bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Slave-Trader as Historian: Robert Norris and the History of Dahomey
Authors: Law Robin 
Published: May 2006

The Memoirs of the Reign of Bossa Ahadee, King of Dahomy of Robert Norris, first published in 1789, is a history of the west African kingdom of Dahomey during the reign of Tegbesu (“Bossa”), dated by Norris to 1732-1774 (though the correct dates are now known to be 1740-1774). In addition to its separate publication in 1789, Norris' material was also included, in a revised form, in the more comprehensive History of Dahomy compiled by Archibald Dalzel, published in 1793. This second version incorporates numerous detailed alterations and elaborations, mainly stylistic but occasionally relating to matters of substance; according to the Editor of Dalzel's History, these revisions were the work of Norris himself, although he had died before the work was brought to publication. This incorporation of Norris' work into that of Dalzel has had the effect of diminishing his reputation and perceived importance, since his material has usually been cited through (and by implication attributed to) Dalzel, rather than directly under his own name. His Memoirs, however, clearly have immense historiographical significance, as the first serious attempt by a European to write the history of a west African state.In addition to its purely historiographical interest, Norris' work remains an important source for the history of eighteenth-century Dahomey. Its value as a historical source, however, is problematical. On the one hand, Norris, as a slave trader who had operated in Dahomey for several years, had claims to be an exceptionally well-informed observer of Dahomian affairs.
Listening for Silences
Authors: Moore Donald , Roberts Richard 
Published: May 2006

Talking with informants in the field lies at the methodological heart of Africanist history and anthropology. Historians and anthropologists rely on formal and informal interviews, surveys, questionnaires, and participant observation in order to generate data from Africans and to privilege an African perspective on society, culture, and change. Fieldwork serves both as a political statement empowering African voices and as a right of passage for Africanists.Vansina's (1965) careful methodological considerations for mining and interpreting the African voice in the form of oral traditions has helped give Africanist history its distinctive character. Collecting and using oral traditions has not been unproblematic, however. Considerable debate surrounds the historicity of oral traditions (for example, Wrigley 1971; Henige 1974; Prins 1979; Miller 1980; Webster 1982; Vansina 1985).In comparison, little attention has been paid to the interview as the encounter central to the production of knowledge. In hisOral Tradition, Vansina was concerned primarily with the chains of transmission of testimony and their possible distortions. Vansina recognized, but did not pursue, how the encounter between informant and researcher influenced the informant's testimony.
The Historiography of Yoruba Myth and Ritual
Authors: Apter Andrew 
Published: May 2006

The historiography of African myth begins by documenting, comparing, and interpreting variant traditions. Where documentation is inscriptive and comparison descriptive, interpretation is notoriously complex, embracing a variety of approaches within two methodological extremes. The functionalist extreme -- what Peel calls “presentism” -- defines myth as a charter of political and ceremonial relations in society, and interprets variant traditions as rival political claims. Myth is by this definition a false reflection of the past because it is continually revised to fit the present. The historicist extreme regards myth as testimony of the past in oral societies, incorporating history into a narrative which resists revision and remains historically valid through fixed principles and “chains” of oral transmission. Variant traditions, according to this view, are dismissed as aberrations or contaminations of more authentic texts. Neither approach can evaluate the historicity of African myth unless both are somehow combined, for as the historiography of African oral traditions reveals, both tendencies are present in myth itself. This paper combines both approaches in an interpretation of variant Yoruba myths by examining the relationship between Yoruba myth and ritual.The prevailing approach to variance within the Yoruba mythological corpus follows the historicist narrative of Beier's historiographic method. Beier interprets contradictory accounts of the same events or cultural figures by treating one of the versions, usually associated with the more local-level traditions, as a holdover from a pre-Yoruba aboriginal culture which was modified and assimilated by immigrant Yorubas who descended upon ancient Ife. Although some of his interpretations are plausible, he applies this approach indiscriminately to myth-ritual complexes which do not clearly support his aboriginal theory.
The Bantu Expansion and the SOAS Network
Authors: Flight Colin 
Published: May 2006

One difference between linguists and other Africanists seemed to be that others were prepared to jettison one part of their training to help other disciplines, but linguists apparently would not. Was this so, and if so, why?The Bantu expansion has been a problem for historians ever since the recognition by linguists of a single startling fact. During the nineteenth century, the descriptions of African languages available to scholars in Europe grew steadily in number; they also tended to gain in detail, and in accuracy. It thus became increasingly clear that a sinuous line could be traced across the map distinguishing a zone of extremely high diversity in the north from a zone of low diversity in the south. By the 1880s a popularizing writer could claim that this contrast was generally recognized “by students of African languages.” The situation as he described it was
that in the northern half of the continent there are bewildering multitudes of diverse tongues belonging to many independent families, and apparently irreducible to a common origin. Yet cross the irregular boundary-line which runs over the continent from 6° N. on the west coast to the Equator on the east coast … and what do we find? Why that the whole of the southern half of Africa, with the exception of the Masai and Galla intrusion in the north-east and the Hottentot enclave in the south-west, is the domain of a single homogeneous family of languages, … differing perhaps less among themselves than do the many offshoots of the Aryan stock.
Les traditionnistes lettrés du Burundi a l'Ecole des Bibliothèques Missionnaires (1940-1960)
Authors: Chrétien Jean-Pierre 
Published: May 2006

Dans les pays africains sous administration beige l'expression écrite des me'moires collectives qui apparalt dans les années 1940–1950 était inconcevable hors de la sphère d'influence des églises chrétiennes. La presse catholique en particulier a été le premier vecteur de cette forme moderne de l'affirmation des identités culturelles. Au Burundi il s'agit de Rusizira Amarembe, édité à Gitega de 1940 à 1954, et de son successeur Ndongozi, publié de 1954 à 1978. Comme leurs titres l'indiquent ces périodiques étaient rédigés en kirundi, dans le prolongement de la scolarisation assurée par les missions en langue vernaculaire. Le premier signifiait “le semeur de paix”, ou plus exactement “celui qui prépare le terrain de la prospérité”, et le second, plus simplement, “l'éclaireur.”Comme nous l'avons déjà souligné ailleurs, ces publications devaient bénéficier de la double autorité de la chose imprimée et du parler quotidien, de la technologie des colonisateurs et de la culture des ancêtres, faisant écho aux préoccupations d'un nouveau milieu socioculturel, celui des Africains lettrés. C'est dans ce contexte que s'amorga l'écriture d'une histoire nationale, destinée à fixer de manière systématique les “choses du passé” (ivya kera) jusque là seulement narrées localement à l'occasion des veillées des enclos.
In Quest of Susu
Authors: Bühnen Stephan 
Published: May 2006

The political history of the medieval Western Sudan was dominated by a succession of empires exerting their domination over the region: Ghana, Mali, and finally Songhay. Oral tradition is our only evidence for the existence of yet another empire. It was called Susu and exerted its supremacy after the decline of Ghana and before the rise of Mali. Most historical treatises locate enigmatic Susu in the Kaniaga region northwest of Segou. These treatises are mainly based on oral traditions and medieval Arabic chronicles.After rereading the conventional historical sources and examining passages in Portuguese sources thus far untapped for the history of the Western Sudan, I feel induced to present a new identification for Susu. The Portuguese evidence appears to point to a vast but nearly forgotten kingdom in the Futa Jalon and Upper Niger region as the historical descendant of ancient Susu, thus indicating the latter's location. This kingdom was called Jalo and Concho. Its ethnic core were the Susu and Jalonke, and it was on its ruins that the Muslim Fula conquerors erected the state of Futa Jalon in the eighteenth century. My interpretation of oral traditions and Arabic sources also leads me to assume an identity of Susu with the kingdoms of Sankaran and Do. I will attempt to demonstrate the identity of the polities bearing these different names in sections introducing these polities, most of which have never been subjected to close historical investigation.
Reading Pictures: On the Value of the Copperplates in the Beschryvinghe of Pieter de Marees (1602) as Source Material for Ethnohistorical Research
Authors: Iselin Regula 
Published: May 2006

The Beschryvinghe appeared in 1602 in Amsterdam under the title Beschrybinge ende historische verhael vant Gout koninckrijck van Gunea, anders de Gout-custe de Mina genaemt, liggende in het veel van Africa… The aim here is to ascertain whether the copperplates have ethnohistorical value as source material, i.e., whether they can be employed as source material relating to the history of Ghana at the beginning of the seventeenthth century, or whether their importance is restricted merely to their contribution to the history of ideas. The background necessary for the examination, description, and interpretation of the copperplates involves study of the genesis of the Beschryvinghe. The following discussion of the author, publisher, and printer, and copperplate techniques also points to questions of the intention, function, and reception—both of the Beschryvinghe and of the pictures.Drawing a distinction between picture and illustration seems to me to be of little use. Even if every picture is not an illustration, every illustration is certainly a picture. In what follows I therefore consider the illustrative picture as a medium which, even if of a different quality, is comparable to the medium of language. This means that pictures, like texts, have to be read carefully. The method is thus one of precise and detailed examination and analysis of the content of the images. However, the comparability of language and image also implies that the pictures must be subjected to a rigorous critique of their status as source material, just as is the case with texts. In this context I have followed the “different stages Of ethno-historical source critique” developed by Miklós Szalay.
New Thoughts on the Use of Chinese Documents in the Reconstruction of Early Swahili History
Authors: Shen John 
Published: May 2006

For a long time, scholars have known that the ancient Sino-East Africantrade relationship produced valuable accounts of East Africa in the Chinese imperial archives. Particularly, the historical documents compiled during the T'ang, Sung, and Ming dynasties contain several insightful snapshots of East Africa over the span of 800 years. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of translating ancient Chinese texts, scholars have not been able to utilize these documents fully. In other cases, scholars have misused the translations to derive conclusions that may not be supported by the original text. In this essay I propose to re-examine the original Chinese sources and the way these sources have been used by subsequent scholars. Furthermore, I shall explore the real or potential contribution of these texts to our understanding of East African coastal history.The primary source of Chinese knowledge about East Africa during the T'ang dynasty (618-907) comes from Ching–hsing Chi (“Record of Travels”) and Yu–yang Tsa–tsu (“Assorted Dishes from Yu–yang”). During the Sung dynasty (960-1279), most of the information is recorded in Chu-fan-chih (“Gazetteer of Foreigners”) and Ling–wai Tai–ta (“Information from Beyond the Mountains”). Finally, the record of the Ming (1368-1644) naval expedition into the western Indian Ocean is preserved in Wu–pei–chih (“Notes on Military Preparedness”), Hsing–ch'a Sheng–lan (“Triumphant Vision of the Starry Raft”), and Ming Shih (“History of the Ming Dynasty”).
The Slave Ship Fredensborg: History, Shipwreck, and Find
Authors: Svalesen Leif 
Published: May 2006

During a violent storm the Danish-Norwegian frigate Fredensborg was wrecked on 1 December 1768, at Tromøy, an island outside Arendal in southern Norway. The long journey in the triangular route was nearly completed when the crew of 29 men, three passengers, and two slaves managed to save their lives under very dramatic conditions. The Captain, Johan Frantzen Ferents, and the Supercargo, Christian Hoffman, saved the ship's logbook and other journals. These, together with other documents which are in the national archives in Denmark and Norway, make it possible for us to follow the course of the frigate from day to day, both during the journey and after the wreck.The Fredensborg was built in 1752-53 by the Danish West India-Guinea Company in Copenhagen. On its first journey in the triangular trade, and during five subsequent journeys to the West Indies, it sailed under the name of Cron Prins Christian. In 1765, when the Guinea Company replaced the West India-Guinea Company, taking over the forts on the Gold Coast and all trading rights and ships, the name was changed to Fredensborg, after the Danish-Norwegian fort at Ningo. At that time Denmark-Norway owned the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix in the West Indies and their need for slaves was growing.They weighed anchor in Copenhagen on 24 June 1767 with 40 men on board, and anchored in the road at their main fort Christiansborg on the Gold Coast 100 days later, on 1 October 1767. Because of an inadequate supply of slaves, the Fredensborg remained in the road for 205 days. This had a very adverse effect on the health of the crew, with 11 deaths, including that of the Captain, Espen Kiønig. One of the deceased had drowned.
History, Oral Transmission and Structure in Ibn Khaldun's Chronology of Mali Rulers
Authors: Austen Ralph A. , Jansen Jan 
Published: May 2006

The early history of the Mali empire is known to us from two sources: Mande oral literature (epic and praise poetry) recorded over the last 100 years and Ibn Khaldun's Kitab al-ʿIbar (Book of Exemplars) written in the late four-teenth century. The list of Mali kings presented by Ibn Khaldun is precise, detailed, entirely plausible, and recorded not too long after the events it purports to describe. For scholars attempting to reconstruct an account of this West African empire, no other medieval Arab chronicler or, indeed, any Mande oral traditions provide comparable information for its formative period.There is, however, reason to question the historical reliability of Ibn Khaldun's account precisely on the grounds of its narrative richness. When read in relation to the general model of political development and decay which Ibn Khaldun worked out in the more theoretical Muqaddimah (“Prolegomena”) of Kitab al-ʿIbar, as well as the larger context of the work in which it is imbedded, the Mali kinglist takes on some characteristics of an instructive illustration rather than a fully empirical account of the past. Indeed Ibn Khaldun himself, in his contemplation of the basis for asabiyah (group solidarity) among bedouin peoples, cautions us against literal interpretation of genealogical accounts:For a pedigree is something imaginary and devoid of reality. Its usefulness consists only in the resulting connection and close contact.Ibn Khaldun is certainly not as ideologically engaged in constructing the royal genealogy of Mali as a bedouin spokesman might be in reciting the list of his own ancestors. Nevertheless, this great Arab thinker has something at stake in this story which needs to be given serious attention by all scholars concerned with either the events of the medieval western Sudan or the process by which they have been incorporated into more recent narratives.
ReassessingROBERT DRURY'S JOURNALas A Historical Source for Southern Madagascar
Authors: Pearson Mike Parker 
Published: May 2006

In 1729 a book entitledMadagascar: or Robert Drury's Journal During Fifteen Years Captivity on that Islandwas published in London. It describes the shipwreck of an East Indiaman on the south coast of Madagascar, the enforced stay of the crew at the royal capital of the Antandroy people, the crew's escape and massacre, the survival of the midshipmen, including Drury, as royal slaves, and Drury's eventual escape to the English colony of St. Augustine. It purports to be his authentic account, digested into order by a transcriber or editor and published at the request of his friends. A certification of its authenticity is provided at the front of the first edition by Captain William Mackett, the ship's captain who brought Drury back to England, and the author states that if anyone doubts the veracity of his tale or wishes for a further account, he is “to be found every day at Old Tom's Coffee-house in Birchin Lane, London.”The tale bears many superficial resemblances to Defoe'sRobinson Crusoeand Knox'sAn Historical Relation of Ceylonand the anonymous editor is at pains to state in the preface that the book was undoubtedly likely to be “…taken for such another romance as ‘Robinson Crusoe’…” whereas it was “…nothing else but a plain, honest narrative of matter of fact.” If this is the case, then Drury's account provides a fascinating insight into the world of an emergent Malagasy kingdom at the beginning of the eighteenth century. This was a crucial moment in Madagascar's history, when the European world of long-distance trade, slaving, and piracy was exerting a strong impact on the local people, culminating in colonization by France two centuries later.
The Pate Chronicles Revisited: Nineteenth-Century History and Historiography
Authors: Pouwels Randall L. 
Published: May 2006

A few years ago I offered an assessment of the Pate “Chronicles” as a tradition-based source for the history of the East African coast. That paper drew on recensions and versions that were readily available at that time to researchers interested in their historiography. Reasons of length and scope, cited at the end of the paper, restricted discussion to Sultan Fumo Madi b. Abu Bakr and his predecessors (Sultan nos. 1-24), that is to say, up to the time of the Battle of Shela,ca. 1807-13. To reiterate, in that paper I established the following points:(1) All recorded versions appear to have been based on an oral tradition that was extant in the mid- to late nineteenth century among Nabahani family members. The existence of a “Book of the Kings of Pate,” mentioned by Werner and Prins, is problematic (see 3 below).(2) Despite the number of versions of the Pate “Chronicles,” they appear to have actually come from only two informants, Bwana Kitini and Mshamu bin Kombo, who was a relative or possibly, as Tolmacheva claims, Bw. Kitini's brother.(3) Except for minor, though discernible, differences between the lists of the sultans given by both informants, most versions are consistent to a surprising degree. This seems attributable to the fact that there wereonlytwo informants, Kitini and Mshamu, who also were related, and who therefore themselves probably shared the same source(s). Given the differences of detail beyond the kinglists, if one of those earlier sources was a written one, such as an actual “Book of the Kings of Pate,” that source seems to have afforded the informants little beyond names and regnal dates.
Reflections on Historiography and Pre-Nineteenth-Century History from the Pate “Chronicles”
Authors: Pouwels Randall L. 
Published: May 2006

The period from 1500 to 1800 was a particularly busy phase in the history of the East African coast. It was a time which witnessed massive demographic shifts in the interior regions, as well as heavy southern Arab immigration and external meddling from Portuguese and Umani interlopers. It saw the destruction of the medieval entrepot of Kilwa Kisiwani and a decline, followed by a slow resurgence, in the fortunes of another medieval powerhouse, Mombasa. Throughout this phase, the ancient northern coastal city of Pate enjoyed a pivotal, even at times a paramount, role in the affairs of the coast. Before the middle 1500s the town seems to have been of insufficient consequence to attract much attention. Thereafter, however, the city-state capitalized on mainland alliances with powerful Orma confederations like the “Garzeda” to become a major center for regional trade, as well as a crucial strategic location in the competing religious and political ambitions of Portugal and various Arab states. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries Pate clearly was the most important state in the Lamu archipelago. Arguably, too, it was the most powerful Swahili sultanate on the entire coast.Given the significance of Pate in the affairs of the East African coast from the sixteenth through the early nineteenth centuries, scholars long have realized that a history of the sultanate is exigent to an understanding of the entire coast during this time. What would seem to be fortunate to this end is that historians have the Pate chronicles as a research aid. Taken together, these constitute the most detailed indigenous history of any coastal city-state up to the onset of the colonial era. However, as attested by the difficulties Chittick encountered in his attempts to work with them, these documents present the historian with a superabundance of (often confusing) information. Confronted with this, Chittick concluded that the only possible value of these chronicles was as a source of/for children's fables. Thus surmised, a historian of this important Swahili sultanate would seem to be left with very little indeed.
Feedback As a “Problem” in Oral History: An Example from Bonde
Authors: Willis Justin 
Published: May 2006

Feedback—the process by which written versions of history influence subsequent presentations of oral history—is now a well-documented process. In writing on African history, Henige in particular has emphasized the importance of feedback in oral history, and has suggested that feedback from written sources is a process of contamination which has affected oral history all over the continent.Some aspects of the oral history of Bonde, the area around the town of Muheza in northeastern Tanzania, would seem to present a counterexample to this thesis of written history as a contaminant of hitherto pure oral history: oral histories of at least two important nineteenth-century events in this area are at variance with fairly widely-available published sources. Evidence from Bonde suggests that, here at least, feedback from written sources is not a particular and unique influence on the making of oral history.