Historical Dictionary of United States-Africa Relations (Historical Dictionaries of U. S. Diplomacy)

449 Pages·2009·1.82 MB·English

by  Robert Anthony Waters Jr.

HISTORICALDICTIONARIES OFU.S. DIPLOMACY
Jon Woronoff, Series Editor
1. U.S. Diplomacy from the Civil War to World War I, by Kenneth J.
Blume, 2005.
2. United States–China Relations,by Robert Sutter, 2006.
3. United States–Latin American Relations,by Joseph Smith, 2007.
4. United States–Japan Relations,by John Van Sant, Peter Mauch,
and Yoneyuki Sugita, 2007.
5. United States–Middle East Relations, by Peter L. Hahn, 2007.
6. U.S. Diplomacy since the Cold War, by Tom Lansford, 2007.
7. United States–Southeast Asia Relations,by Donald E. Weatherbee,
2008.
8. United States–Russian/Soviet Relations,by Norman E. Saul, 2008.
9. United States–Africa Relations,by Robert Anthony Waters Jr.,
2009.

Historical Dictionary of
United States–Africa
Relations
Robert Anthony Waters Jr.
Historical Dictionaries of U.S.
Diplomacy, No. 9
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2009
SCARECROWPRESS,INC.
Published in the United States of America
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Copyright ©2009 by Robert Anthony Waters Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
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of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Waters, Robert Anthony, 1960–
Historical dictionary of United States–Africa relations / Robert Anthony
Waters Jr.
p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of U.S. diplomacy, no. 9)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5063-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8108-5063-X (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6291-3 (ebook)
ISBN-10: 0-8108-6291-3 (ebook)
1. Africa—Foreign relations—United States—Encyclopedias. 2. United
States—Foreign relations—Africa—Encyclopedias. I. Title.
DT38.W385 2009
327.730603—dc22 2008039649
(cid:2)™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
To Sarah—my love, who makes me better.
To Donald John—our big boy, tougher than a five-year-old
should have to be.
To Robby Kenny—our little nut, who can always make us laugh.

Contents
Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff) ix
Acknowledgments xi
Acronyms and Abbreviations xv
Map of Africa xix
Chronology xxi
Introduction xlix
THE DICTIONARY 1
Bibliography 325
About the Author 369
vii

Editor’s Foreword
For too long the United States has shown less interest in the African
continent than other parts of the world, although there is a recent trend
toward more concern and commitment. Given its size and resources
there is inducement for trade and investment, and given the number of
countries Africa plays a significant role in international organizations.
The continent until relatively recently was regarded as part of the Euro-
pean zone of influence, but that point of view is now out of favor. Much
of the American population has African roots, and more and more
Africans are migrating to the United States. But African leaders have at
worst been brutal dictators and at best well-meaning reformers whose
reforms often did not pan out. Thus Africa continues lurching from one
crisis to another. This does encourage bilateral relations, but not of the
sort that offers any prospects of constructive cooperation or positive
outcomes.
All of this increases the importance of the Historical Dictionary of
United States–Africa Relations since Africa remains a relatively dark
continent in terms of foreign relations. Aside from Egypt and occasion-
ally other countries, and most often for the wrong reasons, media cov-
erage and even history books have presented patchy and often inaccu-
rate information. Moreover, Washington’s track record is not very good,
as they have usually backed the wrong leaders. This reference work,
however, presents U.S.–Africa relations over the long term, via a dic-
tionary section, with numerous entries on significant people, events,
legislation, organizations and more importantly countries; an introduc-
tion that puts the often confusing picture in better focus; and a chronol-
ogy, which follows the twists and turns over the centuries. The bibliog-
raphy then directs readers to further sources of information.
This volume was written by Robert Anthony Waters Jr., who is
presently a visiting professor of history at Ohio Northern University
ix