This is the first full- length historical analysis of Victoria Falls. The text offers a critical examination of Victoria Falls providing new insight into the British Southern African project and reveals how Victoria Falls became one of the first modern African tourist destinations. This book makes a case for a critical reading of Victoria Falls as much more than a localized natural wonder. Europeans with multiple and often competing agendas, as well as African leaders and laborers were brought into contact with one another at Victoria Falls. Their visions of the past and hopes for the future shared Victoria Falls as a common point of inspiration. The value these parties placed on the Falls extended far beyond its location on the Zambezi and had broad implications for the British Empire in Southern and Central Africa.

Appeals to cultural historians, historians of southern Africa, religious historians, and historians of colonization and imperialism Examines the tourist history of British Southern Africa as a cultural touchstone Includes rare maps and images

Autorentext
Andrea L Arrington is Assistant Professor of History at Indiana State University, USA.

Inhalt
Introduction Towards a Trans-Colonial History of Victoria Falls Chapter 1 'A Cataract on the Zambezi': The Waterfalls in Precolonial Context Chapter 2 Lewanika's Scramble for Africa: Barotseland and the British South Africa Company Chapter 3 Staking Their Claim: Early White Settlement at Victoria Falls Chapter 4 Performing Europe, or Redefining African?: The African Social Life of a Colonial Frontier Town Chapter 5 'What is the trouble?': Dispute and Discontent in North Western Rhodesia Chapter 6 'of more value to South Africa than all the diamonds ever found or dreamed:' Victoria Falls and the Hydroelectric Power Scheme Epilogue Revisiting Imagination: The Trans-National Experience of Victoria Falls Today