Whose archive, whose history? Reclaiming the African past, By Toyin Falola
This treatment of the colonial archives in conjunction with other alternative perspectives shows the need to consider the official archives together with other forms of African historical memories such as oral history, indigenous systems of thought, rituals, chronicles, among others.
It cannot be that African history can be constructed on the basis of the documentary record of the colonial administrations alone.
Hence, the study of African history is not just about the impact of colonialism on Africa but also about what Africans did in response to colonialism… The question of archives eventually becomes a question of ownership.
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