Other African Territories, 1941-1979
The final part of the collection arranged according to territory consists of ten boxes of papers on regions that did not greatly interest members of the Bureau and two boxes of material on Africa in general. A third of this section, MSS. Afr. s. 1681/302-305, is devoted to West Africa and consists of material of all kinds, ending with a box of mounted newspaper cuttings relating to the Gambia and Nigeria. None of the West African material, except for a file on the Biafran War and a little background material in MSS. Afr. s. 1681/304, is dated later than 1968.
Material on Francophone Africa in MSS. Afr. s. 1681/306-307 is confined to background material and newspaper cuttings. The Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique did not attract the attention of the Bureau until the mid-1960s when the political parties there began to make themselves heard. In the 1970s, the Bureau was roused by the political implications of the Cabora Bassa Dam Project and investment in it by Barclays Bank. Following that, members studied developments in the two countries, including the activities of the liberation armies, communicated with the London Committee for Freedom in Mozambique, Angola and Guiné, and collected material on the supply of arms to Portugal. All this material can be found in MSS. Afr. s. 1681/308, while the succeeding box holds background material and newspaper cuttings, material of an earlier date than 1968 having been catalogued by Michael Christie.
Apart from an appeal to the United Nations Organization in 1959 from the Eritrean people against federation with Ethiopia, the small amount of material on North Africa in MSS. Afr. s. 1681/311 came to the Bureau by chance and is of little interest.
The last two boxes of this territorial section hold newspaper cuttings on general African subjects, general background material, and a miscellaneous collection of names of persons, delegations, and officers of institutions with whom the Bureau staff corresponded about African affairs.
Dates
- Creation: 1941-1979
Language of Materials
- English
- French
Full range of shelfmarks:
MSS. Afr. s. 1681/302-311
Repository Details
Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
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