A tool for reassessment: using the archives of Frederick Lugard at Oxford and online

Abstract The extensive archives of Frederick Lugard are an underused resource for reassessing Lugard himself, reconsidering his impact on specific places and issues, and uncovering African perspectives, refracted as they inevitably are by the perspective of an explorer, military officer, colonial governor, and elder statesman. Literature searches reveal that scholars seldom consult the Lugard papers. They will be of particular interest for scholars from Africa studying the effects on pre-colonial African states of British interference, the onset of foreign rule, and the efforts of African individuals, communities, and elites to resist or co-opt imperial power.