Colonial Policy and administration of Africa Flashcards
British African colonies fell into two categories ?
- colonies which were ruled ‘ indirectly ‘ by the British
What colonies were ruled ‘ indirectly ‘ by the British ?
- Most colonies in West Africa
- as well as Tanganyika, Uganda, Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia
- strategy of indirect rule extended to the League of Nation mandates, notably British Togoland, British Cameroon, Tanganyika and South West Africa
How did British rule colonies ‘ indirectly ‘ ?
- through existing local rulers
How did British rule colonies ‘directly ‘ ?
- colonies where substantial numbers of Europeans had settled
- British ruled through their own officials, with some representation for the white settler population
What colonies were ruled ‘ directly ‘ by the British ?
- included Southern Rhodesia and Kenya
- Union of South Africa was the strongest example of a white settler colony and had enjoyed Dominion status since 1910.
What did British colonial policy under indirect rule stress / focus on ?
- stressed the importance of the promotion of the colonies’ economic and social development
Why was it important to grow a colonies’ economic and social development ?
- both to increase their economic value to empire and improve living standards of the local population
Why was attempting to improve living standards in colonies, important for British ?
- increased living standards would limit nationalism and threat to British rule
What were the several initiatives in East and West Africa ?
- In the Sudan, Britain government allotted £3 million for the Gezira Cotton Scheme to increase cotton production. Compromised a major dam building and irrigation project
- In East Africa, in 1925, the British government allocated £10 million for improving rail and dock facilities
- In West Africa, there were investments in school and educational facilities
- Numerous agricultural research stations were set up in colonies across the continent
What was the Gezira Scheme
- a scheme in Sudan to increase cotton production which comprised a major dam building and irrigation project
How were these initiatives limited ?
- All of the African colonies where expected to be self - financing, which meant major projects had to be funded by taxes collected locally from African people
What was the Colonial Development Act of 1929 ?
- earmarked £1 million of British Treasury Funds for development projects across Empire
- helped several of the British colonies in Africa
Limitation of the Colonial Development Act of 1929 ?
- African colonies suffered from global impact of the Great Depression, like many other parts of the British Empire
Reality of the imperial policy ?
- was a very limited development policy
What factors led to opposition to British rule in African colonies ?
- Economic problems
- limited imperial development policy
How did the Africans oppose British rule ?
- express in the wave of strikes by African workers in affected areas such as the copper mines of Northern Rhodesia
Example of white settler putting pressure on British government / rule ?
- White settlers in Kenya put pressure on government to give Kenya a degree of self - government in 1920.
- Power was given to the 20-30,000 strong white settler community, who dominated the Legislative Council.
How did white settlers use their power / influence in Kenya ?
- used their influence to exclude from the fertile Northern Highlands both Indian and the Kikuyu, for whom this was a traditional homeland.
- White settler became wealthy through growing tea and coffee, and squeezed the Kikuyu by taxing them and banning them from growing these commercial products
Effect of white settlers on the Indian and Kikuyu ?
- Many were forced to migrate into the wage economics of the major cities such as Nairobi and Mombasa as they were economically exploited by white settlers
Impact of Kikuyu injustice in Kenya ?
- produced the first stirring of African nationalism among the Kikuyu which alarmed the Colonial Office
What was the ‘ Devonshire Declaration ‘ ?
- stressed that the interests of the black Africans had to be respected.
Did injustices towards Kikuyu stop after the ‘ Devonshire Declaration ‘ ?
- despite colonial authorities’ efforts to improve African agriculture and education, discriminatory legislation such as the so called ‘ master and servant ‘ laws continued to build momentum behind the political movements among the both African and Indian settlers
What was the white population like in Southern Rhodesia ?
- the white portions was similarly dominant.
- took political power and won what was effectively self - government in 1923
What were the rights of minorities in South Africa like ?
- In the Union of South Africa, promises to protect the rights of ethnic minrpites that had been built into the grant of the Dominion status in 1910 were also eroded.
What was the control of the white population like in South Africa ?
- White minority established its control over South Africa’s internal affairs by the 1930s
- Statute of Westminster of 1931, which gave the Dominions legislative autonomy, enabled this white dominance to continue
