Twilight on the Zambezi: Late Colonialism in Central Africa

Book Description
This book looks at Central Africa in the moment before the collapse of British colonial authority. Beginning with a lively study of Northern Rhodesia, the book moves outward in widening circles to the views of native councils, of colonial leaders, of African campaigners for independence, and ultimately of the Colonial Office in London. The result is a prismatic glimpse of the complexities of decolonization in Africa. Based on a rich assortment of unpublished documents, the book focuses on the key year of 1959, the year before the events that turned the tide toward independence. Rich in historical detail and conflicting perspectives, the book provides new insight into the complex particularities of local colonial history.



About the Author
Eugenia W. Herbert is E. Nevius Rodman Professor Emeritus of History at Mount Holyoke College, and author of a number of books on African history.



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In Twilight on the Zambezi, historian Eugenia W. Herbert looks at a remote district in Central Africa in the moment just before the collapse of British colonial rule. Beginning with a lively study of daily life on the ground, from the perspective of both local colonial officials and their African counterparts in the Native Authority, the story moves outward in widening circles to the larger drama that was pitting diehard proponents of settler supremacy against African nationalists with their demands for independence and majority rule, and finally to Whitehall and the centers of imperial power in London. The result is a prismatic glimpse of the complexities of late colonialism and decolonization in one corner of Africa. Based on a rich assortment of interviews and and unpublished documents, the book focuses on the key year of 1959. With its abundance of historical detail and conflicting perspectives, Twilight on the Zambezi provides new insights into the particularities of colonial history, breaking down monoliths into their human components.


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