Fighting for the Empire

How African societies influenced the two major global conflicts of the 20th century.

The First and Second World Wars were pivotal events in modern global history. Although colonial empires were involuntarily drawn into both global conflicts, most studies of the World Wars have given scant attention to the contributions of colonial societies or the wars’ profound impact on their populations. This pervasive neglect of the significant role played by European colonies on behalf of the Allies is not only historically problematic but also hinders our comprehensive understanding of these wars and their broader impact on humanity.

Adopting a global intellectual history lens, this volume examines the influence of African societies and ideas on these two major global conflicts. In doing so, it expands the historiography of both World Wars by offering fundamental new insights. The essays in this collection explore various themes related to both wars and societies within the empire, with a focus on the African experience and its intersection with European empires, colonialism, race, economy, and global conflagrations.

Acknowledgements

PART I. BACKGROUND

1 Resilience and Resistance of Africa in Twentieth-Century Global Conflict: An Introduction
Chima J. Korieh

2 The British Empire, Dzikho la Nyasaland, and Two World Wars
Melvin E. Page

PART II. POLITICS, WAR, AND SOCIETY IN WORLD WAR I

3 Plots and Conspiracies: British and German First World War Strategies in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa
Patrick Gilkes and Martin Plaut

4 Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, World War I, and Italian Colonialism in Somalia
Abdiwahid Osman Haji and William Felepchuk

5 Treatment of Enemy Subjects and Social Unrest in Nigeria during World War I
Olisa Godson Muojama

PART III. RACE, WAR, SOCIETY, AND WORLD WAR II

6 Provisioning for War: Food Crisis on the Nigerian Homefront during the Second World War
Chima J. Korieh

7 British Price Control Policy and Internal Disturbances in Southwestern Nigeria during World War II
Abiodun S. Afolabi and Marklene Chinatu Ugbogu

8 Stories about the French Recruitment of Moroccan Soldiers during World War II: A History from Below
Otman Bychou

9 Black Skin, White Cause: Belanda Hitam and Force Noire in Indochina and Indonesia during World War II
Yvonne Tan

10 Equality for Blood: African Soldiers’ Struggles for Rights after World War II
Ruth Ginio

11 Mohammed V, Anti-Semitism, and the Moroccan Homefront during the Second World War
Kingsley C. Ezeuwa

12 West African Soldiers’ Voices in World War II: Between Texts, Oral History, and Digital Culture
Oliver Coates

13 Second World War Veterans and the End of Colonialism in Kenya
Janet Achieng Ombima

Afterword
Melvin E. Page

Selected Bibliography
Note on Contributors
Index

Chima J. Korieh

Chima J. Korieh is Professor of African History and Africana Studies at Marquette University and the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria.

Melvin E. Page

Olisa Godson Muojama

Abiodun S. Afolabi

Oliver Coates

Kingsley C. Ezeuwa

William Felepchuk

Patrick Gilkes

Ruth Ginio

Abdihwahid Haji

Marklene C. Ugbogu

Martin Plaut

Yvonne Tan

Janet Obimba

Bychou Otman