Contenu du sommaire : Varia

Saint Louis is also a figure in the history of Africa. A prisoner in Egypt and almost a martyr in Carthage, Louis the IXth wanted to be a conqueror and a missionary, by restoring Africa to Christendom. Based on a re-reading of Latin and Arabic sources of the xiiith and xivth centuries as well as on a critical analysis of oral legends collected in the xixth century in North Africa, this essay proposes an inventory of the narrative and imaginary facets of an African Saint Louis. Highlighted by such reminiscences, the memories of the king turn into a tutelary epic of French expansionism in Africa.

Ibn Battûta's famous travels to the borders of Islam's world in the xivth century have often been questioned, mainly because of the difficulty in identifying places names. This method resulted in either authenticating his narrative or in pointing to its inconsistencies. A new critical reading of three journeys – to China, Eastern Africa and Mali – reveals their consistence in Ibn Battûta's project, whereas his bricolages are better understood in the frame of his mental geography.

After Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup of December 2nd in 1851, in Paris, some settlers in Algeria, like their fellow citizens in the mother country, tried to display their discontent, even though a general upheaval seemed stillborn. After the failure of the resistance in France became known, the republican movement, that had been fed on utopian socialism and was already adapted to local conditions, vanished after a noticeable result at the plebiscite. The order was henceforth maintained with no difficulty by the « regime of the sabre », underlining the weakness of this fringe devoted to the Republic.

Ugandan political parties in the xxth century are remarkable for two main reasons, first because of religious factionalism, then because their origins can be traced back to before colonial rule. Rivalry between Muslims and Christians is fairly common in Africa, for instance in Nigeria or Sudan. However, a very strong opposition between Catholics and Protestants is much rarer. This political and religious rivalry finds its origins in the factions competing for power at the royal court of Buganda in the xixth century. It continued during the colonial rule in Uganda, as the elite fought for positions in the administration and chieftainship. At independence one mainly Catholic party opposes two mostly Protestant ones. After a peak during the 1950s and 1960s, the role of religion slowly declines in politics to become today much less relevant.

Western historians are often accused of maintaining a distorted “Eurocentric” view of the world. It is true that the practical methods of modern historical research were developed to the fullest in Western Europe. Many of the key concepts, principles of periodization, and the ways in which the significance of the past are estimated by historians worldwide still reflect the Western tradition. A good question is, whether there exists any alternative way to study the human past, however, without giving up the ideal of objectivity as it is conventionally associated with the (Western) scientific research? Afrocentrism aims to be such an alternative. Afrocentric authors claim that the Western methods cannot be used objectively in the context of African history. The problem of Afrocentrism is that it fails to take the decisive step to construct its own methodology. In their need of an official recognition from the academic community, Afrocentric authors pretend that they are using similar methods to those used by their enemies, the Eurocentric historians, while reserving themselves the right to break the rules whenever it is necessary to support their own cause. However, it would be a grave mistake to reject Afrocentrism simply as bad scholarship. A better way to understand Afrocentrism is to consider it a special category of unconventional history – or “apohistory” – and a political movement. An interesting historical parallel to Afrocentrism is the intellectual movement called Fennomania in Finnish national historiography in the early 20th century. Fennomania also emphasized the subjectivity of historical research and the importance of history in creating national consciousness and ethnic identity. The American critics of Afrocentrism apparently fail to understand its political and social connections, perhaps because the leading American (white) historians have never needed to defend their own existence.