The Telling and Retelling of History

Excerpts from the copy of The Lion's Share by Bernard Porter that I'm reading. The book is a brief history of British imperialism from 1850-1970, and is utterly entertaining, even more so than the usual history textbook. This has been enhanced by the vigourous scribbling in the book by a previous reader.

Page 24- On the proselytising of Christian missionaries in Britain's possessions:

Convinced of the literal truth of a 2,000-year old story which appears on the surface highly improbable, and not merely of its truth but also of its exclusive validity and its universal significance, they had for years been trying to convince the rest of the world to accept it too.

The words which appears on the surface highly improbable are underlined and a large "WHAT???" scribbled in the margin. Presumably the previous reader did not realise that in his/her protests he/she was merely demonstrating the same fundamentalist zeal as described by Porter. How ironic.

Page 56- On the relationship between Europeans and natives in Africa:

Natives did not 'die out' in Africa as they did, conveniently, in North America and Australasia, although the Xhosas had a good try in 1857 (when they slaughtered their own cattle to fulfil a magical propehecy that, if they did so, their warrior-ancestors- somehow confused with with the Russian army in the Crimea- would rise from the dead and drive the white men into the sea; the result was starvation and the end of the Xhosa nation as a united political force.)

Not to mention the end of beliefs in Xhosa superstition and of the leader who suggested that wise idea. Porter has an excellent dry wit that permeates the book.

Page 68- The beginning of a section entitled, The Opening Up Of Africa (note the title):

To Europeans in the first half if the nineteenth century Africa was still a virgin continent. They had caressed her coasts but not yet penetrated her interior...

Once again, the previous reader underlined the title, virgin, caressed, and penetrated. Christian morality or no, he/she still has a dirty mind.

And this is just the first two chapters... what more is to come?