I’m happy to let you know that the Library now has access to two digital primary source collections covering colonial rule in African countries in the 20th century. The two databases are Kenya under colonial rule, in Government reports, 1907-1964 and Zimbabwe under colonial rule, in Government reports, 1897-1980. Between them they contain 290 documents with over 158,000 pages of original primary source material.
You can access both of these databases via the Digital Primary Source and Archive Collections guide, the Databases A-Z list or the African Studies subject guide.
Kenya under colonial rule, in Government reports, 1907-1964
The colony of Kenya was managed by the government departments who wrote these A1:F79 reports. They start when Kenya was a part of the East Africa Colony and continue until independence. Annual Departmental Reports differ from Blue Books of Statistics because they include explanations of why the statistics are at the levels recorded. These reports are arranged by the departments which they cover within Kenya. Comparing the data in them shows how each area of government has developed over the years. These papers also cover World War One and World War Two as well as the social services in this colony before independence. Kenya left the East Africa Protectorate and became a separate colony in 1920. These reports show what impact that change had on the colony’s budgets.
Zimbabwe under colonial rule, in Government reports, 1897-1980
This collection contains annual reports by successive colonial administrations in Rhodesia. It ranges from the period of corporate colonisation in the late 19th century right through to the creation of an independent Zimbabwean republic in 1980. The documents provide an overview of the evolution of colonial rule from the perspective of colonial administrators. They highlight their response to early anti-colonial resistance such as the Shona and Ndeble Risings of 1896-1897. The records also highlight the difficulties caused by the Smith government’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 and ensuing decades of white minority rule.
You can access both of these databases via the Digital Primary Source and Archive Collections guide, the Databases A-Z list or the African Studies subject guide.
Access is only available to current students and staff at the University of Edinburgh.
Caroline Stirling – Academic Support Librarian for School of Social and Political Science