War in Pre-Colonial Eastern Africa: The Patterns and Meanings of State-Level Conflict in the Nineteenth Century

Richard Reid. War in Pre-Colonial Eastern Africa: The Patterns and Meanings of State-Level Conflict in the Nineteenth Century. Oxford: James Currey Publishers, 2007.

War in Pre-Colonial Eastern Africa combines careful archival research, with a comparative assessment of pre-colonial nineteenth century war in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania. Reid develops well archival material found in the UK, Kampala, and Rome to tell a story of conflict, diplomacy, economy, and culture in the decades when literate Europeans were present, but colonizing powers had yet to assert political control. Reid's analysis is engaging and interesting, although it does assume that the reader has some prior knowledge of nineteenth century east African history. For such readers, familiar figures like Mirambo of Tanzania, Tewodros of Ethiopia, and the Kabaka of Uganda are cast in a new light. This is done by providing a fresh comparative assessment in the context of the broader social, political, and economic issues of the region.

Beyond the new...