Mthwakazi Political and Organisation's Forum
Malcom X
Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression, because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.
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TheJournalof ModernAfricanStudies,6, 3 (1968), pp. 343-60 Barotseland: the secessionistto Zambia by GERALD L. CAPLAN*
to Zambia by GERALD L. CAPLAN* FEW of the new nations of Africa lack, as part of their colonial heritage, their potential Biafras-hence the reluctance of most African states to recognise the secessionist Eastern Region of Nigeria. This article is concerned with one of them, the Barotse Province of Zambia, and attempts to illuminate the historical background of the situation, the motives of the Lozi ruling class in demanding secession, and the methods by which successive colonial and independent governments have met this challenge. ORIGINS OF THE DEMAND FOR SECESSION The Lozi reached the upper Zambesi River, probably from the Congo basin, during the late seventeenth century. From this base they con- quered outwards, until their empire encompassed some 25 other peoples, extending from Southern Rhodesia to the Congo and from Angola to the Kafue River. Although there has been considerable assimilation by 'pure Lozi' of members of their vassal tribes, those who lived in the flood-plain of the Zambesi-in Bulozi or Barotseland proper-have nevertheless always considered themselves a distinct and superior breed, a chosen people. This concept, a function partly of Lozi hegemony over this vast empire for nearly two centuries, was sanctified during the colonial era by the special status which, as we shall see, the Lozi ruling class was granted. In 1880 the great Lozi King Lewanika ( 878-84, 1885-I 9 6), seeking protection against both internal enemies and the Ndebele from the south, signed the Lochner concession, putting his country under the 'pro- tection' of the British South Africa Company.1 Although the concession was to be 'considered in the light of a treaty between my said Barotse nation' and the British Government,2 Barotseland was soon regarded by * Assistant Professor of History, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto. 1 See my forthcoming article, 'Barotseland's Scramble for Protection', in The Journal of AfricanHistory (Cambridge). 2 Reproduced in T. W. Baxter, 'The Concessions of Northern Rhodesia', in National ArchivesofRhodesiaandNyasaland,OccasionaPlapers(Salisbury),JuneI963,p.8.
Source WilkepidiaSecession (derived from the Latin term secessio) is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.[1]
Secession theory Mainstream political theory largely ignored theories of secession until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s through secession. Theories of secession address a fundamental problem of political philosophy: the legitimacy and moral basis of the state's authority, be it based on "God's will", consent of the people, the morality of goals, or usefulness to obtaining goals.[2] In his 1991 book Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec, philosophy professor Allen Buchanan outlined limited rights to secession under certain circumstances, mostly related to oppression by people of other ethnic or racial groups, and especially those previously conquered by other peoples.[3] In the fall of 1994 the Journal of Libertarian Studies published Robert W. McGee's article "Secession Reconsidered". He writes from a libertarian perspective, but holds that secession is justified only if secessionists can create a viable, if minimal, state on contiguous territory.[4] In April 1995 the Ludwig Von Mises Institute sponsored a secession conference. Papers from the conference were later published in the book Secession, State and Liberty by David Gordon. Among articles included were: "The Secession Tradition in America" by Donald Livingston; "The Ethics of Secession" by Scott Boykin; “Nations by Consent: Decomposing the Nation-State” by Murray Rothbard; "Yankee Confederates: New England Secession Movements Prior to the War Between the States" by Thomas DiLorenzo; "Was the Union Army's Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act?" by James Ostrowski.[5] In July 1998 the Rutgers University journal "Society" published papers from a "Symposium on Secession and Nationalism at the Millennium" including the articles "The Western State as Paradigm" by Hans-Herman Hoppe, "Profit Motives in Secession" by Sabrina P. Ramet, "Rights of Secession" by Daniel Kofman, "The Very Idea of Secession" by Donald Livingston and "Secession, Autonomy, & Modernity" by Edward A. Tiryakian. In 2007 the University of South Carolina sponsored a conference called "Secession As an International Phenomenon" which produced a number of papers on the topic.[6] |
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