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THE HISTORIAN WHO WOULD BE CHIEF: A BIOGRAPHY OF SIMON JILUNDU CHIBANZA III, 1899–1974

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2004

GIACOMO MACOLA
GIACOMO MACOLA
Affiliation:
University of Zambia National Archives of Zambia
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Abstract

By recovering from obscurity the life story of an early Zambian historian, this paper makes a case for the adoption of a biographical approach to the study of Africa's colonial history. It argues that Simon Jilundu Chibanza III's trajectory provides valuable insights into the ambivalent social location and intricate motivations of the Zambian intelligentsia during colonial rule. An examination of his background and variegated career accounts for the complexity of his identity and the imprints which its multiple strands left upon his literary output and profound understanding of the politics of history-writing.

Keywords

Central AfricaZambiaethnicitynationalismbiographyhistoriographyintellectual
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , March 2004 , pp. 23 - 43
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I wish to thank the Leverhulme Trust for sponsoring my post-doctoral research in Zambia in 2001–2, and David Anderson, Marja Hinfelaar, Miles Larmer, Richard Rathbone and Andrew Roberts for their helpful comments on a draft of this paper.