Book Reviews : The Rise of Nationalism in Central Africa. By ROBERT I. ROTBERG. (Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1965. Pp. xv, 362. $8.75.)
| Author | John P. Hoover |
| Published date | 01 March 1966 |
| Date | 01 March 1966 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/106591296601900150 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
193
regrettably,
no
new
insights
suggested
and
most
of
the
contents
are
familiar
to
stu-
dents
of
American
history.
This
volume
is
a
balanced
and
reasonably
objective
account.
It
lacks
the
read-
ability
and
emotional
impact
of
Theodore
H.
VVhite’s
descriptions
of
the
1960
and
1964
elections,
but
it
necessarily
seeks
another
objective:
in
the
572
pages
allotted
to
text,
it
reviews
the
44
elections
of
a
President
and
Vice
President
of
the
United
States.
This
allows
just
13
pages
for
each
election.
The
space
is
allotted
with
notable
equity.
The
result
is
a
compendium
that
deserves
a
place
in
the
library
of
any
serious
student
of
American
history
and
politics.
The
&dquo;selective&dquo;
bibliography
and
index
are
helpful
and
reasonably
complete.
FREEMAN
HOLMER
Salem,
Oregon
The
Rise
of
Nationalism
in
Central
Africa.
By
ROBERT
I.
ROTBERG.
(Cambridge :
Harvard
University
Press,
1965.
Pp.
xv,
362.
$8.75.)
The
colonial
experiences
of
the
peoples
of
Zambia
and
Malawi,
new
nations
built
from
black
Northern
Rhodesia
and
Nyasaland,
which
until
lately
were
har-
nessed
in
a
federation
with
&dquo;white&dquo;
Southern
Rhodesia,
are
recounted
and
analyzed
in
this
well-researched
volume.
The
account
is,
unfortunately,
one-sided.
Even
though
the
pro-African
viewpoint
may,
in
today’s
climate
of
opinion,
find
wide
acceptance
in
terms
of abstract
&dquo;justice&dquo;
and
&dquo;morality,&dquo;
the
slanted
presentation
detracts
from
the
genuine
merit
of
the
study.
The
main
thesis
that
the
origins
of
Zambian
and
Malawian
independence
move-
ments
are
to
be
found
in
the
entire
colonial
histories
of
those
areas
and
not,
as
some
have
alleged,
in
mistakes
of
the
recent
past
is
convincingly
proved.
Substantiation
is
assembled
from
the
history
of
the
territories
since
the
days
of
Dr.
Livingston
in
a
story
as
old
as
man:
forceful
intrusion
by
technologically
powerful
aliens,
usurpation
of
political
powers,
land
seizure,
exaction
of
tribute,
forced
labor,
racial
discrim-
ination,
economic
exploitation,
cultural
annihilation
-
in
short
the
dehumanization
and
degradation
of
human
beings,
who,
whatever
their
shortcomings,
could
hardly
fail
to
regard
as
&dquo;the
good
old
days&dquo;
the
time
before
the
white
man
came
to
seek
his
own
redemption
in
shouldering
unsolicited
his
brothers’
burden.
The
best
that
might
be
said
for
British
rule
in
the
light
of
the
account
given
is
that
it
was
conde-
scending
and
paternalistic,
qualities
unlikely
to
bring
cheers
from
the
governed.
Those
numerous
people
who
have
thought
of
British
colonial
administration
as
being
reasonably
enlightened
will
be
disturbed
to
read
the
details
of
a
government
which,
according
to
the
information
offered,
could
be
compared
with
the
Black
Legend
of
Spanish
imperial
rule
in
America,
and
not
necessarily
favorably.
There
is
similarity
between
both
the
main
features
of
the
two
rules
and
some
of
the
results.
The
attempted
extinction
of
the
tribal
cultures
led
at
last
to
a
renascent
vigor
of
&dquo;native&dquo;
ways;
and
the
displacement
of
indigenous
rulers,
the
only
legitimate
ones
in
indigenous
eyes,
resulted
in
a
rejection
of
the
alien
administrators
who
had
been
forcibly
imposed.
It
is
also
true
in
the
case
of
Zambia
and
Malawi,
though
not
explicitly
stated,
that
while
such
injustice
as
there
may
have
been
in
British
rule
To continue reading
Request your trial