‘Tin Trunk Literati’ and Beyond: hidden sources for Africa's History

Abstract

Serendipity and surprise occasionally contribute to the work of the historian. A chance discovery of crucial documents, a word from an informant, or a brief text helping to resolve a puzzle from the past, can set the adrenalin pulsing. Despite the apparent dull, desk-bound procedures of historical research it can at times be a rather exciting venture with eureka moments. There is another dimension that never ceases to thrill me: bringing to life an insignificant voice from the past, recovering the words of those supposedly 'without history', giving flesh and being to a forgotten 'common person', and contributing a further piece of evidence to history 'from below'.