British Colonial Administration Research Articles

Frank Weston of Zanzibar

On 2 November 1924, Bishop Frank Weston died at Hegongo, in what is now Tanzania. He was a significant theologian and controversialist, defending an Anglicanism rooted in Chalcedonian theology and episcopal ecclesiology. He rejected modernist theology not least because it implied that African Christians had to adopt European liberalism to understand the gospel. He lambasted German and British colonial administrations as disingenuous and inhumane. His commitment to orthodox theology, social justice, and rejection of claims for European superiority, remain relevant in a world still marred by injustice and neocolonial matrices which would seek to diminish the people of Africa.

A Study of Colonial Confrontation in The Things Fall Apart

This research paper critically examines the portrayal of colonial confrontation in Chinua Achebe’s "Things Fall Apart," highlighting the themes of suppression and oppression. It argues that Achebe adeptly reconstructs the historical and political context of the Igbo people's recent past, illustrating their suppression and oppression by European colonizers. Furthermore, the paper explores how Achebe portrays Igbo community life and demonstrates how the arrival of white missionaries and colonial administrators gradually undermined traditional Igbo values. This erosion occurred initially through religious conversions and later through the imposition of colonial political structures, ultimately leading to the dismantling of traditional Igbo society. Thus, the novel addresses various forms of suppression—social, political, religious, cultural, economic, and educational—imposed on the Igbo tribe by the British colonial administration.

Joseph William Bhore (1878-1960): The Architect Behind the Bhore Committee Legacy.

Sir Joseph William Bhore was a civil official from India. He pioneered the health survey and development committee, known as the Bhore Committee, which set the direction for India's public health facilities and investments. The chairmanship of the Health Survey and Development Committee, which the British colonial administration formed in 1943, is arguably the most well-known role Bhore has held. The committee was founded in 1943 and produced a thorough report in 1946. The committee's suggestions shaped India's health policy and planning and the course of the country's health care growth.

Cultivating Pacific Cocoa: Chinese Plantation Labor in Colonial Era Samoa and Vanuatu

Abstract From the 1890s to the 1930s the cocoa plantations of the southwest Pacific relied on Pacific Islander and Asian indentured labor from China and Vietnam. In Samoa and the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) white planters lobbied colonial administrations for permission to introduce Chinese under contract as indentured labor, a coercive and controversial labor system. This article points to the role of transimperial economic competition in encouraging the use of indentured labor, traversing German, French, and British colonial administrations in the Pacific. Cocoa cultivation, white planters argued, required more regular attention compared with sugar or copra, and Chinese indentured workers were deemed the most suitable to meet these requirements. Australian, New Zealand and British administrators in the Pacific, who were keenly aware of ongoing French indenture practices, lobbied to introduce and retain indentured labor. Without the perceived competitive edge of indentured labor, cocoa cultivation was considered unlikely to prosper. It was not until the mid-1930s that recruitment of Chinese indentured labor ended. It came at a time of international and Chinese calls for abolition of coerced labor but was also driven by anti-immigration and pro-white nationalist sentiments. Even after recruitment ceased, the New Zealand administration in Samoa obliged Chinese workers to remain on the cocoa plantations. While the French did repatriate Chinese recruits, they retained Vietnamese workers. Only after 1945 were indentured workers freed from the obligation to cultivate cocoa, and finally permitted to abandon the plantations.

The Obscure Appellate: The Egyptian Islamic Supreme Court, 1898–1955

Abstract This article examines the Egyptian Islamic Supreme Court (al-Maḥkama al-ʿUlyā l-Sharʿiyya), thereafter the isc, and its role in overseeing Islamic judicial practice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The isc introduced new procedural requirements for dispensation of justice and assumed the responsibility to defend the jurisdiction of Islamic courts against persistent attempts by British colonial administrators and reform-minded political and bureaucratic elite to limit, if not undermine, their authority. The isc marked the recalibration of the legal and judicial authority of the Chief Judge of Egypt (qāḍī Miṣr, an Ottoman administrative judicial position) along with Shaykh al-Azhar and the Muftī of Egypt (who used to exercise oversight of Islamic courts’ decisions and procedures), in favor of this institutional apparatus. The creation of the isc demonstrates the centrality of the regulatory authority of the Ministry of Justice in fostering any potentiality for Islamic law as a system of governance. The continuous attempts to regulate Islamic courts since the 1880s cannot be examined in isolation from the procedural developments pursued in the secular National and Mixed Courts. The role of the isc was determinative of Islamic judicial practice in lower Islamic courts across Egypt. As a result, operations of Islamic courts were readjusted to a set of evolving norms concerning internal coherence, judicial reasoning, adoption of procedural rules to reflect directives from the Ministry of Justice, and attention to the updated rules of evidence and appeal. This process underscores how Islamic judicial practice was both transformed and made possible through an interwoven set of institutions, actors, and traditions. I argue that this institution, the isc, provides an ideal site for critical and interdisciplinary reflection aimed at exploring both the structural and the contextual history of law in colonial Egypt.

Secularity and Muslim-Christian Relations in Uganda

Abstract The article reconstructs aspects of the secularizing project of the British colonial administration in Uganda by exploring how state regulatory practices in the field of Western school education set the conditions for two forms of religious difference: first, relations between Muslims as members of a religious minority and the Christian majority, and second, dynamics among Muslims that transpired not only in leadership competition but also in controversies over education and proper religious practice. Focusing on the intersections between a state regulatory regime and the activities of Muslims who claimed religious and political leadership on behalf of other Muslims in the areas of Buganda and Bugisu, the article argues that these Muslim intellectuals mediated and contributed to the colonial administration’s production of Muslims as a religious minority. As articulators of Islam, they (re)formulated and debated the forms and purpose of Muslim education and partly novel understandings of proper religious practice, and what it means to be a modern, pious Muslim in the new colonial order. Their political aspirations were hampered, not only as a direct consequence of the colonial administration’s production of systematic inequalities between Christians and Muslims, but also as a result of the dynamics of intra-Muslim plurality.

IMPACT OF BRITISH COLONIALISM ON THE ỌDIONWERE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTION IN BENIN KINGDOM, NIGERIA

This study examines the profound impact of British colonialism on the Odionwere conflict management institution in Benin Kingdom, Nigeria. Before the colonial intervention, the Odionwere played a crucial role in resolving disputes and maintaining social harmony within the community. However, the advent of British colonial rule in the late 19th century significantly changed traditional governance structures. The imposition of indirect rule by the British colonial administrators altered the Benin Kingdom’s power dynamics, marginalizing the Odionwere’s authority. The establishment of colonial courts and the introduction of Western legal systems further undermined the traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. This study explores how the Odionwere, once central to dispute resolution, experienced a decline in influence and autonomy as colonial policies reshaped the socio-political landscape. By meticulously analyzing archival documents, oral histories, and ethnographic data, this research contributes to understanding the intricate interplay between colonialism and Indigenous institutions, shedding light on the lasting repercussions of colonial policies on local governance structures and conflict resolution practices in the Benin Kingdom.

Transmutation of The Reproductive Life of Women in Southern/West Cameroon(S) 1922-1972: A Colonial Manipulation

In all human communities, societal continuity depended on the quality and availability of infant and maternity welfare services. Conscious of the outcomes of infancy care on the productive efficiency of individuals at adulthood, the reproductive life of women and child welfare became an area of European domination during colonialism. Using British Southern/West Cameroon(s) as the theatre, this paper sets out to uncover colonial motives in the transformation of reproductive practices among women as it examines the different strategies and mechanisms employed in extending maternity and infant welfare as a measure of colonial imperialism. Archival information and oral interviews made up primary sources while books, published articles and dissertations constituted the secondary sources. The descriptive historical approach was employed in the analysis of the work. This paper submits that: the British colonial administration in Southern Cameroons had a mask colonial exploitative economic agenda behind the assignment put forth by the League of Nations Mandate Commission in its Article II of the British Mandate agreement. A baseless racial discrimination and cultural domination motivated the transformation of the reproductive life of indigenous women and the extension of basic infant welfare services during the Mandate and trusteeship periods in Southern Cameroons. These services were mostly provided by Western Mission agencies and plantation firms who recognized the independence of Southern Cameroons but withheld the rights to medical autonomy. In some cases, the transfer of rights to manage the medical arm of the different agencies was partially transferred during the last years of the Cameroon federation and in some cases after the abrogation of the Cameroon federation. The British decision to administer Southern Cameroons as a mandate was a conspiracy to enforce the tentacles of colonialism and its diverse arms with hope of greater economic and cultural gains.

Aleppo Buttons and Sulphur Injections: The Politics of Science and Citation in Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan

Summary This article explores the experiences of two doctors, Jamil Tutunji and Tawfiq Canaan, in their efforts to interact with, contribute to and debate with international colleagues in the medical journals of the 1920s–40s. Respectively from Transjordan and Palestine, both at the time ruled by British colonial administrations under League of Nations Mandates, these men’s work seems to have been ignored or sidelined in favour of that by European or European-Jewish scholars working on similar topics. The resulting trajectories they followed, however, differed significantly, highlighting the shifting opportunities available to scientists of Arab origin in the colonial world of academic publishing, collaboration and citation. Canaan and Tutunji’s engagement with medical research highlights the precarity of their positions as doctors committed to a model of medicine the operation of which was policed by professionals and institutions in the colonial metropole.

Dirty Documents and Illegible Signatures: Doctoring the Archive of British Imperialism and Decolonization.

This article uses the surviving records of the Hanslope disclosure to track the British government's efforts to censor colonial archives in the era of decolonization. As staff withdrew from colonies around the world, they were instructed to either destroy or 'migrate' to Britain large quantities of records that held sensitive, embarrassing, or potentially incriminating details about the history of British colonial administration. Some 25,000 files were eventually shipped to the UK in a program called 'Operation Legacy' where they fell into legal limbo and out of institutional memory. Millions more were burned or ditched at sea. This article pursues these archival policies as they gradually evolved from Malaya to East Africa, the Caribbean, and into the post-colonial era. In giving special attention to Operation Legacy's broader temporal and geographic sweep, this article meditates on two key points. First, while colonial officials actively learned from their colleagues in other colonies, they were forced to adapt Operation Legacy to local circumstances. The uneven application of this policy reflected the late British Empire's status as a patchwork of sovereignties in which people were governed differently. Second, while evidence is limited, officials across disparate colonial administrations were bound together by a common impulse. They sought not only to destroy and 'migrate' records but also to doctor files that could then be transferred to newly independent governments. In the end, the goal was to mask the disconnect in the archives between rhetoric and reality-of the alleged aspirations of Britain's 'civilizing mission' and its history of colonial violence, systemic racism, and other inconvenient truths.

Journey through Time: Mapping Cachar's Nineteenth Century Roadways

Nestled in the southern part of Assam, Cachar holds a fascinating and rich history. This remote area, situated in the northeastern corner of India and endowed with abundant natural resources, proved to be an enticing prospect for the British colonial administration. The tumultuous conditions prevalent in Cachar during the latter part of the Cachari rule under Govinda Chandra provided an opening for the British. Following the tragic assassination of Govinda Chandra in 1830, the English East India Company annexed Cachar on 14th August 1832. Subsequently, with an aim for administrative efficiency, the British government embarked on various developmental initiatives, including the construction and improvement of infrastructure such as roads and bridges, as part of their colonization endeavors in the region. This initiative indirectly contributed to the overall well-being of the people of Cachar. This paper aims to highlight the advancements made in the development of road networks in Cachar, essential elements that not only facilitated internal and external trade and commerce but also created avenues for new markets. The progress in infrastructure played a pivotal role in the expansion of the tea plantation in Cachar. Furthermore, these developments proved crucial for British administrators in Cachar, empowering them to effectively govern the region.

“Moderate” vs “Extremist” Muslims? How a decontextualized distinction can trigger a contradictory assessment of security and radicalization in Malaysia

Abstract This article demonstrates how the application of a broad and decontextualized distinction between “moderate” and “extremist” Muslims can undermine our assessment of an Islamic identity, security, and radicalization. It compares how this distinction has been used by the British colonial administrators (in Raffles, Crawfurd, Marsden, and Swettenham) in nineteenth-century Malaya and by Malaysia's Prime Ministers (Mahathir, Badawi, and Najib) in the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries. This comparison demonstrates that both groups, despite their very different backgrounds (Western non-Muslim and Muslim non-Western), introduced a similar distinction between “moderate” and “extremist” driven more by socio-political objectives than by religious ones. Furthermore, the article stresses the importance of considering the socio-political and contextual dimensions of Islamic identity before attempting to explain the process of radicalization and its implications for security. Such an approach discourages reference to broad categories such as “moderate,” “extremist,” “Islamism,” or “Salafism,” and allows for discussion of their contextual and socio-political connotations.

Legacies of Colonial Violence in Contemporary Transitional Justice: Memories of Mau Mau, the ‘Kapenguria Six’ and the ‘Ocampo Six’ in Kenya

ABSTRACT∞ This article assesses the enduring impact of colonial violence in responses to modern conflict by transitional justice mechanisms. It presents an example of how societies continue to be structured by racial and colonial injustice and how this influences contemporary transitional justice. This is done through an analysis of the popular memory of the Mau Mau insurgency from 1952 to 1960 in Kenya, the trial of the six Kenyan nationalists known as the ‘Kapenguria Six’ by the British colonial administration and the trials of six Kenyans alleged to be most responsible for orchestrating the 2007–2008 post-election violence in Kenya, known as the ‘Ocampo Six’ before the International Criminal Court (ICC). In the Kenyan context, the influence of memories of colonial violence enabled the promotion of political agendas and arguably coloured public debate surrounding the two Kenya cases before the ICC. Transitional justice mechanisms such as the ICC do not operate in an ahistorical vacuum and international criminal trials as a form of transitional justice may be contested where there is no genuine accountability, redress or reparations for victims of colonial crimes. However, the juxtaposition of colonial crimes and the ICC prosecutions in Kenya also raises important questions relating to accountability for historical crimes in former colonies, the temporal limitations of transitional justice mechanisms and their unequal application.

Colonial Roots of the Contemporary Economic Crisis in Subsaharan Africa (SSA): The Case of Nigeria and Tanzania

Tanzania is a low-income oil-importing developing country, with characteristics that typify the vulnerability of a Third World economy, with external debt payment crisis. Nigeria on the other hand, is a mineral-rich oil-exporting country also enmeshed in debt crisis. Sadly, Nigeria has been the region’s largest borrower. Both countries have different economic development strategies. While Tanzania with initial socialist bent, capitulated to the conditionalities of multilateral agencies, Nigeria on the other hand followed the path of a mixed economy and later reverted to the capitalist economic mode. This discourse examines the colonial roots of the economic crisis in both Nigeria and Tanzania. The study also x-rays the impacts of British colonial administration on Nigeria and Tanzania, and the political and economic systems that evolved in these colonies. The work found out that the imposition of indirect rule, which meant the superimposition of the colonial method of government on the various indigenous emirates, kingdoms, and tribal chieftaincies in Nigeria and Tanzania was for economic exploitation. The work submits that the underlying motive of colonialism was to ensure the effective and unchallenged exploitation of the colonies for the benefit of British capitalists, and the indirect rule system was intended as the best way to accomplish this end. This exploitation has however continued unabetted into the present-day neo-colonial exploitation aided by both Nigerian and Tanzanian collaborators.

The Evolution of Accounting Practices in Lesotho: From Colonial Influences to Contemporary Standards

This research explores the historical trajectory of accounting practices in Lesotho, from their origins during the colonial era to the adoption of current international standards. Adopting a qualitative historical analysis methodology, the study systematically examines governmental records, archival sources, early financial statements, and academic literature to trace the introduction of Western accounting systems by British colonial administrators. These systems gradually replaced the indigenous Basotho approaches to trade and record-keeping. Special attention is given to Lesotho’s adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) through the full adoption method, which was implemented to align the nation’s financial reporting with global practices. The research also assesses relevant financial laws and regulatory frameworks to highlight the significant changes shaping Lesotho’s accounting landscape. The findings reveal a nuanced interaction between colonial legacies, local traditions, and globalization, underscoring ongoing challenges in balancing cultural preservation with the demands of a modern economy. This study provides new insights into the evolution of accounting practices in Lesotho, reflecting the complex interplay between tradition and international accounting standards.

The paradoxical interplay between the British colonial enterprise, masculinity, and reparation in the Caribbean in Lovelace’s The Schoolmaster

Novelist and thinker, Earl Lovelace posits a humanistic revision of postcolonial readings of the concept of reparation in his essays in Growing in the Dark, particularly in “Reparation: For &and From Whom,” and “Working Obeah.” While he does not supplant the fundamental argument that European beneficiaries of slavery should assume some responsibility for the restitution and repair of descendants of Africa, he questions the idea of reparation as an act of dependency, something handed out by the “other,” – be it European or post-independence Caribbean governments. Instead, he imagines reparation to include the agency of the colonial subject who assumes authority and responsibility for his repair. Consequently, while Lovelace recognizes the importance of the social and economic requirements of reparation, he privileges the psychological processes. Earl Lovelace’s, The Schoolmaster provides a useful platform from which to examine the applicability of the author’s reading of the concept of reparation within the framework of repressive and hegemonic framework enforced by the British colonial administration in pre-independence, Trinidad and Tobago. This study investigates the influence of British colonizing policies on the development of masculinity in the pre-independence Caribbean, specifically the ongoing struggle for reparation. Whereas a number of prior studies use the West Indian novel to demonstrate how the crises within masculinities result from patriarchal standards of ownership and control, this study also uses Caribbean fiction to prompt meaningful discussions on the healing of maimed masculinities. Due to the psychological implications encoded in Lovelace’s conceptualization of reparation, this paper, understandably, privileges a psychoanalytic approach.

Transforming African musics at a South African university

AbstractThis article critically engages with the discipline of African musics in the academy. It examines the process of curriculum transformation of the African music section at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town since 2005 as an emergent curriculum model for an integrated approach to the teaching of African musics at universities. The adoption of this curriculum predated the 2015–2016 fervent calls in South Africa to decolonise the university, which necessitates an approach to teaching African musics not rooted in its colonial past. As is known, the study and research of African musics in the academy partly stemmed from the efforts of European (and later US) researchers who often received support through the British colonial administration and much of their output seemed to be focused on convincing their peers about the virtues of ‘African music’ and the study thereof. Despite this history, there is evidence to support the fact that in most African universities, the music departments are far more interested in teaching Western art music and its virtues. In recognition of the calls by students for radical changes to the curricula in South African universities, the article seeks to answer the question ‘how do we consider ongoing changes to the knowledge both received and produced in this field?’

Two-Nation Theory and division of the Indian Subcontinent: analysing the idealist and revisionist perspectives

Two-Nation Theory, long regarded as the linchpin of the partition of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947, has come under scrutiny by revisionist scholars who seek to challenge and question the prevailing idealism surrounding this historical division. Revisionist perspectives offer a critical analysis of the Two-Nation Theory by contesting its oversimplified portrayal of Muslims in the Subcontinent. These scholars assert that the theory, which framed the partition because of irreconcilable religious differences, neglects the intricate tapestry of cultural, linguistic, and regional identities among Muslims. Moreover, revisionists delve into the multifaceted causes of partition, asserting that it cannot be solely attributed to religious disparities. They emphasise the role of political manoeuvring, economic inequalities, power dynamics, and the shortcomings of leadership in shaping this historical event. Revisionist arguments also suggest that political leaders, such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the All-India Muslim League, may have strategically employed the Two-Nation Theory to secure advantages during negotiations with the British colonial administration. This challenges the prevailing notion that the demand for a separate Muslim state primarily reflects religious sentiment. This research attempts to contemplate the revisionist perspectives on the Two-Nation Theory, which ultimately led to the division of the Subcontinent.

The Criminalisation of the Indian-Irani Community by British Colonial Administration in India During Years 1842 to 1940 and Onwards

Indian Iranis are denotified/nomadic tribes living in India since the sixteenth century. A large migrating group of them was declared criminals under British law. Post-independence too this label continued. Even today, police, media and society treat them as criminals. This article argues that though the British-targeted group of the Indian-Irani community was not involved in crime considerably (28 convictions of petty thefts in 98 years), it was noted as criminal tribes in police reports in and around the Bombay presidency from the year 1842 to 1940. A Police Report on Vagrant Bands of Foreigners of 1879 and notes and books by the then British police officers reflect the same. A then foreign-originated, nontribal, isolated community of Indian Iranis was labelled as criminals by the British colonial administration step-wise. The article briefs that the undue criminalisation of one group from this community further led to the criminalisation of the larger group from this community in independent India. Primary data witnessing the impact of such constant criminalisation on the current generation of the community in Ambivli, Thane district, Maharashtra is also briefly discussed in this article. The theories of labelling in criminology most fit to describe this criminalisation.

Female Education in Contemporary North-East; With a Special Reference to Yobe, Borno and Adamawa States, Nigeria: Impediments and Prospects

This study titled “Female Education In Contemporary North-East; with A Special Reference To Yobe, Borno And Adamawa States, Nigeria: Impediments And Prospects has been established to examine the inception, growth, nature, essence extent and impact of its acquisition on human existence and society of the areas under review, as well as the positive and negative development associated with it aimed at highlighting some of the major obstacles confronting our subject matter of study for an outstanding solution to the problems. This signifies that it is an intellectual attempt to portray what the concept of Female Education means from gender point of view. In the course of conducting the study both interviews, published and unpublished source were interacted with. In addition to the above, both quantitative and qualitative techniques for presentation and analysis were adopted and applied into use. In the first instance, the study argues that there was neither evidence of the emergence of female scholars nor schools established for female education in the Northern Emirates, regardless of the studied areas until after the 1804 Sokoto Jihad (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), which brought about the formation of Yantaru Institute for Female Religious Education in the Sokoto Caliphate founded by Nana Asma’u Bin-Fodio’s biological daughter. The study also stresses that by 1903, this brand of education was not the priority of the British Colonial Administration but Political Power consolidation for the satisfaction of their multiple interests, purely for political, economic and social advancement of the metropolitan Europe, a full scale project inwardly executed under the pretext of exploitation of human and material resources of the colonized nations. The study observes that by 1930’s this brand of education started gathering momentum in our studied states and the North at large. It is against this backdrop, the idea of forming collaborative partnership between