Kevin Shillington is a teacher and a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

based in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Education

He graduated from Trinity College, located in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, with a major in

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

in 1968. Shillington did his postgraduate teacher training at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

, located in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. He holds a MA and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in African history from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Career

Shillington taught History and English at Secondary School in Zambia in the early 1970s. During the early 1980s, he trained history teachers at the

University of Botswana The University of Botswana (UB) was established in 1982, as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university currently has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The Unive ...

, whose main campus is located in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

.Shillington, Kevin (2005). ''History of Africa'' (revised 2nd edition).

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

. . From the mid-1980s he has been a freelance historian and biographer, specializing mostly in African History.

Bibliography

His writing includes: *''The Colonization of the Southern Tswana'' (1985) *''A Junior Certificate History for Zimbabwe'' (1986; co-author) *''History of Southern Africa'' (1987) *''History of Africa'' (1989) *''Jugnauth: Prime Minister of Mauritius'' (1991) *''An African Adventure: A Brief Life of Cecil Rhodes'' (1992) *''Ghana and the Rawlings Factor''(1992) *''History of Africa'' (revised edition, 1995) *''Causes and Consequences of Independence in Africa'' (1997) *''Sowing the Mustard Seed: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in Uganda'' (1997; co-editor) *''History of Southern Africa'' (2nd edition, 2002) *''

Encyclopedia of African History The ''Encyclopedia of African History'' is a three-volume work dedicated to African history. It was edited by Kevin Shillington and published in New York City by Routledge in November 2004. The Library of Congress The Library of Congress ...

'' (2004; editor) *''Encarta Encyclopedia'' (contributor) *''History of Africa'' (2nd revised edition, 2005) *''History of Modern Seychelles'' (2009) *''Luka Jantjie: Resistance Hero of the South African Frontier'' (2011) *''History of Africa'' (3rd revised edition, 2012) *''Albert Rene, the Father of Modern Seychelles. A Biography'' (2014) *''History of Africa'' (4th edition, 2019) *''Patrick van Rensburg: Rebel, Visionary and Radical Educationist'' (2020) *''Charles Warren: Royal Engineer in the Age of Empire'' (2020) *''Cecil Rhodes: The Man Behind the Statues'' (2nd edition, revised, 2021) *''Robert Oakeshott: The Quintessential English Eccentric'' (2023) *''Luka Jantjie: Resistance Hero of the northern Cape'' (revised and abridged edition, 2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shillington, Kevin Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the University of London English historians Historians of Africa Living people University of Zambia alumni Writers from London Academic staff of the University of Botswana 20th-century male writers English Africanists

Education

Career

Bibliography

See also

References