How African societies influenced the two major global conflicts of the 20th century. The First and Second World Wars were pivotal events in modern global history. Although colonial empires were involuntarily drawn into both global conflicts, most studies of the World Wars have given scant attention to the contributions of colonial societies or the wars’ profound impact on their populations. This pervasive neglect of the significant role played by European colonies on behalf of the Allies is not only historically problematic but also hinders our comprehensive understanding of these wars and their broader impact on humanity. Adopting a global intellectual history lens, this volume examines the influence of African societies and ideas on these two major global conflicts. In doing so, it expands the historiography of both World Wars by offering fundamental new insights. The essays in this collection explore various themes related to both wars and societies within the empire, with a focus on the African experience and its intersection with European empires, colonialism, race, economy, and global conflagrations. Acknowledgements PART I. BACKGROUND 1 Resilience and Resistance of Africa in Twentieth-Century Global Conflict: An Introduction Chima J. Korieh 2 The British Empire, Dzikho la Nyasaland, and Two World Wars Melvin E. Page PART II. POLITICS, WAR, AND SOCIETY IN WORLD WAR I 3 Plots and Conspiracies: British and German First World War Strategies in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa Patrick Gilkes and Martin Plaut 4 Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, World War I, and Italian Colonialism in Somalia Abdiwahid Osman Haji and William Felepchuk 5 Treatment of Enemy Subjects and Social Unrest in Nigeria during World War I Olisa Godson Muojama PART III. RACE, WAR, SOCIETY, AND WORLD WAR II 6 Provisioning for War: Food Crisis on the Nigerian Homefront during the Second World War Chima J. Korieh 7 British Price Control Policy and Internal Disturbances in Southwestern Nigeria during World War II Abiodun S. Afolabi and Marklene Chinatu Ugbogu 8 Stories about the French Recruitment of Moroccan Soldiers during World War II: A History from Below Otman Bychou 9 Black Skin, White Cause: Belanda Hitam and Force Noire in Indochina and Indonesia during World War II Yvonne Tan 10 Equality for Blood: African Soldiers’ Struggles for Rights after World War II Ruth Ginio 11 Mohammed V, Anti-Semitism, and the Moroccan Homefront during the Second World War Kingsley C. Ezeuwa 12 West African Soldiers’ Voices in World War II: Between Texts, Oral History, and Digital Culture Oliver Coates 13 Second World War Veterans and the End of Colonialism in Kenya Janet Achieng Ombima Afterword Melvin E. Page Selected Bibliography Note on Contributors Index