1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910480913603321

Titolo

Africa and the First World War : remembrance, memories and representations after 100 years / / edited by De-Valera NYM Botchway and Kwame Osei Kwarteng

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England : , : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, , [2018]

©2018

ISBN

1-5275-2042-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xxiii, 249 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

940.416

Soggetti

World War, 1914-1918 - Africa

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Intro -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Section I: Recruitments, Battlefronts and African Responses -- Chapter One -- Chapter Two -- Chapter Three -- Chapter Four -- Section II: Wartime Colonial Economic Policies -- Chapter Five -- Chapter Six -- Chapter Seven -- Section III: Wartime, Society and Mobility -- Chapter Eight -- Chapter Nine -- Chapter Ten -- Section IV: Memory, Remembrance and Representations -- Chapter Eleven -- Chapter Twelve -- Chapter Thirteen -- Contributors.

Sommario/riassunto

The First World War was a widespread conflagration in world history, which, despite its European origins, had enormous effects throughout the world. Fettered to European politics and diplomacy through colonialism, Africa could not claim a position of neutrality, meaning that it mobilised human and natural resources to support the imperial war effort. Fighting both within and outside Africa, colonised Africans who were compelled or coaxed by the colonial regimes of the warring European countries fought Europeans and Africans too. The soldiers fought with great dedication and contributed significantly to successes attained by the belligerent European colonialists. Similarly, African non-combatants, like carriers, brought zeal and enthusiasm to difficult wartime tasks. The impact of the war on Africa was immense with far-



reaching consequences in specific colonies, and touched the lives of all Africans under colonial rule. Although the continent's connections to the war were immense and diverse, these experiences are not widely known among scholars and the general public. This is because, over the years, most studies and commemorative events of the war have centred on the European theatre of the war and its outcomes. This book brings together interesting essays written by scholars of African history, society, and military about African experiences of the war. It complements and problematises some key themes on Africa and the First World War, and offers a stimulating historiographical excursion, providing possibilities for reconsidering normative conclusions on the war. The volume will be of interest to general readers, as well as students and researchers in different areas of scholarship, including African history, war studies, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, labour history, and the history of memory, among others.