This book explores the decision of the British Empire to import Chinese labour to southern Africa despite the already tense racial situation in the region. It enables a clearer understanding of racial and political developments in southern Africa during the reconstruction period and places localised issues within a wider historiography.

Rachel Bright is Lecturer in Modern History at Keele University, UK. Previously she was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of East Anglia, and has taught at the London School of Economics and Goldsmith's College, London. Bright completed her PhD at King's College London in 2009 and before that, was Programme Manager for scholarships at The Fulbright Commission.