THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

IN discussing colonial conditions, I shall in the main limit myself to those prevailing in the British Colonies. The character of the British colonial empire was modified as a result of the expansionist policy of the latter part of the last century. The Indian Empire and Burma have, of course, never been ranked as colonies. Up to about the eighties of last century, therefore, the Colonies comprised mainly Ceylon and a small part of Malaya in the eastern hemisphere, a number of trading settlements on the coasts of Africa, and in the western hemisphere, the old British possessions in the West Indies. The period of expansion added in Africa alone an area roughly equal to that of British India, together with parts of Borneo, an extended area in Malaya, and some of the Southern Pacific islands. The new territories were largely tropical in character; but, what is more important, the majority of then–popúlations were at a stage at which they had needs, both material and social, far greater than those of some of the older dependencies. Judged in terms of approach to our own type of civilization, they were far more backward. On the other hand, we had then available to us the result of much previous experience of colonial development; above all, we had by this time at our service an amount of knowledge regarding the employment of the applied sciences in social development which was far in advance of that possessed by our predecessors. We had another advantage. Earlier in the last century, tropical products (excluding, of course, certain of the minerals, and the precious metals) were in demand only in the luxury market of the more highly developed countries. But the rapid growth of standards of living in those countries has made the luxuries of our grandfathers the necessities of whole populations to-day. Such things as cocoa, the great range of vegetable oils, coffee or bananas are typical of the tropical products which have become essential to the general population of Europe and America, and thus can assist the tropical peoples in financing the social services needed to improve their standards of life.