Basil Risbridger DavidsonMC (9 November 1914 – 9 July 2010) was a British journalist and historian who wrote more than 30 books on African history and politics. According to two modern writers, "Davidson, a campaigning journalist whose first of many books on African history and politics appeared in 1956, remains perhaps the single-most effective disseminator of the new field to a popular international audience".[1]
Davidson was recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and MI6, D Section. As part of his Mission, he was sent to Budapest, Hungary in December 1939 under the cover of establishing a news service. In April 1941, with the Nazi invasion, he fled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In May, he was captured by Italian forces and was later released as part of a prisoner exchange.[3]
From late 1942 to mid-1943, he was chief of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Yugoslav Section in Cairo, Egypt, where he was James Klugmann's supervisor. He parachuted into Bosnia on 16 August 1943, and spent the following months serving as a liaison with the Partisans, as he would describe in his 1946 book, Partisan Picture. Davidson moved east into Srem and the Fruška Gora in Yugoslavia. He was nearly captured or killed several times. SOE posted him to Hungarian occupied Bačka to try to organize a rebel movement there, but Davidson found that the conditions were unsuitable and crossed back over the Danube into the Fruška Gora. The Germans encircled the Fruška Gora in June 1944 in a last attempt to liquidate the Partisans there, but Davidson and the others made a narrow escape. After Soviet forces entered into Yugoslavia, Davidson was airlifted out. Davidson had enormous appreciation for the Partisans and the communist leader Josip Broz Tito.[citation needed]
Davidson returned to journalism after the war. He was employed initially by The Times in Paris but was widely considered to have communist sympathies after his wartime role as the Cold War began. He left in 1949 and became the secretary of the pressure-group, the Union of Democratic Control (UDC) and began to work for the left-leaning New Statesman.[5] However, the Cold War prevented him from returning to Central Europe and instead Davidson became interested in Africa after being invited to South Africa by trade unionists opposed to Apartheid. He published several articles and books critical of white-rule in South Africa and colonial rule in Africa, passing to the Daily Herald (1954–57) and the Daily Mirror (1959–62).
He began a career as a popular writer. He published five novels and 30 other books, mainly on African history and politics. These consolidated his reputation as one of the leading authorities on Africa in the era of independence. From 1969, Davidson was involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement and eventually became the movement's vice-president. He was a strong supporter of Pan-Africanism, especially from the 1980s, and was critical of the white-minority government in Rhodesia and of the American-backed União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) in Angola.[5] He spent long periods in Angola and in Eritrea during its struggle for independence from Ethiopia. In 1984, Davidson produced an eight-part documentary series for Channel 4 entitled Africa.[5]
Although not an academic, Davidson gained a reputation as an authority on African affairs and received a number of honorary positions at universities, including the School of Oriental and African Studies. Davidson also gained honorary degrees from universities in Europe and Africa, as well as a number of civic decorations.[5] In 1976, he won the Medalha Amílcar Cabral. He received honorary degrees from the Open University of Great Britain in 1980, and the University of Edinburgh in 1981. For his film series Africa, he won the Gold Award, from the International Film and Television Festival of New York in 1984. In 2002 he was decorated by the Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio as Grande Oficial da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique.
Selected books
Partisan Picture. Bedford: Bedford Books, 1946
Highway Forty: An incident. London: Frederick Muller, 1949.
Golden Horn (novel), Cape, 1952
African Awakening. London: Cape, 1955
Lost Cities of Africa, Little, Brown and Company, 1959
Old Africa Rediscovered, Gollancz, 1959
Black Mother: The Years of the African Slave Trade. Boston: Little Brown, 1961
African Slave Trade: Precolonial History 1450-1850. Boston: Atlantic-Little Brown, 1961
The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times. London: Longmans, 1964
Africa: History of a Continent London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966
African Kingdoms. Time-Life International (Nederland) N V, 1966
Africa in History. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. ISBN0297764055
The Africans: An Entry to Cultural History. Boston, Mass: Little, Brown, 1969
The African Genius. Boston, Mass: Little, Brown, 1969. ISBN085255799X
The Africans, Prentice Hall, 1969
The Liberation of Guine, Penguin, 1969
Black Star: A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah, 1973. Praeger, New York, 1974
In the Eye of the Storm: Angola's people, Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y., 1972. 1974
A History of West Africa 1000-1800, Longman, 1977
Let Freedom Come: Africa in Modern History, Little, Brown, Boston, 1978
Scenes From The Anti-Nazi War, Monthly Review Press, 1980
Special Operations Europe: Scenes from the anti-Nazi war. London: Gollancz, 1980. ISBN0575028203
No Fist Is Big Enough to Hide the Sky: The Liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, 1963-74, 1981[6]
The Black Man's Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State, Times Books, New York, 1992
African Civilization Revisited: From Antiquity to Modern Times, Africa World Press, Trenton, N.J., 1991. 1995
West Africa Before the Colonial Era, Longman, 1998
References
^Parker, John; Rathbone, Richard (2007). African history : a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 124-5. ISBN978-0192802484.
^"No Fist Is Big Enough to Hide the Sky: The Liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, 1963-74". Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
Bibliography
Brittain, Victoria (9 July 2010). "Basil Davidson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
Duodu, Cameron (9 October 2010). "Basil Davidson: Historian who changed Africans' Perceptions of Themselves". The Independent. London. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
Further reading
Cliffe, Lionel (2010). "Basil Davidson (1915–2010): A Tribute". Review of African Political Economy. 37 (126): 497–500. doi:10.1080/03056244.2010.539051. S2CID 154386473.
AFRICA Episode 1 Different but Equal Written & Presented by Basil Davidson Executive Producer on YouTube. Video duration 53 m 20 s, 6 January 2016. Consulted on 29 September 2022. Uploader Ousmane N'diaye. "PART 1 : A very well documented series on African History from way before, during and after Slavery trade and colonial period to contemporary times."
April 21, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Basil Davidson news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Basil Risbridger Davidson MC 9 November 1914 9 July 2010 was a British journalist and historian who wrote more than 30 books on African history and politics According to two modern writers Davidson a campaigning journalist whose first of many books on African history and politics appeared in 1956 remains perhaps the single most effective disseminator of the new field to a popular international audience 1 Basil DavidsonBorn 1914 11 09 9 November 1914Bristol United KingdomDied9 July 2010 2010 07 09 aged 95 Occupation s Journalist and writerSpouseMarion Young m 1943 2010 wbr Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Wartime service 1 3 Africa and writing career 2 Selected books 3 References 3 1 Bibliography 4 Further reading 5 External linksBiography EditEarly life Edit Basil Davidson was born in Bristol United Kingdom on 9 November 1914 and left school at 16 and moved to London In 1938 he gained a job at the Paris correspondent of The Economist and later as the diplomatic correspondent of The Star 2 He travelled widely in Italy and Central Europe in the 1930s 2 Wartime service Edit Davidson was recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service SIS and MI6 D Section As part of his Mission he was sent to Budapest Hungary in December 1939 under the cover of establishing a news service In April 1941 with the Nazi invasion he fled to Belgrade Yugoslavia In May he was captured by Italian forces and was later released as part of a prisoner exchange 3 From late 1942 to mid 1943 he was chief of the Special Operations Executive SOE Yugoslav Section in Cairo Egypt where he was James Klugmann s supervisor He parachuted into Bosnia on 16 August 1943 and spent the following months serving as a liaison with the Partisans as he would describe in his 1946 book Partisan Picture Davidson moved east into Srem and the Fruska Gora in Yugoslavia He was nearly captured or killed several times SOE posted him to Hungarian occupied Backa to try to organize a rebel movement there but Davidson found that the conditions were unsuitable and crossed back over the Danube into the Fruska Gora The Germans encircled the Fruska Gora in June 1944 in a last attempt to liquidate the Partisans there but Davidson and the others made a narrow escape After Soviet forces entered into Yugoslavia Davidson was airlifted out Davidson had enormous appreciation for the Partisans and the communist leader Josip Broz Tito citation needed From January 1945 Davidson was liaison officer with partisans in Liguria and Genoa Italy He was present for the surrender of the German forces in Genoa on 26 27 April 1945 4 He finished the war as a lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Military Cross and was mentioned in despatches on two occasions 5 Africa and writing career Edit Davidson returned to journalism after the war He was employed initially by The Times in Paris but was widely considered to have communist sympathies after his wartime role as the Cold War began He left in 1949 and became the secretary of the pressure group the Union of Democratic Control UDC and began to work for the left leaning New Statesman 5 However the Cold War prevented him from returning to Central Europe and instead Davidson became interested in Africa after being invited to South Africa by trade unionists opposed to Apartheid He published several articles and books critical of white rule in South Africa and colonial rule in Africa passing to the Daily Herald 1954 57 and the Daily Mirror 1959 62 He began a career as a popular writer He published five novels and 30 other books mainly on African history and politics These consolidated his reputation as one of the leading authorities on Africa in the era of independence From 1969 Davidson was involved in the Anti Apartheid Movement and eventually became the movement s vice president He was a strong supporter of Pan Africanism especially from the 1980s and was critical of the white minority government in Rhodesia and of the American backed Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola UNITA in Angola 5 He spent long periods in Angola and in Eritrea during its struggle for independence from Ethiopia In 1984 Davidson produced an eight part documentary series for Channel 4 entitled Africa 5 Although not an academic Davidson gained a reputation as an authority on African affairs and received a number of honorary positions at universities including the School of Oriental and African Studies Davidson also gained honorary degrees from universities in Europe and Africa as well as a number of civic decorations 5 In 1976 he won the Medalha Amilcar Cabral He received honorary degrees from the Open University of Great Britain in 1980 and the University of Edinburgh in 1981 For his film series Africa he won the Gold Award from the International Film and Television Festival of New York in 1984 In 2002 he was decorated by the Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio as Grande Oficial da Ordem do Infante D Henrique Selected books EditPartisan Picture Bedford Bedford Books 1946 Highway Forty An incident London Frederick Muller 1949 Golden Horn novel Cape 1952 African Awakening London Cape 1955 Lost Cities of Africa Little Brown and Company 1959 Old Africa Rediscovered Gollancz 1959 Black Mother The Years of the African Slave Trade Boston Little Brown 1961 African Slave Trade Precolonial History 1450 1850 Boston Atlantic Little Brown 1961 The African Past Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times London Longmans 1964 Africa History of a Continent London Weidenfeld amp Nicolson 1966 African Kingdoms Time Life International Nederland N V 1966 Africa in History London Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1968 ISBN 0297764055 The Africans An Entry to Cultural History Boston Mass Little Brown 1969 The African Genius Boston Mass Little Brown 1969 ISBN 085255799X The Africans Prentice Hall 1969 The Liberation of Guine Penguin 1969 Black Star A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah 1973 Praeger New York 1974 In the Eye of the Storm Angola s people Doubleday Garden City N Y 1972 1974 A History of West Africa 1000 1800 Longman 1977 Let Freedom Come Africa in Modern History Little Brown Boston 1978 Scenes From The Anti Nazi War Monthly Review Press 1980 Special Operations Europe Scenes from the anti Nazi war London Gollancz 1980 ISBN 0575028203 No Fist Is Big Enough to Hide the Sky The Liberation of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde 1963 74 1981 6 The Black Man s Burden Africa and the Curse of the Nation State Times Books New York 1992 African Civilization Revisited From Antiquity to Modern Times Africa World Press Trenton N J 1991 1995 West Africa Before the Colonial Era Longman 1998References Edit Parker John Rathbone Richard 2007 African history a very short introduction Oxford Oxford University Press pp 124 5 ISBN 978 0192802484 a b The Independent 2010 Special Operations Europe Scenes From the Anti Nazi War 1980 pp 87 88 Special Operations Europe Scenes From the Anti Nazi War 1980 pp 340 360 a b c d e The Guardian 2010 No Fist Is Big Enough to Hide the Sky The Liberation of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde 1963 74 Bloomsbury Bloomsbury Publishing Inc Retrieved 23 September 2021 Bibliography Edit Brittain Victoria 9 July 2010 Basil Davidson obituary The Guardian Retrieved 22 August 2020 Duodu Cameron 9 October 2010 Basil Davidson Historian who changed Africans Perceptions of Themselves The Independent London Retrieved 22 August 2020 Further reading EditCliffe Lionel 2010 Basil Davidson 1915 2010 A Tribute Review of African Political Economy 37 126 497 500 doi 10 1080 03056244 2010 539051 S2CID 154386473 External links EditBasil Risbridger Davidson Oral History at Imperial War Museum AFRICA Episode 1 Different but Equal Written amp Presented by Basil Davidson Executive Producer on YouTube Video duration 53 m 20 s 6 January 2016 Consulted on 29 September 2022 Uploader Ousmane N diaye PART 1 A very well documented series on African History from way before during and after Slavery trade and colonial period to contemporary times Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Basil Davidson amp oldid 1137986409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
