Showing posts with label Independence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Independence. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence




Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence by Alan Gilbert


English | 2012 | ISBN: 0226293076, 022610155X | 392 pages | EPUB | 1 MB




We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population—African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. Further, a movement led by sailors—both black and white—pushed strongly for emancipation on the American side. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality.




Gilbert presents persuasive evidence that slavery could have been abolished during the Revolution itself if either side had fully pursued the military advantage of freeing slaves and pressing them into combat, and his extensive research also reveals that free blacks on both sides played a crucial and underappreciated role in the actual fighting. Black Patriots and Loyalists contends that the struggle for emancipation was not only basic to the Revolution itself, but was a rousing force that would inspire freedom movements like the abolition societies of the North and the black loyalist pilgrimages for freedom in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.







Note: My nickname – interes








Monday, September 28, 2015

Understanding Namibia: The Trials of Independence




Understanding Namibia: The Trials of Independence by Henning Melber


English | 2015 | ISBN: 0190234865, 019024156X | 256 pages | PDF | 1,2 MB




Since independence in 1990, Namibia has witnessed only one generation with no memory of colonialism – the "born frees", who voted in the 2009 elections. The anti-colonial liberation movement, SWAPO, dominates the political scene, effectively making Namibia a de facto one-party state dominated by the first "struggle generation".




While those in power declare their support for a free, fair, and just society, the limits to liberation are such that emancipation from foreign rule has only been partially achieved. Despite its natural resources Namibia is among the world"s most unequal societies and indicators of wellbeing have not markedly improved for many among the former colonized majority, despite a constitution enshrining human rights, social equality, and individual liberty.




This book analyses the transformation of Namibian society since Independence. Melber explores the achievements and failures and contrasts the narrative of a post-colonial patriotic history with the socio-economic and political realities of the nation-building project. He also investigates whether, notwithstanding the relative stability prevailing to date, the negotiation of controlled change during Namibia"s decolonization could have achieved more than simply a change of those in control.