment of Hassānī control in southwestern Mauritania, the tradition of religious revolt and the aim of establishing an imamate under religious leadership lived on, to reappear in other Fulbe states. It came a generation later, with the jihad of Malik Sy in Bundu during the 1690s, and direct connexions can be traced between the leadership in Bundu and the leadership in the later jihad in Futa Jallon. The jihad in Futa the 1770s and 1780s followed in the same tradition. This evidence suggests that the external influence of the mid-eighteenth-century revival of Islam in Arabia and the Middle East has been overemphasized in West African religious history. Forces working for the reform of Islam based in Africa itself were already at work.
85 citations
TL;DR: The export trade in wild rubber occupies an important place in the nineteenth-century economic history of the Gold Coast and Asante, and the impetus which it gave to the future economic development of the country was greater than is commonly recognized as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The export trade in wild rubber occupies an important place in the nineteenth-century economic history of the Gold Coast and Asante, and the impetus which it gave to the future economic development of the country was greater than is commonly recognized. The timely development of this new product by African entrepreneurs and up-country producers in the 1880s enabled the colony to diversify its export bill at a time when flagging prices for palm products and dwindling supplies of ivory, monkey skins, and surface gold threatened economic stagnation. Between 1884 and 1898 Gold Coast rubber exports registered a twenty-five fold increase in volume, thereby placing the country among the top five rubber producers of the world. An analysis of the Gold Coast rubber trade contributes to the demolition of certain myths concerning the economically passive role of West Africans in the development of their own hinterlands. European agencies—whether mercantile or governmental—contributed only indirectly to the development of the local rubber trade. No doubt the general protection and opportunity for exercise of individual initiative which the British colonial government provided enabled the Gold Coast to escape the excesses of forced labour and expropriation which marred European concessionaire rubber operations in other parts of Africa. But it was chiefly the myriads of African merchants, middlemen and producers who supplied the driving force of the local trade during the nineteenth century. The rubber trade accelerated the pace of economic change in Asante and other interior states where the pull exerted by the sea-borne export sector previously had been minimal. It is clear that the number of people involved in trading generally—whether as middlemen or producers—increased greatly as a result of the lucrative returns to be gained from rubber tapping. With rubber trade expansion came a growing demand by producers for a wider range of European merchandise imports, plus the acceptance of a uniform metallic currency which facilitated market transactions throughout the interior. Finally, the profits saved from rubber tapping became an important source for indigenous capital investment in cocoa-farming, particularly in Asante.
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, historical evidence relating to the Asafo, the manceroes (young men), and town wards in Fante society is examined in some detail, and it is concluded that the asafo system is probably indigenous in its origins, but that its development has been much influenced by situations resulting from contact with Europeans.
Abstract: There has been some controversy as to the origins of the Asafo, the patrilineal military bands of the coastal Akan, and especially of the Fante, in Ghana One view holds that the asafo system is indigenous to Fante society, the other that its development is in some way connected with the presence of Europeans on the coast from the end of the fifteenth century onwards After an examination of the nature of the asafo system and of its patrilinealism, historical evidence relating to the asafo, the manceroes (young men), and town wards in Fante society is set out in some detail It is concluded that the asafo system is probably indigenous in its origins, but that its development, particularly on the coast and among the Fante especially, has been much influenced by situations resulting from contact with Europeans
59 citations
TL;DR: According to Egharevba, firearms arrived in the Benin Kingdom in the latter part of the fifteenth century, and they were first employed in Benin campaigns during the reign of Oba Esigie as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: According to Egharevba, firearms arrived in the Benin Kingdom in the latter part of the fifteenth century, and they were first employed in Benin campaigns during the reign of Oba Esigie. Another writer states that ‘the Ekiti had encountered firearms as early as the sixteenth century, when Benin soldiers, armed with guns, supported the Ikerre in a war against the Ado’. The view that Benin military prowess in the sixteenth century derived from a monopoly in the use of firearms is current in several publications; however, the role of guns in sixteenth century Benin military history has been overestimated, for although some Portuguese arquebusiers accompanied Benin armies on expeditions and assisted the Benin rulers in their military affairs, the Benin troops did not possess the new weapons.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the best chapters of this book are those which deal with foreign relations with Somalia, the Sudan, and the rest of Africa; and the section on the i960 coup.
Abstract: state of emergency declared in December last year bear witness to the continuing strength of Muslim separatism in the province. In conclusion, the best chapters of this book are those which deal with foreign relations with Somalia, the Sudan, and the rest of Africa; and the section on the i960 coup. All of these and the very interesting last chapter on possible further developments after the Emperor's death make this book necessary reading for those who wish to be informed on the most recent developments in Ethiopia. An extra bonus is in the bibliography—much wider than usual— which bears eloquent testimony to the wide range of Professor Hesse's reading.
53 citations
TL;DR: The rod currency reinforced the status divisions in Tiv society, and to Douglas appeared to be coupons in a system which rationed status as mentioned in this paper, and there is ample evidence to show that rods were divisible into wires which were used as a medium of exchange for everyday consumer goods, and were clearly a general purpose currency.
Abstract: Mary Douglas has distinguished two kinds of primitive currencies, general purpose currencies, and primitive rationing systems. She describes Bohannan's analysis of the Tiv copper rod currency as the best example of a primitive rationing system. According to Bohannan, there were three levels of exchange in the Tiv economic system: everyday consumer goods in the lowest level, rods and prestige goods in the middle level, and wives and women in the highest level. Because rods were not divisible they were too valuable to be used for lower order transactions, and so ordinary people could not accumulate rods to purchase prestige goods. Nor could rods be accumulated to buy wives, the most desired and status-conferring possession in the system. Thus the rod currency reinforced the status divisions in Tiv society, and to Douglas appeared to be coupons in a system which rationed status.However, despite Bohannan's analysis, there is ample evidence to show that elsewhere in the Cross River rod currency area, rods were divisible into wires which were used as a medium of exchange for everyday consumer goods, and were clearly a general purpose currency. By accumulating wires, which could be exchanged for rods, prestige goods and offices could be bought.Because it was a general purpose currency, the rod facilitated credit, and the accumulation of capital in the capitalistic commercial system. Yet capitalistic means of production in crafts or agriculture were not adopted until the late 1870s, with the attempt to develop cocoa as a cash crop, which failed due to the unsuitability of the area. Instead surplus capital was converted into slaves, because they were wealth in themselves, and enhanced their masters' security and status.
50 citations
TL;DR: The early use of firearms by Africans in war often depended on muskets being used primarily for hunting and crop protection as discussed by the authors, however, their initial impact was less than had been expected, and their success in war rapidly declined thereafter.
Abstract: Studies of firearms in Africa undertaken at the University of London, 1967–1970, tentatively suggest that their initial impact was less than had been expected, and that their success in war rapidly declined thereafter. Local manufacture of firearms was very limited, perhaps through lack of necessity, though gunpowder was widely produced. Identifying types of firearms is a problem, though general conclusions may be drawn from contemporary references to certain types of weapons.Effective use of firearms by Africans in war often depended on muskets being used primarily for hunting and crop protection. Availability of firearms may well have made agriculture possible in areas otherwise overrun with game. For these purposes, military arms would be less suitable than the African muskets cheaply manufactured at Birmingham, all parts being handmade and thus capable of being hand-repaired in the field. Twenty million are said to have been shipped from Birmingham, and another three million from Liege; millions of surplus military weapons must also have found their way to Africa.Yet the subject can be properly studied only in Africa, where old firearms may still be found, often with their owners still available to describe their use.
47 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the first in a series summarizing, for the benefit of historians and archaeologists from other areas, the latest developments in radiocarbon dating for the later prehistory of western and northern Africa is presented.
Abstract: This paper is the first in a series summarizing, for the benefit of historians and archaeologists from other areas, the latest developments in radiocarbon dating for the later prehistory of western and northern Africa. These articles will appear every two years, alternating with similar surveys of eastern and southern Africa. A selection of more than 200 dates from those not previously published in this Journal is discussed, and dates obtained by thermoluminescence are quoted for the first time. It should be emphasized that most of the dates included are published in advance of full reports which are being prepared by the archaeologists concerned. The conclusions reached are therefore provisional and may well require modification in the light of a fuller examination of the related archaeological data.
45 citations
TL;DR: A critical examination of the forces behind Igbo acceptance of Christianity during the first decade of this century reveals that British military imperialism and other forms of colonial exploitation were in fact basic to the decision of many Igbo communities to embrace Christianity as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A critical examination of the forces behind Igbo acceptance of Christianity during the first decade of this century reveals that British military imperialism and other forms of colonial exploitation were in fact basic to the decision of many Igbo communities to embrace Christianity. The adoption of the Christian religion, especially by the male adults, may be seen as a clear method of adjusting to the new colonial regime in which Christianity offered visible social advantages. Communities which embraced the new religion believed that by associating with the Christian missionaries, they would perhaps escape various forms of colonial over-rule.The expansion of British political authority in the Igbo country, therefore, widened the frontiers of missionary enterprise. And as the Christian missions found the Igbos remarkably receptive to missionary propaganda, each was more than anxious to exert its denominational influence on the people. Thus interdenominational rivalry, especially between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, was acute. For various reasons, the Roman Catholic missionaries seem to have established a more preponderating influence than the other Protestant societies.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it has been observed for a long time that the states of the Eastern Niger Delta responded in recognizable ways to the introduction of European overseas trade in slaves and palm-oil from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century.
Abstract: It has been observed for a long time that the states of the Eastern Niger Delta responded in recognizable ways to the introduction of European overseas trade in slaves and palm-oil from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century. It is suggested here that by the time of European advent these states were already in the process of profound changes in response to other internal situations.First, migration from the fresh water Central Delta to the salt-water Eastern Delta (possibly before A.D. 1000) dictated changes. A change from a farming to a fishing economy led to changes in the social and political system.Second, the inability of the fishing economy to satisfy all the basic needs of these communities led to the growth of long distance trade to the hinterland and to other parts of the Niger Delta. This trade set in motion other structural changes which were accelerated by the European overseas trade.Thus were the institutions of the farming village, based largely on age and the simple lineage, developed into the kingship (before about 1400) and House system (before about 1600) of the states of the Eastern Niger Delta, described variously as city-states and trading states.
30 citations
TL;DR: A new state emerged from this revolution which was based on the political dissatisfactions and ethnic consciousness of the Fulbe, its institutions moulded by the political skills and vigorous personality of Alfa's son, Musa Molo as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: About 1867 Fulbe living in the Mandingo kingdoms of Tomani and Jimara on the south bank of the Gambia river revolted against their Mandingo landlords. Under their leader, Alfa Molo, the Fulbe went on to destroy the decadent Mandingo state system over much of the Gambia's south bank, and south into Portuguese Guinea, in one of the few determinative conquests in Gambia history. A new state emerged from this revolution which was based on the political dissatisfactions and ethnic consciousness of the Fulbe, its institutions moulded by the political skills and vigorous personality of Alfa's son, Musa Molo. Before 1867, the Fulbe living in the Gambia region were politically highly fragmented, having no tradition of centralized authority. Their dealings with other groups, both stranger and Fulbe, were highly particularized and characterized generally by either accommodation or flight.
TL;DR: In spite of this enduring consistency in opposing the establishment of European rule, the Ekumeku movement was not investigated along relevant lines primarily because it was much misunderstood in official circles, which took its external manifestations for its essence as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: When the Royal Niger Company attempted to establish its authority in the Asaba hinterland in the 1880s, the existing town societies in the area provided the foundations of a resistance movement which became known as the Ekumeku. In 1900 the area came under the direct administration of the British government. British rule led to regulations against aspects of the people's religious and political practices and to the establishment of native courts, and provided a shelter under which missionary activities flourished. All these were considered by the people as inimical to their traditional way of life. This situation provoked a consolidation of the Ekumeku forces and galvanized the movement into action. Between 1902 and 1910 the Ekumeku offered a courageous and prolonged resistance to British rule in the Asaba hinterland.In spite of this enduring consistency in opposing the establishment of European rule, the Ekumeku movement was not investigated along relevant lines primarily because it was much misunderstood in official circles, which took its external manifestations for its essence. This paper attempts, from oral and written sources, a study of the actual nature of the Ekumeku as a resistance movement, its organization, its responses to the challenges posed by European encroachment on the Asaba hinterland and its sources of strength which gave it its resilience.In addition to administrative measures, legal enactments, special town laws and prosecution in the native courts, it is shown that the colonial administration relied heavily on the use of armed force to destroy the movement.
TL;DR: In this article, the focus is not on the traditional Maasai, but on the small but not insignificant educated group who participated in the growth of Kenya's modern African politics, and some of the stubbornest administrative and missionary problems presented in the development of Maasailand are examined within a historical perspective.
Abstract: This article is concerned to show some of the dimensions of political activity amongst the Kenya Maasai in the first half of this century Primarily, the focus is not on the ‘traditional’ Maasai, but on the small but not insignificant educated group who, despite the restrictions of the Maasai Reserve, participated in the growth of Kenya's modern African politics Certain crucial events in East Africa—the circumcision crisis, independency in church and school, and the search for higher education—are shown to have important Maasai counterparts At the same time, some of the stubbornest administrative and missionary problems presented in the development of Maasailand are examined within a historical perspective, and with the aid of Maasai oral materials where possible
TL;DR: The present study is a quantitative examination of the black population that emigrated to Liberia through the American Colonization Society from 1820 to 1843, and a clearer picture of mortality in West Africa emerges.
Abstract: It is well known that during the eighteenth century and most of the nineteenth century the problem of mortality limited the European presence in West Africa. Disease and death in appalling proportions plagued whites who settled along the coast. Phrases such as ‘the white man's grave’ popularized theories concerning survival in West Africa that were based mainly on race. The belief that black people by virtue of their race would fare better than whites in Africa affected certain historical events. Hence religious groups began to train blacks in the Caribbean for missionary work and then sent them to Africa, while other groups such as the American Colonization Society encouraged black people to emigrate back to Africa. The present study is a quantitative examination of the black population that emigrated to Liberia through the American Colonization Society from 1820 to 1843. Particular attention is given to their mortality experience.Although a total of 4,571 emigrants arrived in Liberia during the 1820 to 1843 period, by the year 1843 only 1,819 emigrants were still living in the settlements. The overwhelming reason for the Liberian population decline, despite constant additions throughout the period, was a high death rate after arrival in Liberia. By examining the various characteristics of the population such as age, sex, place of origin, place of arrival and the like, a clearer picture of mortality in West Africa emerges. A picture which seems to have little relationship to race per se, but rather to the ways in which disease environments in isolated areas affect incoming populations.
TL;DR: The origins of the Tlhaping and Tlharo rebellion in the former Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland are discussed in this paper. But the main cause of the rebellion was not land but the imposition of a new legal system together with the arrival of Christianity, which meant a diminution of authority.
Abstract: In December 1896, barely a year after annexation by the Cape Colony, rebellion erupted in the former Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland. Joining forces in the Langeberg Mountains, Tlhaping and Tlharo resisted a large government force for nearly eight months. This paper examines the origins of the rebellion. Its first section provides a brief sketch of the rebellion. Then, much greater detail, the long-standing grievances of the Tlhaping and Tlharo are discussed. These seem to have arisen mainly out of competiton for land and the concomitants of white administration. While for the people the latter meant taxes, police and new laws, for the chiefs, the imposition of a new legal system together with the arrival of Christianity, meant a diminution of authority. In the third section, the white man's own mounting frustration and the activities of one farmer in particular are examined. The high price of land had precluded many former filibusters from purchasing land; annexation of the territory by the Cape seems to have stimulated them to encourage rebellion so that new lands might become available. The following section returns to the Tlhaping and Tlharo, and deals with new grievances and pressures which became acute immediately before the rebellion. These included acute distrust of the Cape Colonial goverment, further fears of loss of land, and anxiety concerning threats to their growing involvement in a market economy. Finally the consequences of a rinderpest epidemic coupled with dynastic politics appear to have tipped the scales in favour of rebellion.
TL;DR: Theories about the Negro origin of the Ancient Egyptians have been with Egyptology ever since its beginnings as discussed by the authors, and certain Negroid features can be found in the morphological appearance of the contemporary Egyptian population, more obviously in Upper Egypt than in Lower Egypt.
Abstract: Theories about the Negro origin of the Ancient Egyptians have been with Egyptology ever since its beginnings. Also, certain Negroid features can be found in the morphological appearance of the contemporary Egyptian population, more obviously in Upper Egypt than in Lower Egypt. Modern genetically orientated studies, e.g. of the blood groups, show the penetration of the Egyptian population by Negro genes. The question remains, however, whether the Negroid admixture is connected with the origin of the settled population in Egypt or whether it took place in later, that is to say, in prehistoric, historic or modern times.
TL;DR: The most common method of measuring the past in many societies is in terms of king lists or genealogies as mentioned in this paper, and the weakest aspect of oral tradition is its inability to establish and maintain an accurate assessment of the length of the past it purports to relate.
Abstract: Perhaps the weakest aspect of oral tradition is its inability to establish and maintain an accurate assessment of the length of the past it purports to relate. As time passes, societies without calendrical systems tend to become either very vague about this time depth or to relate it to present, changing circumstances. The most common method of measuring the past in many societies is in terms of king lists or genealogies. A comparison of orally transmitted king lists and genealogies in various places and times, for example, the early Mediterranean world and the Ancient Near East, the native states of India, Africa and Oceania, indicates that certain patterns of chronological distortion seem to emerge, sometimes telescoping but more often lengthening the past.The former may occur through omission of usurpers, however defined, periods of chaos or foreign domination, or by the personification of an entire epoch by a founding folk-hero. If the reasons for artificial lengthening are obvious, the mechanisms are less so. In this respect a survey of both welldocumented cases and of orally transmitted lists can be instructive. Lengthening is often the result of euhemerism; more often subtler themes emerge. These include longer reigns in the earlier, less known period, the arranging of contemporary rulers as successive ones and, most importantly, extended father/son succession throughout the list or genealogy. This last is of direct and profound chronological importance, and its occurrence is widespread enough to be termed stereotypical. Yet it is not often recognized as aberrant, even though its documented occurrence is exceedingly rare. The consequent equation of reigns with generations will almost always result in an exaggerated conception of the antiquity of the beginning of the genealogy. Other weaknesses of orally transmitted king lists include lack of multiple reigns and dynastic changes, and suspiciously perfect rotational succession systems.Within its scope this article only attempts to hint at the origin, shape and effects of these distortions. Its main thesis is that much light can be cast on African cases of this nature through a comparative analysis drawing from a whole range of societies and sources.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the internal disputes which the Ọyọ kingdom suffered during the eighteenth century, and which had as their ultimate issue a coup d'etat in ca. 1796 which is traditionally held to mark the beginning of the disintegration of the kingdom.
Abstract: This paper examines the internal disputes which the Ọyọ kingdom suffered during the eighteenth century, and which had as their ultimate issue a coup d'etat in ca. 1796 which is traditionally held to mark the beginning of the disintegration of the kingdom. The troubles began with a conflict within the capital of the kingdom, between the Alafin (king) and the Ọyọ Mesi, a group of non-royal chiefs led by the Baṣọrun, and the first phase of the troubles culminated in 1754 in a seizure of power by the Baṣọrun. It is suggested that this struggle between the Alafin and his chiefs had its origins in competition for control of the new sources of wealth derived from the expansion of the kingdom. In 1774 the Alafin overthrew the Baṣọrun and recovered power in the capital by calling in the assistance of the subject towns of the kingdom. It is argued that this action proved fatal to the Ọyọ kingdom, by involving the rulers of the provincial towns in the political disputes of the capital and revealing the military impotence of the divided capital. In ca. 1796 the provincial rulers intervened at the capital on the other side, assisting the Baṣọrun to overthrow the Alafin. But the coalition of dissident metropolitan chiefs and dissident provincial chiefs immediately broke up, and many of the latter began to disregard the divided capital and make themselves independent.
TL;DR: The Shilluk canoes were the only really navigable craft on the White Nile as mentioned in this paper, and they were the most successful boat-riders on the whole White Nile.
Abstract: From the mid-seventeenth century until 1861, the Shilluk, notoriously successful raiders, dominated the White Nile. Their population was largely concentrated in the riverain strip which is Shilluk-land today, yet they had undisputed control of the river down to Eleis, and raided as far north as the confluence with the Blue Nile. This ascendancy was based upon the canoe: the characteristic Shilluk tactic was the surprise mass canoe-raid upon herds or villages within striking distance of the river bank. Before the advent of Turco-Egyptian sailing ships, Shilluk canoes were the only really navigable craft on the White Nile. Another important Shilluk asset was the manpower provided by their comparatively high numbers. Most raids were carried out independently of the Shilluk king. The raiding pattern was probably established before the development of the Shilluk ‘divine’ kingship.From 1820 the Shilluk became more closely involved with the Muslim Sudan. It seems that the beginning of the ivory boom led Kordofan djellabas to open regular trade with the Shilluk. And in ever-increasing numbers, Muslim refugees from Turkish officialdom migrated into Shilluk territory. Trade between Shilluk and Muslim was largely confined to the settlement of Kaka. Its most profitable sector, the ivory trade, was governed by a strict royal monopoly, the maintenance of which gives some proof of the Shilluk king's authority. Wealth thus gained may have led to a short-lived increase in royal power. The mass of the Shilluk were unable to develop any economic alternative to the traditional raids, which continued unabated. In a new raiding pattern, Shilluk of the Kaka region joined Muslim immigrants in raids on the Dinka. Once Kaka had become a slave-market, slave raiding was probably the essential aim of these joint expeditions. Tensions between Shilluk and immigrant traders precipitated a crisis in 1860–1.
TL;DR: The Nyasaland rising of 1915 has been dealt with previously within the perspective of proto-nationalism, and a hiatus has been emphasized between prophetae like Kamwana and the Baptist orthodoxy of Chilembwe.
Abstract: The Nyasaland rising of 1915 has been dealt with previously within the perspective of proto-nationalism, and a hiatus has been emphasized between prophetae like Kamwana and the Baptist orthodoxy of Chilembwe. An analysis of the beliefs of many of the lesser lights in the rising, however, shows that millennial expectations were rife at the outbreak of the rising. Kamwana's prophecies of the advent of the millennium in October 1914 were provided with support by the outbreak of the First World War. The rising is analysed within the context of millennial belief in an attempt to show how a development from passivism to activism from October 1914 to January 1915 was the proximate cause of open revolt. The failure of the rising is discussed in terms of the religious ideology used to legitimize it, and the role of Watchtower beliefs is clarified. Evidence of millennial hopes is taken from trial reports of rebels and from correspondence confiscated after the rising at Ncheu and Chiradzulu.
TL;DR: The Qāḍli ‘Iyáḍ in his biography of ‘Abdullāh b. Yāsīn confirms many details in al-Bakri's record of the rise of the Almoravids.
Abstract: The Qāḍli ‘Iyāḍ in his biography of ‘Abdullāh b. Yāsīn confirms many details in al-Bakri's record of the rise of the Almoravids. His account differs in a few important respects, and furnishes new information which is valuable in reassessing the life of ‘Abdullāh b. Yāsīn. Since no insular ribāṭ is mentioned, its historicity is increasingly suspect, and in the light of Maghribī cosmological ideas it is better regarded as a myth, and not as a historical fact. This text is the earliest surviving one to mention the Dār al-Murābiṭīn of Wajjāj b. Zalwī al-Lamṭī.The Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ states that Jawhar, a character who appears to have been confused with Yaḥyā b. Ibrāhīm al-Gudālī, the Ṣānhaja chief who reputedly brought ‘Abdullāh b. Yāsīn to the Sahara, is none other than al-Jawhar b. Sakkum, the Gudāla jurist who was later executed by ‘Abdullāh b. Yāsīn. The cause of the execution appears to have been a combination of religious differences and a struggle for power, probably after the death of Yaḥyā b. Ibrāhīm al-Gudālī. This event may prove to have been a turning point in the Almoravid movement, the main reason for the dominance of the Lamtūna and the eventual withdrawal of the Gudāla from the Almoravid cause, possibly for their militant opposition to it. The confusion in the accounts over the early phase of the stay of ‘Abdullāh b. Yāsīn among the Ṣanhāja casts grave doubts as to how much reliance can be placed on them as historical evidence. The myth may be a good deal more than the ‘island story’.
TL;DR: The earliest mention of firearms in the central Sudan appears to be from the time of Idris Alooma, ruler of Bornu in the latter part of the sixteenth century as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The earliest mention of firearms in the central Sudan appears to be from the time of Idris Alooma, ruler of Bornu in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Ibn Fartuwa says of Alooma:Among the benefits which God (Most High) of His bounty, beneficence, generosity, and constancy conferred upon the Sultan was the acquisition of Turkish musketeers and numerous household slaves who became skilled in firing muskets.
TL;DR: The role of the Seventh Day Baptist movement in Nyasaland as a case study in African reactions to missions and to colonial rule is discussed in this article, where the authors assess the role played by the Seventh-Day Baptist movement.
Abstract: This article attempts to assess more precisely the role of the Seventh Day Baptist movement in nothern Nyasaland as a case study in African reactions to missions and to colonial rule. Internal factors contributing to the establishment of the movement included an intense desire among Africans to acquire a western education apart from European missionary control, and the competent leadership provided by Charles Domingo. External factors included the influence of Joseph Booth and the pattern of labour migration from Nyasaland to southern Africa.
TL;DR: In the Sotho war, the attackers were usually armed with a bunch of long spears, a knobkerrie and a light oxhide shield, and they would usually approach the enemy's cattle along river beds and through mountain kloofs, relying partly on surprise to achieve their ends as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Before the difaqane, warfare among the Sotho was usually little more than cattle-raiding. Some attacks were combined operations executed by all the fighting men of a chiefdom, but most were the exploits of a few adventurous individuals. The raiders would each be armed with a bunch of long spears, a knobkerrie and a light oxhide shield, and they would usually approach the enemy's cattle along river beds and through mountain kloofs, relying partly on surprise to achieve their ends. Occasionally the men who were guarding the herds would have prior warning of the attack, in which case they would be specially reinforced and would offer a spirited resistance, but more often they would be taken unawares, and they would then beat a hasty retreat and sound the alarm in the village: all the able-bodied men would thereupon join together in pursuit of the attackers in the hope of recovering their stock as it was being driven away. When the warriors of two chiefdoms clashed, they generally conducted their fighting at a considerable distance from each other, for their spears were more suitable for throwing than for stabbing, and their small shields were not designed to be impenetrable barriers in close conflict but to deflect missiles. If the two groups did come to grips with each other, the spears' bamboo handles could be broken and they could then be used for stabbing, but the most favoured weapon in this situation was the knobkerrie. Desperate battles, however, were rare, and in most of the Sotho's skirmishes their casualties were light.
TL;DR: The earliest substantial references to the reaction of Zulu to firearms date from the 1820s and they show that any previous contact with such weapons must have been slight as mentioned in this paper, and the diaries of the English traders who arrived in the kingdom in the latter part of the 1800s point to a widespread fear of firearms on the part of Shaka's subjects.
Abstract: The earliest substantial references we have to the reaction of Zulu to firearms date from the 1820s and they show that any previous contact with such weapons must have been slight. The diaries of the English traders who arrived in the kingdom in the latter part of the 1820s point to a widespread fear of firearms on the part of Shaka's subjects—a fear not necessarily related to the missiles the guns discharged, but to the noise and smoke they emitted when fired. Dingane, in a discussion on strategy with his councillors which Isaacs overheard in 1830, said that:if the white people were to come here to fight us, they need not fire at us, as the report from their pieces would strike you with terror, and while you ran one way, the Malongoes (whites) would drive off your cattle the other.
TL;DR: Brooks's avowed concern is with American legitimate trade with West Africa, though he has a useful section on the symbiotic relationship between licit trade and the slave trade as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Brooks's avowed concern is with American legitimate trade with West Africa, though he has a useful section on the symbiotic relationship between licit trade and the slave trade. It is none the less permissible to regret that the author did not feel able to direct his attention more than incidentally to American participation in the slave trade, both in the years before 1808, where it rests in exceptional obscurity, or in the period of illegal involvement. Brooks is in error in stating that at the close of the eighteenth century it was the established pattern for African ships to clear from European ports in the autumn. Long runs of English port clearances just do not support this. Nor is Brooks correct in accepting the traditional view of the triangular trade whereby the slave ship itself loaded a return cargo home on the third leg of the voyage. J. E. Merritt (Business History, ill (i960), 1-7), although he somewhat overstates the case, has shown that this was not normally so at the close of the eighteenth century. These, however, are peripheral criticisms and do not seriously detract from the value of this important pioneering study of American trade with West Africa, including relations with African middlemen, a study, moreover, which both adds to our knowledge of French, British and other European activities on the coast and points up the need for more studies of trade with West Africa. Brooks makes significant use of a wide range of sources, including not only the Public Record Office and New England Repositories, but archives in Paris, Dakar and Freetown together with numerous nineteenth-century published works. The book contains appendices, including a valuable and lengthy memorandum by a Captain Swan on the African trade, and is generally well produced. But the page by page version of the heading of Chapter IV—'Trade with the Cape Verde Islands'—reads oddly, whilst in the table on p. 190 the compositor leaps erratically between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
TL;DR: The course au clocher as mentioned in this paper is a steeple-chase sport introduced in France in 1834, and it is a popular sport among young women in the French language.
Abstract: ‘La course au clocher’, traduction du terme anglais de steeple-chase, fut introduite en France en 1834. D`s 1832 Alfred de Musset, dans ‘A quoi revent les jeunes filles’, Acte I, scene IV, donne une description precise de ce sport:Avez-vous jamais vu les courses d'Angleterre?On prend quatre coureurs—quatre chevaux selles;On leur montre un clocher, puis on leur dit: Ailez!Il s'agit d'arriver, n'importe la maniere.L'un choisit un ravin—l'autre un chemin battu.Celui-ci gagnera s'il ne rencontre un fleuve;Celui-la fera mieux, s'il n'a le cou rompu.
TL;DR: The relationship of the peoples of southern Africa after the establishment and expansion of the white settlement in the mid-seventeenth century can be seen in terms of both conflict and interdependence, both resistance and collaboration.
Abstract: The relationships of the peoples of southern Africa after the establishment and expansion of the white settlement in the mid-seventeenth century can be seen in terms of both conflict and interdependence, both resistance and collaboration. The conflict often split over into warfare, not only between black and white, but also within both groups. As time passed, firearms came to be used by ever-widening circles of the combatants, often as much the result of the increased collaboration and interdependence between peoples as of the increased conflict. As Inez Sutton has pointed out, ‘in contrast to most of the rest of [sub-Saharan] Africa, the presence of a settler population ensured that the supply of arms was the most modern rather than the most obsolete’, and on the whole non-whites were acutely aware of changes in the manufacture of firearms in the nineteenth century.
TL;DR: This article examined the efforts of Hayatu ibn Sa'id, great grandson of Uthman dan Fodio, to transform latent feelings of expectations of the Mahdi in the Sokoto empire into a positive movement linked to the Sudanese Mahdiyya in the late nineteenth century.
Abstract: The overthrow of the Sokoto empire at the beginning of this century was facilitated by the interplay of three major factors—the internal political situation of the empire which allowed too much autonomy to the constituent emirates, the rise of Mahdism in the eastern emirates, and European (British, French and German) competition leading to invasion Each factor was a potential cause of instability, making the task of the invading forces much easier This article is an attempt to examine the efforts of Hayatu ibn Sa'id, great grandson of Uthman dan Fodio, to transform latent feelings of expectations of the Mahdi in the Sokoto empire into a positive movement linked to the Sudanese Mahdiyya in the late nineteenth century It also looks at the impact of Hayatu's activities on Adamawa
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take issue with Mason's claim that the Middle Belt of Nigeria may have been an area of sparse population before slave raiding during the nineteenth century, some of which are so fundamental that it would be unfortunate in our view if they were absorbed into the historical literature unchallenged.
Abstract: One of the more stimulating aspects of working in the field of African studies is the co-operation between scholars of related disciplines such as is not always found among those working in other parts of the world. Historians have been outstanding in promoting this co-operation and it was therefore gratifying to read Michael Mason's paper in the Journal, in which he uses and comments upon the work of geographers in developing his thesis that the Middle Belt of Nigeria may have been an area of sparse population before slave raiding during the nineteenth century. His paper is well documented, closely argued and apparently authoritative. However, there are several points on which we would take issue with Mason, some of which are so fundamental that it would be unfortunate in our view if they were absorbed into the historical literature unchallenged. It is not our purpose in raising these matters to spark off a fruitless ‘intertribal’ war; it is rather to offer constructive criticism to the advantage of historians, geographers and others.