David Birmingham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1938 |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University College of Ghana (BA) SOAS University of London (PhD) |
| Thesis | The Mbundu and neighbouring peoples of central Angola under the influence of Portuguese trade and conquest, 1482–1790 (1964) |
| Doctoral advisor | Roland Oliver |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
| Sub-discipline | Modern history History of Central Africa History of Angola |
| Institutions | SOAS University of London (1965–1966) University of Ghana (1966–1979) University of Kent (1979–2002) |
David B. Birmingham (born 1938 [1] ) is an English historian and academic,specialising in modern Central African and Angolan history. He is emeritus Professor of History at the University of Kent.
Birmingham was born in England [2] and grew up in Switzerland from 1947 to 1954, [3] attending a French school. [2] After doing social work in Germany as a conscientious objector for his National Service,he moved to Accra in 1955 and enrolled at the University College of the Gold Coast (renamed University College of Ghana in 1957),where his father was a professor of political economy,and graduated with a BA in African history during the 1950s. [4] [5]
In 1960,Birmingham took a six-week course in Portuguese in Coimbra before beginning his research at the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino. [6] [5] According to his own account,he acted as an interpreter at the London office of Amnesty International for Agostinho Neto,president of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola,following Neto's escape from prison in Portuguese Angola in 1962. [7] He completed his PhD on The Mbundu and neighbouring peoples of central Angola under the influence of Portuguese trade and conquest,1482–1790 under the supervision of Roland Oliver at SOAS University of London in 1964. [8] [9]
Birmingham lectured in West Africa from 1963 to 1965, [6] at SOAS from 1965 to 1966,and in Latin American history at the University of Ghana from 1966 to 1979. [10] [2] In 1980,he was appointed to the chair of modern history at the University of Kent in Canterbury, [3] [11] from which he retired in 2002. [10] He held visiting appointments in Cameroon,China,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Tanzania and California, [2] as well as in Switzerland during the 1990s. [3] He worked as a city guide in Canterbury following his retirement. [12]
He first travelled to Angola in 1963, [7] on a scholarship from the Institute of Race Relations, [9] and revisited the country on numerous occasions,including in 1975,1987,2003,and 2006. [13] [14] Between 1971 and 1974,he corresponded with the South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist Colin Legum. [15]
He joined the Reform Club in London before 1974. [13] He is a member of the advisory board of the BP-sponsored British-Angola Forum at Chatham House,established in 1998. [16]
Birmingham specialises in Angolan and Central African history from 1400 to 1990. [10] His 2015 brief survey of modern Angolan history was written as a replacement for a longer volume that the anthropologist Jill Rosemary Dias had been preparing until her death in 2008. [17] Birmingham's first full-length book of 1966 was criticised by Jan Vansina for ignoring the anthropological perspective on African history. [18]
Birmingham's 1987 report on the informal economy in Angola served as a planning paper to members of the Angolan cabinet led at the time by JoséEduardo dos Santos. [13]
He is a contributor to the Accord series published by the Conciliation Resources. [19]
Birmingham is married to Elizabeth, with whom he has children. [13]
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