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Copies of The Forgotten Kingdom of Barotseland are held by the British Library and Bodleian which has a transcript of my mother’s Zambezi Journal.
The Sherring & Bowling Families 1759 – 1959
A family history compiled by Stuart Sherring
Published:Aug 2021
Price: £21.99
All profits to go to charity
Limited Edition
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The Roots of Social Change
Life in Britain and the Empire 1815 – 1939
The short period of 124 years experienced phenomenal social change. It set in train factors shaping modern Britain – socially, culturally and aesthetically, as well as financially and attitudes such as equality. Published as a limited edition hardback, the book weaves together a kaleidoscope of well researched topics.
Take a rollercoaster ride through time. Explore how life was transformed, why and for whom. Analyse the triggers of social change in improving life quality for the masses. Find out why tensions existed, including preserving the status quo, and dip into daily life at all levels of society. What emerges is the desire for a fairer Britain to improve life opportunities with a greater sense of purpose.
The painting in 1911 is by Malcolm Drummond of the Camden Town Group. It shows St James’s Park, perhaps on a quiet Sunday, with offices of state to the left. Drummond captures the mood. Slightly pensive figures seem lost in their own worlds, amidst frenzied change and unrest in the helter-skelter of life.
The build-up in the Victorian & Edwardian eras, and events post World War 1, show how each decade informs the next. Overlaying all this is innovation, new social mores, sense of liberation and expectations as Britain was propelled into the modern age – vibrant, exciting and dynamic, yet tinged with uncertainty.
Many might have felt that history does repeat itself. The war to end all wars exposed vulnerabilities and re-emergence of nationalism and territorial claims. The sun was beginning to set on the British Empire. Some started to question the purpose and beneficiaries, not least indigenous peoples with signs of clear discontent – and hopes for independence.
The Forgotten Kingdom of Barotseland
Stuart Sherring – Ideas Cafe – 2016
The vast, sprawling and ill-defined territory of Barotseland covered most of Northern Rhodesia. In just 30 years Barotseland shrunk to a fraction of its former size. No longer a kingdom by 1911, it had the primus inter pares status of a province. The fate of Barotseland was sealed. Why and how is a detective story of deceit, duplicity and being a mere pawn in the much bigger game of African politics.
A masterpiece and rarity. This book has comprehensive scholarship, is beautifully written and is a joy to read.
The African Studies Libraries at Cambridge and Bodleian, Oxford, invited me to produce a transcript of the journal and an introduction. This has been published by SCOLMA in African Research & Documentation (No:130).
Rarely is a personal and detailed account available to a wider audience, such as my parents audience with Yeta III who succeeded his father Lewanika, King of Barotseland. A copy of the publication is held in the British Library as is a copy of my book.
When compiling family history, I was handed three red exercise books for safekeeping. They comprised a journal written from old notes by our widowed mother in April 1961, eight months before her death. The journal describes two extraordinary journeys undertaken by my parents with a young family.
In April 1930 they travelled to South Africa and made their way by train to Livingstone. They then set out by open barge with a retinue of paddlers to travel over 300 miles north-west up the Zambezi River. Their destination was remote Lukona in Barotseland where Dad was appointed principal of the Standard (Elementary) School.
The outward journey took four weeks, and one week less for a perilous return downstream three years later. What impresses most is their stoicism, resilience, descriptions of unfolding river scenes, the harsh environment, diversity of wildlife and lives of the many people they met. This transcript, complete with introduction, is a riveting read.
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