Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre: In southern Africa townships were built as segregated urban zones for black people. They were created under colonial and white minority rule policies that controlled movement, confined opportunity, and kept people apart. I grew up in a different historic black …
Massive US-led naval exercises in Hawai’i and Pacific islands reflect over a century of colonial exploitation of the region: Since the last week in June, navies and naval assets from 29 countries have been taking part the world’s largest naval exercises. The US-led Rimpac 2024 (Exercise Rim of the Pacific), the 29th such exercise to …
Afrique : comment le football est passé de loisir colonial à sport le plus populaire: Alors que la 34e édition de la Coupe d’Afrique des nations (CAN) de football bat son plein en Côte d’Ivoire et que le football est devenu le sport le plus populaire en Afrique, l’essor de cette discipline sportive sur le …
How a colonial trip to Palestine spurred modern ornithology – and left it with imperial baggage: Palestine’s natural splendour offered a landscape ripe for scientific “discovery”, description and expropriation by European imperial powers in the 19th century. And in the 1860s an English vicar named Henry Baker Tristram claimed its birds. Tristram was a co-founder …
Kenya at 60: the shameful truth about British colonial abuse and how it was covered up: It is fairly well known that the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kenyans were affected by terrible acts of violence under the British colonial administration. The British government and King Charles have acknowledged it, and some victims of …
Humiliation and violence in Kenya’s colonial days – when old men were called ‘boy’ and Africans were publicly beaten: When King Charles visited Kenya in November 2023, many Kenyans renewed their demands for an official apology for atrocities committed by the British government during the colonial era. The widespread human rights abuses during the Mau …
Opera in Cape Town: critics trace how a colonial art form was reinvented as African: Many people thought that classical opera in South Africa – regarded as a western, colonial art form that was the preserve of white people during apartheid – would die with democracy in 1994. Instead the opposite happened. Black singers emerged …
How colonial violence in Tasmania helped build scientists’ reputations and prestigious museum collections: We might imagine that scientists gain recognition thanks to the ideas they generate and the knowledge they contribute to our understanding of the world, earned through careers of diligent research. But not everyone takes this route. When Tasmanian solicitor Morton Allport died …
If Kenya wants to help Haiti, it should push for colonial reparations not send in the police: As the security situation in Haiti deteriorates, Kenya has offered to lead a new sort of UN mission to the country from 2024. In early October, the UN Security Council authorised a Multinational Security Support mission led by …
British king acknowledges colonial atrocities in Kenya – here’s what could happen next: On his official visit to Kenya, King Charles III acknowledged Britain’s colonial era “wrongdoings”. He also paid tribute to Kenyan soldiers who had participated in the first and second world wars on behalf of Britain. His visit coincided with Kenya’s 60th independence …
Physician associates: a solution for healthcare staff shortages or a colonial throwback?: SeventyFour/Shutterstock Before the COVID pandemic, the global health workforce needed as many as 6.4 million more medical doctors, and the gap between demand for health workers and supply is growing. As you might expect, the shortage is most acutely felt in low- and …
Ghana’s colonial past and assessment use means education prioritises passing exams over what students actually learn – this must change: Formal education in the Gold Coast, now Ghana, was introduced during the 15th century when Europeans came to its shores to trade. Education was only accessible to children of women married to western traders, and …
The Fraud by Zadie Smith review: a dazzling depiction of Victorian colonial England: Zadie Smith’s latest novel, The Fraud, is her first foray into the world of historical fiction. The result is a stunning, well-studied examination of Victorian colonial England and some of its inhabitants. As with other works by Smith, the novel takes a …
Final Fantasy XIV fans fear the game’s new colonial storyline – here’s why they don’t need to: The popular online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV will be taking its players to the “New World” when its fifth content expansion, Dawntrail, is released next summer. More than a passing reference to the age of European exploration, …
Tower of London’s Crown Jewels: colonial diamonds overshadow reopened exhibition’s most interesting objects: The Tower of London’s Crown Jewel exhibition, which reopened in May, is a turning point in the museum’s narrative. As British institutions have increasingly made moves to investigate their connections to slavery, there has been a gradual acceptance of the complicated nature …
Israel: unpopular judicial reform involves repeal of law set up under British colonial rule in Palestine – here’s what that tells us: Israel’s parliament has voted to significantly shrink the power of the country’s supreme court as part of a long-telegraphed plan that has bitterly divided the country. In a highly controversial vote boycotted by …
L’AfricaMuseum de Belgique a un sombre passé colonial : il assume timidement son histoire: Le Premier ministre de la RDC, Jean-Michel Lukonde (à gauche), à l'AfricaMuseum de Belgique en 2022. Jasper Jacobs via Getty Images Des affiches et des récits racistes sont exposés dans plusieurs musées d’Europe occidentale. Il s’agit notamment d’objets grotesques représentant les …
Belgium’s AfricaMuseum has a dark colonial past – it’s making slow progress in confronting this history: DRC Prime Minister Jean-Michel Lukonde (L) at Belgium's AfricaMuseum in 2022. Jasper Jacobs via Getty Images Racist displays and stories remain on display in several western European museums. They include grotesque objects depicting African people as “savage” and “wild”. …