Indirect rule

Last updated
A 20th century Yoruba (Nigerian) depiction of a British District Officer on tour of indirect rulers COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Houten roeiboot onderdeel van de miniatuurvoorstelling van een roeiboot met een Europeaan en vier roeiers. TMnr 3441-7a.jpg
A 20th century Yoruba (Nigerian) depiction of a British District Officer on tour of indirect rulers

Indirect rule was a system of governance used by imperial powers to control parts of their empires. This was particularly used by colonial empires like the British Empire to control their possessions in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by various colonial rulers such as: the French in Algeria and Tunisia, the Dutch in the East Indies, the Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique and the Belgians in Rwanda and Burundi. These dependencies were often called "protectorates" or "trucial states".

Contents

Through this system, the day-to-day government and administration of both small and large areas were left in the hands of traditional rulers, who gained prestige and the stability and protection afforded by the Pax Britannica (in the case of British territories). Consequentially done at the cost of losing control of their external affairs, and often of taxation, communications, and other matters. It was usually carried out with a small number of European "advisors" effectively overseeing the government of large numbers of people spread over extensive areas. [1]

British Empire

Some British colonies were ruled directly by the Colonial Office in London, while others were ruled indirectly through local rulers who are supervised behind the scenes by British advisors. In 1890 Zanzibar became a protectorate (not a colony) of Britain. British Prime Minister Salisbury explained his position:

The condition of a protected dependency is more acceptable to the half civilized races, and more suitable for them than direct dominion. It is cheaper, simpler, less wounding to their self-esteem, gives them more career as public officials, and spares of unnecessary contact with white men. [2]

The Princely states of India were also ruled indirectly, with the Indian territories ruled indirectly experiencing similar effects to those in Africa that experienced indirect rule. [3] The same went for many of the West African holdings of the British and French empires. [4]

In Africa

The ideological underpinnings, as well as the practical application, of 'indirect rule' in Uganda and Nigeria is traced back to the work of Frederick Lugard, the High Commissioner of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1899 to 1906. Indirect rule was by no means a new idea at the time, since it had been in use in ruling empires throughout history. For instance, in addition to India and Uganda, it had been practiced in the Songhai and Ashanti Empires.

In the lands of the Sokoto Caliphate, conquered by the British at the turn of the century, Lugard instituted a system whereby external, military, and tax control was operated by the British. While every other aspect of life was left to local pre-conquest indigenous aristocracies who may have sided with the British during or after their conquest. The theory behind this solution to a very practical problem (referred to as 'The Native Question' by Mahmood Mamdani in his work Citizen and Subject [5] ) of control by a tiny group of foreigners of huge populations is laid out in Lugard's influential work, The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa . [6] Lugard copied the numerous empires before his time who had created and developed the indirect rule system.

According to Lugard, Indirect Rule was a political doctrine which held that the Europeans and Africans were culturally different to this extent. Which he interpreted it to mean that Africans had to be ruled through the Africans own institution. Whereby, to achieve this objective:

It has been pointed out that the British were not prepared to pay for colonial administration, though interested in economically benefiting from their new colonies; neither did the British have enough resources to finance it. This economic question coupled with the shortage of or lack of European personnel in Africa at the time, convinced the British that it would be cheaper to use the traditional institutions to achieve the same objective. The nature and operation of indirect rule in Northern Nigeria, amply confirm these contentions. When Lugard and his men conquered the Sokoto Caliphate of Northern Nigeria, in the early 20th century, his limited resources in terms of men and money, made rule of the vast territory highly impracticable. Fortunately for him, however, the Sokoto Caliphate already possessed a highly developed and efficient system of administration headed by emirs, with the Sultan of Sokoto as the supreme head. The hierarchical nature of the political structure was ideal for the system of indirect rule because the British could control the emirs and the emirs in turn could control their people. [7]

In the mid-1920s, the British implemented the system of indirect rule in Tanzania. [8]

Practical implementation

Naaba Koom II, king of the Mossi in French Upper Volta, pictured in 1930. Preservation of precolonial political units was the basis of indirect rule in British and French empires. ETH-BIB-Der Konig der Mossi (Moro naba) umgeben von seinen Stammeshauptlingen anlasslich des Neujahrsempfanges-Tschadseeflug 1930-31-LBS MH02-08-0863.tif
Naaba Koom II, king of the Mossi in French Upper Volta, pictured in 1930. Preservation of precolonial political units was the basis of indirect rule in British and French empires.

Indirect rule was cheaper and easier for the European powers and, in particular, it required fewer administrators, but had a number of problems. In many cases, European authorities empowered local traditional leaders, as in the case of the monarchy of Uganda, but if no suitable leader could be found (in the traditional Western sense of the term), the Europeans would simply choose local rulers to suit them. [9] This was the case in Kenya and Southern Nigeria, and the new leaders, often called "warrant chiefs", were not always supported by the local population. The European ruling classes also often chose local leaders with similar traits to their own, despite these traits not being suited to native leadership. Many were conservative elders, and thus indirect rule fostered a conservative outlook among the indigenous population and marginalised the young intelligentsia. Written laws, which replaced oral laws, were less flexible to the changing social nature, old customs of retribution and justice were removed or banned, as well as the removal of more violent punishments. Furthermore, leaders empowered by the governments of European powers were often not familiar with their new tasks, such as recruitment and tax. [10]

Interpretations

From the early 20th century, French and British writers helped establish a dichotomy between British indirect rule, exemplified by the Indian princely states and by Lugard's writings on the administration of northern Nigeria, and French colonial direct rule. As with British theorists, French colonial officials like Félix Eboué or Robert Delavignette [11] wrote and argued throughout the first half of the 20th century for a distinct French style of rule that was centralized, uniform, and aimed at assimilating colonial subjects into the French polity. [12] [13] [14] French rule, sometimes labeled Jacobin , was said in these writings to be based on the twin ideologies of the centralized unitary French government of the Metropole, with the French colonial ideology of Assimilation. Colonial Assimilation argued that French law and citizenship was based on universal values that came from the French Revolution. Mirroring French domestic citizenship law, French colonial law allowed for anyone who could prove themselves culturally French (the "Évolués") to become equal French citizens. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] In French West Africa, only parts of the Senegalese "Four Communes" ever extended French citizenship outside a few educated African elite. [20] [21]

While making more subtle distinctions, this model of direct versus indirect rule was dominant in academia from the 1930s [22] until the 1970s. [23] [24] [25]

Academics since the 1970s have problematised the Direct versus Indirect Rule dichotomy, [26] arguing the systems were in practice intermingled in both British and French colonial governance, and that the perception of indirect rule was sometimes promoted to justify quite direct rule structures. [27] [28]

Mahmood Mamdani and other academics [29] [30] have discussed extensively how both direct and indirect rule were attempts to implement identical goals of foreign rule, but how the "indirect" strategy helped to create ethnic tensions within ruled societies which persist in hostile communal relations and dysfunctional strategies of government. [31] [32] Mamdani himself famously described indirect rule as "decentralised despotism". [33]

Some political scientists have even expanded the debate on how direct versus indirect rule experiences continue to affect contemporary governance into how governments which have never experienced being under colonial rule function. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperialism</span> Extension of rule over foreign nations

Imperialism is the practice, theory or attitude of maintaining or extending power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power and soft power. Imperialism focuses on establishing or maintaining hegemony and a more or less formal empire. While related to the concepts of colonialism, imperialism is a distinct concept that can apply to other forms of expansion and many forms of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard</span> British colonial administrator (1858–1945)

Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard, known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and a colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong Kong (1907–1912), the last Governor of Southern Nigeria Protectorate (1912–1914), the first High Commissioner (1900–1906) and last Governor (1912–1914) of Northern Nigeria Protectorate and the first Governor-General of Nigeria (1914–1919).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokoto Caliphate</span> Islamic state in West Africa (1804–1903)

The Sokoto Caliphate, also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. By 1837, the Sokoto state had a population of around 10-20 plus million people, becoming the most populous empire in West Africa. It was dissolved when the British, French and Germans conquered the area in 1903 and annexed it into the newly established Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Senegambia and Niger and Kamerun respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Nigeria Protectorate</span> British protectorate from 1900 to 1914

Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914, and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Nigeria Protectorate</span> British protectorate from 1900 to 1914

Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Region, Nigeria</span> Former autonomous division within Nigeria

Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962, it acquired the territory of the British Northern Cameroons, which voted to become a province within Northern Nigeria.

The Bussa rebellion, also known as the Boussa rebellion, was a small insurrection in the town of Bussa against the policy of indirect rule in British-ruled Nigeria in June 1915. The rebellion was triggered by the British deposition of the local Emir of Bussa, Kitoro Gani, and his replacement with a Native Administration. The rebels attacked and killed around half of the members of the Administration, while the rest fled, leaving the rebels in control in Bussa. Despite the ongoing Kamerun campaign against the German Empire, the British were able to use a small force of soldiers which quickly suppressed the rebellion incurring no casualties. The Bussa Rebellion was the subject of a major work by British historian Michael Crowder.

French Africa includes all the historic holdings of France on the African continent.

The economic history of Nigeria falls into three periods. They are the: pre-colonial, the colonial and the post-colonial or independence periods. The pre-colonial period covers the longest the part of Nigerian history. The colonial period covers a period of 60 years, 1900-1960 while the independence period dates from October 1, 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analysis of European colonialism and colonization</span>

Western European colonialism and colonization was the Western European policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over other societies and territories, founding a colony, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. For example, colonial policies, such as the type of rule implemented, the nature of investments, and identity of the colonizers, are cited as impacting postcolonial states. Examination of the state-building process, economic development, and cultural norms and mores shows the direct and indirect consequences of colonialism on the postcolonial states. It has been estimated that Britain and France traced almost 50% of the entire length of today's international boundaries as a result of British and French imperialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial Nigeria</span> British colony and protectorate (1914-1960)

Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1 October 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the 19th century, but Britain did not effectively occupy the area until 1885. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assimilation (French colonialism)</span> 1800s–1900s French colonial policy principle

Assimilation was a major ideological component of French colonialism during the 19th and 20th centuries. The French government promoted the concept of cultural assimilation to colonial subjects in the French colonial empire, claiming that by adopting French culture they would ostensibly be granted the full rights enjoyed by French citizens and be legally considered "French". Colonial settlements established by the French, such as the Four Communes in French West Africa, were created with the assimilation concept in mind, and while Africans living in such settlements were theoretically granted the full rights of French citizens, discriminatory policies from various French colonial administrations denied most of these rights to "full-blooded Africans".

The history of external colonisation of Africa dates back to antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Palmer</span> English barrister, colonial supervisor & rugby union player

Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer was an English barrister, who became a colonial supervisor for Britain during the inter-World War period. He served as a lieutenant governor in Nigeria, governor and Commander-in-Chief of The Gambia and governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus.

The Kebbi Emirate, also known as the Argungu Emirate is a traditional state based on the town of Argungu in Kebbi State, Nigeria. It is the successor to the ancient Hausa kingdom of Kebbi. The Emirate is one of four in Kebbi State, the others being the Gwandu Emirate, Yauri Emirate and Zuru Emirate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahmood Mamdani</span> Ugandan academic (born 1946)

Mahmood Mamdani, FBA is an Indian-born Ugandan academic, author, and political commentator. He currently serves as the Chancellor of Kampala International University, Uganda. He was the director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) from 2010 until February 2022, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and the Professor of Anthropology, Political Science and African Studies at Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial history of Northern Nigeria</span>

The Colonial history of Northern Nigeria extends from the British pacification campaigns to the independence of Northern Nigeria in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Northern Nigeria</span>

The history of Northern Nigeria covers the history of the region form pre-historic times to the modern period of Northern Nigerian state.

Direct colonial rule is a form of colonialism that involves the establishment of a centralized foreign authority within a territory, which is run by colonial officials. According to Michael W. Doyle of Harvard University, in a system of direct rule, the native population is excluded from all but the lowest level of the colonial government. Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani classifies direct rule as centralized despotism: a system where natives were not considered citizens.

<i>Neither Settler nor Native</i> 2020 book

Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities is a 2020 book by Ugandan political theorist Mahmood Mamdani. Mamdani argues that nationalism and colonialism have common origins and are two sides of the same coin. He argues for responding to the violence inherent in the nation-state by rejecting the identities of settler and native and participating as equal citizens instead.

References

  1. ↑ The American Historical Association. "ENGLAND'S INDIRECT RULE IN ITS AFRICAN COLONIES" in THROUGH THE LENS OF HISTORY: BIAFRA, NIGERIA, THE WEST AND THE WORLD. AHA teaching guide, historians.org, n.d. Accessed 2012-09-20 http://www.historians.org/tl/lessonplans/nc/trask/indirect.htm
  2. ↑ Andrew Roberts, Salisbury: Victorian Titan (1999) p 529
  3. ↑ Lakshmi Iyer, "Direct versus indirect colonial rule in India: Long-term consequences." The Review of Economics and Statistics (2010) 92#4 pp: 693-713 online Archived 2014-09-03 at the Wayback Machine .
  4. ↑ Adiele Eberechukwu Afigbo, The Warrant Chiefs: indirect rule in southeastern Nigeria, 1891-1929 (London: Longman, 1972)
  5. ↑ Mamdani, Mahmood (1996). Citizen and subject: contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Princeton studies in culture/power/history (1 ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-691-02793-7.
  6. ↑ Lugard, Frederick Dealtry (1922). The dual mandate in British tropical Africa (1 ed.). Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and sons.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ↑ Dr. Ofosu-Mensah Ababio Ofosu-Mensah E.A. Gold Mining in Adanse: pre-colonial and modern. Sarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2014
  8. ↑ Liebenow, J. Gus (1956). "Responses to Planned Political Change in a Tanganyika Tribal Group". American Political Science Review. 50 (2): 447–448. doi:10.2307/1951678. ISSN   0003-0554. JSTOR   1951678. S2CID   144390538.
  9. ↑ Eric J. Hobsbawm, Terence O. Ranger, 'The Invention of Tradition' (1983)
  10. ↑ Collins and Burns, pp. 297-308
  11. ↑ Robert Louis Delavignette. Freedom and Authority in French West Africa. originally published as Les vrais chefs de l'empire: 1939. Oxford University: 1946.
  12. ↑ Georges Hardy, Histoire sociale de la colonisation française. (Paris, 1953)
  13. ↑ Raymond F. Betts, Assimilation and Association in French Colonial Theory, 1890-1914 (New York, 1961)
  14. ↑ Martin D. Lewis, “One Hundred Million Frenchmen: The Assimilationist Theory in French Colonial Policy,” Comparative Studies in Society and History IV (January 1962), 129-153.
  15. ↑ Erik Bleich, 'The legacies of history? Colonization and immigrant integration in Britain and France. Theory and Society, Volume 34, Number 2, April 2005.
  16. ↑ Michael Crowder' in Senegal: A Study in French Assimilation Policy (London: Oxford University Press, 1962)
  17. ↑ Mamadou Diouf, 'The French Colonial Policy of Assimilation and the Civility of the Originaires of the Four Communes (Senegal): A Nineteenth Century Globalization Project' in Development and Change, Volume 29, Number 4, October 1998, pp. 671–696(26)
  18. ↑ M. M. Knight, 'French Colonial Policy—the Decline of "Association"' in The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Jun., 1933), pp. 208–224
  19. ↑ Michael Lambert, 'From Citizenship to Negritude: Making a difference in elite ideologies of colonized Francophone West Africa' in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 35, No. 2. (Apr., 1993), pp. 239–262
  20. ↑ G. Wesley Johnson, Jr., The Emergence of Black Politics in Senegal: The Struggle for Power in the Four Communes, 1900–1920 (1972)
  21. ↑ James F. Searing, 'Senegal: Colonial Period: Four Communes: Dakar, Saint-Louis, Gorée, and Rufisque', in Kevin Shillington (editor), Encyclopedia of African History (New York, 2005): 3 Volumes, 3, 1334–35
  22. ↑ Ralph J. Bunche, 'French and British Imperialism in West Africa' in The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 21, No. 1. (Jan., 1936), pp. 31–46
  23. ↑ Michael Crowder, 'Indirect Rule: French and British Style' in Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 34, No. 3. (Jul., 1964), pp. 197–205
  24. ↑ Alec G. Hargreaves, ed. Memory, Empire, and Postcolonialism: Legacies of French Colonialism (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2005; ISBN   9780739108215)
  25. ↑ Ann Laura Stoler (1989), 'Rethinking Colonial Categories: European Communities and the Boundaries of Rule' in Comparative Studies in Society and History, 31, pp 134-161 doi:10.1017/S0010417500015693
  26. ↑ Jonathan Derrick, 'The 'Native Clerk' in Colonial West Africa' in African Affairs, Vol. 82, No. 326. (Jan., 1983), pp. 61–74.
  27. ↑ Emily Lynn Osborn (2003). ‘CIRCLE OF IRON’: AFRICAN COLONIAL EMPLOYEES AND THE INTERPRETATION OF COLONIAL RULE IN FRENCH WEST AFRICA. The Journal of African History, 44, pp 29-50 doi:10.1017/S0021853702008307
  28. ↑ Anthony I. Nwabughuogu. The Role of Propaganda in the Development of Indirect Rule in Nigeria, 1890-1929. The International Journal of African Historical Studies Vol. 14, No. 1 (1981), pp. 65-92
  29. ↑ Paul Rich. The Origins of Apartheid Ideology: The Case of Ernest Stubbs and Transvaal Native Administration, c.1902-1932. African Affairs, Vol. 79, No. 315. (Apr., 1980), pp. 171–194.
  30. ↑ Lakshmi Iyer (2010). Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-Term Consequences. The Review of Economics and Statistics. November 2010, Vol. 92, No. 4, Pages 693-713
  31. ↑ Mahmood Mamdani. Indirect Rule, Civil Society, and Ethnicity: The African Dilemma. Social Justice Vol. 23, No. 1/2 (63-64), The World Today (Spring-Summer 1996), pp. 145-150
  32. ↑ Mahmood Mamdani. Historicizing power and responses to power: indirect rule and its reform. Social Research Vol. 66, No. 3, PROSPECTS FOR DEMOCRACY (FALL 1999), pp. 859-886
  33. ↑ Mahmood Mamdani, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (1996), p. 37.
  34. ↑ John Gerring, Daniel Ziblatt, Johan Van Gorp and Julián Arévalo (2011). An Institutional Theory of Direct and Indirect Rule. World Politics, 63, pp 377-433 doi:10.1017/S0043887111000104

Sources and references

Indirect Rule in Nigeria OldNaija

Period writings

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.