This book is a pioneering and comprehensive study of the environmental
history of Southern Malawi. With over fifty years of experience,
anthropologist and social ecologist Brian Morris draws on a wide range
of data - literary, ethnographic and archival - in this
interdisciplinary volume.
Specifically focussing on the complex and dialectical relationship
between the people of Southern Malawi, both Africans and Europeans, and
the Shire Highlands landscape, this study spans the nineteenth century
until the end of the colonial period. It includes detailed accounts of
the early history of the peoples of Northern Zambezia; the development
of the plantation economy and history of the tea estates in the Thyolo
and Mulanje districts; the Chilembwe rebellion of 1915; and the complex
tensions between colonial interests in conserving natural resources and
the concerns of the Africans of the Shire Highlands in maintaining their
livelihoods.
A landmark work, Morris's study constitutes a major contribution to the
environmental history of Southern Africa. It will appeal not only to
scholars, but to students in anthropology, economics, history and the
environmental sciences, as well as to anyone interested in learning more
about the history of Malawi, and ecological issues relating to southern
Africa.