Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa, 1830-1914

Warfare and History

by Bruce Vandervort

"An eminently readable and useful treatment of the military's role in the European colonialization . . . an interesting, sometimes fascinating, account of conflict in Africa . . . " ―Parameters

"There is no comparable work. None covers as broad a topic―the experience of colonial wars of all the imperial powers and at the same time a consideration of the African wars of resistance against the imperial attacks." ―William B. Cohen, Indiana University

This path-breaking work investigates the social, economic, and political impact of the European colonial wars in Africa on both the victors and the vanquished.

Genres: History, Africa, Military History, War

296 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1998

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive and readable account of the usually but not always successful wars of conquest by the Europeans in their "Scramble for Africa" in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There is an air of inevitability about these campaigns, given the Europeans' superior firepower and technology, and the Africans' primitive fighting styles and, especially their lack of unity. For the Europeans, it was often literally a matter of bringing a gun to a knife fight. When given the opportunity, however, the Africans gave as good as they got, like the Ethiopians at Adwa against the Italians, or the massacre of the British column at Isandlwana by the Zulus. Mr. Vandervort does occasionally succumb to drearily politically correct attitudes, but given the overall lack of return on the investment from Europe's colonial adventures in Africa, it's hard to be positive about the whole business. Perhaps the greatest advantage accrued was the contributions of African soldiers that helped their colonial French and British masters achieve victories in two world wars. A very good introduction to the subject.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce Vandervort’s Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa, 1830-1914 is a sweeping look at the origins and conduct of colonial warfare from both the European and African perspectives. Vandervort aims to demonstrate the long and short term effects of this era of conflict on military theory and practice, as well as European and African societies and political structures. He accomplishes this using the “New Military History”, an approach that focuses on the impacts of war on society and culture, while still discussing the traditional “guns and drums” aspect of military history. Overall, Vandervort seeks to turn the traditional narrative of European moral, racial, and vast military superiority on its head and deliver a more measured perspective on colonial warfare.

The first two chapters set the stage for the rest of the book. Vandervort establishes the extent of the European presence in Africa, as well as the major social and military trends that were occurring in Africa pre-1830. The book is then divided into chronological sections, the first covering the period from 1830 to 1880. In this section Vandervort examines the shift that Europeans made from a minor merchant influence to a major military player on the continent. He uses four case studies, the French in Algeria and Senegal and the British wars against the Ashanti and the Zulu, to demonstrate this shift. Jumping from famous battle to famous battle, Vandervort expertly explains what prompted the conflicts, how they were fought, their outcomes and why they happened. He employs this case study method throughout the entirety of the work.

The next section highlights the years 1880 to 1898, the “Scramble” for Africa. Vandervort covers a lot of ground in this chapter, from the French in West Africa to the Portuguese in Gazaland, and in doing so demonstrates the transition by European governments in this period from private imperialism, in which they were not formally involved in territorial conquest, to state imperialism, in which they were the ones driving the effort to conquer and colonize. Furthermore, Vandervort notes that the gap in military technology between European and African armies would never be greater than in this period, signalling a “burgeoning European hegemony in…African wars” (Vandervort, 114).

The book’s penultimate chapter takes readers to 1914. Here Vandervort explains that new trends in African warfare began to emerge. Armies became larger, the technology gap between European and African forces closed, and strategies of guerrilla warfare and total war were taken up by African and European armies respectively.

The final chapter is perhaps Vandervort’s most interesting, as it examines the legacy of colonial warfare in Africa. He explains that Europeans had created military institutions separate from African societal and political systems, which, once the Europeans left, remained a divisive force in African societies and spawned local distrust of and hostility towards African militaries. Indeed, Vandervort describes that colonial warfare imparted a destructive ethos in which ideas about how to win and hold power are strictly interpreted in a military sense and that this has contributed the endless cycle of military coups that continue to plague African nation-states.

Vandervort’s book is not without blemish though. He devotes significant space to refuting the technological determinist argument that Europeans conquered Africa because of their vastly superior military arms. For example, he credits the downfall of the Ashanti to internal division and a lack of political will, the defeat of the Zulu to internal division and a failure to adapt their traditional tactics, and the most significant failing of the Mahdist at the decisive battle of Omdurman as poor leadership and ineffective tactics.

Yet at the same time, Vandervort stresses the importance of logistics in almost every one, if not all, of his case studies. He pinpoints the main reason that the French were successful in Senegal and that the Belgians were successful in the Arab Wars as their control of the waterways, which greatly enhanced their abilities to transport, supply, and communicate with their armies. Furthermore, he explains that logistics held up the French conquest of the Tukulor Empire and emphasizes the importance of railroads and armoured steamboats in the success of the British campaign in the Sudan. What Vandervort fails to realize is that railroads, gunboats, and field telegraphs are also technology. Limiting his definition of technology strictly to firepower appears to serve his purpose, but by stressing the key role that logistics played in European campaigns, Vandervort seriously undermines one of the main arguments of his work. Rather than proving that the technological determinist argument is fundamentally flawed, he instead proves that technology was a vital factor in the European conquest of Africa.

Vandervort also fails to explore the role of Africans in European-lead armies. This is significant because European armies in Africa were primarily comprised of African soldiers and thus the European conquest of Africa would not have been possible without them. Besides mention of the slaves that served in the Tirailleurs Sénégalais and the African mercenaries that made up the vast majority of the Belgian Force Publique there is little to no discussion of the motivation, the training, or the general incorporation of African soldiers into European colonial armies. For a book that purports to employ a European and African perspective, as well as a “New Military History” approach, this aspect is conspicuously missing. Considering the significant effects that the incorporation of African soldiers into European colonial armies had on colonial warfare, and more importantly on African societies and cultures, I believe it would have been valuable for Vandervort to include a discussion of this aspect of colonial warfare.

Yet, there is only so much space in a book with the scale and scope of Vandervort’s War of Imperial Conquest in Africa, 1830-1914. Overall the author succeeds in offering an engrossing account of the evolution of military theory and practice across 84 years of colonial warfare, as well as poignant insights into the legacies of this warfare, the effects of which we are still seeing today.

[Tekken · Rating 5 out of 5]

1651. aastal rajas Kuramaa hertsog koloonia Kunta Kinteh’ saarele Gambia jõe suudmes, kus tema musta krabiga lipp lehvis järgmised seitse aastat. Paar sajandit hiljem käivitati Euroopas mitu uut Aafrikaga seotud projekti. Nende tulemuseks oli üsna vastiku järelmaitsega lahjavõitu supp, mille jääke me seniajani helpima peame.

Vandervorti raamat ilmus ajal, kui koloniaalsõdade kirjeldamise kuvand oli muutumas. Sellest hoolimata on tegu üksikasjaliku ja huvitava ülevaatega, kus nii tsetsekärbse kui kuulipildujate rolli on põhjalikult lahatud. Kõigi järeldustega ei saa küll nõus olla (inglaste tegude kirjeldus on ikka natuke kallutatud), aga üldmulje oli väga soodne.

Kaarte oleks võinud veidi rohkem olla ja fotod puudusid täielikult, aga sisu ja eriti stiil olid väga nauditavad. Sama autor on indiaanisõdadest raamatu kirjutanud, peab selle ka ette võtma.

[Andrew Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, a fairly decent read
Its engaging, lively and effective writing. He does a great job of drawing the reader in, and the research is sound. It gives a far more multi-dimensional viewpoint of these wars, which other presentations often make one-sided. He points out that colonial powers could lose, and their advantage with good rifles could easily be undone by logistical difficulties.
I'd recommend it, it really illuminates a more nuanced view of this period.


Appropriate choice for readers with zero background in colonial African history and a pretty stellar choice if you've read a fair bit

[Mircea Valcea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good factuality and ideas, but very poor structuring, and unfocused.

[Ronald Jones]

A very informative look at Africa's efforts to stave off eventual European domination of the continent during the 19th century. The author analyzes African and European participants in the struggle, examining respective military capabilites, strategies and the outcomes of the battles and campaigns highlighted in the book. A good read for anyone interested in military details relating to the scramble for Africa.