What do you think?
Rate this book
A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa
" . . . useful, timely, and important . . . a good and informative book on the Lusophone countries, Portuguese colonialism, and postcolonial influences." ―Phyllis Martin, Indiana University
"This book, produced by the obvious―and distinguished―corps of country specialists . . . fills a real gap in both state-level and 'regional' (broadly defined) studies of contemporary Africa." ―Norrie MacQueen, University of Dundee
Although the five Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa that gained independence in 1974/75―Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé e Príncipe―differ from each other in many ways, they share a history of Portuguese rule going back to the 15th century, which has left a mark to this day. Patrick Chabal and his co-authors assess the nature of the Portuguese legacy, using a twofold approach. In Part I, three analytical, thematic chapters by Chabal examine what the five countries have in common and how they differ from the rest of Africa. In Part II, individual chapters by leading specialists, each devoted to a specific country, survey the histories of those countries since independence. The book places the postcolonial experience of the Lusophone countries within the context of their precolonial and colonial past and compares and contrasts their experience with that of non-Lusophone African states. The result is a comprehensive, readable, and up-to-date text and reference work on the evolution of postcolonial Portuguese-speaking Africa.
"This book, produced by the obvious―and distinguished―corps of country specialists . . . fills a real gap in both state-level and 'regional' (broadly defined) studies of contemporary Africa." ―Norrie MacQueen, University of Dundee
Although the five Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa that gained independence in 1974/75―Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé e Príncipe―differ from each other in many ways, they share a history of Portuguese rule going back to the 15th century, which has left a mark to this day. Patrick Chabal and his co-authors assess the nature of the Portuguese legacy, using a twofold approach. In Part I, three analytical, thematic chapters by Chabal examine what the five countries have in common and how they differ from the rest of Africa. In Part II, individual chapters by leading specialists, each devoted to a specific country, survey the histories of those countries since independence. The book places the postcolonial experience of the Lusophone countries within the context of their precolonial and colonial past and compares and contrasts their experience with that of non-Lusophone African states. The result is a comprehensive, readable, and up-to-date text and reference work on the evolution of postcolonial Portuguese-speaking Africa.
346 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 21, 2020
Useful and accessible account that helpfully compiles the different lusophone struggles, in all their variation, in one volume. My main problem with it is that it tells the stories of resistance and decolonization through dry technical militaristic and party politics approach that is appallingly devoid of any gender or intersectional lens.
At a simplistic level I felt like I was just reading about men's history (men leading guerilla groups, men forming regional factions, men being exiled, etc) which is not only a blatant case of tunnel vision but also is uninteresting-- who is doing organizing, supporting the resistance, contributing to the guerilla movement in non-leadership and other capacities? How does masculinity and femininity feature into it all, and more interesting still, how is gender reconstructed and reproduced through the militaristic struggle and nationalist narratives of patria, unity, and progeny? How are disruptions in economy and mobility (Angola-wide but particularly in the groups that vacillated between Belgian Zaire and Portuguese northern Angola and partook in coffee agriculture, mining, and oil extraction) contributing features?
The authors go into how regionalization based on ethnic, economic, and religious ties contributed to competing factions, but they leave it here and fail to make useful analyses with these observations. How might the racialization of creole versus black along class, metropolitan ties, and ideological lines contribute, for these individuals, to differing notions of citizenship and nationhood? This text can serve as a useful point by which to lay the groundwork when learning about lusophone independence but there is a lot to be missed here.
At a simplistic level I felt like I was just reading about men's history (men leading guerilla groups, men forming regional factions, men being exiled, etc) which is not only a blatant case of tunnel vision but also is uninteresting-- who is doing organizing, supporting the resistance, contributing to the guerilla movement in non-leadership and other capacities? How does masculinity and femininity feature into it all, and more interesting still, how is gender reconstructed and reproduced through the militaristic struggle and nationalist narratives of patria, unity, and progeny? How are disruptions in economy and mobility (Angola-wide but particularly in the groups that vacillated between Belgian Zaire and Portuguese northern Angola and partook in coffee agriculture, mining, and oil extraction) contributing features?
The authors go into how regionalization based on ethnic, economic, and religious ties contributed to competing factions, but they leave it here and fail to make useful analyses with these observations. How might the racialization of creole versus black along class, metropolitan ties, and ideological lines contribute, for these individuals, to differing notions of citizenship and nationhood? This text can serve as a useful point by which to lay the groundwork when learning about lusophone independence but there is a lot to be missed here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review