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The late Andrew C. Ross was a Scottish missionary in Malawi between 1958 and 1965 and one of the founding members of the Malawi Congress Party. Like many other Scottish missionaries of the period, he deeply opposed the Central African Federation, and was a strong supporter of the emerging Malawian nationalist movement. When, following the declaration of a State of Emergency in March 1959, many of the political leaders of the Nyasaland African Congress were detained, Andrew regularly visited those held at Kanjedza near Limbe - visits which helped to deepen both his friendship with them, and his commitment to their cause. Thus, when Orton Chirwa was released from detention later in 1959, and persuaded to become the temporary leader of the newly formed Malawi Congress Party, Andrew Ross was one of the first to join, becoming the proud holder of MCP card number six. This book covers the period 1875-1965 and includes a Foreword by Professor George Shepperson. ... Read more

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In this groundbreaking work, Mandala argues that there is more to food studies than the analysis of famine— that hunger exists only as an integral part of abundance. Basing his case on the history of southern Malawi, he identifies several factors that explain why, though notorious for its annual food deficits, the region is not a land of frequent famine. By proving that seasonal hunger does not lead to famine in the absence of political crisis, and showing in detail how rare events get their meaning from the everyday, Mandela underscores the need to understand the daily and seasonal routines of food cultivation and eating in their own right.

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Revised in light of the most recent research, this new edition brings the story of the Central African region completely up-to-date.Particular attention is given to the liberation struggle and the fortunes of the independent regime of Zimbabwe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Coloful, factual Cildren's book on Malawi, Africa
Good,accurate, though somewhat dated, desrriptive text highlighted by color and black and white photos throughout, as well as two color maps with a one page index. Also has 7 page "Mini-Facts at A Glance" section, with general information, important dates and important people. The book only takes you through the Hasings Kamuzu Banda era, as he was still alive and powerful when the book wes published. Also has 4 page index. Cicago: Children's Press, 1990.
A good juvenile for older children, but adults also will find it a good overview of early Malawi, excluding the past 20 years. ... Read more

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This study is a historical analysis of the efforts of the catholic missionaries known as the Montfort missionaries, in Malawi. It examines the political, psychological, inter-denominational and economic contexts, drawing on government records and accounts by early African converts to the Church. ... Read more

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The the most extensive single-volume reference book on Malawi, covering a broad range of fields, including war, disease, the rise and fall of state systems, religious and socio-political movements, natural sciences, the environment, transport and the economy. Should be an essential companion of students, teachers, scholars and general readers interested in learning about, and understanding, the past and present of the Lake Malawi region. Praise for previous editions: "...well and succinctly documented..."--LIBRARY JOURNAL "...fascinating and extremely readable..."--REVUE CANADIENNE DES ETUDES AFRICAINES ... Read more

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Missionary history in Africa asserts that political history on the continent cannot be understood without an in depth understanding of the workings of the missions: missionary activities and ideologies were central to political consciousness. The Anglican Church was involved in society, education, health and politics right from its first foray into Malawi. This study considers the nature of the involvement of that Church in society, and how it engaged with the State from its genesis in the colonial period through the post-independence period to the new post-Banda political dispensation in 1994. It illustrates how the Church was involved on both sides of the independence struggle; and interrogates why it fell conspicuously silent thereafter. ... Read more

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First published in 1977 and now in its third edition, this book has been recognised as one of the most successful studies to be made of the impact of a Christian mission in Africa. Starting with a survey of the economy and society of Malawi in the mid ninetieth century, the book goes on to examine the home background to the Livingstonia Mission of the Free Church of Scotland and the influence of David Livingstone upon it. It then describes the failure of 'commerce and Christianity' around the south end of Lake Malawi and the subsequent positive response which the mission evoked among the people of Northern Malawi. African responses and the relationship between Christianity and politics dominate the second half of the book. Comprehensive reassessments are made of the origins of the Watch Tower movement; the growth of Christian independence and the character of interpolitical associations. This revised edition includes a new introduction, and up-dated bibliography, and some revised text. ... Read more

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Inspired by the events leading up to the overthrow of Doctor Hastings Kamuzu Banda's Life Presidency, this book explores the deep logic of Malawi's political culture as it emerged in the colonial and early post-colonial periods. It draws on archival sources from three continents and oral testimonies gathered over a ten-year period provided by those who lived these events. Power narrates how anti-colonial protest was made relevant to the African majority through the painstaking engagement of politicians in local grievances and struggles, which they then linked to the fight against white settler domination in the guise of the Central African Federation. She also explores how Doctor Banda, the Nyasaland African Congress and its successor Malawi Congress Party (leader of independent Malawi for thirty years) functioned within this political culture and how the MCP became a formidable political machine. Central to this process was the deployment of women and youth to cut across parochial politics and consolidate a broad base of support. No less important was the deliberate manipulation of history and the use of rumor and innuendo, symbol and pageantry, persecution and reward. It was this mix that made people both accept and reject the MCP regime, sometimes simultaneously. ... Read more

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This volume brings together extracts from the explorers' diaries accompanied by a narrative situating the texts in geographical, historical and socio- political context. They complement the publication of some of McEwan's earlier diaries, and are arguably the most important, dealing with the last portion of William McEwan's life - his arrival in Malawi, his meeting with Swahili slave traders, and his experiments with photography. Finally, the writings document McEwan's death as told by his companion Donald Munro. ... Read more

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From War to Peace on the Mozambique-Malawi Borderland is the first full-length ethnography to tell villagers' stories from war to peace in Mozambique. Extended case studies of particular villages and families on the Mozambique-Malawi borderland form the core of the book. While tracing their paths to war, exile and post-war reconstruction, the book reveals the human face of national and transnational crises. This detailed study takes the reader beyond the stereotypes which often accompany interventions into humanitarian catastrophes. The villagers in this book are not nameless victims but persons with social relationships, participants, in their own ways, in the histories of colonialism, nationalism, labour migration, guerrilla war, exile, repatriation and, most recently, liberal democracy.

A major contribution of the book is to show how changing historical circumstances have variously pitted villagers against one another and fostered co-operation. Questions of trust, moral value and legitimate authority inform ethnographic description, leading to an innovative critique of current analytical approaches to social capital. Those interested in humanitarian catastrophes, African politics, refugee studies and development studies will be inspired by its detailed rebuttal of stereotypes which continue to represent Africans as helpless victims. ... Read more

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Reverend Father John E.A. Mandambwe was born in 1926 in the Zomba District Malawi. At that time he knew nothing of a war which was raging in other parts of the world. How then, did he become a soldier in the British Army where he served in the King's African Rifles K.A.R? The war took him to Egypt and India over a seven year period and he returned as a Staff-Sergeant. This is the story of a young African soldier who fought in World War II as told by Mario Kolk. ... Read more

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An insider's view of African historians' principal concerns--the slave trade, Christian missions, colonialism, land alienation and nationalism--is presented through this personalized account of a Malawi village from 1859 to the present. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Best-Written Book by an Africanist Historian {4 1/2 stars}
Now, there's no empirical way to prove the above statement, but given the dominance of social-science conventions in writing on African history, "Magomero" is an obvious front-runner. Landeg White is a gifted literary stylist, and this book often reads like a novel (when someone says that, make sure they're not thinking of "Finnegan's Wake"). It is a study of a village in southern Malawi (colonial Nyasaland) over 100+ years, but it is much more than that too.

White's sense of drama is aided by some highly dramatic personages who figure prominently in his story. The most famous is missionary-explorer David Livingstone, a perennially fascinating, complex and influential shaper of the continent's destiny. He visited Magomero, site of the ill-fated Universities' Mission to Central Africa, frequently on two expeditions in the 1850s and 1860s. White perceptively examines the ambiguities of Livingstone's antislavery crusade, not least the paradox of purchasing slaves in order to free them---thus inadvertently stimulating the market. But John Chilembwe is just as interesting: a Malawian Protestant minister and protonationalist who studied in the USA, founded an independent mission, and eventually died leading a doomed rebellion against British rule in 1915. The later chapters are not as event-oriented, but the lucid accounts of cash cropping and womens' work are probably more representative of daily life in the colonial era, and a major contribution to social and economic history.

"Magomero" does not have detailed source notes (they tend to scare off the mass audience White aims for here), but references to scholars' names without the titles of their works ensure that only specialists can swiftly identify White's sources. The other problem is that the author's own account of villagers' accepting his presence and explanation of his research is awkwardly unconvincing; it would be more credible in the words of Malawians themselves, without assuming that they care about associations with long-dead muzungus (Europeans). These minor faults aside, this is the most enjoyable scholarly book I've come across in nearly 20 years in African Studies. For more on the area's history, see E. Mandala, "Work and Control in a Peasant Economy" and M. Vaughan, "The Story of an African Famine." G. Shepperson & T. Price, "Independent African," a classic on Africa, tells the Chilembwe story with great depth and sensitivity.For an authentic Nyasaland account based on oral data from participants in the Rising, see G.S. Mwase, "Strike a Blow and Die." ... Read more

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In 1875 the Livingstonia Mission landed on the west shore of Lake Nyasa. The first advance of the missionaries into Ngoniland was in 1878, and this 1899 work describes the enforced setting up of the mission among the Ngoni people, warriors of the Zulu race. ... Read more