The story is told of the British roie in several African countries, with much of the story told from the point of view of the African people affected by the British empire. I examine the evidence that the UN Secretary General Dag Hammerskjold was killed in 1961 with British involvement, in order to try to end further decolonisation in Africa
South Africa
Much of the story is told from an African perspective, in the context of the history of the British elite and its impact on the world
The Zulus were the main British fixation, so their history takes priority, first gaining dominance, then encountering the Boers, followed by the British. We witness the great Zulu victory at Isandlwana, the later defeat, the hut tax, the Native Land Act, creeping apartheid
Zimbabwe
We follow the Zulus who reach Zimbabwe, and meet the Shona with their long history of empire and riches. The British use the machine gun and the hut tax to gain control, but not without two Chimurenga wars of freedom
Zambia
We see the machine gun and the hut tax play a role as Britain takes control. We also witness the African side of the David Livingstone story
Ghana and the coup against President Nkrumah
We have seen the double act of CIA and MI6 so often in this series. Despite or because of Nkrumah's popularity and success, the coup brothers resurface again here, with the IRD branch of MI6 playing the main British role. I also examine whether Nkrumah was poisoned.
D R Congo and the coup against President Lumumba
Congo was a Belgian colony, but this did not stop further skulduggery by MI6 and the CIA. Like Nkrumah, Lumumba was very popular but was deposed and replaced by the military. Uranium and cobalt played a big role here. The killing of Lumumba makes for very hard reading.
Was Dag Hammarskjold murdered? A cover up by Britain, the USA and others delayed a full investigation into the 1961 killing of the UN Secretary General for several decades, but now a good deal of the truth has come to light. The facts are laid out, and Britain appears co-responsible for either the manslaughter or murder of Dag Hammarskjold and 15 other UN officials.
Slavery and Genocide : in a deeply thought-provoking discussion, Professors Patterson and Best discuss the genocidal aspects of slavery in Jamaica from 1660 to 1835. Was this, they ask, a protracted genocide of 5 million children who could not be born as slaves lived barely 7 to 10 years and childbirth was banned?
