Page 62 - Number 2 2021 Volume 74

50 The Society of Malaŵi Journal

Book Note

Thompson, David. NYASALAND: The British Colonial Record to 1939. Illus.
Upfront Publishing. 2021. 696pp. ISBN 978-178456-708-8. £30.00; $43.45;
€34.99. Also available as an e-book ISBN 978-191501-204-3 at £8.99.

This book may be purchased direct from the author: davidt_ck@yahoo.co.uk

This history of British colonial rule in Nyasaland, now Malawi, from 1891 up to
the outbreak of the Second World War, is based on extensive research in
government archives as well as information obtained from newspapers and
missionary letters. It briefly tracks how the territory came under British rule and
then focuses, in more detail than previous studies, on how Whitehall treated this
highly individual but easily neglected territory and how this fitted into the broader
British African context. At the local level there is also closer examination, both
critical and sympathetic, of the personalities and performances of successive
Governors and their administrative staff in relation to economic, social and
security policy, within cripplingly small budgets. The activities of the small
European commercial, planting and missionary community are also closely
followed for their political influence and contribution to the colonial economy.
Although the small Indian community had little political voice, its position as a
regular petty commercial element in the country is also considered. Crucially, this
history incorporates the political, social and economic impact of colonialism on
the African population, including the shock of the First World War.
David Thompson is an amateur historian whose career at GCHQ spanned 38
years, with a late year attachment to the Ministry of Defence. He lives in
Cheltenham with his wife Vera.