Walking the Rift: Alfred Robert Tucker in East Africa, idealism and imperialism, 1890 – 1911

Mattia, Joan Plubell (2007). Walking the Rift: Alfred Robert Tucker in East Africa, idealism and imperialism, 1890 – 1911. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

With stereotypes of imperial complicity and idealistic fantasy firmly in place, tentative assumptions as to the motives of early missionaries often prove less than satisfactory. The need for new master narratives which move beyond the old paradigms of Western expansion and African victimization are being called for by scholars of both North and South; narratives which allow room for strong archival evidence of an egalitarian joint endeavor and African cultural vitality without avoiding the investment in imperialism practiced by colonial personnel. Based on extensive archival research this study advocates an alternative proposal; missionaries caught in the grinding of contradictory opposites. Alfred Robert Tucker, as a professional artist, captured this tug-of-war on canvas but similar dichotomies are found in his approach, as a bishop and Church Missionary Society Director, to marriage contracts, slavery, mission and church organizational structure, alliance with the colonial government and African partnership. Tucker, neither a consistent imperialist nor a complete egalitarian idealist, operated in both spheres without creating a third. This thesis is a piece of revisionist historiography of the Victorian encounter with Africa – a specific micro-narrative questioning the old consensus and calling for a wider discussion and a shift in perspective.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):