Basil Davidson ranks as one of the most remarkable Africanist historians of his generation. Born in Bristol in 1914, he worked as a journalist for the Times, the New Statesman and other publications, as well as serving in the Second World War as an intelligence officer in Nazi-occupied Europe. After the war, he went on to become a leading authority on Portuguese Africa, and was one of the first scholars to emphasize the pre-colonial achievements of African civilizations, as well the damaging effects wreaked on the continent by colonialism. He was also a passionate advocate for contemporary anti-colonial struggles, and witnessed many of these struggles first hand. Among his many notable books are The African Genius (1969) and The Black Man's Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State (1992). He died in 2010.
Zachariah Mampilly is the director of Africana Studies and an associate professor of political science and international studies at Vassar College. He is the author of Rebel Rulers: Insurgent Governance and Civilian Life during War (2011) and (with Adam Branch) Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change (Zed 2015).
