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1958

‘Abd al-Mun‘im Shumays, 'Ghana: A Liberated African State' (Excerpts)

Already in the interwar decades, radio broadcasting became an important tool for seeking to shape public opinion at home and abroad. Thus, in the late 1930s, an Arabic-language “radio war” pitched Italy against France and Britain, both sides attacking the other for imperialist policies and intentions in the Middle East. With the onset of decolonization in Africa and Asia after World War II, also leading postcolonial countries began to use radio as a tool.

As Tareq Ismael’s classic The U.A.R. in Africa: Egypt’s Policy under Nasser (1971) and James Brennan’s “Radio Cairo and the Decolonization of East Africa, 1953-64” (2010) show, these broadcasts attacked British rule and framed Egypt as decolonizing Africa’s leader, a move that became ever more important as Egypt’s international profile grew after the successes of 1956. (See the respective entries in this collection). At the same time, Egypt-based Arabic-language writers were keen to introduce decolonizing and early postcolonial countries to the Arabic-speaking public; they often framed political developments there in ways that were related to Egypt and/or claimed a certain lead role, in decolonization, for Egypt. While some books were written on Asia and Latin America, most concerned Africa, underscoring Egypt’s location and leadership claims there.

A case in point is ‘Abd al-Mun‘im Shumays’ Ghana: Dawla afriqiyya mutaharrara [Ghana: A Liberated African State], excerpts from which are reprinted here. One of many Arabic-language books on Ghana, on other African countries, and on Africa in general, it is one of the earliest such texts during the post-World War II wave of decolonization: it was published in 1958, a year only after Ghana became independent.

January 9, 1964

Letter of Condolence for President Nkrumah [from Mao Zedong]

Mao writes to President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana after he escapes an attempted assassination. He promises to support the Ghanaian people and their anti-imperialist struggle.

October 7, 1960

Request to Deliver Letters from the President

Request to deliver two letters from Fouad Chehab to President Kwame Nkrumah.

January 15, 1964

Cable from Kong, Huang, and Tong, 'Situation of the Ghana Visit'

A summary of Zhou Enlai's conversation with Kwame Nkrumah that covered Sino-Ghanian relations, China's status at the UN, liberation movements in Africa, Sino-Indian relations, the Non-Aligned Movement, nuclear weapons free zones in Africa, and the Congo crisis, among other subjects.

March 8, 1964

Record of Premier Zhou Enlai's Conversations with the President of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah

Over the course of three conversations, Zhou and Nkrumah discuss African regionalism, China's position at the United Nations and its relations with the United States, non-alignment, decolonization, developments in the Congo, and an African nuclear-weapons-free zone.

February 1, 1964

Cable from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, 'Situation of the Premier's Visit to Three West African Countries'

The Chinese Foreign Ministry summarizes Zhou Enlai's conversations with Kwame Nkrumah, Modibo Keita, and Ahmed Sekou Toure. Emphasis is placed on the revolutionary conditions in Ghana, Mali, and Guinea, relations with the Soviet Union, and the Non-Aligned Movement and the Second Asian-African Conference.

August 3, 1965

Chinese Foreign Ministry Circular, 'Talks Between the Ghanaian Mission and the DRV'

The Chinese Foreign Ministry reports on a visit by the President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, to North Vietnam as part of a British commonwealth initiative to mediate peace talks between the US and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The DRV rejected the Ghana overture on the grounds that it was "designed in reality to bypass the Geneva Accords to get the United States and the DRV into direct talks while countries like Ghana help the United States by pressuring the DRV." The circular then gives instructions to the Chinese embassies on how to deal with questions about the mission.