Empires in the sun: the struggle for the mastery of Africa

Part one: 1830-1881

Mission civilisatrice: Europe and Africa in 1830

"Sold just like chickens": slavery and the slave trade

"Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God": missionaries

White Man's countries I: Razzia: the conquest of Algeria

White Man's countries II: "I am a chief and master": South Africa

"Un vaste plan d'occupation": exploitation and exploration

Part two: 1882-1918

"Bring on a fight": regime change in Egypt and the Sudan 1882-1889

"Will and force": partition 1882-1914

"It'll all be pink soon": the struggle for southern Africa 1882-1914

"If you strike, strike hard": pacification 1885-1914

"White savages": hearts of darkness

"We go where we are led": missions and their enemies

"Toxic is the gift of Christians": Islam and empires

"Palm trees, enormous flowers, Negroes, animals and adventures": the impact of Africa on Europe

"The honour of the ruling race": racial attitudes, sexual encounters and Africa's future

"Lloyd George", "Kitchener", "Sambo" and "Coolie": Africa at war 1914-1918

Part three: 1919-1945

"Contagious excitement": the rise of nationalism

"Force to the uttermost": more wars 1919-1939

"Unable to stand alone": Africa on the eve of war

"Wait and see": Italian disasters and French traumas 1940-1945

"Black tarantulas": Africans at war

Part four: 1945-1990

"Can Russians speak Swahili?": nationalist agitation and Cold War phantoms in British Africa 1945-1957

"Comrade Nasser, don't worry!": Egypt and the Cold War 1945-1980

A "horde of rats": the Algerian War and the Cold War

"Maelstrom": the Congo and Rhodesia

"They have left us in the lurch": the last days of White Africa.