A History of Malawi 1859-1966

John McCracken has produced the first comprehensive history of colonial Malawi, covering the period from 1859, with Britain's initial involvement in the area, up to 1966, when the last British officers left the newly established Republic of Malawi. Modelled on John Iliffe's distinguished Modern History of Tanganyika (1979), McCracken places this period of Malawi's history in the context of its pre-colonial past, organizing the chapters around several key themes, including Britain's involvement in Malawi and the prominence of Christian missionaries. A more formal British presence in the area was encouraged by missionaries whose influence in education and healthcare during the early colonial period was ‘remarkable’ (pp. 38–73). Their strong presence also led to the emergence of ‘vigorous, new Christian communities’ displaying ‘distinctively African-based forms of belief’ (pp. 5, 103). More important than the British and the European missionaries, McCracken argues, is how Malawian people shaped their own history during colonial rule. Armed resistance and religious-inspired revolt, voluntary labour migration, the growth of popular nationalism, and peasant struggles against ecological change and austere colonial agricultural policies feature strongly throughout the sixteen chapters. Attention is paid to cultural topics such as dance societies, the eradication of witchcraft movements, and football as a national sport. However, the dominant focus is political, with almost the entire last third of the book dedicated to local and national politics.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Colonialism · Context (archaeology) · Economic history · Ethnology · Modern history · Nationalism · Peasant · Period (music) · Political science · Politics · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Gender Studies · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law