The National Archives in Kew, Britain’s official repository of official documents and records, has a website called ‘Africa through a lens’, featuring thousands of photographs which illustrate the period from the nineteenth-century ‘Scramble for Africa’ to the moment of colonial independence (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/africa/). Taken for the most part by colonial officials in the course of their duties, these images offer an array of remarkable snapshots of colonial life.
From the home page of ‘Africa through a lens’, useful context is provided in a series of videos. Try the introductory podcast, by the National Archive’s Jenny Orme, at www.tinyurl.com/pdxp8n3. Although you can browse the collection via the main site, a useful album system makes navigation easier on the archive’s Flikr version: www.tinyurl.com/o3kwdx5. Here you will find a series of country albums, from ‘Africa — Unknown’ to ‘Zimbabwe’. You can scroll through each album or view as a slideshow.
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