The National Archives
Search The National Archives
Advanced search
Africa Map

Africa through a lens is a set of thousands of images taken from a broader photographic collection of Foreign and Commonwealth Office images, held at The National Archives. Starting with some incredible early photographs from the 1860s, the images span over 100 years of African history. These images are now available, for the first time, to view online.

The collection was brought about by the request of the Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1869. He asked governors to arrange for the taking of photographs of ‘noteworthy buildings and scenery … together with individuals of various races peculiar to the colony’. Each governor interpreted the task in his own way, which has culminated in this unique and varied collection. The original records include what appear to be personal scrapbooks, official albums, printed pamphlets and even framed photographs and paintings. Some images are official public information shots, others are hand drawn sketches. The number of images for each country also varies, depending on how diligently the request was carried out.

The collection covers over 20 African countries from the 1860s up until the 1980s. The photographs help illustrate stories from Africa; from the ‘Scramble for Africa’ in the late 19th Century through to the independence of the African nations in the 1950s and 1960s. Included are pictures of chiefs, tribesmen and villages, famous landmarks, notable events, schools, farming and wildlife. Several photos show the construction of roads, bridges and harbours, while others show the development of industry, training and education. There are also images of demonstrations and celebrations of independence.

The National Archives and the photographic collection

In 2008 The National Archives acquired the Colonial Office photographic collection from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Following conservation work to ensure the future preservation of the images, the series has been digitised. This means we can provide online access to this stunning and rare collection of images, worldwide. We are beginning this project with Africa.

Read More

ImagesImages

We have posted a large number of the images from Africa onto the photo sharing website Flickr to give you a chance to tell us about them.

Some of the images are fully captioned but many aren't. Do you recognise anything or anyone in the photographs? Do they provoke any personal memories? Perhaps you have a similar picture from your own travels.

If so, leave a comment or tag the image on Flickr.

View the collection on Flickr

Please note the pictures and the captions attached to them are representative of the time they were taken. They frequently use terms that would not be used today. However, our role is to preserve the integrity of the historic public record, which is why they have been preserved and presented as originally captured.

  • A dental assistant attends a patient at the Dental Unit, Princess Margaret Hospital, Dar es Salaam (1960)
  • Unchartered country between Eil dur Elan and J Serut. 8,000ft (1919-20)
  • Type hairdressing (1901)
  • Carriers crossing a river on the seaboard Appolonia (1901)
  • On way up from Enugh (1922-23)
  • Ground nut farmer at Sokoto (1955)
  • H.B shakes hands with one of the sub-chiefs during coronation time (1953)
  • East African Railways and Harbours, Railway Training School. Recreation and welfare: soccer (1950s)
  • ‘Amateur barber’ among the workers on the coffee farm. Gethumbwini Estate, Thika (1945)
  • Village midwife, Rachel Yusuti (holding the baby), Mnyiramba an Ayah Brina Masasi, Msukuma, Weighing an infant and giving advice to the mother during an infant welfare clinic session at Kishapu Native Authority Dispensary and Clinic in Shinyanga District, lake Province.
  • Image from a collection of loose prints produced by the Tanganyika Public Relations Department (late 1950s)
  • Image from a collection of loose prints produced by the Tanganyika Public Relations Department (late 1950s)
  • Image from a collection of loose prints produced by the Tanganyika Public Relations Department (late 1950s)
  • Three successful candidates in Tanganyika first general elections congratulate one another on the declaration of the poll in September of last year. They are (left to right): Mr G. T. Lewis, Mr Julius Nyerere and Mr A. H. Jamal who were elected members of the Legislative Council for the Eastern Province constituency under a tripartite voting system
  • Taken from collection of images from the visit by Iain Macleod, Secretary of State for the Colonies (March 1961)