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Title: | After the millennium: diplomatic correspondence from Wadai and Dâr Fûr on the eve of colonial conquest, 1885-1916 |
Authors: | Kapteijns, Lidwien![]() Spaulding, Jay ![]() |
Year: | 1988 |
Issue: | 18 |
Pages: | 603 |
Language: | English |
Series: | Northeast African Studies Series |
City of publisher: | East Lansing, Mich. |
Publisher: | African Studies Center, Michigan State University |
Geographic terms: | Sudan Chad |
Subjects: | history historical sources 1850-1899 1900-1949 |
Abstract: | The present volume of historical sources builds on and contributes to a growing historical literature about the precolonial states of western Sudan and eastern Chad. It contains the diplomatic correspondence of the sultans and shayks of the Wadai/Dâr Fûr region in the period between the death of the Mahdi (1885) and the colonial conquest of the area (1909-1918). This period witnessed the demise of age-old kingdoms before the might of the French and British empires. The letters presented here offer insight into the world of the kings who struggled to defend the old order. The general historical introduction with which this study begins consists of two parts. The first briefly sketches the geographical, linguistic, social and institutional context of the societies which produced the documents presented. The second part surveys the major political developments of the wider area in the period 1820-1916. The 119 primary sources which constitute the main body of the book date from the period between 28 November 1887 and 10 October 1918. They are grouped by country of issuing authority, and chronologically within each group. Each document is first presented in Arabic and then in English translation, preceded by a brief introduction of the major themes and actors and followed by footnotes. |