This book tells the story of the people of Igbo land at the middle of the nineteenth century, when Europe and Europeans held the dominant power over the lives and affairs of many peoples in Africa. This dominance, however, was never supposed to be total or absolute. Nevertheless, it managed to cast a constricting shadowwith its associated, if unhealthy, ambienceon the day-to-day lives of the people using the overwhelming military and economic power at its disposal at a time when Africans were either recovering from five hundred years of stupor brought on by its own dark ages (AD 11001600) or the shock and paralysis that followed the Moroccan (Mohamedan) and Spanish-mercenary-assisted mayhem and chaos of 1591 against the African kingdoms of West Africa. But the white man would soon lose most of his political and economic opportunities, and some of the absolute attributes he had mustered over the years the moment Britain and the other European races saw themselves as divinely appointed to right the wrongs of mankind. He would, from then on, render himself vulnerable to the tide of African enlightenment and progress, which was then building up everywhere, once the trade by which he had gained his ascendency over the other races of mankind began to decline. In addition, European ascendency witnessed an unusual reversal of luck when its residual strengths, recently boosted with the development of some newer types of weaponrythe Maxim machine gun in the UK (1883) and the Mauser Machine gun (1891) in Germanyweapons whose astonishing power and versatility had not previously been seen or tested in any battlefront, became more widely available to European and non-European troops. These, however, could not provide definitive answers to all the tactical and strategic imperatives of the developing new battlefront which European armies had sought. Nevertheless, these new weapons became celebrated after they were successfully used to hold the line and repel hordes of brave native fighters armed only with machetes and spears (South Africa) and bows and arrows (Kitcheners Sudan), enabling British forces to claim easy victories over the native forces; several Victoria Crosses would be won on both battlefronts by the British army. The success of the campaigns clearly went to the heads of the victorious army commanders. Thus were sown the seeds that would grow, leading to the idea of invincibility of the white man in the battlefield and the tragic events that preceded the First World War (19141918).

Ambitious in scope, this dictionary provides an overview of events, persons, and institutions important to the historical study of forced labor and the struggle to abolish it. Klein (emeritus, U. of Toronto, Canada) treats slavery as a global phenomenon that has existed from prehistorical times to the present. However, the material is weighted toward the African slave trade and the operation of the "peculiar institution" in the United States. Also included is a chronology and an introductory essay on the development of slavery. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This collection of original essays examines different aspects of historical experience in Nigeria and the adjacent regions from the beginning of agricultural communities about 6,000 B.C. to the eve of colonial rule in the mid-nineteenth century. The volume is the first comprehensive book on the different approaches and themes in Nigeria's pre-colonial history, and it is informed throughout by inter-disciplinary approaches that integrate archaeological data with oral historical narratives, historical ethnography, material culture, and documentary sources. The volume opens with an introduction that problematizes the pre-colonial historiography in Nigeria, situates each chapter in critical historiographic contexts, and identifies pathways for further studies. The introduction is followed by twenty-two chapters addressing a wide range of topics, including regional and inter-group interactions, ethnicity and identity, gender relations, state formation and sociopolitical development, urbanization, migrations, institutional and technological innovations, the intersections of commerce and religion and their impacts on the integration of pre-colonial societies into the Islamic World System, the Atlantic Slave Trade and its impacts, and the prelude to the British colonial conquest. This is the third of the festschrifts to honor and celebrate the achievements of Professor Toyin Falola. Distinguished scholar, teacher, author/editor of over 50 books, and author of hundreds of articles, chapters, and reviews, Professor Falola is certainly the most prolific historian of Africa ever, and arguably the most versatile. The political economy and socio-economic dimensions of his works on pre-colonial Nigeria inform the analytical and thematic approaches of this volume. In so doing, these essays critically celebrate Toyin Falola's contributions to the historiography of Nigeria, and open up new imprints of Nigeria's past.

This book tells the story of the people of Igbo land at the middle of the nineteenth century, when Europe and Europeans held the dominant power over the lives and affairs of many peoples in Africa. This dominance, however, was never supposed to be total or absolute. Nevertheless, it managed to cast a constricting shadowwith its associated, if unhealthy, ambienceon the day-to-day lives of the people using the overwhelming military and economic power at its disposal at a time when Africans were either recovering from five hundred years of stupor brought on by its own dark ages (AD 11001600) or the shock and paralysis that followed the Moroccan (Mohamedan) and Spanish-mercenary-assisted mayhem and chaos of 1591 against the African kingdoms of West Africa. But the white man would soon lose most of his political and economic opportunities, and some of the absolute attributes he had mustered over the years the moment Britain and the other European races saw themselves as divinely appointed to right the wrongs of mankind. He would, from then on, render himself vulnerable to the tide of African enlightenment and progress, which was then building up everywhere, once the trade by which he had gained his ascendency over the other races of mankind began to decline. In addition, European ascendency witnessed an unusual reversal of luck when its residual strengths, recently boosted with the development of some newer types of weaponrythe Maxim machine gun in the UK (1883) and the Mauser Machine gun (1891) in Germanyweapons whose astonishing power and versatility had not previously been seen or tested in any battlefront, became more widely available to European and non-European troops. These, however, could not provide definitive answers to all the tactical and strategic imperatives of the developing new battlefront which European armies had sought. Nevertheless, these new weapons became celebrated after they were successfully used to hold the line and repel hordes of brave native fighters armed only with machetes and spears (South Africa) and bows and arrows (Kitcheners Sudan), enabling British forces to claim easy victories over the native forces; several Victoria Crosses would be won on both battlefronts by the British army. The success of the campaigns clearly went to the heads of the victorious army commanders. Thus were sown the seeds that would grow, leading to the idea of invincibility of the white man in the battlefield and the tragic events that preceded the First World War (19141918).

"This book tells the story of the people of Igbo land at the middle of the nineteenth century, when Europe and Europeans held the dominant power over the lives and affairs of many peoples in Africa. This dominance, however, was never supposed to be total or absolute. Nevertheless, it managed to cast a constricting shadow—with its associated, if unhealthy, ambience—on the day-to-day lives of the people using the overwhelming military and economic power at its disposal at a time when Africans were either recovering from five hundred years of stupor brought on by its own dark ages (AD 1100–1600) or the shock and paralysis that followed the Moroccan (Mohamedan) and Spanish-mercenary-assisted mayhem and chaos of 1591 against the African kingdoms of West Africa. But the white man would soon lose most of his political and economic opportunities, and some of the absolute attributes he had mustered over the years the moment Britain and the other European races saw themselves as divinely appointed to right the wrongs of mankind. He would, from then on, render himself vulnerable to the tide of African enlightenment and progress, which was then building up everywhere, once the trade by which he had gained his ascendency over the other races of mankind began to decline. In addition, European ascendency witnessed an unusual reversal of luck when its residual strengths, recently boosted with the development of some newer types of weaponry—the Maxim machine gun in the UK (1883) and the Mauser Machine gun (1891) in Germany—weapons whose astonishing power and versatility had not previously been seen or tested in any battlefront, became more widely available to European and non-European troops. These, however, could not provide definitive answers to all the tactical and strategic imperatives of the developing new battlefront which European armies had sought. Nevertheless, these new weapons became celebrated after they were successfully used to hold the line and repel hordes of brave native fighters armed only with machetes and spears (South Africa) and bows and arrows (Kitchener’s Sudan), enabling British forces to claim easy victories over the native forces; several Victoria Crosses would be won on both battlefronts by the British army. The success of the campaigns clearly went to the heads of the victorious army commanders. Thus were sown the seeds that would grow, leading to the idea of invincibility of the white man in the battlefield and the tragic events that preceded the First World War (1914–1918)."--Amazon.com

This book documents the institution of slavery on a global scale - its variations and consequences, its champions and opponents, its victims, its pervasiveness, and its persistence.

A quarterly journal of the Council for the Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa = Revue trimestrielle du conseil pour le développement de la recherche economique et sociale en Afrique.