Aims and objectives
The Society of Malawi, founded in 1946 and formerly known as “The Nyasaland Society”, is located in Blantyre, Malawi. Its members want to digitise and catalogue the oldest of the Society’s historical records which are part of the cultural heritage of the country for preservation and accessibility for the public. The records originate from the colonial period of Malawi and take the form of books, files, photos and maps. These materials have been collected by the Society or given to it by its members or members of the public since 1946. The digitization of materials (like diaries, minutes, registers, church books, files and maps) give a picture of different aspects of life in a British African colony. Described are commercial, professional, administrative, recreational and religious aspects of every-day-life of colonists and their interaction with the local population in Nyasaland. Blantyre and its surroundings (like Zomba) were the centre of administrative and commercial activity during colonial times.
The material gives researchers like historians, political scientists, sociologists, archaeologists, conservationists and agriculturalists the possibility to learn about and to understand living conditions of different individuals and groups of people and their attitudes in an African colonial setting. Materials like hand-written diaries are unique and of cultural value. Many of our materials are not only valuable for academic researchers, but also for people tracing the history of their families. The material is at risk of deteriorating due to age and the archive where it is kept has a fire risk as well as climate damage, such as cyclones.
Outcomes
We digitized 433 folders with 17,608 photo images from the archives from 1857 to 1952 and unpublished. The digitization of these materials; diaries, minutes, registers, church books, files and maps give a picture of different aspects of life in a British African colony. Described are commercial, professional, administrative, recreational and religious aspects of every-day-life of colonists and their interaction with the local population in Nyasaland. Blantyre and its surroundings (like Zomba) were the centre of administrative and commercial activity during colonial times.
The material gives researchers like historians, political scientists, sociologists, archaeologists, conservationists and agriculturalists the possibility to learn about and to understand living conditions of different individuals and groups of people and their attitudes in an African colonial setting. Materials like hand-written diaries are unique and of cultural value. Many of our materials are not only valuable for academic researchers, but also for people tracing the history of their families.
The following methodology report was submitted as part of the project outputs:
