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Basil Risbridger Davidson

バジル・リスブリッジャー・デイヴィッドソン

Basil Risbridger Davidson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1914-11-09 （Bristol, United Kingdom）
Died
2010-07-09 age 95
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Residence History
Bristol → London → Paris → Multiple locations in Africa (long stays: Angola, Eritrea, etc.)

Career

Occupations
Journalist, Writer, Historian (popular history)
Active Years
1930-2010
Affiliations
Union of Democratic Control, New Statesman, Anti-Apartheid Movement (vice-president), School of Oriental and African Studies (honorary)
Influenced By
Josip Broz Tito (noted influence/appreciation)

Awards

Military Cross
1945
Organization: British Army / United Kingdom
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Award (best book)
1960
Work: Lost Cities of Africa
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Medalha Amílcar Cabral
1976
Organization: Unknown / awarding body (Amílcar Cabral medal)
Result: 受賞
Honorary degree (Open University)
1980
Organization: Open University (UK)
Result: 授与
Honorary degree (University of Edinburgh)
1981
Organization: University of Edinburgh
Result: 授与
International Film and Television Festival of New York Gold Award
1984
Work: Africa (TV series)
Organization: International Film and Television Festival of New York
Result: 受賞
Order of Prince Henry (Grande Oficial)
2002
Organization: Portuguese Republic
Result: 叙勲

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Partisan Picture

1946 Memoir / War account

A memoir recounting his experiences as a liaison with Yugoslav Partisans during World War II.

WarResistancePersonal experience

Lost Cities of Africa

1959 History / Archaeology

Surveys ancient African cities and civilizations, challenging Eurocentric narratives about African history.

Ancient civilizationsReevaluation of historyAnti-colonialism

Africa: History of a Continent

1966 History

A popular overview of African history from antiquity to modern times, emphasizing continuity and diversity.

Continental historyLiberation movementsCultural history

Black Mother: The Years of the African Slave Trade

1961 History

An accessible history of the African slave trade and its social and human consequences.

SlaveryTradeSocial history

Africa (TV series)

1984 Documentary (TV)

An eight-part Channel 4 documentary series presenting African history and culture to a general audience.

DocumentaryPublic historyAfrican studies
Adaptations
  • [Television] Africa (Channel 4) (1984)

Bibliography

  • Partisan Picture (1946)
  • Highway Forty (1949)
  • Report on Spain (1951)
  • Report on Southern Africa (1952)
  • Lost Cities of Africa (1959)
  • Black Mother (1961)
  • Africa: History of a Continent (1966)
  • A History of West Africa 1000-1800 (1977)
  • The Black Man's Burden (1992)

Adaptations

  • Africa (Channel 4, 1984, documentary series)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Accessible, popularizing proseCampaigning/journalistic toneRecasting scholarly material for a general audience
Recurring Motifs
Pan-AfricanismAnti-colonialismLiberation struggles and national independenceEmphasis on indigenous African history and culture

Legacy

Regarded as a popularizer of African history who brought the subject to a broad audience. Though not an academic, he exerted wide influence, engaged with anti-colonial and anti-apartheid movements, and contributed to public understanding through documentaries and numerous books.

Academic Societies

  • School of Oriental and African Studies (honorary)

Archives

  • Imperial War Museum (oral history)

In Popular Culture

  • Channel 4 documentary series 'Africa' (1984)

Trivia

  • Left school at 16 and moved to London.
  • Served in SOE during WWII and parachuted into Bosnia in 1943.
  • Won the Anisfield-Wolf Award for 'Lost Cities of Africa' (1960).
  • Served as vice-president of the Anti-Apartheid Movement.