Empires in the Sun

April 17, 2017
In this straightforward overview, English historian James (Churchill and Empire) competently charts the rise of European empire building in Africa and the subsequent demise of those same empires. Beginning with the French capture of Algiers in 1830 and running through the victory of the ANC in South Africa’s 1994 elections, James’s book covers a vast amount of territory. His overview centers on British conquests and colonies as well as those of France, Italy, and Germany. The Belgian Congo receives less attention while Portugal’s and Spain’s colonial activities rate only sparse passages. Each chapter focuses on a different country or region, with early land grabs and diplomatic partitions of the continent giving way to world wars. Veterans of those wars dramatically increased the leadership pool of Africans who possessed a desire for Western-style democracy and the means to take it. WWII and the subsequent Cold War found the U.S. and the Soviet Union (and its satellite Cuba) becoming players in the geopolitical game of independence. Throughout, James lets Western and African voices enliven his history. Western racism and paternalism is made shamefully clear, as is the violence perpetrated by many actors. This is a solid work with little in the way of fluff—James sticks to the historical paths of major countries, leaving all else aside. Maps.

May 1, 2017
A history of "the transformation of Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when almost the entire continent became a part of Europe's global empires."This is history written in the grand narrative style. James (Churchill and Empire: A Portrait of an Imperialist, 2014, etc.), a founding member of the University of York, takes on a massive subject and addresses it in sweeping, muscular prose. The author chronicles the colonization of Africa from the 1830s to the end of World War II, ending on the cusp of the era during which the reversal of these processes would begin. This is a fascinating story, and James displays solid storytelling skills. However, his perspective is thoroughly European, a view in which the vast majority of the actors are Europeans, with the Africans serving as victims, tragic but nameless. In an earlier era, the author's approach would have been standard, and this book would have gone down as a notable epic history. However, we no longer live in that era. James is masterful in tracing the European-centered geopolitical rivalries, sketching out the leading figures in the colonial endeavor, and depicting the seemingly inexorable march toward conquest. He gracefully bounds from region to region and shows how the various processes of colonizing Africa manifested differently in different locales. He is less adept at giving life to African resistance and agency, and he occasionally resorts to anachronistic language in his description of African societies and cultures when he does address them. The bibliography also has some serious gaps--e.g., nothing by Basil Davidson or Martin Meredith. The maps at the beginning are useful, noting the boundaries of African nations and colonies in 1850, 1914, 1945, and 1990. An often scintillating but flawed depiction of the European domination of Africa over more than a century.

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May 1, 2017

In this compact history, James (The Rise and Fall of the British Empire) traces in detail the complex involvement of European powers (England, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain) in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. Explored are the varied motivations and impacts of European colonization along with the exploitation of Africa and its people, including the nearly seamless entry of the United States and the Soviet Union after many Europeans countries left in the mid-20th century. The author outlines Europe's role in ending the slave trade, particularly in East Africa, while also describing the external characters and governments who contributed to oppression and genocide in several African countries. Later, James touches upon conflicts that have continued into the 21st century. While imperialism in Africa has been recounted in books such as Thomas Pakenham's Scramble for Africa and Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost, James succeeds in concisely telling this history up until the end of apartheid and the fall of the Soviet Union. VERDICT For all readers interested in a better understanding of modern Africa.--Joel Neuberg, Santa Rosa Junior Coll. Lib., CA

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