Stolen Inheritance

Desmond Clarke

Description

Stolen Inheritance has a universal appeal, but should prove to be of particular interest to those who are looking to connect or re-connect with the peoples of Africa and Eurasia. Peoples of these two largest and one of the most populous continents have traded, fought, and inter-bred since the first recording of human existence. Older readers may find some of the evidence provided difficult to accept, as it challenges some of their own taken-for-granted understanding of racial thinking, whilst young readers may be encouraged to explore the value of human diversity.But, whoever you are, it is hoped that you will enjoy reading this book, as you travel from Ancient Khemet (Egypt), through western and northern Eurasia, crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the lands of the Americas.

Sujets

• Histoire
• África
• Ancient Egypt
• History
• Africa

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
• Date de parution: 30 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645364726
• Langue: English

Extrait

Stolen Inheritance
Desmond Clarke
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-10-30
Stolen Inheritance About The Author About The Book Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Ethiopian Empire Great Ancient African Kings The Ancient Egyptian Mystery System Egyptian Influence Greek Philosophers The Romans Threats to Rome The Fall of the Roman Empire (Western Half) Eastern Half Jews in the Ancient World The Moors Early Christians Christian Africa Christianity and Sex Islamic Invasion of Africa African Retreat The Kingdom of Mutapa Slavery Ransoming Christian and Muslim Captives The Middle Ages The English Church The Scientific Revolution The Formation of Western Europe The British Civil War The Anglo-Spanish War Columbus’ New World The Caribbean European Expansion and Colonization Counting the Cost of Diseases The Seven Years’ War and British Dominance in the Caribbean Company Trading King Sugar The British Slave Trade British Banking The Triangle Trade Laissez-faire Social and Economic Influence of the Triangular Trade Slavery and Racism Slavery and English Racism Anti-Slavery Campaigns Freedom Fighters The Problem of Emancipation Black People in Britain The West India Regiment (WIR) European Scramble for Africa The Nation-State The British Caribbean Legacy The Rise of Pan-Africanism Post-1945 Settlers De-Colonization African Suffering Sports and Music Appendices Caribbean Independent Leaders Famous Caribbean Conclusion Author’s Final Note Bibliography
About The Author
Desmond Clarke was born in the parish of St. Ann, Jamaica, on March 1953. He immigrated to England to join his mother and stepfather in October 1967. After leaving school, without any academic qualifications, he worked at a number of odd jobs before joining the British army in March 1971. After leaving the army, he worked as a lorry driver for many years. In 1991, he experienced a very difficult period of his life, including the death of his mother. Since 1992, he has embarked on a number of part-time undergraduate and postgraduate studies, gaining both B.A. and M.A. degrees.
About The Book
Desmond Clarke was born in the parish of St. Ann, Jamaica, on March 1953. He immigrated to England to join his mother and stepfather in October 1967. After leaving school, without any academic qualifications, he worked at a number of odd jobs before joining the British army in March 1971. After leaving the army, he worked as a lorry driver for many years. In 1991, he experienced a very difficult period of his life, including the death of his mother. Since 1992, he has embarked on a number of part-time undergraduate and postgraduate studies, gaining both B.A. and M.A. degrees.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the memory of my dearly departed mother, Iris May Campbell (née Tulloch), and to my beloved son, Benjamin Robert Clarke.
Copyright Information ©
Desmond Clarke (2019)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Clarke, Desmond
Stolen Inheritance
ISBN 9781645364726 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019913429
The main category of the book — HISTORY / Ancient / Egypt
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
[e-mail]
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Acknowledgements
A special thanks to my life partner, Sam Bishop, whose love and support has been invaluable, and my precious son, Benjamin Clarke, who is the real inspiration for my writing this book.
I must acknowledge my heavy reliance on the works of many eminent scholars, especially Martin Bernal, Norman Davies, Cheikh Anta Diop, Charles Freeman, George Granville Monah James, Eric Williams, and Chancellor James Williams.
Preface
My perspective of history is that it is the inquiry or study of the past by the living. As such, the questions and research one does reflect more on one’s interest and experience. This is true of all historical research, especially in terms of social class, ethnicity, gender, or political perspective. As a black youth, who was born in the parish of Saint Ann, Jamaica, in 1953, I grew up in the post-Windrush era, partly in Jamaica and partly in England. I arrived in England in the autumn of 1967, ill-prepared for the prevailing social and environmental conditions that confronted me. Coming from a rural village of less than four hundred people to a town of some eighty thousand inhabitants, it was indeed a “culture shock.” As I later learnt from a government-sponsored Plowden Report of that year, in relation to immigrant children, which stated:
“They [immigrant children] have often been abruptly uprooted, sometimes from rural village community and introduced, maybe after a bewildering air flight, into crowded substandard housing in an industrial borough.” (Plowden Report, 1967: 69)
Arriving in England, I was met by my mother and stepfather at Gatwick Airport, some thirty miles south of Central London and driven to a town, some fifty miles north of Central London, called Bedford. This rural town was famous as the home of John Bunyan, author of the Pilgrim’s Progress and of the London Brick Company, a brick making company that attracted many immigrant workers from the New Commonwealth. Two months after arriving in Bedford, I experienced the trauma of eviction by an unscrupulous landlord. During our search, we came across a number of signs boldly stating: “Rooms to let; no dogs, no Irish or Blacks need apply.” That was my first real experience of racism or what was commonly known as “Color Bar!” I was three months away from my fifteenth birthday and for the first time in my short life, I realized that life was not going to be what I had hoped, prior to arriving in England. This made me angry at first, but as time passed, I became fatalistic and wanted to become a “Rude Boy,” which was what youth gangs were called at the time in Jamaica.
As I was of school age when I arrived in England, I attended a comprehensive school that was mainly attended by children from the New Commonwealth. I was placed in a classroom with some thirty children of Caribbean, Pakistani, Indian, and Italian backgrounds to learn English. Black youths were not expected to achieve much, in terms of education, so I experienced a very limited curriculum, mainly of basic English, woodwork, metalwork, and sports. After less than a year in school, I left without sitting a single exam. As my mother was a regular Pentecostal churchgoer, I also had to attend church on a regular basis, while attending school. Indeed, most of my mother’s generation were ardent churchgoers and over the years, they laid a prosperous Pentecostal Church industry in the black community. The Pentecostal Church was a response to the rejection that was faced by Caribbean people from the English mainstream churches, so even churches practiced the “Color Bar” system. Throughout my school days, I became very involved in the local Pentecostal Church, including being baptized at the age of 16. However, it became clear to me that the church did not have any solution to many of the problems faced by first-generation black youths, especially social, economic, and political challenges. As I had no formal qualification, my job prospect was limited. As a result, a number of menial and low-paid jobs followed, including car cleaning, stocking shelves in a national store, and working in a metalwork factory. The Pentecostal Church movement became dominated by certain charismatic preachers, many of whom were more interested in private gains than in community development. In fact, in the face of mounting discrimination in education, housing, employment, and the criminal justice system, the Pentecostal Church maintained a deafening silence. In these circumstances, just before my eighteenth birthday, I decided to join the British army in the spring of 1971.
I naively thought that the British army offered better prospects but, sadly, this was not the case. In fact, racism in the British army was even more intense, as there was no getting away from it; it was now twenty-four hours of every day. As a black youth in the British army, I was posted to Germany where I had no understanding of the German language or culture, so interaction with the inhabitants was very limited. From Germany, I was posted to Northern Ireland, where there was, to all intent and purpose, a civil war. As a black British soldier in Northern Ireland, there was not much chance of anonymity and, once again, interaction with the inhabitants was strictly restricted. When on patrol, I was often exposed to racial abuse, especially from the Catholic community as, apart from the color of my skin, I was in their enemy’s uniform. While in the military, my commanding officer refused to sanction my promotion, as it seemed for him that black soldiers were not suitable material for promotion. In fact, one black lance corporal was posted to his command and was soon stripped of his rank, so that there were no black soldiers under his command above the rank of private. These and other experiences induced a sense of frustration which undermined my ability to motivate myself to achieve promotion, or