A History of Niger 1850-1960

Description

This comprehensive history of Niger during the colonial period is a work based on primary research which attempts an overall appraisal of the colonial past. Dr Fuglestad questions the assumption that the colonial conquest constituted a clear break in African history. He traces the main trends of the colonial period back to their origins in the pre-colonial past. He also demonstrates that the power of colonial officials was less effective than is generally thought and that, though French colonial rule was the single most important factor in shaping the present-day societies of Niger, it was still only one of the many contributing factors. While the main events of the modern history of Niger and the neighbouring regions of the Central Sudan and the Central Sahara are discussed and analysed in detail, the book focuses on long-term trends. Particular attention is given to the opposition between the various ethnic groups and between nomads and agriculturalists, which persisted in spite of their considerable interdependence, and to the continuing clash between the values and norms of the rulers and the ruled. The last section of the book discusses the somewhat hybrid political system that emerged with the introduction of European-style politics after 1945 and the economic transformations that took place after the Second World War. Dr Fuglestad's exhaustive survey of widely scattered and sometimes almost inaccessible archives and documents has resulted in an original and illuminating account of an area of Africa about which there is currently little information. His History of Niger will remain for many years an important source of reference for all historians of Africa, and particularly for those concerned with French colonial Africa.