chapter 16: attitudes to empire- role of individuals Flashcards
what was Gandhi’s background?
He trained as a barrister in London but enjoyed little success and returned to India
-Gandhi began his career practising in South Africa for 20 years from 1893. He campaigned against racism and segregation, championing the civil rights of Indians who had settled in the area – challenging the British and the Afrikaners
-His effort in South Africa won him widespread respect and opened doors in the Congress
what were Gandhi’s beliefs?
Gandhi favoured peaceful resistance to British rule – based on Satyagraha principle. Satyagraha was rejecting violence to combat evil, relying on peaceful protests to appeal to the moral conscience and compassion of
one’s opponents e.g. strikes, boycotts, protests and peaceful disobedience
-He wanted a united India with tolerance and equal rights for Hindu’s and Muslims. He rejected the caste
system, particularly arguing against discrimination against ‘untouchables’ and strongly opposed the partition
-He wanted an independent India build on spiritual and social traditions. He wanted a predominantly
agricultural and rural society which rejected the urbanisation and industrialisation of the west. For him,
religion was fundamental to the conduct of human affairs. He distrusted all forms of modern technology which
alienated many of the conventional liberal progressives in Congress
what campaigns was Gandhi involved in?
-1907 Speaking he set out his commitment to the ordinary people of India and condemned the hardships the
endured under both British rule and the iniquitous caste system
-1915 Becomes President of the Indian National Congress and began to immerse himself in political affairs. He travelled the country, supporting popular protests
against British rule
-1917-18 Championed the downtrodden indigo workers of Bihar and textile workers of Ahmedabad. He was
interested in gaining rights for poor Indians
-1919 The Rowlatt Act appalled him as they were unjust and abolished the normal legal process for all political offences
* 1919 After the Amritsar massacre he began his campaign for full Indian independence. Congress was reborn as
a dynamic mass movement which embraced the peasantry and industrial workers
-1920 Helped organise the Non-Cooperation Movement. Taxes were withheld, British titles were returned and
imported goods form the empire were not bought. By the end of 1922 more than 30 000 Indians had been
arrested ad as the architect of this mass action, Gandhi was quickly established as the leading figure in Indian nationalism.
-1930-31, 1932-34 Helped organise the Civil Disobedience Movement against unjust laws, including his antisalt tax campaign (1931) culminating in 24-day march to Dandi to make salt in defiance of the British
monopoly. Gandhi was arrested along with over 80,000 supporters.
-1931 The Round Table Conference. Gandhi claimed to speak for the whole of India and questioned the
presence of other Indian representatives. This went straight to the core of Muslim fears, and significantly
undermined the negotiations, which resulted in a failure to reach an agreement. His actions in London
disrupted what was perhaps the best opportunity yet offered to nationalists
-1942 Helped organise the Quit India Movement during WW2 which led to his eventual arrest by the British. It
was ‘a poorly judged action that failed to take in account the divided loyalties of the Indian nation’ ‘It received
dismal support throughout the nation – victory over Hitler took precedence over grassroots India’
-1947 Strongly opposed the partition of India and fasted again to show opposition to Hindu-Muslim violence
how was Gandhi important?
Gandhi’s reputation was as a moral as well as a political leader. His methods made it difficult for the British to respond. Non violent resistance proved effective in hurting British economic interests and forced the British to use violent repression to break up demonstrations and imprison national leaders. This was difficult for many British administrators who believed in the civilising mission of the empire. It was also embarrassing for the British internationally as it demonstrated that imperial rule ultimately rested not on peaceful and benign methods but on the exercise of ruthless might.
what and when was the anti-salt tax campaign?
In 1930, Gandhi organised a 24 day march to Dandi where he and his followers made salt from seawater in defiance of the British salt monopoly. Gandhi was arrested and more than 80,000 Indians were jailed for civil disobedience.
What changes were made to the imperial administration in London in 1925?
The Colonial Office was split into two departments: the Dominions Office, with its own Secretary of State
(this also took responsibility for the small number of other territories, most notably Southern Rhodesia) and the
Colonial Office itself
-Three cabinet members were responsible to Parliament for the good governance of the Commonwealth and
Empire: the Secretary of State for the colonies, the Secretary of State for India and the Secretary of State for
the Dominions
-Beneath the three secretaries of state were the permanent officials at Whitehall, and below them, spreading
across the Empire, the administrative services which backed up and exercised imperial power
How were the Dominions governed, especially after 1931?
The Dominions recruited and appointed their own civil service, but the British Crown still continued to appoint
the governor-general
-After the Statute of Westminster in 1931 when the Dominions became autonomous, the Governor-General in the Dominions ceased to be an imperial official and instead became merely the representative of the crown
How were colonial administrators appointed from 1930 and how did pay vary?
The colonial services were unified in 1930 Individuals were no longer appointed directly to individual colonial
governments and applied centrally to the Colonial office. The quality of recruits generally improved, particularly in Africa, where the future of colonial government
looked assured
* The bulk of administrators continued to be recruited form similar if not the same, public schools and the
traditional universities
-Pay varied enormously for example the Governor of Nigeria in 1922, for example, could expect a salary of £8250 per annum, whereas a cadet
starting work in Kenya earned approximately £200 per annum
What was ‘trusteeship’? Who supported it?
There was a developing idea that colonial administration in the less-developed parts of the Empire, practically
in Africa, should be a form of trusteeship. Administrators were there to protect native interests, foster the colony’s economic growth and ‘nurture’ it
towards greater self-rule. It was the duty of colonial government, before it thought of giving self-rule to any colony, to work to establish the infrastructure of ‘good’ government there which meant educational, welfare, medical and administrative
services but chiefly the economic prosperity which would make these things possible
-In 1927, a White Paper written by the Colonial Secretary, Leo Amery, argued in favour of trusteeship with
colonists and promoting their interests. A Royal Commission under Sir Edward Hilton Young in 1929 ruled our self-government and federation in
East Africa in favour of a policy of ‘trusteeship’
what, when and who put forward the idea of a “dual mandate”
In 1931, Lord Passfield went a step further and argued in favour of a ‘dual mandate’. This was the belief that a colonial power had a double responsibility: to its colonial peoples, it owed material
and moral advancements leading to self-government; to the outside worlds it had the obligation to see that the natural resource of its colonies were developed and exploited
Examples of colonial administrators in Britain?
-Edwin Montagu – Secretary of State for India from 1917-22. He was responsible for reforms which led to the Government of India Act 1919
-Leo Amery – Colonial secretary who argued in favour of ‘trusteeship’
-Sir Ralf Furse – He was responsible for improving the recruitment and training of administrators. He was
responsible for the 1930 reform of appointments to colonial service and became the director of recruitment in a
new personal division in 1931. His reforms heled to establish a standard system of recruitment and training. He
was given the nickname the ‘father of the modern Colonial Service’. He considerable improved the quality of
those in the colonial service
-Lord Passfield - argued in favour of the dual mandate
examples of colonial administrators in India?
-Sir Harry Haig – A lifelong colonial administrator in India. He was reluctantly coming to terms with the idea
of Indians as partners in empire. He was an opponent of Gandhi’s campaign for independence
-Lord Chelmsford – Viceroy of India from 1916-21. Responsible for reforms which led to the Government of
India Act 1919
- Lord Linlithgow – Viceroy of India from 1935-43. He actively promoted the further enfranchisement of
Indians in the Government of India Act 1935 believing further reform would weaken the more radical
nationalists and give rise to more responsible Indian politicians who would see the wisdom of working with the
British towards the longer-term goal of self-government. He was an implacable opponent of Gandhi and resorted to suppression during the Indian civil disobedience campaign. Indians blamed him for the division and
lack of economic development in the country but he was praised in Britain
examples of colonial administrators in Africa?
-Sir Donald Cameron – He was the Governor of Tanganyika (1924-31) and of Nigeria (1931-35). He greatly
admired Lugard. He believed in the trusteeship principle. He promoted the exports of ground nuts and palm oil
in Nigeria and the building of harbours and railways in Tanganyika. He wanted to advance the colonies
economically and supported the entry of indigenous peoples into the civil service but he favoured a gradual
path to more self-rule
-Sir Philip Mitchell – He had experience in various areas of the empire but went to Uganda in 1935. He
fulfilled the trusteeship principle’ by extending Makerere College ad working to create a more educated
African elite
-Baron Hailey - He was in the Indian Civil Service and was a key participant in the conferences leading to the 1935 Government of India Act. He travelled over 20 000 miles for the Royal Institute of International Affairs
to produce ‘an African survey’ in 1938 which was so comprehensive and thoughtfully produced that it proved
a highly influential study for future of British policy even after WW2
-Sir Charles Arden-Clarke – He moved to he Gold Coast after the war and presided over the first British
African colony to gain independence in 1957
-Sir Andrew Cohen – He had considerable sympathy for the plight of the native African peoples and was one of
the earliest to understand the need for decolonisation. He cultivated contacts with African nationalists and
when appointed Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Colonial Office in 1947 was able to influence steps
towards greater independence
