The role and influence of individuals

Question 1

What type of individuals played a key role in these years ?

Answer 1

• Colonial administrators
• Nationalist leaders

Question 2

Role of Colonial administrators ?

Answer 2

• played a key role in the running of the empire
• attempted to combine the idea of the empire with the needs of economic and social progress

Question 3

Why did colonel administrators face a tough job/challenge in these years ?

Answer 3

• they were charged to collect taxes
• had to maintain stability and order in the face of the growing nationalist movements, seeking new representation and influence

Question 4

Changes to imperial administration made in London in 1925 ?

Answer 4

• Colonial Office split in two departments.Dominions Office and the Colonial Office
• Three cabinet members responsible to Parliament for the good governance of the Commonwealth and Empire
• Beneath the three secretaries of state, are the permanent officials at Whitehall and below them are the administrative service which exercise imperial power

Question 5

Ways of colonial administration from colonial administrators ?

Answer 5

• ’ trusteeship ‘
• ’ dual mandate ‘

Question 6

What was trusteeship

Answer 6

• that colonial administration should be a form of trusteeship.
• administrators were there to protect native interests, foster the colony’s economic growth and ‘nurture ‘ towards self rule
• duty of colonial governance to establish infrastructure of ‘ good government ‘

Question 7

Who supported ‘ trusteeship ‘ ?

Answer 7

• In 1927, a white paper written by Colonial Secretary, Leo Emery, argued in favour of trusteeship with colonists and promoting their interests
• A Royal Commission under Sir Edward Hilton Yung in 1929 ruled our self government and federation in East Africa I favour of ‘ trusteeship ‘.

Question 8

Impact/ success of ‘ trusteeship’ ?

Answer 8

• effective as it kept both imperialists and anti- imperialists quiet as it anticipated the end of the empire, but not too soon
• Both the left and the right of the political spectrum endorsed doctrine of ‘ trusteeship’
• Kept some form of the empire so the British could benefit from their colonies

Question 9

Who was in favour of a ‘ dual mandate ‘ ?

Answer 9

• In 1931, Lord Passfield argued in favour of ‘ dual mandate ‘

Question 10

What was ‘ dual mandate ‘ ?

Answer 10

• the belief that a colonial power had a double responsibility :
• to its colonial people, it owed material and moral advancements leading to self government
• to the outside worlds it had the obligation to see that the natural resources of its colonies were developed and exploited