Regions Africa
Survey Articles (Regional)
Regional Thematic Articles
- African Colonies (Portugal)
- African Labour in Europe (Africa)
- Afrikaner (Boer) Rebellion (Union of South Africa)
- Bereavement and Mourning (Africa)
- Between Acceptance and Refusal - Soldiers' Attitudes Towards War (Africa)
- Centenary (South Africa)
- Colonial Labour Requirements during Wartime (Africa)
- Colonial Military Participation in Europe (Africa)
- Colonial State Power and Politics (Africa)
- Colonial Warfare and Occupation (Africa)
- Commemoration, Cult of the Fallen (Africa)
- Commemoration, Cult of the Fallen (Union of South Africa)
- Dominions’ Military Relationship to Great Britain 1902-1914 (British Dominions)
- Economies and Home Front (Union of South Africa)
- Food and Nutrition (Africa)
- Governments, Parliaments and Parties, Labour, Labour Movements and Strikes (Union of South Africa)
- Historiography 1918-Today (Africa)
- Historiography 1918-Today (Union of South Africa)
- Indigenous Experience of War (British Dominions)
- Influenza Pandemic (Africa)
- Literature (Africa)
- Literature (Africa)
- Making Sense of the War (Africa)
- Organization of War Economies (Africa)
- Post-war Colonial Administration (Africa)
- Post-war Economies (Africa)
- Post-war Societies (Africa)
- Press/Journalism (Africa)
- Pre-war Military Planning (Africa)
- Pre-war Military Planning and War Aims (Union of South Africa)
- Prisoners of War (Africa)
- Prisoners of War and Internees (Union of South Africa)
- Propaganda in the Colonies (Africa)
- Resistance and Rebellions (Africa)
- Science and Technology (Africa)
- South Africa and the German East Africa Campaign (Union of South Africa)
- South African Invasion of German South West Africa (Union of South Africa)
- South African Troops in Europe and the Middle East (Union of South Africa)
- War Aims and War Aims Discussions (Africa)
- War and Colonial Finance (Africa)
- War Losses (Africa)
Encyclopedic Entries
- Askari
- Barbed Wire
- Botha, Louis
- Carrier Corps
- Discussion: Humanitarianism
- Empire
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Force Publique
- Husen, Bayume Mohamed
- King's African Rifles
- Königsberg (ship)
- Lyautey, Louis Hubert Gonzalve
- Moroccan Crises 1905-1911
- Ruanda and Urundi
- Schnee, Heinrich
- Schutztruppe (East Africa, Southwest Africa, Cameroon)
- Smuts, Jan Christian
- Somalia
- Tanga, Battle of
- Taveta, Occupation of
- Tirailleurs Sénégalais
- War Poetry
- Wireless Telegraphy
See also
- Alliance System 1914
- Bereavement and Mourning
- Centenary (Historiography)
- Centenary (Visual Arts)
- Colonial Empires after the War/Decolonization
- Colonial Policy, Colonial Conflicts and War before 1914
- Commemoration, Cult of the Fallen
- Controversy: The Media's Responsibility for Crises and Conflicts in the Age of Imperialism
- Demobilization
- Extra-European Theatres of War
- Imperialism
- Influenza Pandemic
- League of Nations
- Negotiating and Mediating Conduct of War
- Non-European Soldiers
- Post-war Societies
- Religious Mobilization and Popular Belief
- The Way to War
- Willingly to War. Public Response to the Outbreak of War
Survey Articles (Regional)
-
The war in East and Central Africa was one of the longest running of the Great War. It started on 8 August 1914 when the wireless station at Dar es Salaam was bombed and ended on 25 November 1918 … READ MORE
Regional -
The Ottoman and European colonial contexts are the necessary background for understanding northern Africa’s unique history with both Allied and Central powers. The impact of European … READ MORE
Regional -
The people of Southern Africa experienced the First World War as a continuation of late 19th century European imperialism. The war did not introduce new historical trends as much as it … READ MORE
Regional -
In 1914, the Union of South Africa was four years old; its military only two. British supremacy in the South African War (1899-1902) provoked different responses from English and Afrikaner white … READ MORE
Regional -
This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. By demonstrating the heavy reliance on West … READ MORE
Regional
Regional Thematic Articles
-
Between 1914 and 1918, between 150,000 and 200,000 Africans traveled to Europe to labor in support of the war effort. Most came from French colonies, but many also came from British colonies in … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The South African government’s decision to actively support Britain in the war against Germany led to much dissatisfaction within the white Afrikaans-speaking community. By the second week of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article examines bereavement and mourning practices among African families during World War I by focusing on, first, the traditional modes of mourning, grieving, and remembering the dead; … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
All belligerent colonial powers enlisted Africans for fighting, and as carriers and war workers in African, European and Middle Eastern theatres of war. Despite the fact that universal compulsory … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides an assessment of how society and the state in post-apartheid South Africa responded to the issue of centenary commemoration of the First World War. It suggests that while the … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article analyzes the deployment of about half a million African soldiers in Europe, where most of them fought in the French army. It first outlines the numbers and origins of African soldiers as … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
When the First World War came to Africa, European colonial rule was scarcely established in many parts of the continent. Some twenty years after the initial conquest, large parts of Africa remained … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
In 1914, Allied leaders plunged Africans into a conflict that was not their own. In West Africa, British and French colonial troops quickly occupied Togo, while the conquest of Cameroon proved much … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Commemoration in the form of ceremonies and monuments was for the most part alien to African cultures and was largely a part of the European colonial project. As such, its main aim was to glorify … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
South Africa’s First World War cult of commemoration has long centred around the 1st South African Infantry Brigade’s fight at Delville Wood, shaped by the socio-political exigencies … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The dominions of Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and South Africa shared an ambiguous constitutional relationship with Britain. The self-governing dominions were free to implement their … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides a succinct overview of the impact of the war on the economy and the home front of the Union of South Africa and considers the main ways in which these domestic sectors responded … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The mobile nature of the war in Africa meant supplying the forces with food was a challenge. As the centre of conflict moved, African colonial home fronts became battle fronts, impacting the … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Governments, Parliaments and Parties, Labour, Labour Movements and Strikes (Union of South Africa)
By Wessel Pretorius Visser
In South Africa the period between 1914 and 1918 was one of intense political and industrial turmoil. It entailed two violent strikes, eventually suppressed by the South African government, a … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article outlines the historiographical development from Africa’s treatment as a sideshow of World War I to attention to the conflict’s global dimensions starting in the age of decolonisation … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The First World War in Africa has been considered a sideshow compared to the catastrophe that took place in European theatre of war. As a result, the historiography of South Africa’s participation … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Policymakers in the British Dominions of Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa confronted the common questions about Indigenous service in the First World War but with diverse … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides the first continent-wide overview of the catastrophic, worldwide “Spanish” influenza pandemic in Africa. It focuses on the virus’ arrival, the countermeasures that vainly … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Memoirs, songs, poems and fiction dealing with the great war in Africa began to appear as early as 1916 and tended to be either escapist adventure stories loosely based on actual events or chronicles … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
For the majority of Africans this war was a European war. However, it was also a time when colonial rulers tightened their grip on Africans. More Africans than ever before were forced to work for … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides a brief overview of the contribution of African economies to the war and of the ways in which colonial economies were re-organized to respond to the demands of the war period. … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article argues that the shifts in the colonial administration after World War One should be analyzed from two intertwined perspectives: Firstly the new international system of the mandates and … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The economic development of African territories in the years following World War I was fostered by European and American capital, as well as by African societies’ innovations in agricultural … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article focuses on the Africans who fought in the First World War and the role they played in bringing about social transformation in postwar African societies. It sheds light on the ex-soldiers … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Africa did not feature prominently in pre-war military planning. Once the Allies secured the strategically important coastlines of the German colonies, they competed with each other in the seizure of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The Union of South Africa was formed ten years after the internecine Second Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902) from which the British Empire emerged victorious. Afrikaner-English acrimony was an especially … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
During the First World War Africans served as combatants, porters, and labourers in Africa and Europe where many became prisoners of war. POWs in Africa were generally swiftly incorporated into their … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
A comparatively small number of German residents were interned as “enemy subjects” in the Union of South Africa. Most of them were accommodated at an abandoned military fort, Fort Napier, in … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Unlike the metropole, none of the colonial powers in Africa operated a centrally organized propaganda machine during the war. Inside the various colonies, local efforts thus consisted of a mixture of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Africans across the continent resisted colonial demands and took up arms against European colonizers during World War I. This essay presents three ways of recognizing and analyzing such acts of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Although many scientific innovations and technologies came to the continent with the process of colonization, only during the First World War did Africans experience the full potential of new weapons … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
South Africa’s contribution to the East Africa campaign extended beyond 1916, the year most South Africans served there under General Jan Smuts. South Africans of all racial groups served in … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The South African invasion of German South West Africa (GSWA) in September 1914 was specifically aimed at securing several strategic British war objectives. The invasion was the first time that the … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Like other dominions of the British Empire, the Union of South Africa’s participation in war was varied. South African volunteers served in various geographical campaigns, ranging from the Western … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The First World War led to a renewed imperialist scramble for territory in Africa. Allied victory and African campaigns allowed British, French, Belgian, Portuguese and South African leaders to … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides a brief overview of the financial contribution of the African colonies to the First World War. It considers the problems faced by the colonial state in raising revenues during … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Human resources in Africa were exploited during the First World War for imperial ends. Men were sent to Europe to augment the manpower of the combatants, and soldiers and labourers were mobilized to … READ MORE
Regional Thematic
Encyclopedic Entries
-
''Askari'' is a word that means “soldier” or “police” in Kiswahili, Arabic, Turkish and a number of other languages. Colonial powers in many parts of eastern, central and southern Africa used … READ MORE
Entry -
Invented in France in 1860, barbed wire was further developed in the United States, where it was used to restrict cattle and secure territory. Acquiring far more menacing qualities in the First World … READ MORE
Entry -
Louis Botha, Boer General and Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, served throughout the war. Following the 1914 Afrikaner rebellion, he commanded the troops in German South West Africa, won … READ MORE
Entry -
The Carrier Corps were a conscripted labour force used by all belligerent sides in the First World War in East Africa. The numbers recruited and the subsequent displacement of populations was one of … READ MORE
Entry -
This is the first in what it is hoped will become a series of discussion forums hosted by ''1914-1918-online''. In this discussion forum, General Editor Peter Gatrell invited contributions that … READ MORE
Entry -
World War I was not simply a conflict among European states but a global war of empires. The fighting took place not only in Europe, but also in Africa, Asia, and across the Middle East, and it … READ MORE
Entry -
Before the war, Ethiopia had many diplomatic connections with European states and found itself in a strong position relative to them, particularly after defeating Italy in 1896. Once war broke out, … READ MORE
Entry -
The article discusses the ''Force Publique'', the colonial troops of the Belgian Congo, in the East African campaign of the First World War. The ''Force Publique'' played a major but until now … READ MORE
Entry -
Husen was a child soldier in the “''Schutztruppe''” of German East Africa. He migrated to Germany, participated in the colonial revisionist movement and fought for his rights as a World War I … READ MORE
Entry -
The King’s African Rifles (KAR) were the British colonial military within East Africa before and during the First World War. While initially rarely involved in the British operations in East … READ MORE
Entry -
The German light cruiser Königsberg made its name at the Battle of Zanzibar. After being scuttled, its guns were used by the German Schutztruppe to continue the Guerrilla campaign in East … READ MORE
Entry -
During World War One, Hubert Lyautey was the French Resident-General in Morocco and became Minister of the French War Department in … READ MORE
Entry -
The two Moroccan crises represent the product of “rapacious joint imperialism.” Morocco could not escape the ambitions of its immediate neighbours, Spain and France, who secretly plotted to … READ MORE
Entry -
The Belgian ''Force Publique ''occupied Ruanda and Urundi in 1916 after taking control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. This enabled the local populations and individuals to use the change in … READ MORE
Entry -
Heinrich Schnee was the governor of German East Africa between 1912 and 1919. During the war, he remained with the German colonial troops under the command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck until their … READ MORE
Entry -
Between 1891 and 1894 colonial forces, named “''Schutztruppe''”, were established in the German colonies in East Africa, Cameroon, and Southwest Africa. They formed a third military branch … READ MORE
Entry -
Jan Smuts was a South African lawyer and statesman who ultimately became deputy prime minister of the Union of South Africa. During the war, Smuts was Minister of Defence, Finance and Mines. He … READ MORE
Entry -
From 1916 to 1918 the “Tirailleurs Somalis” were the only military unit from the Horn of Africa to operate on the Western Front, distinguishing itself at Verdun and in the Chemin des Dames … READ MORE
Entry -
The Battle of Tanga was the first major military engagement in East Africa and a significant British set back. It also contributed to the creation of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck’s … READ MORE
Entry -
The ''tirailleurs sénégalais'' (Senegalese riflemen) figured prominently among the many indigenous peoples who served in the French army during the First World War. By 1918, France had recruited … READ MORE
Entry -
This article examines the concept of war poetry and considers the range of poetic responses generated by the Great War from an international … READ MORE
Entry -
Wireless telegraphy became an integral part of warfare on the ground, in the air, and at sea by 1918. Wireless helped to make the war global, though historians still debate its impact on the course … READ MORE
Entry
See also
-
Alliances were an important feature of the international system on the eve of World War I. The formation of rival blocs of Great Powers has previously considered a major cause of the outbreak of war … READ MORE
Thematic -
In the modern era, new forms of mourning and meaning-making for fallen soldiers emerged. The human losses of the First World War were largely mourned, honoured and remembered within … READ MORE
Thematic -
Innovative historical scholarship played an important role in the shaping of memory during the centenary of the First World War. It guided international public memory, was part of it and as such … READ MORE
Thematic -
The commemorative period between 2014 and 2018 was marked globally by numerous exhibitions of original artworks that had been commissioned and created during and immediately after World War 1. Most … READ MORE
Thematic -
The First World War saw the colonial empires of France and Britain mobilised to aid European and imperial war efforts. This mobilisation and the difficulties of demobilisation placed considerable … READ MORE
Thematic -
While there were no major wars between European great powers in the decades preceding 1914, their militaries were constantly engaged, fighting in their expanding colonial empires in Africa, Asia, … READ MORE
Thematic -
The First World War ushered in an unprecedented wave of commemorations. Mass death elicited a construction spree in memorial objects and sites across all countries and territories involved in the … READ MORE
Thematic -
Controversy: The Media's Responsibility for Crises and Conflicts in the Age of Imperialism
By Peter Geiss
The article discusses the role of the media in the complex international process leading to the First World War with a focus on the press of the great powers. Recent research has shown that the … READ MORE
Thematic -
The end of fighting in 1918 raised hopes for swift and equitable military demobilization amongst soldiers and civilians. The timing and nature of demobilization varied greatly, though, due to … READ MORE
Thematic -
The extra-European theatres of World War I have received far less scholarly attention than the war in Europe. This state of affairs is hardly surprising given the sheer magnitude of the Western Front … READ MORE
Thematic -
This article focuses on the extent to which imperialism contributed to the outbreak of the First World War. The first part describes the emergence of specific imperialist cultures and attitudes in … READ MORE
Thematic -
By examining the origins, pathways, demographic impact and consequences for the public, the medical profession and governments, of the so-called “Spanish” influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, this … READ MORE
Thematic -
Many issues surrounding the conduct of war in the years 1914-1918 were impervious to international negotiation or mediation, due either to a complete lack of consensus or to an absence of trust and … READ MORE
Thematic -
This article examines the use by Great Britain and France of colonial subjects from their empires to fight during the First World War. Other Great War soldiers hailed from locations outside of … READ MORE
Thematic -
The First World War caused unprecedented disruption to societies across the globe, from Western and (especially) Central and Eastern Europe to East Africa. While many survivors could celebrate an end … READ MORE
Thematic -
From the cradle to the grave, popular religion formed a necessary and vital, if analytically messy, part of the human experience of the Great War. The war had the potential to atomize and alienate … READ MORE
Thematic -
Imperialism shaped almost every facet of international politics from 1898 to 1914. Imperial concerns brought Britain into entente relationships with France and Russia. This Triple Entente often … READ MORE
Thematic -
It may surprise us to learn that some sectors of the European public were in favour of the war in 1914. The impact of modern weapons was not well understood and many people in the government, … READ MORE
Thematic
Survey Articles (Regional)
-
The war in East and Central Africa was one of the longest running of the Great War. It started on 8 August 1914 when the wireless station at Dar es Salaam was bombed and ended on 25 November 1918 … READ MORE
Regional -
The Ottoman and European colonial contexts are the necessary background for understanding northern Africa’s unique history with both Allied and Central powers. The impact of European … READ MORE
Regional -
The people of Southern Africa experienced the First World War as a continuation of late 19th century European imperialism. The war did not introduce new historical trends as much as it … READ MORE
Regional -
In 1914, the Union of South Africa was four years old; its military only two. British supremacy in the South African War (1899-1902) provoked different responses from English and Afrikaner white … READ MORE
Regional -
This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. By demonstrating the heavy reliance on West … READ MORE
Regional
Regional Thematic Articles
-
Between 1914 and 1918, between 150,000 and 200,000 Africans traveled to Europe to labor in support of the war effort. Most came from French colonies, but many also came from British colonies in … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The South African government’s decision to actively support Britain in the war against Germany led to much dissatisfaction within the white Afrikaans-speaking community. By the second week of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article examines bereavement and mourning practices among African families during World War I by focusing on, first, the traditional modes of mourning, grieving, and remembering the dead; … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
All belligerent colonial powers enlisted Africans for fighting, and as carriers and war workers in African, European and Middle Eastern theatres of war. Despite the fact that universal compulsory … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides an assessment of how society and the state in post-apartheid South Africa responded to the issue of centenary commemoration of the First World War. It suggests that while the … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article analyzes the deployment of about half a million African soldiers in Europe, where most of them fought in the French army. It first outlines the numbers and origins of African soldiers as … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
When the First World War came to Africa, European colonial rule was scarcely established in many parts of the continent. Some twenty years after the initial conquest, large parts of Africa remained … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
In 1914, Allied leaders plunged Africans into a conflict that was not their own. In West Africa, British and French colonial troops quickly occupied Togo, while the conquest of Cameroon proved much … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Commemoration in the form of ceremonies and monuments was for the most part alien to African cultures and was largely a part of the European colonial project. As such, its main aim was to glorify … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
South Africa’s First World War cult of commemoration has long centred around the 1st South African Infantry Brigade’s fight at Delville Wood, shaped by the socio-political exigencies … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The dominions of Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and South Africa shared an ambiguous constitutional relationship with Britain. The self-governing dominions were free to implement their … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides a succinct overview of the impact of the war on the economy and the home front of the Union of South Africa and considers the main ways in which these domestic sectors responded … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The mobile nature of the war in Africa meant supplying the forces with food was a challenge. As the centre of conflict moved, African colonial home fronts became battle fronts, impacting the … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Governments, Parliaments and Parties, Labour, Labour Movements and Strikes (Union of South Africa)
By Wessel Pretorius Visser
In South Africa the period between 1914 and 1918 was one of intense political and industrial turmoil. It entailed two violent strikes, eventually suppressed by the South African government, a … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article outlines the historiographical development from Africa’s treatment as a sideshow of World War I to attention to the conflict’s global dimensions starting in the age of decolonisation … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The First World War in Africa has been considered a sideshow compared to the catastrophe that took place in European theatre of war. As a result, the historiography of South Africa’s participation … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Policymakers in the British Dominions of Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa confronted the common questions about Indigenous service in the First World War but with diverse … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides the first continent-wide overview of the catastrophic, worldwide “Spanish” influenza pandemic in Africa. It focuses on the virus’ arrival, the countermeasures that vainly … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Memoirs, songs, poems and fiction dealing with the great war in Africa began to appear as early as 1916 and tended to be either escapist adventure stories loosely based on actual events or chronicles … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
For the majority of Africans this war was a European war. However, it was also a time when colonial rulers tightened their grip on Africans. More Africans than ever before were forced to work for … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides a brief overview of the contribution of African economies to the war and of the ways in which colonial economies were re-organized to respond to the demands of the war period. … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article argues that the shifts in the colonial administration after World War One should be analyzed from two intertwined perspectives: Firstly the new international system of the mandates and … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The economic development of African territories in the years following World War I was fostered by European and American capital, as well as by African societies’ innovations in agricultural … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article focuses on the Africans who fought in the First World War and the role they played in bringing about social transformation in postwar African societies. It sheds light on the ex-soldiers … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Africa did not feature prominently in pre-war military planning. Once the Allies secured the strategically important coastlines of the German colonies, they competed with each other in the seizure of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The Union of South Africa was formed ten years after the internecine Second Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902) from which the British Empire emerged victorious. Afrikaner-English acrimony was an especially … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
During the First World War Africans served as combatants, porters, and labourers in Africa and Europe where many became prisoners of war. POWs in Africa were generally swiftly incorporated into their … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
A comparatively small number of German residents were interned as “enemy subjects” in the Union of South Africa. Most of them were accommodated at an abandoned military fort, Fort Napier, in … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Unlike the metropole, none of the colonial powers in Africa operated a centrally organized propaganda machine during the war. Inside the various colonies, local efforts thus consisted of a mixture of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Africans across the continent resisted colonial demands and took up arms against European colonizers during World War I. This essay presents three ways of recognizing and analyzing such acts of … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Although many scientific innovations and technologies came to the continent with the process of colonization, only during the First World War did Africans experience the full potential of new weapons … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
South Africa’s contribution to the East Africa campaign extended beyond 1916, the year most South Africans served there under General Jan Smuts. South Africans of all racial groups served in … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The South African invasion of German South West Africa (GSWA) in September 1914 was specifically aimed at securing several strategic British war objectives. The invasion was the first time that the … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Like other dominions of the British Empire, the Union of South Africa’s participation in war was varied. South African volunteers served in various geographical campaigns, ranging from the Western … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
The First World War led to a renewed imperialist scramble for territory in Africa. Allied victory and African campaigns allowed British, French, Belgian, Portuguese and South African leaders to … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
This article provides a brief overview of the financial contribution of the African colonies to the First World War. It considers the problems faced by the colonial state in raising revenues during … READ MORE
Regional Thematic -
Human resources in Africa were exploited during the First World War for imperial ends. Men were sent to Europe to augment the manpower of the combatants, and soldiers and labourers were mobilized to … READ MORE
Regional Thematic
Encyclopedic Entries
-
''Askari'' is a word that means “soldier” or “police” in Kiswahili, Arabic, Turkish and a number of other languages. Colonial powers in many parts of eastern, central and southern Africa used … READ MORE
Entry -
Invented in France in 1860, barbed wire was further developed in the United States, where it was used to restrict cattle and secure territory. Acquiring far more menacing qualities in the First World … READ MORE
Entry -
Louis Botha, Boer General and Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, served throughout the war. Following the 1914 Afrikaner rebellion, he commanded the troops in German South West Africa, won … READ MORE
Entry -
The Carrier Corps were a conscripted labour force used by all belligerent sides in the First World War in East Africa. The numbers recruited and the subsequent displacement of populations was one of … READ MORE
Entry -
This is the first in what it is hoped will become a series of discussion forums hosted by ''1914-1918-online''. In this discussion forum, General Editor Peter Gatrell invited contributions that … READ MORE
Entry -
World War I was not simply a conflict among European states but a global war of empires. The fighting took place not only in Europe, but also in Africa, Asia, and across the Middle East, and it … READ MORE
Entry -
Before the war, Ethiopia had many diplomatic connections with European states and found itself in a strong position relative to them, particularly after defeating Italy in 1896. Once war broke out, … READ MORE
Entry -
The article discusses the ''Force Publique'', the colonial troops of the Belgian Congo, in the East African campaign of the First World War. The ''Force Publique'' played a major but until now … READ MORE
Entry -
Husen was a child soldier in the “''Schutztruppe''” of German East Africa. He migrated to Germany, participated in the colonial revisionist movement and fought for his rights as a World War I … READ MORE
Entry -
The King’s African Rifles (KAR) were the British colonial military within East Africa before and during the First World War. While initially rarely involved in the British operations in East … READ MORE
Entry -
The German light cruiser Königsberg made its name at the Battle of Zanzibar. After being scuttled, its guns were used by the German Schutztruppe to continue the Guerrilla campaign in East … READ MORE
Entry -
During World War One, Hubert Lyautey was the French Resident-General in Morocco and became Minister of the French War Department in … READ MORE
Entry -
The two Moroccan crises represent the product of “rapacious joint imperialism.” Morocco could not escape the ambitions of its immediate neighbours, Spain and France, who secretly plotted to … READ MORE
Entry -
The Belgian ''Force Publique ''occupied Ruanda and Urundi in 1916 after taking control of Lake Tanganyika from the Germans. This enabled the local populations and individuals to use the change in … READ MORE
Entry -
Heinrich Schnee was the governor of German East Africa between 1912 and 1919. During the war, he remained with the German colonial troops under the command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck until their … READ MORE
Entry -
Between 1891 and 1894 colonial forces, named “''Schutztruppe''”, were established in the German colonies in East Africa, Cameroon, and Southwest Africa. They formed a third military branch … READ MORE
Entry -
Jan Smuts was a South African lawyer and statesman who ultimately became deputy prime minister of the Union of South Africa. During the war, Smuts was Minister of Defence, Finance and Mines. He … READ MORE
Entry -
From 1916 to 1918 the “Tirailleurs Somalis” were the only military unit from the Horn of Africa to operate on the Western Front, distinguishing itself at Verdun and in the Chemin des Dames … READ MORE
Entry -
The Battle of Tanga was the first major military engagement in East Africa and a significant British set back. It also contributed to the creation of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck’s … READ MORE
Entry -
The ''tirailleurs sénégalais'' (Senegalese riflemen) figured prominently among the many indigenous peoples who served in the French army during the First World War. By 1918, France had recruited … READ MORE
Entry -
This article examines the concept of war poetry and considers the range of poetic responses generated by the Great War from an international … READ MORE
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Wireless telegraphy became an integral part of warfare on the ground, in the air, and at sea by 1918. Wireless helped to make the war global, though historians still debate its impact on the course … READ MORE
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