Colonial Rule Research Articles

To revive India’s industries: The global and imperial roots of swadeshi in the nineteenth century

Abstract This article explores the long roots of swadeshi (economic self-reliance) in nineteenth-century India, focusing on attempts at industrial revival through pedagogical institutions, exhibitions, and associations. These roots, which influenced the Swadeshi Movement and Gandhian swadeshi activity in the early twentieth century, demonstrate how it is impossible to understand swadeshi without taking an extensive global perspective. Indian thinkers engaged in contemporary global economic debates and with British imperial deliberations on free trade and protection; they fine-tuned comparative perspectives on the Indian economy through international travel and their readings of global history. In a similar spirit, Indians forged core swadeshi techniques through observing associational, institutional, and technological innovations across the British empire and the wider world. History was a powerful motivating force. Popular conceptions of deindustrialization under colonial rule fired Indians’ imaginations about a past when the country was a global powerhouse for manufactured exports—and directly stimulated specific swadeshi endeavours. Situated at the confluence of profit-making and patriotism, swadeshi enterprise in the nineteenth century created some unexpected alliances: between Britons and Indians, colonial officials and nationalists, and urban intellectuals and small-town entrepreneurs.

The Colonial African: Godwin Mbikusita-Lewanika and His Struggle For and Against Zambian Nationalism

Abstract Godwin Mbikusita-Lewanika, the founding president of Zambia’s first nationalist organisation, is now remembered as a staunch supporter of colonial rule. Such figures are not uncommon and are often termed “loyalists,” a term that is usually understood in the literature as a fixed category that either dwindled in the face of racial oppression or was a choice shaped and hardened by conflict. Lewanika, however, moved easily between different sides, reinventing himself as an anticolonial nationalist, trade unionist, colonial loyalist, and Lozi traditional monarchist as circumstances warranted. The tumult of the mid-twentieth century opened up new opportunities and Lewanika seized roles that were not previously available. Biographies of anticolonial nationalists often argue they turned to political action when their education and ambitions clashed with the highly-circumscribed roles available under colonialism. Lewanika’s life was the opposite. He carved out a prominent place for himself in the colonial order and then in independent Zambia.

The Role Of The Press In Shaping Public Opinion During The Freedom Struggle

The role of the press during the freedom struggle was instrumental in shaping public opinion and galvanizing the masses against colonial oppression. As India sought independence from British rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, newspapers, journals, and pamphlets emerged as vital tools for disseminating nationalist ideas and fostering political awareness. The press not only reported on events but also provided a platform for political discourse, allowing voices from diverse communities to contribute to the independence narrative. Great figures such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, and other leaders utilized the press to articulate their visions for a free India, framing the struggle in terms of justice and self-determination. Newspapers like "The Hindu," "The Times of India," and "The Tribune" played crucial roles in informing the public about the injustices of colonial rule, inspiring a collective consciousness among various strata of society. Editorials, articles, and letters to the editor encouraged civic engagement and mobilized support for protests, strikes, and other forms of resistance. The press faced significant challenges, including censorship and repression from colonial authorities, which often sought to suppress dissenting voices. Despite these obstacles, many journalists and editors risked their safety to publish revolutionary ideas and expose the realities of British exploitation. This resilience illustrated the press's commitment to truth and justice, fostering an environment where public sentiment could coalesce around the freedom movement. The emergence of vernacular publications further broadened the reach of nationalist sentiments, ensuring that the message of independence resonated across linguistic and cultural divides. These publications played a crucial role in educating the masses and instilling a sense of pride and identity that transcended regional differences. The press was not merely a bystander but a catalyst in the freedom struggle, shaping public opinion and uniting diverse groups against colonial rule. Its influence extended beyond immediate political outcomes, contributing to the formation of a national consciousness that would endure long after independence was achieved. This study highlights the indispensable role of the press in the socio-political landscape of the freedom struggle, illustrating its enduring legacy in contemporary society.

Addressing epistemic violence and methodological nationalism through a meta-analytical review on intergroup contact and conflict studies in Turkey

This paper provides an examination of intergroup contact research in the context of the Turkish-Kurdish ‘conflict’ through a meta-analytical scoping review. By doing so, we discuss how dominant biases in the literature such as methodological nationalism and epistemic violence influence research practices and knowledge-production systems in conflict and contact studies conducted under colonial rule. Through a thematic investigation, we found four variables that were commonly tested in intergroup contact studies: i) attitudes towards outgroup, ii) support for minority rights or multiculturalism, iii) perception of discrimination against the minority group, and iv) ethnic identity. We conducted four meta-analyses using a pool of 28 studies conducted in Turkey to unpack the associations of intergroup contact with: i) outgroup attitudes (r = .42; n = 5,624), ii) support for minority rights and multiculturalism (r = -.06ns; n = 1,567), iii) perception of discrimination against Kurds (r = .22; n = 2,431), and iv) ethnic identity (r = -.13; n = 4,636). The results demonstrated a moderate to strong relationship between intergroup contact and positive outgroup attitudes, while the findings were less robust for support for minority rights, perception of discrimination against Kurds, and ethnic identity. Furthermore, the group status and sample characteristics of the studies moderate the relationships between variables. Based on the findings and a critical analysis of the current literature, we discuss the limitations of the existing research and critical points for future studies.

Multicultural Education in Nigeria

Abstract Nigeria is the most populous Black nation in the world and richest nation in Africa. It has multiple tribes, cultures, languages, religions, and values. It gained its independence from British colonial rule on October 1, 1960. Even with independence, colonialism has had aftereffects that have exacerbated sociocultural maladies such as tribalism, religious fanaticism, massive corruption, military coups, and devastating conflicts (like the 1967-1970 Biafra-Nigeria War, which took millions of lives). While education is a powerful tool in socioeconomic and political developments, it has not been philosophically changed to respond to the cultural, linguistic, and religious diversities of Nigeria's citizenry. Can an adequate educational foundation be instituted without valuing the multicultural strengths of Nigeria? Can Nigeria's progress be advanced without paradigm and power shifts in the education of all students? Can Nigerians 'freedoms be equalized without respect for all tribes? Nigeria must foster multicultural education to advance itself at all levels.

1910년대 신파극의 등장과 전통연희공연의 전개양상

This paper reexamines the aspects of yeonhui (traditional performing arts) unfolded in the relationship with sinpageuk (westernized theatrical play introduced from Japan) in the 1910s, which has been under-researched, focusing on the previous studies on the theater and Gyeongseong Gupa (lit. old school) Actors' Guild, which are key topics related to this period. As a result, there were significant differences from existing discussions in many ways. It has been assumed that yeonhui performances in theaters were reduced due to the introduction of sinpageuk in the 1910s. However, except for Yeonheungsa, which actively accepted sinpageuk and operated it as a dedicated theater among the representative Korean theaters in the 1910s, it was confirmed that yeonhui in Gwangmudae, Jangansa, and Danseongsa during the first and second half of the 1910s had a numerical advantage over sinpageuk in terms of the frequency of performances. Furthermore, the formation of the Gyeongseong Gupa Actors' Guild was not influenced by the decline of yeonhui performances due to the popularity of sinpageuk, but rather by the fact that it was organized with the permission of the Japanese government in order to take charge of entertainment at the exhibition Mulsan Gongjinhoe that the Japanese thoroughly prepared in 1915 for the purpose of promoting the legitimacy of their colonial rule. Moreover, the ‘new and old school performances’ promoted by the Gyeongseong Gupa Actors' Guild were the sinpageuk performance by old school actors, not by sinpageuk troupes, and the ‘sinpa gaeryangdan’ (lit. new school reform troupe) organized by the Gyeongseong Gupa Actors' Guild was a measure taken in cooperation with the Gyeongseong Gupa Actors' Guild for sinpa actors who were on the verge of extinction.

Jurisdiction and Afro-Brazilian Legal Politics from Colonialism to Early Independence

Abstract Every empire in the Americas developed a law of slavery that connected the forced transoceanic migration of enslaved people with land-based economic production and social life. Competing conceptions of jurisdiction over land and sea emerged from legal processes regarding slavery in the transition from colonial Portuguese rule to early independence in Brazil. Both the Portuguese monarch and post-independence Brazilian ministers sought to assert jurisdiction over residents inside the territory, including enslaved people. Their attempts to do so created social conflicts in which enslaved people put forth their own visions of jurisdiction and justice. Afro-Brazilian people developed a legal politics that drew upon diasporic maritime connections to overturn enslavement. The legal politics of cases regarding uprisings and contraband slave-trading animated concerns among judges and imperial administrators about effective legal order. A revolutionary movement in 1798 contested Portuguese colonial sovereignty with a vision of free-trade popular sovereignty. The monarch’s transfer from Portugal to Brazil in 1808 opened a small route for enslaved people to petition the crown for freedom based on innovative readings of free soil. A major case of capture in 1851 illuminated how the naval court judge adjudicated the case as the capture of an enemy. Captive African people testified in court to gain collective freedom in a liminal space. These claims to freedom raised important questions about legal equality and freedom from illegal trafficking for all people held in slavery in Brazil.

An elusive line in an elusive frontier: Delineating the historical trajectory of the inner line in India’s northeast

The Inner Line remains one of the most contentious yet enduring legacies of colonial rule in the erstwhile British India’s northeast frontier. However, there is a major disconnect between the popular conception of the Inner Line as a legal shield protecting ‘vulnerable’ communities, and the scholarly deconstruction of the Inner Line as a colonial instrument designed for the exploitation of resources and the policing of hill communities. This article traces the historical trajectory of the Inner Line in India’s northeast and highlights the significant moments when the Inner Line was subjected to varying interpretations. It argues that the history of the Inner Line was characterised by flexibility and instability not only in its physical manifestation as a geographical marker but more particularly in its perceived intent and purpose. Delineating the shifts in the roles and functions that were ascribed to the Inner Line at different historical junctures, this article attempts to reconcile the varied and even contradictory understandings of the Inner Line that continue to persist in postcolonial Northeast India.

Single Mothers Association of Kenya (SMAK) and the Fight to Stay Put on the Ziwani Estate in Nairobi

This Reflection discusses the fight to stay put on the Ziwani Estate in Nairobi, in the face of the redevelopment (gentrification) of one of the first East African public housing projects developed in Kenya under colonial rule. The Single Mothers Association of Kenya (SMAK), a community-based organization founded on the Ziwani Estate, is leading the fight for/with Ziwani residents. SMAK is focused on land and housing rights, capacity building for the community on these rights, advocating against illegal eviction, and fighting against gentrification, densification, and homelessness. Under immediate threat SMAK found local and global allies in academia, civil society, and in UN bodies. They have had some important wins on the preservation and conservation of Ziwani historic places and people based on unexpected academic collaborations and on their own activism which they believe requires civic education, domestic and international lobbying, and possibly legal struggle.

The KMT versus the CCP: Dueling Chinese Nationalisms and the Politics of Colonial Rule During Hong Kong’s 1956 Riots

During October 10–12, 1956, British Hong Kong was engulfed in a downward spiral of violence that pitted Kuomintang (KMT) supporters against men and women affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), forcing the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of China (ROC), and Great Britain to engage in a series of tense diplomatic exchanges that could have escalated into a wider geopolitical conflict. The actions of KMT supporters precipitated the 1956 riots, thereby granting opportunities to the PRC to repeatedly and strongly criticize the colonial government for allegedly failing to protect Chinese who were loyal to Beijing. While the PRC did not intervene militarily to protect its supporters, the 1956 riots revealed to London the precarious nature of colonial rule and underscored the fact that the colony’s very existence was dependent upon the acquiescence of Beijing.

Reconsidering ‘Sook Ching’ victimhood: A microhistory of Singapore’s Nishimura trial

Abstract This article highlights the cross-disciplinary methodological potential of Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL) and microhistory by studying the active and complex exercise of agency by victims in an understudied historical instance of post-war justice, namely, the Singapore ‘Sook Ching’ trial or Nishimura trial. This trial dealt with the arbitrary massacre of Chinese residents by the Japanese military during the Second World War. Using TWAIL and microhistory methods, this article analyses trial transcripts and archival material on the Nishimura trial, with a focus on the trial experiences of witnesses, survivors, and community representatives. By studying the Nishimura trial as mobilization and meaning-making opportunity, this microhistory draws attention to the exercise of social and political agency by the Chinese community under difficult post-war conditions and British colonial rule. Chinese community leaders represented the community as collectively victimized and united in the pursuit of post-war justice. However, a close analysis of trial transcripts reveals tensions within the community and the need for a more complex understanding of victimhood.

Queer Narratives and Colonial Injustice: Tropical Landscape in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

This paper explores the intersection of colonialism, masculinity, and queerness in Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Through a decolonial lens, it examines how Díaz critiques the lingering effects of colonialism and dictatorship on Dominican identity, particularly through the ‘fukú’ curse—a symbol of intergenerational trauma. The paper argues that the queering of heterosexuality in the novel challenges rigid gender norms, where Oscar’s nonconformity and Yunior’s conflicted hypermasculinity expose the limitations of Dominican masculinity shaped by colonial rule. Set against the backdrop of the Dominican Republic’s tropical landscapes and violent history, Oscar’s and Yunior’s narratives highlight the broader struggle between individual authenticity and societal conformity. Díaz’s use of magical realism and transcultural storytelling amplifies this decolonial critique, revealing how colonial legacies continue to shape gender and identity in the post-colonial world. By analyzing the characters’ resistance to heteronormative pressures and their individual journeys, the paper situates The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao as a significant exploration of queering as a form of decolonial resistance, reconsidering the lasting impact of colonial oppression on cultural and gender identities.

Against Climate Aid Colonialism: The Case for Climate Reparations and South-South Solidarity

Legacies of colonial rule, continuing neocolonial extraction, and excessive carbon dumping have meant that the majority of those living in the Global South experience many of the consequences of climate change more acutely than those in the Global North. As such, several countries in the Global North have committed to providing climate aid to decarbonise and reverse the alarming climate trajectory in the Global South. Yet, climate aid by and large discounts the internal competencies and resources within the Global South and aligns climate policies with neoliberal market agendas. In arguing against what has been called climate aid colonialism, we advocate for South-South solidarity and climate reparations, wherein climate justice articulated and advanced at the grassroots level from within the Global South is attuned to the socio-political requirements of decolonisation. Together, climate reparations and South-South solidarity can address the structures of coloniality that drive both climate change and climate aid.

In pursuit of power: Land tenancy contracts and local political business cycles in Indonesia

This study examines whether strategic delegation of land tenancy contracts is linked to local-level political business cycles in the context of a village institution – bengkok land – prevalent since the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia. Bengkok land refers to communal village land that incumbent village heads receive usufruct rights over until their term in the office ends. We test whether incumbent village heads utilize time-bound access to bengkok land for political consolidation. Based on a novel cross-sectional household survey fielded in 2018 across 130 Javanese villages, we find robust evidence of a positive correlation between the percentage of total tenancy contracts as sharecropping and proximity (before or after) to the village election. As vulnerability of the sharecroppers makes them a pro-poor target for the incumbent village heads, these results implicate political capture.

The Revolution Will (Not?) Be Colourised: Photographs from the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–49) on Social Media

This article critically reflects on the practice of colourisation in present-day recirculations of photographs originally made during the armed Indonesian struggle for independence from Dutch colonial rule (1945–49). The article focuses on digital colour manipulations of photographs disseminated on social media platforms to address ethical and methodological debates dividing academic and amateur historians on the modification of historic photographs. I compare the notable lack of controversy around colourised photographs that show the violence of the Indonesian National Revolution to the heated debates kindled by manipulated images of victims of the Holocaust and the Khmer Rouge regime. ‘Genocide’ arguably remains a special category for determining whether conflict photographs can be modified. I show how Indonesian colourisers fail to interrogate the propaganda origins of the Dutch-made photographs they circulate on social media. For Indonesian social media users, however, deep context and detailed metadata for such photographs are less relevant for generating meaning than debates about how such photographs connect to the unfinished projects of decolonisation in the Netherlands and Indonesia.

Tamil Schools in the Federated Malay States under British Colonial Rule 1895-1941

In the time of British rule of the Federated Malay States (FMS) from 1895 to 1941, many Indians, especially the Tamils from South India, were brought in as labourers. Long-term Tamil primary schools were established to cater to their children's educational needs. This article presents a historical investigation of the development, challenges, and disparity faced by Tamil primary schools in the FMS between 1895-1941. The study employs thematic content analysis to study the primary and secondary historical sources. The findings report that four themes surrounding challenges and disparity emerged among Tamil schools in the FMS, namely building and equipment; subjects and syllabi; schoolteachers; and teacher training. The study underscores the development of Tamil schools in the FMS, the significant issues faced by the schools under British colonial rule, and the implications for children of Tamil migrants. Significantly, this study contributes new knowledge towards the history of education during British colonialism, emphasising the crucial role of Tamil schools in preserving language and culture and potentially shaping future research in this area.

The establishment of evacuation zones during the period of Japanese colonial rule and their subsequent utilization following liberation: focusing on Seoul and Tokyo

ABSTRACT This study explores the historical context and evolution of evacuation area policies in Tokyo and Seoul, established during the Japanese colonial era, and examines their post-liberation utilization. While both cities aimed to protect against bombing by establishing evacuation areas, they differed significantly in establishment, layout, and location due to varying urban structures. Tokyo’s air defense zones encircled the outskirts, with evacuation zones situated along main roads, while Gyeongseong focused on core zones. Post-liberation, Japan swiftly converted evacuation areas into roads and green spaces, whereas Seoul’s plans were hindered by the Korean War. Discussions about converting evacuation area began in 1959 and eventually focused on roads rather than parks.

Capital’s Genocide: A Conversation on Racial Capitalism, Settler Colonialism, and Possible Worlds after Gaza

Taking as a starting point the desire of many to locate the unfolding genocide in Gaza in the irrationality of its perpetrators — the Israeli state and/or its imperial backers — this article proposes instead to understand it as an extreme expression of the continuous violence necessary to maintain not only local settler colonial rule, but the global capitalist system as a whole. Building on the existing literature on settler colonialism and racial capitalism, and insisting on the ways that both should be understood not as discrete, self-contained objects of study, but as co-constitutive elements of the global order, this article attempts to illuminate the structural logics at play in Israel’s latest and most brutal assault on Palestinian life. In doing so, the article emphasises Zionism’s role in maintaining western imperialism at a crucial nodal point of the world economy and, in turn, the latter’s commitment to guaranteeing its stability and dominance. The article resists, however, the urge to move from explaining current structures of domination to declaring them as final or unshakable. It therefore ends by proposing possible different tomorrows, through an engagement with the Palestinian revolutionary tradition.

Clandestine Issues

Abstract To this day, materials surrounding the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution that live in the archives of Addis Ababa University are designated as “clandestine literature.” Their publication was a clandestine affair; critiquing the emperor of the then-oldest Christian kingdom in the world and eventually professing Marxist thinking, they amounted to blasphemy. However, building an argument for Ethiopian revolution was premised on another heretical proposition: that Ethiopia, world-famous for having eluded European colonial rule, was a client state of US imperialism during the mid-century age of decolonization. This article employs a selection of Ethiopian revolutionary papers—including magazines, newspapers, and journals produced and distributed across Ethiopia, North America, and Europe—to provide a genealogy of “US Imperialism in Ethiopia,” a composite, hand-transcribed document of the late 1960s that has since been destroyed. Assembling materials marked by both their refutation of and proximity to US empire, this article argues that building the case for US imperialism in Ethiopia was a necessary step to clarify and link Ethiopian revolutionary struggle to anticolonialism. In the process, the article thinks with and extends the archival designation “clandestine” as both the conspiracy of alleging US imperialism in Ethiopia and an analytic for reading other transnational networks of revolutionary papers.

Labor coercion, fiscal modernization, and state capacity: Evidence from colonial Indonesia

What explains the emergence of centralized fiscal institutions and information-intensive monetary taxation? This is the first study to estimate the effect of state capacity expansion on labor coercion as taxation, a practice known as corvée labor. To do so, I construct a new database covering eighteen Indonesian residencies over thirty-two years (1874–1905) during the period of Dutch colonial rule. I document the wide use of corvée labor and find that national-level policy centralized state finances by gradually replacing corvée with a head tax. At the same time, a residency-level panel data analysis shows that local state capacity expansion, primarily indigenous officials working as agents for the state, slowed the movement away from corvée. These estimates are supported by an IV strategy that uses effective distance to the capital as an instrument for local state capacity. The relationship between state capacity expansion and fiscal modernization therefore depends on what part of the state is expanding and whether interests across types of taxation differ within the state bureaucracy. Opposing interests of different state actors can be key in understanding fiscal modernization and public labor coercion.