British Colonial Government Research Articles

Personification in Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant"

The research has displayed the role of the literary figure of speech, personification used in the story of Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant". It has linked the four types of the personifications and how the British women have been applied as the personifications to extend the colonial government as the civilized and the superior race in the globe. As the British women have been found to be powerful to the British colonial government, so is the strength of the use personifications in the work of art and in the literary creativity. The personified objects and the seasons in the story have elevated its classic form to the fairy-tale as the story of the children and it has lured the attention of the readers. Reading such personified tales enhances the creativity of the children and of any readers but it is to be identified as the language of personifications by the readers while reading it. The beauty and the strength of the fairy-tale would be lost in absence of the personified objects and the seasons in the story "The Selfish Giant". Overall, personification in “The Selfish Giant” makes the story’s moral lessons more accessible and memorable for children by giving human traits to non-human elements and depicting their interactions in a way that resonates with the readers' own experiences and emotions. While younger children might understand personification more through the narrative and illustrations, older children might analyze it more critically and recognize it as a literary device used to enhance the story’s themes and moral lessons. It has been found that the teachers have to apply some of the techniques in the context for the students in making them comprehending the use of the personification in the story and by displaying the effectiveness of the use of the figure of speech in creating the curiosity for the learners.

The African Human Rights Perspectives Through the Lense of Oral Narratives

Human rights existed in African tradition for societal order and for community responsibility of success and failures. People enjoyed freedom and preserved freedom according to community beliefs and customs. Advocacy was expressed through singing, drama, storytelling and assignment of roles based on age gender and ability. This paper unfolds human rights advocacy oral narratives. Hausa dated as far as BC 14th or 15th Century Arabic writing with the first poets Ibn al- Sabbagh and Muhammadual- Barnawi, other writers of the time were Abdullahi Sikka and Shekh Jibril ibn Umar. The first novels written in Hausa were the result of a competition launched in 1933 by the Translation Bureau in northern Nigeria. One year later the bureau published Muhammadu Bello’s Gandoki, in which its hero, Gandoki, struggles against the British colonial regime. Bello does in Gandoki what many writers were doing in other parts of Africa during this period: he experiments with form and content. His novel blends the Hausa oral tradition and the novel, resulting in a story patterned on the heroic cycle; it also introduces a strong thread of Islamic history. Didactic elements, however, were awkwardly interposed and severely dilute Gandoki’s aesthetic content (as often happened in other similarly experimental African novels). But Bello’s efforts would eventually give rise to a more sophisticated tradition of novel writing in Hausa. His experimentation found its most successful expression in Amos Tutola’s English-language novel The Palm-Wine Drunkard (1952). The Oral narratives understudy Include: Falsehood is More Profitable than Truth (translated from Hausa) One cannot Help an Unlucky Man (translated from Hausa) Wacici and her Friends (translated from Kikuyu). The selected oral narratives experiences displayed injustice of belief in telling lies and trickery, jealousy against the natural beauty and the bad lack aspect due to ignorance and inability to make right judgment for personal benefit. The study was aimed at unfolding antisocial behaviour that existed in in Africa as portrayed in the selected oral narratives. The expression of reaction and action taken to bring social order were represented in the Hausa selected narratives. The study used qualitative method and textual analysis to arrive at the injustice and measures used to condemn injustice as a means to preserve social order

DEMOCRACY, FEDERALISM AND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

Nigeria became one of the federal societies under the supervision of the British colonial government in 1954. Federalism and democracy ceased when the military government usurped and suspended the Republican Constitution in 1966. The periods of military rule witnessed over-centralization of power at the centre, while the federating states became Lilliputians. The usurpation of jurisdictional competencies and centralization of power made the federating states and local governments default on their socio-economic responsibilities. The paper aims to elucidate the intricate relationship between federalism and democracy in Nigeria, shedding light on the repercussions of their erosion during military rule. Through a comprehensive review of historical events and constitutional changes, this study examined the consequences of over-centralization and jurisdictional encroachments during military governance. The paper revealed that the institutionalization of federalism once embraced without due consideration, led to detrimental adjustments and crises during military rule, significantly impeding socio-economic and political development. The paper concluded that democracy and federalism are twins ‘brothers’ and will remain relevant and last long when Nigerian leaders, particularly elected representatives, undertake constitutional reforms that prioritized power devolution to states and local governments. This adjustment, rooted in justice and fairness, will rejuvenate the symbiotic relationship between democracy and federalism, ensuring lasting relevance.

Puddles, creeks, and drainage: connected histories of water and malaria in Zanzibar, 1910–2021

This article draws on a combination of archival and oral sources in order to highlight the connected histories of water and malaria on the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar (Unguja) over the past century. We argue that in both the past and the present, water and malaria have been deeply connected, through the lifecycle of the disease, through control measures enacted, and in how Zanzibari residents continue to talk about the relationship between rain, puddles, stagnant water, and disease. Archival sources show that between roughly 1913 and 1957, the British colonial government managed malaria by managing water. That entailed a focus on watery breeding sites that included attention to both the micro: cattle hoofprints, and the macro: a multi-decade drainage of the tidal creek and surrounding swamp. These water-based malaria control efforts were limited in their efficacy by being geographically restricted to urban Zanzibar Town, and often limited to just the Stone Town area. 98 interviews conducted with Zanzibaris about malaria indicate that people continue to draw strong connections between malaria and the environment (mazingira), and that they most commonly discuss water’s relationship with malaria in terms of puddles (dimbwi/madimbwi), small puddles (kidimbwi/vidimbwi) and stagnant water (maji yaliyotuama).

The History of Togoland Under the British Rule (1914‒1956)

The article is devoted to the history of British Togoland, in particular, the central part of the Volta region (southeast of modern Ghana). The time frame of the study covers the period from the First World War to the incorporation of the Volta region into the Gold Coast. During the pre-colonial period, the region was a zone of active commercial networks, both in the slave trade and in a wide range of goods, which varied according to local and international demand. The ethnic majority living in the region is the Ewe group of peoples. The transition from the German colonial rule (1890–1914) – a short-term, but fundamentally important factor for the history of the region – led to the need of the Bremen missionaries work adaptation to the new conditions, the formation of Ewe’s own synod and political associations. Until 1957, the inhabitants of the central part of the Volta region tried to defend their right to unite the territory of the former German Togoland and maintain contacts with the Germans. The management of Togoland was also complicated by the location of the colonial government’s main office in the Gold Coast: by 1920s the Bremen missionary schools had already been transferred to the Gold Coast Department of Education, and the United Free Church of Scotland had to act as intermediaries between the British colonial government and German missionaries, most of the time remotely.

Feeding Refugees, Saving Souls, and Planting Churches: Lutheran Ministry in 1950s Hong Kong

Abstract The recent interest in the social history of the Cold War has given rise to many narratives of expulsions and migrations in world Christianity. This article focuses on the transformation of several Lutheran missions from sojourning in the wilderness of China’s maritime frontiers into becoming vital pastoral and welfare service providers in British Hong Kong. While licking their wounds after their reluctant exodus to Hong Kong following the Chinese Communist Revolution (1949), the Lutherans employed the triple mission of feeding refugees, saving souls, and planting churches, clinics, and schools to help the distressed population. They mobilized their global and local church networks to secure financial, medical and human resources for crisis management—resources that the British colonial government lacked. Its multilayered operation of relief programs exhibited the organizational capacity of Lutherans to assist stricken communities in Cold War Hong Kong.

British Food (In)security Policies in Colonial Nigeria and Popular Reactions in the Southwestern and Southeastern Provinces, 1939–45

Abstract: The effects of the Second World War on food insecurity in Africa have gained scholarly attention over the past few years; however, there have been no comprehensive attempts to provide historical evidence and analyze the experience of food insecurity in the colonial territories that later transformed into Southern Nigeria. This article fills this gap in research and argues that the demands of the British colonial government for food supplies, along with other policies geared toward agricultural regulation such as the Pullen Scheme, led to such inflation of food prices in urban centers that rural producers could not meet the demand for foodstuffs. The resulting food shortage triggered reactions from indigenous peoples, particularly market women in the southern and eastern provinces of colonial Nigeria. The article supports its arguments using a combination of sources from the Nigerian National Archives, newspaper reports, and peer-reviewed journals.

Discourse On Western Development Plans In Post-Colonial British West Africa

This scholarly discourse seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Western Development Plan that was executed in British West Africa during the post-colonial era. Academics have examined the portrayal of the British colonial government from different viewpoints and perspectives. Distinguished African academics have thoroughly examined this topic from an angle of self-interest, whereas highly regarded European scholars have analysed it from the standpoint of imperialism. The connections and affiliations between African states and their European counterparts have had negative consequences for their economic sustainability and cultural cohesion. Therefore, it is indisputable that the economies of post-colonial Africa are primarily shaped by the enduring impacts of their colonial past. The colonial economies were tightly interconnected with the economic systems of their respective metropolitan powers via a range of measures, such as currency manipulation, trade restrictions, and infrastructure expansion. This article provides a thorough review of the development plans created after the attainment of Nigeria's independence with the aim of reporting their effects on the economy and growth of West Africa.

THE BRITISH COLONIAL POWER IN GEORGE ORWELL’S BURMESE DAYS

This study tried to discover British colonial power in George Orwell’s Burmese Days. Gramsci's hegemony theory regarding to a concept of an integral state was applied. A qualitative descriptive method was used in the study. Data in the study were dialogues and narratives from historical contacts between British and Burmese regarding the British colonial regime. The data consisted intrinsic element of theme, and 2 extrinsic elements of political society and civil society. Both elements were structure in literary works, and represent the British colonial power in George Orwell’s Burmese Days. A theme of colonial was found among the element of fiction. There were extrinsic elements such as political society and civil society. The study concluded that the intrinsic elements forming a story that could representative how the British colonial power appeared on theme. The relationship of both elements form totality of meaning and integrity that how the British colonial power operations in George Orwell’ Burmese Days. Keywords: colonialism, hegemony, integral state, orientalism

Dammed Waterways and a Colonial Legacy: Statutory Law-Making in the Conservancy of Indian Fisheries, 1867-1897

Abstract Through an exploration of events that unfolded from the earliest calls for conservancy of Indian fisheries under the British colonial government in 1867 to the passing of a statutory law in 1897, we argue that colonial law-making was a non-linear and complex evolutionary, rather than transformational process. The basis and blueprint for a statutory law in India can be traced to similar concerns in the over-exploitation of riverine fish in Britain as well as to the implementation of Indian forest laws at about the same time. Moreover, the process had to deal with personalities and their claims for recognition while the colonial government sought legitimacy to exert control over resources by appointing highly competent and commended individuals. Concerns over food security as well as the possibility of resistance of the local population could have impelled the need for caution in implementing statutory laws, which may have ultimately resulted in a delay of three decades before the Indian Fisheries Act was finally passed in 1897.

The Decline of Lake Victoria Ferry Services in Kenya, 1961-2012

Purpose: This study examined the operations of Lake Victoria Ferry Services since the independence of the East African countries in 1961 when the management was under the East Africa Railways and Harbors (EARH) and later the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC). At the beginning of the 20th century the British colonial government established Lake Victoria transport as an extension of railway line in the lake region in Kenya and into Uganda. Despite some challenges, lake transport demonstrated progress in its services and expansion during the colonial period. However, when the management was transferred to the independent governments of East Africa, the operations of ferries were affected by the inefficiencies which marked the beginning of its decline. This study was guided by Politics of the Belly Theory of Bayart who associates underdevelopment of Africa long after independence with corrupt practices of African leaders. The theory shows that postcolonial African leaders have personalized the state for their own and their ethnic community’s gain thereby neglecting the regions which are perceived to be opposing the ruling regime.
 Methodology: A Historical Research Design was used to conduct this study. Non probability sampling methods and procedures were used to identify informants during the collection of primary data. Other primary data were gathered from Kenya National Archives and Railways Museum in Nairobi. Secondary data was collected from relevant publications and other materials.
 Findings: The data obtained were analyzed using content and thematic analysis techniques. This study established that transition in management from colonial to independent East African governments, competition from road transport and disintegration of East African Community led to the decline of maritime transportation on Lake Victoria. In order to revive ferry services on the Lake, major rehabilitations on the existing ports must be done and modern ports built. In the same vein new transport vessels should be acquired. Finally, a permanent solution to the threat of water hyacinth must be pursued and regular dredging of navigational channels done regularly.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: This study suggests that, the government should promote integrated transport planning as well as developing proper regulations guiding Lake Victoria transport.

The Birth of Indian National Congress: A Safety Valve for Colonial India

Abstract: The Indian National Congress (INC) has been around longer than any other Indian political party, having been founded in 1885. In the fight for Indian independence from British colonial control, the establishment of the Indian National Congress was a critical factor. The Congress's formation was not, however, without debate. The "safety valve theory" was at the centre of one such debate; this theory proposed that the British established the Congress in order to alleviate the strain of rising Indian nationalism. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between the emergence of the Indian National Congress and the concept of a safety valve. The Indian National Congress (INC) is one of India's oldest and most influential political parties, having been instrumental in the country's fight for freedom from British colonial authority. This organisation, known as the Congress, had its origins in the late 19th century, when a group of Indian intellectuals and professionals sought to organise in order to better express their discontent with the British colonial government. In 1885, Indian nationalists banded together to form the Congress in the hopes of bringing about sweeping political and social change in the country. The 'Safety Valve' theory, however, argued that the Congress was formed to unleash the mounting anger among the Indian masses and forestall revolutionary outbreaks. This paper will examine the formation of Indian national congress and the role of safety valve theory.

HYDROLOGICAL LEGACIES OF COLONIALISM: EXAMINING WATER SYSTEMS IN PERLIS, MALAYA (1909–1950)

This study focused on water management and control in Malaya, particularly the establishment of a ‘colonial hydrology’ in Perlisfrom 1909 to 1950. The study analysed water policies, management techniques, and the social and economic aspects of the localpopulation and the global market, using archival data. This study has also highlighted the intersection between natural resources, political power, and global economic trends from an international studies perspective. The control over water resources allowed the British colonial government to strengthen its position in the global market, but this resulted in adverse effects on the environment and social justice, especially for the local population. The study has argued that sustainable and equitable approaches to resource management are needed to promote sustainable development and combat global environmental challenges. The findings of this research can inform policymakers about the importance of incorporating environmental and social justice considerations in policymaking, especially with regard to natural resource management. Overall, this study adds valuable insights to the field of international studies by highlighting how the exploitation of natural resources can have far-reaching effects, both locally and globally, thereby emphasising the need for interdisciplinary and inclusive approaches to addressing resource management issues.

Differential public support and the independence of anti-corruption agencies

AbstractSpecialized anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) aim to address corruption problems when conventional institutional mechanisms are dysfunctional. Yet, we still lack thorough understanding of the conditions that enable ACAs to withstand undue influences of the overarching political regime. Informed by the judicial politics literature, we examine the value of public opinion in empowering ACAs. Leveraging the evolving political conditions of Hong Kong, we argue that a lack of public support for other government organs offers opportunities for an ACA to distinguish itself from the rest of the regime and establish operational independence. We find that a signature ACA of Hong Kong, created by the British colonial government, has been uniquely sensitive to public complaints of corruption. The agency is the most responsive when other government branches are perceived to be lacking integrity. Also, negative appraisals of the political regime encourage the ACA’s institutional functions and increase the degree of enforcement discretion entrusted to it. Our findings suggest a mechanism of ACA empowerment whereby the public is committed to sustaining agency independence because of their distrust and the unpopularity of other government organs. Therefore, potential institutional threats posed by an unpopular regime to the ACA may actually strengthen the latter’s power and autonomy.

Northern Rhodesians (Zambians) in the Aftermath of the First World War

Abstract This paper investigates the demobilization of Northern Rhodesian (Zambian) servicemen after the First World War. Tied to this, is the compensation and commemoration of the askari (soldiers) and mtenga-tenga (porters) who died in the war. The compensation of ex-servicemen was a drawn-out process which took several years, eventually coming to a halt in 1928 with many Africans forfeiting their dues. The British South Africa Company (BSAC) and the British Colonial Government did not erect individual tombstones to commemorate ex-servicemen. The partiality exhibited in commemoration and compensation processes, based on racial lines, did not reflect the enormous contributions which these Africans made to the Allied war effort. The main sources for this article are official government records stored in the National Archives of Zambia, and records of the Catholic White Father missionaries.

Social Discrimination in Bhabani Bhattacharya’s So Many Hungers

This article offers an in-depth analysis of suffering and social discrimination as a central theme in Bhabani Bhattacharya’s So Many Hungers. The novel portrays different types of socio-gender discrimination and his characters seem to be at war with both the self and society. India must reorient her national life on a new social basis where woman has to sacrifice her comforts in the social rebirth of India. It emphasizes the author’s nuanced portrayal of the Indian society during the tumultuous period of the Bengal Famine and the Quit India movement against the backdrop of World War II. Bhattacharya’s narrative unveils the complex layers of discrimination present within the society, accentuated by the crisis. The article commences by explicating the socio-economic disparities highlighted in the novel, examining Bhattacharya’s critique of the British colonial government and the elite Indian class. Bhattacharya astutely intertwines these inequalities with the plight of the famine victims, illuminating the juxtaposition between excessive affluence and abject poverty. The author makes a minute scrutiny of the prevailing caste system, elucidating how it perpetuates the vicious cycle of discrimination. Bhattacharya’s female characters, often victims of societal norms and expectations, expose the prevalent gender biases. However, they also emerge as symbols of resilience, defying their ordained roles in an oppressive system. The article argues that Bhattacharya uses this setting to indicate that freedom from colonial rule must accompany freedom from socio-cultural biases for India to truly progress. The study also depicts how a woman plays a role of a bridge between culture, custom and conventions. It tries to pose a testimony to the lasting relevance and power of his writing in contemporary discussions on social equity and justice. The innocent preys of hunger grab the role of hunters and try to explore the different reactions and the changed attitude for the same. This paper traces out the cause of human suffering and their possible remedies through a sensitive understanding of the problem of the contemporary Indian society.

Jessica Namakkal. Unsettling Utopia: The Making and Unmaking of French India.

Jessica Namakkal’s book, Unsettling Utopia, is a fascinating study of how the “messiness of colonialism” can be demonstrated in the complex realities of decolonized nations like India. Namakkal focusses on Pondicherry and its surrounding areas, as an example of how different colonial empires (Pondicherry was a French colony, while India was largely a British colony) and their policies created complex and often contradictory webs of bureaucracy, paperwork, laws, borders, and cultures. This complex legacy continues today, where past and present live in tenuous coexistence and differences often flare into conflict. The first section of the book, titled “Making” describes how the interaction between French and British colonial regimes in the context of Pondicherry led to convoluted borders, which, depending on one’s point of view, can be seen as either shutting in or shutting out the other. As a consequence of these borders and as a result of France’s aim of showcasing her possessions in India as “model colonies” in contrast to the increasing resistance in the rest of India to British rule, Pondicherry became a haven for exiles from British India. The most famous of these was Sri Aurobindo, who, as a British Indian subject with an elite education, could easily mingle with French colonial administrators while garnering the local population’s support for his mission. In consequence, Aurobindo went on to attract a number of European and American devotees to his ashram, which he established along with his foremost disciple, Mira Alfassa, a Frenchwoman who would come to be known as “The Mother,” and become Aurobindo’s successor.

Preserving home: resistance to cholera sanitation procedures in Egypt

Less than a year after the British occupation of Egypt in 1882, cholera struck in late June 1883. The country experienced three subsequent epidemics in 1895–6, 1902 and 1947. Over the course of these four epidemics, the British colonial government and its agencies closed access to water resources, forcibly entered homes and removed sick people from their families, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the disease. Concerns for the public’s health served as a convenient pretext to practice emergency sanitary measures which were cheaper than comprehensive reform and reinforced the British colonial view of Egyptians as inferior to European colonisers. Public health measures also supported subsidiary goals to control water, control bodies and police the private spaces of the home. The British characterisation of Egyptian water practice and home sanitation as unclean, even dirty, underpinned these methods, even though proper sanitation had always been an important part of Egyptian and Ottoman culture. In response, people resisted the home invasions and forced family separations. People lied, eluded, spread rumours, persuaded others to lie, fled their homes and concealed family members. Evidence includes government reports, Egyptian daily newspapers, photographs, plans and memoirs. Although these are documents produced by government officials and members of Egypt’s elite, they include evidence of substantial public resistance to cholera policing. They can be read against the grain to reveal the power of this resistance.

THE UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY, AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC HERITAGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Sixty-two years after gaining Independence from the British colonial government with promises of socio-economic development by the founding fathers, Nigeria is faced with a Plethora of development challenges. Minority issues, religious conflicts, ethnic politics, resource control, youth unrest, and the related crisis of disintegration of the productive sector, food insecurity, social insecurity, deterioration of physical and social infrastructures, a drop in living standards and poverty for millions of Nigerians, and a general disenchantment with the political system are all symptoms of these larger problems. Some pertinent questions are, why is Nigeria still struggling to develop and failed to address the poor living standard of citizens. Why has leadership not able to meet the development challenges, and what are the measures that can ensure effective leadership? Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the country’s problems vis-àvis the implementation of the Ubuntu philosophy and the African democratic heritage in governance and leadership that would ensure the country’s socioeconomic and political progress. The social development theory is adopted as a guide for the paper

Towards History and Education for National Integration: Imperative For Peace and National Development In Nigeria

This paper looks at teaching history as a vehicle to encourage national integration in Nigeria, peace and national development. The paper is of the opinion that Nigeria as a nation and a conglomerate of many and varied ethnic nationals existing as an indivisible entity today: had a past that needs to be reinvented through the teaching of history for a proper perception of each other and a peaceful coexistence for national development. The author is of the opinion that the function of history in recreating the various past of many ethnic nationals that make up the Nigerian state is imperative now that Nigeria is faced with a lot of forces that tend to tear it apart. The paper brings to the fore the historical specificities that led to the fusion of the previously existing independent ethnic nationals to a nation-state. Given the poly-ethnic nature of Nigerian-state, manifest in cultural diversity, religious differences, and political/economic divides that challenges the unity of Nigeria . The author is of the opinion that national integration can be encouraged through the teaching of history of the various ethnic nationals, chiefdoms, kingdoms and empires that existed before the amalgamation by the British colonial government in 1914, thus encouraging peaceful coexistence for national development. Though using education as a vehicle for national integration is fraught with a lot of challenges and set- backs. However, given the imperative of peace for national development, the author proffers some solutions that can encourage national integration through the educational institution and that is the work of History.