Welcome to Old Africa

your window into East Africa’s past.

Old Africa books

Old Africa books are well-told stories in the same tradition as the shorter pieces

our readers have come to enjoy from the pages of Old Africa magazine.

After two decades in print, Old Africa is now fully digital and free for all! That’s right: zero shillings, endless stories. Yes, we’ll miss the smell and feel of fresh paper too — and to our loyal subscribers who’ve stacked us proudly on bookshelves, we thank you for your loyalty. The stories stay rich, the history stays deep — only the format has changed.

But while the magazine won’t cost you a cent, creating it still does. If you enjoy digging into Africa’s rich past with us, toss a coin (or a few) our way. Help us keep history alive — minus the printing bill. Consider donating to Old Africa to keep the stories coming.

 

Sir Charles Eliot

Sir Charles Eliot ‘His pet hobby is the study of nudibranchs or sea slugs. Never more closely did a man resemble the objects of his hobby.’ Who could this be describing? Surprisingly, it was the first Governor, or Commissioner as it was called then, of the East Africa...

From Company to Colony: the 1890s in Kenya

From Company to Colony: the 1890s in Kenya

From Company to Colony: the 1890s in Kenya   When it became clear that a commercial company could no longer control Kenya and Uganda (called British East Africa before 1920), the British government took over the administration of the area. In the mid 1890s they...

Claude Martin Vernon – An Early Doctor in Kenya

www.christinenicholls.co.ukwww.europeansineastafrica.co.uk     Born in 1866 in Leyton, Sussex, Claude Vernon aspired to be a doctor. After training in London and Cambridge he landed a job as Medical Officer of Health in Ashford, Kent, where he stayed until...