The Killing Age

The Killing Age

Map 15.1 Northern and Eastern Africa in the age of empire

East and Northern Africa was also succumb to Western imperialism in the nineteenth century. This map helps us understand this process, including the role of chartered companies.

back to images & maps This map should be brought alongside map 14.1. Together, they help us understand the political transformation of Africa in the nineteenth century. Of special importance is the role of chartered companies. In many areas, these were the shock troops of colonial conquest, to be followed later by formal European rule. 

Ch15.3. The spirit mediums Nehanda and Kabugi

This is a photograph of two of the religious prophets who led the massive rebellion in what was then Southern Rhodesia in the closing years of the nineteenth century. Both were hanged and buried in an unmarked grave.

back to images & maps Ch15.3. The spirit mediums Nehanda and Kabugi The spirit mediums Nehanda and Kabugi, Southern Rhodesia, 1897. Spirit mediums once played a vital role in Shona society. Royal ancestors (mhondoro) living in animals such as lions would travel and possess individuals, just as other ancestors also possessed the living. Mhondoro spirits, […]

Ch15.2. Treaty form, Imperial British East Africa Company

Killing Age Alt-Text Killing Age Alt-Text 100% 10 C34 Much of Africa was conquered by private companies. Officials like Lugard (later Lord), employed by the British East Africa Company, used a standard form by which African leaders ostensibly recognized foreign rule. Much of Africa was conquered by private companies. Officials like Lugard (later Lord), employed by the British East Africa Company, used a standard form by which African leaders ostensibly recognized foreign rule.

back to images & maps Ch15.2. Treaty form, Imperial British East Africa Company Treaty form, Imperial British East Africa Company, 1880s. Royal Geographical Society. Imagine Frederick Lugard invading East Africa’s interior with a bunch of forms in his satchel, cajoling and forcing African leaders to cede their sovereignty to the company. This is how nineteenth […]

Ch15.1. “Ruins on one side of Grand Square Alexandria”

This illustration depicts the aftermath of the British bombing of Alexandria, Egypt, a crucial moment in the rise of formal empire on the African continent.

back to images & maps Ch15.1. “Ruins on one side of Grand Square Alexandria” “Ruins on one side of Grand Square Alexandria,” 1882, by Lieutenant Francis Henry Boyer. National Royal Navy Museum. The British bombardment and invasion of Alexandria was one of the most cataclysmic events in modern Egyptian history, and the culmination of developments […]