Empires in the Sun

by Lawrence James

First published 2016

Amazon

3.7(70)

Lawrence James surveys the transformation of Africa from the French seizure of Algiers in 1830 to the dismantling of European colonial rule in the late twentieth century. He follows explorers, missionaries, traders, soldiers and administrators as Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Italy converted commercial footholds and diplomatic claims into territorial empires. The narrative places the partition of the continent beside African resistance, including the survival of Ethiopia under Menelik II and the wars fought by the Zulu, Mahdist and Boer states.

The later chapters examine how the First and Second World Wars weakened imperial authority while drawing African soldiers, labour and resources into global conflict. Nationalist movements, Cold War intervention and negotiated or violent transfers of power then reshaped the continent from Ghana and Kenya to Algeria, the Congo and southern Africa. James treats empire as a contest of coercion, collaboration and rival visions of modernity, while tracing the persistence of colonial borders, institutions and economic relationships after independence.

Historical Periods

Second Boer War1899–1902 CE World War I1914–1918 CE World War II1939–1945 CE Cold War and Post-war Era1945–present Mahdist War1881–1899 Anglo-Zulu War1879 European Imperialism in the Islamic Mediterraneanc. 1750–1918 CE

Genres

Court & Political Fiction

Historical people

Napoleon III1808–1873 Jomo Kenyatta1893–1978 Charles George Gordon1833–1885 Muhammad Ahmad1844–1885 Menelik II1844–1913 Paul Kruger1825–1904 Haile Selassie1892–1975 Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener1850–1916 Joseph Chamberlain1836–1914 Otto von Bismarck1815–1898

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