Introduction
The IHR has significant holdings on the history of Africa, in particular works relating to the colonies held by European states. There are large collections of journals and correspondence from early explorers, as well as official governmental documents, expedition reports and ethnographic studies of the continent. In addition, the Library also has holdings documenting the missionary societies and their expeditions to Africa.
Due to the way that the IHR's collection policy complements other local libraries, the African material predominantly centres on the colonial history of the continent. Other libraries with strong holdings on African history are listed in the Other Collections section below.
The Library's Africa collections are comprised of a multitude of different documents ranging from general histories of the continent, private letters, governmental colony yearbooks, diplomatic memoirs, exploration and documents concerning the process of decolonisation. In addition, the Library also has a series of maps which detail the continent and chart its changing territorial boundaries.
The Africa collection within the IHR Library holds the classmark CLB, with CCLB the classmark for oversized folio materials. Holdings are then subdivided by geographical region under these classmarks. Several works relating to Africa however, can also be found within the general colonial classmark CG. Relevant materials can also be found across collections. Please note that this collection guide will not cover the history of enslavement in Africa - please instead consult the separate collection guide for the History of Slavery.
Highlights from the Collections
General Works
- Fage, J.D. and Oliver, Roland (eds.), The Cambridge History of Africa
- Falola, Toyin and Brownell, Emily (eds.), Africa, Empire and Globalization: essays in honor of A.G. Hopkins
- Besterman, Theodore, A World Bibliography of African Bibliographies
- Brownlie, Ian, African Boundaries: a legal and diplomatic encyclopaedia
- Pearson, J.D and Jones, Ruth (eds.), The Bibliography of Africa: proceedings and papers
- Jacobs, Nancy J., African History through Sources: Volume 1, Colonial contexts and everyday experiences, c. 1850-1946
- Brett, Michael, Approaching African History
- Falola, Toyin and Jennings, Christian (eds.), Source and Methods in African History: spoken, written, unearthed
- Freeman-Grenville, G.S.P, The New Atlas of African History
- Henige, David, Works in African History: an index to reviews, 1960-1974
Handbooks and Yearbooks
These governmental volumes gather together annual departmental reports from colonies and include statistical information regarding government revenue and expenditure.
For example:
- The Handbook of Nyasaland: comprising historical, statistical and general information concerning the Nyasaland Protectorate
- Official Year Book of the Union and of Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, and Swaziland
- The Handbook of Tanganyika: Issued by the Chief Secretary's Office
- The Handbook of Uganda
- Official Year Book of the Colony of Southern Rhodesia
Official Documents, Legal Sources and Governance
- East Africa Protectorate, Law Reports
- Brind, Harry, Lying Abroad: diplomatic memoirs
- Beckingham, Charles F., Some Records of Ethiopia, 1593-1646: being extracts from the History of High Ethiopia or Abassia, by Manoel de Almeida, together with Bahrey's History of the Galla
- Grieken-Taverniers, Madeleine van., Inventaire des archives des affaires éstrangéres de l'État indépendant du Congo et du Ministére des colonies, 1885-1914
- Vanthemsche, Guy (ed.), Le Congo Belge pendant la Première Guerre mondiale: les rapports du ministre des Colonies Jules Renkin au roi Albert Ier, 1914-1918
- McDermott, P.L., British East Africa; or, Ibea: a history of the formation and work of the Imperial British East Africa Company
- van der Heyden, Ulrich (ed.), Kolonialer Alltag in Deutsch-Ostafrika in Dokumenten
Diaries, Journals and Correspondence
- Holmes, Timothy (ed.), David Livingstone: letters & documents, 1841-1872; the Zambian Collection at the Livingstone Museum
- Angot, Genevieve, Lettres d'une Coloniale: Comores 1934-1968
- Livingstone, David and Schapera, I (ed.), Family Letters, 1841-1856
- Ó Síocháin, Séamas and O'Sullivan, Michael (eds.), The Eyes of Another Race: Roger Casement's Congo report and 1903 diary
- Young, Donald, (ed.), The Search for the Source of the Nile: correspondence between Captain Ruchard Burton, Captain John Speke and others, from Burton's unpublished East African Letter Book : together with other related letters and papers in the collection of Quentin Keynes, Esq
- Hutley, Walter, The Central African Diaries of Walter Hutley, 1877 to 1881
- MacLaren, Roy (ed.), African Exploits: the diaries of William Stairs, 1887-1892
- Smith, Robert (ed.), Memoirs of Giambattista Scala: consul of his Italian Majesty in Lagos in Guinea (1862)
- Perham, Margery (ed.), The Diaries of Lord Lugard
- Jenson, John R., (ed.), Journal and Letter Book of Nicholas Buckeridge, 1651-1654
- Dauber, Heinrich (ed.), 'Nicht als Abentheuer bin ich heirergekommen...': 100 Jahre Entwicklungs - 'Hilfe': Tagebücher und Briefe aus Deutsch-Ostrafrika, 1896-1902
- La Fleur, J.D., (ed.), Pieter van den Broecke's Journal of Voyages to Cape Verde, Guinea and Angola (1605-1612)
- Labanca, Nicola, Posti al Sole: diari e memorie di vita e di lavoro dalle colonie d'Africa
- James, Wendy, Baumann, Gerd and Johnson, Douglas H. (eds.), Juan Maria Schuver's Travels in North-East Africa, 1880-1883
- Maina wa Kinyatti, Kenya's freedom struggle : the Dedan Kimathi papers
- El Saadawi, Nawal, A daughter of Isis : the early life of Nawal El Saadawi, in her own words
Early Colonisation and Exploration
- Galton, Sir Francis, Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa: being an account of a visit to Damaraland in 1851
- Prins, Pierre, Une histoire inconnue de l'Afrique centrale: 1895-1899
- Rau, Virgínia, Uma tentativa de colonização da Serra Leôa no século XVII
- Youngs, Tim, Travellers in Africa: British travelogues, 1850-1900
- Velho, Alvaro, Roteiro da Primeira Viagem de Vasco da Gama
- Disney, Anthony (ed.), Historiography of Europeans in Africa and Asia, 1450-1800
- Hailey, Lord William, Native Administration in the British African Territories
- Banning, Emile, Mémoires, Politiques et Diplomatiques: comment fut fondé le Congo belge
- Le Vaillant, Francois, Travels into the Interior of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope
- Allen, William and Thomson, T.R.H., A Narrative of the Expedition sent by Her Majesty's Government to the River Niger in 1841 under the command of Captain H. D. Trotter
- Hakluyt Society series.
Missions and Missionaries
- Thomas, James, The Journals of Church Missionary Society Agent, James Thomas, in mid-nineteenth-century Nigeria
- Slade, Ruth, English-speaking Missions in the Congo Independent State (1878-1908)
- Church Missionary Society, Catalogue of the Papers of the Missions of the Africa (Group 3) Committee
- Cuvelier, Bishop Jean, Documents sur une mission française au Kakongo, 1766-1776
- Gallez, Danielle, Fernand Allard: journal du Congo (1905-1907): un apprentissage missionnaire
- Lems, Hubb (ed.), Mission History and Mission Archives
- Livingstone, David, Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa: including a sketch of sixteen years' residence in the interior of Africa, and a journey from the Cape of Good Hope to Loanda on the west coast, thence across the continent, down the River Zambesi, to the Eastern Ocean
Ethnography
- Pinfold, John R., African Population Census Reports: a bibliography and checklist
- Smith, Thomas Edward, Population Characteristics of the Commonwealth Countries of Tropical Africa
- Dubester, Henry J, Population Censuses and other Official Demographic Statistics of British Africa: an annotated bibliography
- Bosman, Willem, A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea: divided into the Gold, the Slave, and the Ivory Coasts
Decolonisation and Decolonisation Thought
- Engelborghs-Bertels, Marthe, Les pays de l'Est et la décolonisation, particulièrement en Afrique: bibliographie
- Newbury, C.W., British Policy towards West Africa: select documents
- Hargreaves, John D., The End of Colonial Rule in West Africa
- Historical Memory in Africa: dealing with the past, reaching for the future in an intercultural context
- Thiong'o, Ngũgĩ wa., Decolonising the mind : the politics of language in African literature
General Reference Guides and Archival Record Books
- University of London, Guide to Materials for West African History in European Archives
- Fage, John D., A Guide to Original Sources for Precolonial Western Africa published in European Languages
- Witherell, Julian W., The United States and Africa: guide to U.S. official documents and government-sponsored publications on Africa, 1785-1975
- Westfall, Gloria D., French Colonial Africa: a guide to official sources
- Instituto Português de Arquivos, Guia de fontes portuguesas para a história de África
- Thurston, Anne, Guide to Archives and Manuscripts Relating to Kenya and East Africa in the United Kingdom
- Matthews, Daniel G., Current Themes in African Historical Studies: a selected bibliographical guide to resources for research in African history
- Österreichischen Staatsarchivs, Quellen zur Geschichte Afrikas, Asiens und Ozeaniens im Österreichischen Staatsarchiv bis 1918
Maps
- Fage, J.D., An Atlas of African History
- Bartholomew's Tourist Map of South Africa: prepared from the latest surveys
- Joan Blaeu Atlas Maior of 1665: Hispania, Portugallia, Africa & America
- Denucé, Jean (ed.), Afrika in de XVIde eeuw en de handel van Antwerpen: met een reproductie van de wandkaart van Blaeu-Verbist van 1644 in 9 folio-bladen
- Hertslet, Sir Edward, The Map of Africa by Treaty
Theses
See more information on our theses holdings.
- Dinstel, Marion, List of French Doctoral Dissertations on Africa, 1884-1961
- Bridges, Roy Charles, The British Exploration of East Africa, 1788-1885, with special reference to the activities of the Royal Geographical Society
- Köhler, Jochen, Deutsche Dissertationen über Afrika: ein Verzeichnis für die Jahre 1918-1959
- Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa, Theses on Africa, 1963-1975, accepted by universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland
- Anstey, Roger Thomas, British Policy towards West Central Africa, 1816-1887, and the development of British influence and commerce therein, with special reference to the activities of Sir William Mackinnon and to British connections with the Association Internationale Africaine and the Comité d' Etudes du Haut Congo
- Stuart, John, Race, Politics and Evangelisation: British Protestant missionaries and African colonial affairs, 1940-63
Periodicals
Online Resources
A list of electronic resources available within the Institute’s library can be found here.
Other Collections
Within the IHR
Material relating to the history of Africa can also be found in the Maps, Military and International Relations collections. The Military collection contains extensive holdings detailing the campaigns fought in Africa during the two World Wars while the International Relatons collection also has works of note for African history - for example, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954. vol. 11 Africa and South Asia and African Questions at the Paris Peace Conference: with papers on Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the colonial settlement. Holdings relating to European colonial territiories can also be found in the collections relating to each respective country.
Other Libraries and Institutions
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Library has a comprehensive collection of relevant materials, as does the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Senate House Library similarly has extensive holdings relating to the history of the continent.
Further Help
Contact us if you would like help on finding or using our collections, or if you have any comments or suggestions about the content of this guide. We are happy to help.
You can also book a tour or training session.
