DECOLONIZATION

Brief historical biographies and photographs of a variety of fighters for independence from colonial rule.

In this collaborative work first published in France in 2020, the authors present short narratives of crusaders for justice and independence from colonizers, ranging from India to Congo to Algeria. The book is divided into three parts: “Apprenticeship (1857-1926),” “Liberation (1927-1954),” and “The World Is Ours (1956-present).” Refreshingly, many of the figures profiled are little known to general readers: Manikarnika Tambe, queen of Jhansi, who refused to surrender to the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (“she died fighting, never thinking that she would become the great heroine of Indian independence”); Alice Seeley Harris, a British missionary in King Leopold’s Congo who documented ongoing atrocities with her camera and revealed them to the world (“the incontrovertible evidence of the pictures provoked the first humanitarian scandal in modern times”); early Kenyan activist Mary Muthoni Nyanjiru, who helped lead “the women busily inventing a new society, a society not controlled by men”; and Gandhi’s colleague Sarojini Naidu, who fought tirelessly for “her sisters, the forgotten women of India—the widows, the unmarried, the women killed over a dowry dispute, the girls married off at age nine.” The French authors particularly focus on the anti-colonial struggles of French African countries, spotlighting the crusading work of Senegalese-born Lamine Senghor, French Army veteran, journalist, and militant communist; Vietnamese Communist leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, “later to be known as Ho Chi Minh”; and a host of Algerian independence activists and fighters. The authors cite Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar for his activism to abolish the caste system in India, especially for the untouchables, and Congo leader Patrice Lumumba’s hope to be a part of his country’s new ruling class is both inspiring and heartbreaking. With bold graphics and photographs and fiery depictions, the book is a fitting addition to any library collection on global colonialism and activism.

Eye-catching work that highlights moving stories of commitment and sacrifice.