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In the second half of the 19th century, European-led columns began to fan out across the African continent from their coastal footholds, smashing whatever forces could be brought against them, no matter how brave or determined the latter were. The process began at different dates in different parts of the continent, but much of the main activity was concentrated into the two decades between 1881 and 1902, subsequently but accurately nicknamed the 'Scramble for Africa'. By 1914 the Europeans had overrun the greater part of the continent, and, remarkably, had managed to do so without clashing with each other in the process: conflict between them only occurred after 1914 because what was essentially a European power-struggle was inevitably projected on to the African landscape. The armies responsible for this extraordinary period of expansion have seldom been surveyed as a whole, and never in the organisational detail attempted here. As well as including an outline of the principal campaigns of the period, military historian Peter Abbott examines in detail the structure, dress and armament of the colonial armies fielded by the Congo Free State, the Belgian Congo, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and includes in his text an unprecedented amount of order of battle material. Illustrations include 229 drawings of soldiers, 58 other illustrations, and two maps.
This book revisits some of the most significant guerrilla struggles of the late 19th century, all set in Africa, and remind readers, in light of current events, the difficulties involved in engaging in this type of conflict.
Based on archival research in Tanzania, Germany, and the United Kingdom, this dissertation examines the social and cultural history of African soldiers who fought in the German colonial army (Schutztruppe) in East Africa between 1890 and 1918. These soldiers, known as askari, carried out the work of securing and defending Germany's colonial rule in East Africa. The askari were thus indispensable to German colonial military and civilian authorities, who repeatedly emphasized askari loyalty as servants of the German regime. In contrast, African civilians who experienced the askaris' violent and coercive methods most directly viewed them as the blunt instruments of colonial rule. However, neither of these standard characterizations adequately explain askari involvement in German colonialism. Instead, my work shows that the askari joined the Schutztruppe because it offered a blend of privileges and status markers that appealed to them as men aspiring to live honorable lives as professional soldiers, householders, and community leaders. In this sense, the askari viewed German colonial officials as patrons with specific obligations to fulfill in exchange for the askaris' continued service. The relationship between the askari and their German officers was based on a kind of mutual respect, but often was also fraught with inherent tensions because of German racist attitudes, as well as German officers' occasional unwillingness to fulfill their obligations as patrons. These tensions notwithstanding, I show that individual askari interests merged synergistically with those of German colonial administrators to generate channels of power that resulted in state control of German East Africa. Although this control was far from total, it nevertheless had profound consequences for the African communities who experienced it. This dissertation thus contributes to a more complicated understanding of the everyday functioning of the colonial state through its intermediary agents, in this case, the askari.
Explores the history of Britain's colonial army in West Africa, especially the experiences of ordinary soldiers recruited in the region
One of the least-published campaigns of World War I (1914-1918) was that fought in East Africa by forces of colonial troops – British Empire, Belgian, Portuguese and German. Short of resources, many European, African and Indian soldiers recorded epics of endurance as they hunted the outnumbered but brilliantly led German colonial forces across a disease-ridden wilderness. The achievements of Paul von Lettow Vorbeck – the last German commander in the field to lay down his arms – brought him fame and respect comparable to that won by Rommel in World War II. The events and the forces are described here in concise detail, and illustrated with rare photographs and striking colour artworks.
The askari, African soldiers recruited in the 1890s to fill the ranks of the German East African colonial army, occupy a unique space at the intersection of East African history, German colonial history, and military history. Lauded by Germans for their loyalty during the East Africa campaign of World War I, but reviled by Tanzanians for the violence they committed during the making of the colonial state between 1890 and 1918, the askari have been poorly understood as historical agents. Violent Intermediaries situates them in their everyday household, community, military, and constabulary roles, as men who helped make colonialism in German East Africa. By linking microhistories with wider nineteenth-century African historical processes, Michelle Moyd shows how as soldiers and colonial intermediaries, the askari built the colonial state while simultaneously carving out paths to respectability, becoming men of influence within their local contexts. Through its focus on the making of empire from the ground up, Violent Intermediaries offers a fresh perspective on African colonial troops as state-making agents and critiques the mythologies surrounding the askari by focusing on the nature of colonial violence.
Two British colonial armies in Africa--the West African Frontier Force and the King's African Rifles--formed the basis for the independent armies of Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia. The new governments directly inherited the soldiers and officers of these colonial forces. Decisions made by the British in shaping these colonial forces influenced the post-independence histories of these nations. The rank and file and native colonial officer corps were ethnically biased, not representative of the general population of the colonies. The British argued that the soldiers that made up the rank and file were drawn from the Martial and Hamitic Races of Africa, since these groups were claimed to be natural soldiers. Instead, I argue, these groups came from the margins of both the territory and economy of the colony. Commissioned native officers came from groups with a higher missionary presence. Missionaries were the main providers of colonial education so that these groups could respond to the educational needs of command. The unbalanced officer corps impacted the early histories of these African nations. If the government engaged in actions that hurt the political standing of groups that made up a large proportion of the officer corps, coups occurred. If the officer corps was small, or the government only exploited groups that were minorities in the officer corps, coups did not occur.
The essays in this volume concentrate on imperial conflict. Until recently, most historians of empire have concerned themselves with economic issues. More recently, scholarship has turned to social and cultural aspects of Empire. The role of the military, however, continues to be largely ignored. Historians have traditionally viewed the military as an arm of the civil power, an institution which did not create policy but faithfully obeyed the directives given to it. These essays show that indeed the military thought for itself: its officers made policy, introduced new strategies and tactics, and utilized the services of local settlers and indigenes to pursue the interests of empire, and the rank and file informed ideas in Great Britain concerning Africa and Africans. Contributors are Edward M. Spiers, Ian F.W. Beckett, Bill Nasson, John Laband, Paul Thompson, Fransjohan Pretorius, Tim Stapleton, Ian van der Waag, James Thomas, Jeffrey Meriwether, and Bruce Vandervort.
"[The author explores] the social and cultural history of the Schutztruppe askari in East Africa ... emphasiz[ing] the process of "becoming askari" by tracing their self-understandings, from their pre-colonial origins to the Schutztruppe experiences, assembling impressions of who they thought they were, and what they thought they were doing as they went about the everyday business of being professional soldiers and 'colonial intermediaries.' They fought the colonial wars that made it possible for Germany to claim a portion of East Africa as German territory. In addition though, in their everyday activities as police, guards, messengers, ceremonial representatives, and tax collectors, they performed intermediary roles that contributed to their becoming askari, as well as to functioning of the colonial state of German East Africa. They were both wielders and subjects of colonial power and violence, and their self-understandings were shaped by a dynamic process that blended attributes and skills gained from their specific African social histories and military heritages with German military values and racial understandings"--P. 4-5.