In: Portuguese studies: a biannual multi-disciplinary journal devoted to research on the cultures, societies, and history of the Lusophone world, Band 15, S. 81-92
In: The journal of modern African studies: a quarterly survey of politics, economics & related topics in contemporary Africa, Band 30, Heft 2, S. 359-368
Before the late 1960s, historians generally agreed that World War II had increased mass support for African nationalism. Initially, they claimed that soldiers returned home politicised by war-time experiences and looking for opportunities to spread new ideas acquired through contacts with Asian nationalists. Subsequent scholars gradually chipped away at these assumptions, some completely discarding them as 'myths'. Current opinion suggests that the way African soldiers reacted to the war depended on their ethnicity, class origins, education levels, and military occupations, and that their role in independence politics depended on local conditions.
Examines the background to the economists' statement and the nature of the criticisms that they put forward in it; provides an account of what happened and why; analyses the impact that the statement had and considers, with the benefits of hindsight, whether the criticisms made were justified. (RSM)