African History Commons^™

The Years Of Embers In Mauritania: Ethnicity And Narratives, Hawa Saidou Barane Ba

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The borders in Africa were drawn according to the interests of colonial powers and without consideration of the continent’s ethnic, cultural, and linguistic realities. Thus, roughly 80% of African countries borders were drawn without considering the crucial and pre-existing realities of pre-colonial African societies, splitting ethnically and culturally homogenous groups and grouping diverse others under the same political unit. (Beck, 1993; Lefebvre, 2011). Consequently, many African countries end up with an ethnically diverse population that faces the challenge of living harmoniously together in social cohesion, creating an environment prone to ethnic conflicts, political instabilities, and weak national identities. Mauritania, for …

The Civil War Conflict Between Anglophones/Francophones In The Northwest And Southwest Regions Of Cameroon, Myriam Jeter

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Civil War conflict between Anglophones and Francophones, also known as the Ambazonia war, is a long-standing issue that continues to plague the people living in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. This paper explores the colonial history of the nation, the cause of the ongoing conflict, the reasons for its escalation, and how it gave rise to the Ambazonian separatists who want to have a separate nation called the Ambazonia Republic.

This study contributes to conflict understanding in two ways. First, it sheds light on the cultural and economic impacts of internally generated crises in a country. Second, …

Tunisia: The Colonized Road To A Democratic Identity, Kara Broene

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

The death of one Tunisian man by self-immolation in 2010 created uprisings in 18 other Arab countries in what is known as the 2011 Arab Spring. As a result, Tunisia managed to overthrow its long-standing autocratic government and establish a democracy; it is the only nation who has managed to maintain those changes since 2011. As the first point of protest and the only success story, what makes Tunisia different from the other 18 nations? While there has been research on why Tunisia has succeeded, there is little on how Tunisia’s colonial history under France for 75 years might have …

The Colonial Origins Of Institutions In Mauritanina, Mahfoudha Sidelemine

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

This paper examines and evaluates the state of development in Mauritania, a former French colony in West Africa. The drivers of (under)development that the paper focuses on are institutions. By focusing on institutions as the main factors that determine the development process of the country, I also focus on the colonial origins of institutions. Hence, in this paper, I draw on Acemoglu and colleagues’ argument on the origin of colonial origins of institutions as they identify two types of colonial institutions—Inclusive and Exclusive (Acemoglu et.al.2001). However, in this research, I argue that there is a third type of institution the …

Empire, Patronage And A Revolt In The Kingdom Of Kongo, Jelmer Vos

History Faculty Publications

This article argues that the famous Kongo uprising of 1913 epitomized a breakdown of patron-client relationships between the Portuguese colonial state, the Kongo rulers at São Salvador, and their local constituents. On the one hand, the colonial imposition of contract labor undermined a social contract that held the king of Kongo accountable to senior chiefs and their followers. The subsequent revolt against the incumbent ruler, Manuel Kiditu, is explained in moral economy terms as a collective response to the repudiation of the rules of social reciprocity by Kiditu and his assistants. On the other hand, a breakdown in relations of …

Melancholic Mirages: Jules Verne's Vision Of A Saharan Sea, Peter Schulman

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

L’invasion de la mer (The Invasion of the Sea), Verne’s last novel to be published during his lifetime, would appear to be a paradoxical vision of French colonial involvement as it chronicles the attempts of the French army occupying Tunisia and Algeria to capture Tuareg leaders bent on pushing the French out of the Maghreb on the one hand, and thwarting an environmentally disastrous French project on the other. L’Invasion de la mer (The Invasion of the Sea) is a complex, if not melancholic vision of the limits of French expansionism, however. The real-life French army geographer François-Elie Roudaire and …

The Mediterranean Apprenticeship Of British Slavery, By Gustav Ungerer. Madrid: Editorial Verbum, 2008 (Book Review), Imtiaz Habib

English Faculty Publications

The article reviews the book "The Mediterranean Apprenticeship of British Slavery," by Gustav Ungerer.

Slavery-Era Disclosure And Atlantic Commerce, Keith R. Allen, Jelmer Vos

History Faculty Publications

Explores the connections between greater Atlantic Ocean commerce and those northern European businesses that invested in and profited from the slave trade, from the 16th century to 1888, the year that Brazil outlawed slavery - the last country in the Americas to do so. Presents the results of an in-depth case study of the predecessors of the Dutch bank ABN AMRO regarding their financial involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and its extensive commercial network in the Western Hemisphere, which was centered on the Americas.

Difficulties In Diplomacy: A Case Study Of Relations Between The United States And The Republic Of Congo, 1960-1965, James R. Hawn Jr.

History Theses & Dissertations

As he took office, President John F. Kennedy articulated new policies sympathetic to African independence movements, but his policies turned out to be conditional. Aid continued to be granted to resource rich, pro-Western governments.

When the Republic of Congo gamed its independence, it retained its pro-Western cultural and economic ties with its former colonial power, France. Lacking natural resources and an industrial base, this country sought large amounts of economic aid from the West to sustain itself. France and the United States failed to live up to the Congo's expectations. Accusations of massive corruption sealed the fate of the government …

The African Independence Movement And United States Foreign Policy, 1945-1960, Vera Mclauchlin Wyche

History Theses & Dissertations

Throughout the Cold War, the United states and the soviet Union competed for the allegiance of the uncommitted areas of the world. Many of these areas, such as the newly emerging states of Africa sought independence from their colonial masters, some of whom were America's major allies. Yet the United States advocated only a gradual transition to independence lest the new states fall prey to instability and communist penetration.

This study examines the early cold war attempts of the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations to fashion a policy toward Africa which would please Europeans and Africans alike while preventing the growth …

Political Interference In Military Operations During The Anglo-Zulu War Of 1879, Thomas Max Lansford

History Theses & Dissertations

This work examines the degree and effect of the reluctant cooperation of the British government and its colonial agencies with the British army during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. While it is clear that there was no civilian conspiracy to interfere with the army, it is also clear that several of the policies of the government and its colonial agencies hindered army operations. The study is based on the War Office narrative of military operations, on Colonial and War Office correspondence, and on the memoirs and diaries of several participants.

The Failure Of United States Foreign Policy In Egypt 1953-1956, Patrick Bruce Lowrey

History Theses & Dissertations

In 1953 the incoming Eisenhower administration deemed the Middle East region to be of strategic value. Egypt was viewed as an integral part of the administration's containment policy in the region directed at the Soviet Union. A major effort was made by Eisenhower and Dulles to court. the newly emerging leadership of Egypt with economic inducements and military equipment. By the fall of 1956 this policy had failed in its primary objective of keeping Soviet influence out of the region. Eisenhower and Dulles feared Egypt was in danger of becoming a client state of the Soviet Union; and, their policy …

The William H. Sheppard African Art Collection At Hampton Institute, Richard A. Singletary

Institute for the Humanities Theses

An examination of the William H. Sheppard African Art Collection at Hampton Institute located in Hampton, Virginia, reveals one of the finest examples of African art in existence today. This exhibit hails from the Kasai region located in Zaire (the Congo) of Africa. Since African art 1s expressive power derives from the functional value of the object, attention is focused on the socio-cultural use of the art from the Kuba tribe in the Kasai region. This discussion and investigation of objects in the collection precedes the appendices which includes complete chronological, alphabetical, and typological catalogues.

Dr. Félix-Roland Moumié And The Revolution In French Cameroon, 1948-1960, Gregory Kurt Glassner

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the life of Dr. Felix-Roland Moumie and his political movement, the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC). An early nationalist in French West Africa, Moumie fought for the independence of his country within the French colonial system, at the United Nations and through a lengthy guerrilla war. Moumie and the UPC will be examined in the context of other African movements, the decolonization of Africa and the United Nations Trusteeship system.