Reussite

2000 · 75392 — Zanzibar Publications/Published by the Author 2000. Presumed First Edition First printing. Trade paperback. Very good. 108 pages. Illustrations. Maps. abbreviations and Glossary of Terms. Bibliography. Signed by the author on the title page. Cover has sticker residue at back. Kevin Patience grew up in Kenya and served in the Royal Air Force who also taught him to dive. A Malta posting introduced him to many historical aircraft and shipwrecks. On leaving the service he completed a commercial diving course returned to Mombasa and was involved in salvage operations on the Kenya coast. In 1976 he published his first book on East African railway history and in 1977 became a commercial diver in the Arabian Gulf based in Bahrain and later established a marine salvage company. As part of his interest in military history he was involved in the restoration of British forces graves in Bahrain and the recovery at sea of a propeller from a crashed Air France airliner as a memorial to those killed and was honored by the French government. In the 1990s he published a number of books on the military and transport history of East Africa and an acclaimed study of the German cruiser 'Königsberg' sunk in East Africa in 1915. Now resident in the UK writing and research continues together with presenting talks on a variety of subjects. This work is the fourth in a series of private publications by Kevin Patience reflecting his interest in Zanzibar and aspects of its history in the late 19th and early 20th century. Kevin Patience's approach to his subject is clearly inspired by both his long association with East Africa and his professional work as a salvage diver. Through this he has developed a real fascination for a very particular period of British naval history in this part of the world. The book touches on the Royal Navy's role in three different areas: the suppression of the slave trade the bombardment of the Sultan's palace in 1896 and the punitive expeditions mounted on the East African coast in the early years of colonialism. It is richly illustrated by a superb collection of contemporary photographs attributed to Mr A Gomez "Zanzibar's premier photographer" and only recently unearthed in the Zanzibar archives. Mr Patience deals dispassionately with the Royal Navy's laudable role in the suppression of the slave trade as he does with its role in punitive expeditions on the East African coast. The combination of Mr Patience's easy writing style and the marvelous photos makes Zanzibar - Slavery and the Royal Navy an attractive and enjoyable read. Zanzibar Publications/Published by the Author paperback