| Unit name | Kingdoms of the Savannah: Central Africa from the late pre-colonial period to the Great Depression |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM0040 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Loffman |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Traditionally, Central Africa has been seen as the ‘Heart of Darkness,’ a seemingly hopeless region benighted by a series of intractable conflicts and even cannibalism. Yet this option aims to give students an in-depth understanding of the political history of Central Africa from the late pre-colonial period to the Great Depression. The geographical area on which the unit focuses roughly corresponds to the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Zambia, and eastern Tanzania. By drawing on a wide range of primary sources (such as mission dairies, travellers’ accounts, colonial records, and oral traditions) the unit will provide students with some of the key features of late pre-colonial and colonial political history in this little-studied region. The first seminar orientates students around Central African geography while the second discusses the use of oral traditions to reconstruct elements of the past where none or little written evidence exists. The unit then focuses on state formation in the eighteenth century and how Central African rulers were able to marshal complex political institutions to overcome the obstacle of distance in their polities. Next the unit will cover the region’s gradual incorporation of global networks of trade, with particular reference to the Yeke and Swahili intrusions that occurred in the later eighteenth century. Thereafter, the unit moves to consider how these polities encountered colonialism and the extent to which colonial rulers were able to manipulate them. The unit finishes by discussing the extent to which the consolidation of colonial rule compromised ‘traditional’ means of African governance.
To introduce students to the study of Central Africa.
To place students in direct contact with the current research interests of the academic tutor and to enable them to explore the issues surrounding the state of research in the field.
To develop students’ ability to work with a range of primary sources relating to this field.
To develop students’ abilities to integrate primary source material into a wider historical analysis.
To develop students’ ability to learn independently within a small-group context.
10 x 1.5 hour seminars.
5,000 word essay
D. Birmingham and P. Martin (eds.), History of Central Africa: Volume One (1983)
T. Reefe, The Rainbow and the Kings: A History of the Luba Empire to 1891 (1981)
J. Vansina, Kingdoms of the Savanna (1966)
J. Vansina, The Children of Woot: A History of the Kuba Peoples (1978)
J. Vansina, Paths in the Rainforests: Towards A History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa (1990)
J. Vansina, Being Colonised: The Kuba Experience in Rural Congo, 1880-1960 (2010)
