No Insignificant Part: The Rhodesia Native Regiment and the East Africa Campaign of the First World War
()
About this ebook
No Insignificant Part: The Rhodesia Native Regiment and the East Africa Campaign of the First World War is the first history of the only primarily African military unit from Zimbabwe to fight in the First World War. Recruited from the migrant labour network, most African soldiers in the RNR were originally miners or farm workers from what are now Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi. Like others across the world, they joined the army for a variety of reason, chief among them a desire to escape low pay and horrible working conditions.
The RNR participated in some of the key engagements of the German East Africa campaign’s later phase, subsisting on extremely meager rations and suffering from tropical diseases and exhaustion. Because they were commanded by a small group of European officers, most of whom were seconded from the Native Affairs Department and the British South Africa Police, the regiment was dominated by racism. It was not unusual for black soldiers, but never white ones, to be publicly flogged for alleged theft or insubordination. Although it remained in the field longer than all-white units and some of its members received some of Britain’s highest decorations, the Rhodesia Native Regiment was quickly disbanded after the war and conveniently forgotten by the colonial establishment. Southern Rhodesias white settler minority, partly on the strength of its wartime sacrifice, was given political control of the territory through a racially exclusive form of self-government, but black RNR veterans received little support or recognition.
No Insignificant Part takes a new look at an old campaign and will appeal to scholars of African or military history interested in the First World War.
Timothy J. Stapleton
Timothy J. Stapleton has been a post-doctoral fellow at Rhodes University, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, and a research associate at the University of Zimbabwe. He is currently associate professor and chair of history at Trent University, Ontario. He is the author of Faku: Rulership and Colonialism in the Mpondo Kingdom, 1780-1867 (WLU Press, 2001).
Related to No Insignificant Part
Related ebooks
Persistence of the Gift: Tongan Tradition in Transnational Context Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWelcome to Somalia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Memorandum for the President of the Royal Audiencia and Chancery Court of the City and Kingdom of Granada Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rough Guide to Belize (Travel Guide eBook): with Tikal and Flores Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSafety Nets in Africa: Effective Mechanisms to Reach the Poor and Most Vulnerable Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFast Money Schemes: Hope and Deception in Papua New Guinea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmpowering Women: Legal Rights and Economic Opportunities in Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Light Manufacturing in Africa: Targeted Policies to Enhance Private Investment and Create Jobs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWelcome to Saudi Arabia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
African History For You
Kingdom of Kush: The Civilization of Ancient Nubia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Operation Certain Death: The Inside Story of the Greatest SAS Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orishas: An Introduction to African Spirituality and Yoruba Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Swahili Port Cities: The Architecture of Elsewhere Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCongo: The Epic History of a People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mansa Musa I: Kankan Moussa: from Niani to Mecca Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMANSA MUSA: Emperor of The Wealthy Mali Empire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Black Biblical Heritage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Santeria: Afro-Caribbean Religion and its Origins Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSufferings in Africa: The Incredible True Story of a Shipwreck, Enslavement, and Survival on the Sahara Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Igbo Culture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Three Sips of Gin: Dominating the Battlespace with Rhodesia's Elite Selous Scouts Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood River: The Terrifying Journey through the World's Most Dangerous Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nelson Mandela Biography: The Long Walk to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Congo Love Song: African American Culture and the Crisis of the Colonial State Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrecolonial Black Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Original Names and Descriptions of God and Jesus Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Biafra Story: The Making of an African Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sudan: The Failure and Division of an African State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Encyclopedia of the Yoruba Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion: Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Africa's Gift to America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for No Insignificant Part
0 ratings0 reviews