On 27 June 1901, The African Society was founded. It immediately established a Journal that has been in continuous publication ever since.

The history of the Society and its journal, now called African Affairs, in many ways mirrors Britain’s image of, and relations with, Africa over those 120 years. The Society’s Director, Dr. Nicholas Westcott, reflects on what we can learn from its history about those relations, what it tells us about how Africa has been seen, understood, and interpreted in Britain, and how perspectives on African realities have been transformed during that period by changing political and social relations.

This poses questions for the future. Africa is not only part of Britain’s past, but of its present and its future. What does this mean for relations between the continent and the country, and especially for people who are part of both? And what is the Society’s role in this new reality? This discussion will interrogate all these issues.

Join us for our 120th-anniversary lecture with Dr. Nicholas Westcott, as he reflects on lessons from the past and what this can mean for the future of Britain’s relations with Africa.