Wars of Imperial Conquest
in Africa 1830-1914

Book Review

Reviews by "Old Duffer"

Bruce Vandervort for UCL

Not quite in Clayton's league (see previous review) Vandervort gives an incomplete summary of the wars of Africa (not very much on Somalia or Morocco, or the Spanish) but he has some interesting ideas. He does not regard the success of the Europeans as guaranteed on the basis of moral strength and technological advancement. He might give a tick to technology in the period 1890-1914 (although since this was one of the most fertile periods for land-grabbing it undermines the central thesis) but he reckons that the margin was less pronounced in earlier times. If its not the Mightey Whitey then who is "to blame"? Well a mixture of traditionalism (interesting figure on the number of rifles in Zululand before the 1879 war), a lack of a unified front and the fact that most of the occupation was done by African troops. Indian sepoys conquered India for the sahib-log, as we know, so it appears Africa fell to askaris. Vandervort is not blaming Africans for these factors, if the Niger/Sudan empires (the Tukolors, Samori and Sokoto) failed to unit to defeat the French then so did European nations when faced by Ottoman invasion. What comes through is the suddenness by which Europeans moved from being peripheral traders to bursting inland with large armies.

The opening chapter presents a very good summary of pre-conquest Africa, and gives detail of four major military powers (the Zulus, Ahantis, Sokoto, and Ethiopia). This neatly encompasses mainly infantry armies (including some with large numbers of firearms) and cavalry armies with a medieval feel. This is matched with a chapter on the "lords of the water" the Europeans (on a nation-by-nation basis). The period 1830 to 1890 is marked as one of a shifting balance. The enormous size of the French invasion of Algiers is untypical of this era but it starts proceedings. Pere Bugeuad's teachings are explained, we visit the Gold Coast for Britain's Ashanti War (which Vandervort believes could have been lost), the Zulu War and voyage inland with Faidherbe – though Lord John Foppington's conquest of the Laxative Isles is neglected.

1880-1898 is recorded as the flood tide with not only greater activity by colonial powers, but more colonial powers both new ones (Italy and Germany) and the reawakening of older nations (Portugal) together with the supreme oddity of the Congo Free State. The Tukolors and Samori's Mandingos are defeated (but not without good analysis of why), the Portuguese defeat the Gaza (Nguni cousins of the Zulus), the Italians invade Ethiopia, the British act in West Africa, and the whole Sudan episode rises and falls. "Ominous portents" takes us towards 1914 but in reality much closer to the beginnings of decolonialisation as the natives start to wage Guerilla War. Vandervort concludes by querying whether the extreme violence of the colonial powers did not cause the current cult of violence (see Clayton above). That sounds like an excuse to me, but probably one of some weight.

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© Copyright 1999 by Charles and Teresa Vasey.
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