Fighting for the Empire

Colonialism and Mobilization in Africa in the World Wars
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-94-6270-513-5
Verlag: Leuven University Press

Buch, Englisch, 342 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 484 g

How African societies influenced the two major global conflicts of the 20th century.

The First and Second World Wars were pivotal events in modern global history. Although colonial empires were involuntarily drawn into both global conflicts, most studies of the World Wars have given scant attention to the contributions of colonial societies or the wars’ profound impact on their populations. This pervasive neglect of the significant role played by European colonies on behalf of the Allies is not only historically problematic but also hinders our comprehensive understanding of these wars and their broader impact on humanity.

Adopting a global intellectual history lens, this volume examines the influence of African societies and ideas on these two major global conflicts. In doing so, it expands the historiography of both World Wars by offering fundamental new insights. The essays in this collection explore various themes related to both wars and societies within the empire, with a focus on the African experience and its intersection with European empires, colonialism, race, economy, and global conflagrations.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Korieh, Chima J.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Page, Melvin E.

Muojama, Olisa Godson

Afolabi, Abiodun S.

Coates, Oliver

Ezeuwa, Kingsley C.

Felepchuk, William

Gilkes, Patrick

Ginio, Ruth

Haji, Abdihwahid

Ugbogu, Marklene C.

Plaut, Martin

Tan, Yvonne

Obimba, Janet

Otman, Bychou

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Besondere Kriege und Kampagnen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

PART I. BACKGROUND

1 Resilience and Resistance of Africa in Twentieth-Century Global Conflict: An Introduction
Chima J. Korieh

2 The British Empire, Dzikho la Nyasaland, and Two World Wars

Melvin E. Page

PART II. POLITICS, WAR, AND SOCIETY IN WORLD WAR I

3 Plots and Conspiracies: British and German First World War Strategies in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa

Patrick Gilkes and Martin Plaut

4 Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, World War I, and Italian Colonialism in Somalia

Abdiwahid Osman Haji and William Felepchuk

5 Treatment of Enemy Subjects and Social Unrest in Nigeria during World War I

Olisa Godson Muojama

PART III. RACE, WAR, SOCIETY, AND WORLD WAR II

6 Provisioning for War: Food Crisis on the Nigerian Homefront during the Second World War

Chima J. Korieh

7 British Price Control Policy and Internal Disturbances in Southwestern Nigeria during World War II

Abiodun S. Afolabi and Marklene Chinatu Ugbogu

8 Stories about the French Recruitment of Moroccan Soldiers during World War II: A History from Below

Otman Bychou

9 Black Skin, White Cause: Belanda Hitam and Force Noire in Indochina and Indonesia during World War II

Yvonne Tan

10 Equality for Blood: African Soldiers’ Struggles for Rights after World War II

Ruth Ginio

11 Mohammed V, Anti-Semitism, and the Moroccan Homefront during the Second World War

Kingsley C. Ezeuwa

12 West African Soldiers’ Voices in World War II: Between Texts, Oral History, and Digital Culture
Oliver Coates

13 Second World War Veterans and the End of Colonialism in Kenya

Janet Achieng Ombima

Afterword

Melvin E. Page

Selected Bibliography

Note on Contributors

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Korieh, Chima J.
Chima J. Korieh is Professor of African History and Africana Studies at Marquette University and the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria.