TOPIC 2.COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
Direct Rule, Indirect Rule, Assimilation and Association
The Concept of Direct Rule, Indirect Rule, Assimilation and
Association
Explain
the concept of direct rule, indirect rule, assimilation and association
Indirect rule
This is
a colonial system of administration, whereby, African traditional rules were
involved in administering their fellow Africans at the local level while the
colonial officials and administrators administered at the higher level.
Indirect rule was pioneered by Sir Fredrick John Lugard who was the British
High Commissioner to Nigeria in 1990.
Reasons for the British
to use indirect rule in their colonies
The British colonial government used indirect rule in most of
her colonies in Africa because of the following reasons.
1. Britain
drew more attention to her colony in India, thus it was difficult for her to
introduce direct rule in Africa.
2. Britain
did not have enough manpower to administer her colonies in Africa. For
instance, in 1900 it was reported that the British had only 42 British
officials in her Nigerian colony. This number was not sufficient to administer
the whole colony. The shortage of personnel was caused by lack of experienced
workers. Moreover, British citizens were not willing to work in Tropical Africa
for fear of Tropical diseases and other physical problems such as
transportation.
3. Less
funds were set by the British government for the maintenance of the colonies.
It was convenient for the colonial administrators to use the indirect rule
system in the colonies so as to reduce administrative costs.
4. The
indirect rule proved to be effective and efficient in their Indian colony;
therefore, the British government was inspired to apply it in Africa.
5. The
British thought of using the indirect rule in order to overcome resistances
from Africans. Consequently, Africans rulers were made to feel that their
status was honored by British, as this system of administration gave them an
opportunity of keeping some of the money corrected in form of taxes for their
native treasuries. That money was spent for paying messengers and policemen
salaries. However, the local African chiefs retained the money for their
personal use.
6. Physical
barriers such as poor infrastructure, presence of mountains, thick forests and
dangerous animals in the colonial African forces the British to use indirect
rule.
7. A
language barrier between the British and the Africans forced the British to use
indirect rule. Neither Africans nor Europeans understood the language of the
other. Hence, they used interpreters.
Direct rule
This
was a colonial system of administration whereby the colonies were governed by
Europeans officials at the top position, Arabs Akidas and Liwalis were at the
bottom. The Germans preferred this system of administration in their
metropolitan country.
Assimilation policy
The
termassimilationmeans
‘similar to’. The French used this term to refer to a system of administration
that aimed at creating French Black Africans among the West Africans who would
be French citizens. The French wanted the French Black Africans to enjoy the
same status and privileges or suffer penalties like any French citizen in
France.
The
assimilation policy was first used in Indo-China and Algeria and later
introduced in the four communes of Senegal-Goree, St. Louis, Rufisque and
Dakar-in 1854 and spread to other French colonies in Africa. the assimilation
policy proved to be successful when it was applied in Morocco. In Senegal the
assimilation policy was introduced by Lewis, a trench governor, between 1854
and 1865.
Characteristics of
assimilation policy
1. The
French regarded their colonies as their overseas provinces thus the colonies
were closely attached to France.
2. African
citizens within the French colonies enjoyed the privileges and the rights that
were given to any French citizen in the metropolis.
3. The
African colonies under the French rule were represented in lower House of
parliament. This showed that there was political integration of the Africans
with France.
4. There
was a close economic relationship between France and her colonies in Africa.
The French currency was used in the colonies, an indication that the colonies
were integrated to the metropolis country.
5. They
had intention of making the Africans in their colonies to be good French
citizens through dictatorship that forced the Africans to learn French
language, follow the French laws, apply French civil and political system, be
Christians and adopt French manners.
6. They
encountered a lot of difficulties in West Africa, since their attitude towards
Africans culture and African chiefs were negative.
The
Association Policy
This
was the system of French colonial administration that prevailed in the colonies
after the failure of the assimilation policy. Unlike assimilation, association
policy respected the culture of Africans and allowed them to develop
independently, and did not force them to adapt French culture.
The
association policy was practiced in Africa after the failure of the
assimilation policy. It insisted on the relationship between the Africans and
the French being that of association and not otherwise. The association had to
use the indigenous elites who were trained in France as administrators to
mediate between fellow Africans and French colonial administrators.
The major
purpose of association was to create mutual economic development for both the
Africans and the French. However, the implementation of the association policy
was impractical, since the Africans had their traditional institutions such as
custom and traditions.
African
rulers were used by the colonial administration to fulfill their demands such
as collection of tax, labor recruitments and maintaining peace and order in
their areas. African chiefs who failed to perform such duties were replaced.
Africans
traditional rulers were not given any authority to execute anything through
their own initiatives without the consent of the French colonial
administrators.
Unlike
the British colonies, the French association policy limited the Africans in
their colonies of the right of free speech, trade union activities and freedom
of press. This policy of administration wanted the French colonial government
to respect the culture of the people in the colonies, and allow them to develop
independently instead of forcing them to adapt French culture.
Moreover
the association policy of the French treated the other Africans as second
class-citizens; they were not obligated to follow the French civil and criminal
laws but the assimilees remained as French citizen with all rights. However the
non-citizen subjects could suffer arbitrary arrest or serve a longer term in
French army than the citizen, a thing that motivated them to be French
citizens.
The new
French policy of association encouraged the colonial administrators to respect
the African cultures and give them freedom of developing separately. However
this policy made Africans in the colonies to be regarded as second-class
citizens and French criminal and civil laws could not be applied to them. The
Africans were governed by a system of law known justice indigiene. This law
made Africans to serve the army for a long time by force or face arbitrary
arrest; as a result Africans opted in becoming French citizens.
Africans
had the right of maintaining their culture. Examples, of such cultural
practices were polygamy and Islamic religion in West Africa.
The Motive for the Application of Various Colonial
Administrative Systems
Appraise
the motive for the application of various colonial administrative systems
The motive for the application of indirect rule
The major reasons that made Europeans to initiate and apply the
indirect rule system of administration in Africa were:
1. The
Europeans did not want to interfere with the African traditional systems of
administration.
2. The Europeans
administrators wanted their instructions or orders to appear as if they were
emanating directly from the African traditional rulers. This was aimed at
reducing African resistances against the European policies.
3. The
Europeans wanted the African chiefs to appear as the ones giving orders to
their subordinates (fellow Africans).
4. The
Europeans introduced the indirect rule system with an assumption of civilizing
the Africans.
5. In
other areas, indirect rule was used when the system of direct rule had proved
failure. For example, the British colonial government decided to use indirect
rule in Tanganyika to avoid what happened to the Germans.
The reasons or motives for the application of assimilation
policy
The
assimilation policy made by European countries that employed the policy in
their colonies to consider their culture and civilization as superior to those
of the colonized people (Africans). The French believed that their culture was
the best in the world, and that they had enlightened their colonies with their
rich heritage of civilization.
Some of the reasons for introducing the assimilation policy in
Senegal were:
1. The
four communes of Senegal consisted of 90% of mulattoes who emerged after the
establishment of St. Louis in 1659, a trading post where many French traders
(male) intermingled with African women; this led to the creation of
light-skinned population (mulatto). Moreover, the mulattoes could be identified
more with the French culture than that of the Africans, thus it was easy for
the French to assimilate them.
2. The
Africans in the four communes-Goree, Dakar, St. Louis and Rufisque were quite
familiar with the white traders in their communes, thus it was easy for them to
adapt with the assimilation system.
3. The
four communes of Senegal had a higher percentage of the converted Christian; it
was easy to accept the assimilation policy applied by the government in their
country.
The Similarities and Differences of Colonial Administrative
Systems
Analyse
the similarities and differences of the colonial administrative systems
The similarities of direct and indirect rule
Both
were colonial systems of administration with one major interest of exploiting
Africans and their resources. The two colonial administrative systems used
their state organs to suppress the Africans. Their organs were police, courts
and prisons. In addition, the two system of colonial administration used
African traditional chiefs to supervise colonial works in their areas. However,
African rulers who supported colonial administration did not get full support
from their people; they were regarded as puppets or traitors. Lastly, both
policies maintained racial discrimination. The Europeans were favored and
considered superior to Africans. All high ranking jobs in the government were
reserved for Europeans while Africans held the lower position of jobs in their
local areas.
The
differences between direct and indirect rule
1. The
direct rule did not use the traditional Africans chiefs as their intermediaries
while the indirect rule used the African chiefs. For instance, in Kenya the
British used some Kikuyu chiefs as paramount chiefs, like chiefs Koinange wa
Mbiyu and many others. Germans used direct rule in her colonies in African
including Tanganyika.
2. The
indirect rule practiced by the British did not great enmity from the Africans
because African traditional chiefs were involved in the colonial
administration, and their subjects were loyal to them. This was not the case
with the direct rule employed by the Germans, since they experienced frequent
resistances due to their harsh and brutal treatment of Africans.
3. Furthermore,
it was easy for the indirect rule administration convince African traditional
chiefs to mobilize their subjects to participate in various colonial tasks
while the direct rule administration rule encountered difficulties in
mobilizing Africans to perform their colonial duties and as a result opted to
use force to make Africans participate in their various colonial duties. For example,
the Germans in Tanganyika forced southern people to work in their colonial
plantations.
4. The
indirect rule system of administration had less costs of administration unlike
the direct rule that required many Europeans to perform all tasks of administrations
hence high costs of administration.
5. Direct
rule was characterized by the use of force and racial superiority. For
instance, the Germans considered themselves to be superior to other races.
Brutality was also characteristic of direct rule, whereby Africans were handled
brutally by colonial administrators. On other hand the indirect rule system of
administration used African local chiefs in handling their people and at the
same time performing colonial duties.
Despite
all the differences stated above between direct and indirect rule, both
administrative system was created in order to safeguard the interest of the
colonialists and not to benefit the Africans.
The similarities between the direct rule and the assimilation
policy
1. Both
the colonial administration system used European officials at the higher
administrative position in their colonies.
2. Both
colonial system of administration ensured that Africans were subjected to
colonial laws that exploited Africans through tax payment, and forced labor,
and deprived Africans of the right to vote.
3. Both
colonial system of administration created positions of chiefs in areas that had
no central authorities. For instance, the British did this in some parts of
Nigeria and Kenya while the France formulated chieftainship in Senegal.
4. Both
colonial administrative systems exploited the African natural resources, such
as minerals, forests and rivers.
5. Both
colonial administrative system underrated and ignored the traditional African
chiefs.
The differences between the direct rule and the assimilation
policy
1. The
British colonies were separately administered by an appointed governor from
Britain, while the French colonies where considered similar to other provinces
of France.
2. The
direct rule involved separate administration of African colonies, as opposed to
the assimilation policy which involved the administration of all African
colonies as a federation.
3. The
British colonies formulated the legislative councils in the colonies and
discussed policy that governed the colonies. Thus the British colonies had no
representative in house of commons. On the other hand, the French colonies
elected representative to the chamber of deputies of France.
4. The
laws that were used by the British in the colonies were those passed by the legislative
council in the colonies, while those enacted in the French colonies in Africa
were the laws created in France.
5. The
assimilation policy made the Africans who were in French colonies to be French
citizens and enjoy all republican rights. This was opposed by the British
colonies, whereby no matter what position someone may hold in a colonial state,
still he remained the subject of British colony.
The similarities between the assimilation policy and indirect
rule
1. Both
systems used crude exploitation measure like taxation, land alienation and
forced labor.
2. Both
policies were based on misbelieve about Africans. Europeans considered their
religion, races, education, policies and other kind of civilization as superior
and thus they had a mission to civilize the Africans.
3. In both
systems, the African chiefs were used as a means to achieve what colonial
masters wanted. This caused the chiefs not to work for the interest of their
people, nor be loyal to them, but to the Europeans.
4. Both
policies maintained racial discrimination. The Europeans were favored and
considered more superior than Africans. All high-ranking jobs in the government
were reserved for Europeans while Africans held the lower positions of jobs in
their local areas.
5. In both
systems policy-making and legislation were made by their home National Assembly
and were sent to the colonies to be implemented by the governor and local
authorities through the secretary of state.
6. The
laws which were enforced in both systems originated from their home government
judicial systems. This means that the systems ignored the traditional
institutions and laws made by them.
The difference between the assimilation and indirect rule
1. The
French used the centralized rule in her colonies. All French colonies had their
headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, and the Governor-General was the one who
administered all the colonies. The entire system of administration was
appointed by leaders from their home country, while the British administration
used governors to administer colonies. The governor received the order from the
secretary of the colony.
2. The
attitude they had toward their colonies was different. The British regarded
their colonies as distinct entities from their mother colonies while the French
regarded their colonies as their overseas provinces. The provinces could even
provide representative to French parliament. In 1914, Blaise Diagne became the
first African representative in the French parliament.
3. The
French assimilation policy designed Africans who were French citizens. These
were granted all civil rights and favor given to the French citizens. On the
other hand, the British policy never gave any privilege of that nature to
Africans in their colonies.
4. The
British policy preserved traditional method of selecting chiefs and local
leaders. The French on other hand destroyed and never respected local
governments, hence they directly chose and appointed their own African
officials who were mostly not popular to the people they were ruling.
5. In the
indirect system, the British allowed African chiefs to collect taxes and
supervise the expenditure of some funds they collected while the French
collected taxes and spent at their own discretion.
6. The
revenue management of the two systems was quite different; while the French
West Africa collected all the tax and spent it to its headquarter in Dakar,
Senegal, and was managed by Governor-general for equal distribution and
development of all its colonies, for the British each colony was given the
freedom to spend the revenue collected for the benefit of that colony.
7. The
indirect rule that was imposed by the British in their colonies did not disrupt
the traditional African culture. On the other hand, the French assimilation
policy ignored and destroyed the African culture in the colonies.
Similarities between the assimilation and the association
policies
1. Both
were metropolitan administration systems introduced in French colonies.
2. Both
systems of administration aimed at plundering the natural resources of
Africans.
The differences between the assimilation and association
policies
1. The
association policy was a colonial administrative system in which France had to
respect the culture of her colonial people. Assimilation policy on other hand
was the system of administration used by French in which the Africans were
taught how to think and act as French citizens, aiming at colonizing Africans
by transforming them into French citizens.
2. The
assimilation policy was economically expensive compared to association system
which did not demand more French funds.
3. In the
association policy, colonies were regarded as other colonies in Africa and thus
they were not close to the colonial master, while the assimilation policy the
colonies were regarded as their overseas provinces. Thus, the colonies were
closely attached to the colonial master.
4. The
association policy made the Africans to be regarded as second-class citizens,
while the assimilation policy Africans enjoyed the privilege and rights that
governed any French citizen in the metropolis.
The similarities between the association policy and direct rule
1. Both
were metropolitan administrative systems with one major interest of exploiting
African resources and labor force.
2. The two
systems were characterized by the use of force and racial superiority. For instance,
Germans who practiced direct rule felt superior to other races.
3. In both
systems the authoritarian approach was used. For instance, African press, trade
union and economic activities were suppressed by colonial governments.
4. In both
systems, colonial imperialists took control of their colonies for a long time,
for example, the white settlers in Zimbabwe under direct rule and the French
colonies in West Africa.
5. Both
colonial administrative systems aimed at plundering the natural resources of
Africa.
The differences between the association policy and direct rule
1. The
association policy did not experience great enmity as it respected African
culture, while direct rule experienced great enmity from Africans due to their
harsh and brutal rule.
2. The
association system has less cost of administration unlike direct rule which
required many Europeans to perform administrative tasks which led to higher
costs of administration.
3. The
association system of administration was used by French government after the
failure of assimilation while direct rule was used by German colonial power and
British in area where they thought indirect system could not work.
4. In
direct rule the European settlers’ population was big in colonies, while in
association policy Africans were also allowed to live in their colonial
master’s country.
The similarities between association policy and indirect rule
1. Both
colonial administrative systems used in African colonies.
2. Both
systems used African intermediaries in their administration and preserved
traditional methods of choosing leaders.
3. In both
policies whites occupied higher administrative posts, while the Africans
occupied the lower positions in the administration. All offices from district
officers, commissioners and governors were occupied by the British and the
French.
4. Both
systems used crude ways of ruling: exploiting, taxation and forced labor.
5. Both
systems were introduced after observing the shortcomings of other systems used
previously. For example, association was used after the weaknesses of
assimilation policy while indirect rule was introduced after observing the
shortcomings of direct rule.
The differences between the association and indirect rule
1. The
association policy encouraged the French colonial administrators to respect the
African culture, while the indirect rule system of administration disregarded
the African traditional culture but only used traditional chiefs for their
interests.
2. The
French emphasized on the use of French language on her colonies, while the
British on the other hand considered and allow the use of local and native
languages together with English.
3. The
French association policy still maintained aim of transforming Africans into
French by making the laws whereby non-citizens faced arbitrary arrest, serving
the army for a long time, while the British made no attempt to transform the
Africans.
The Strengths, Weaknesses and Impact of the Colonial
Administrative Systems on Africa
Evaluate
the strengths, weaknesses and impact of the colonial administrative systems on
Africa
Strength and weaknesses of indirect rule
1. It
avoided African resistance by appointing traditional rulers to rule on their
behalf. Hence, all complaints were directed to traditional African rulers.
2. It was
cheap, as local chiefs were used to mobilize their people to pay taxes and work
as forced laborers.
3. Indirect
rule created imbalance of development among African states. Areas which had
local chiefs assisting the colonial government had development on social
services like schools, hospitals and roads while those which had no chiefs in
their areas had no or inadequate social services. Such situations had led to
many conflicts among Africans after independence.
4. It had
created social differences among Africans. The chiefs’ families and loyal
families got privilege of getting social services such as education, hospitals
and many more while the rest of the community were not getting such facilities.
5. Tribalism
developed as an impact of indirect rule. African chiefs who were entrusted to
rule on behalf of colonialists considered themselves superior to other in their
land. For example, Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda created disunity among Ugandan when
he declared the Buganda kingdom independent in 1960.
6. African
chiefs became puppets of the administrators and did not serve their people.
7. The
indirect rule cemented centralized bureaucracy through the use of the district
commissioners.
The strengths and weaknesses of direct rule
1. The
system solved the shortage of employment among the European population. For
example, Germany offered employment to her people in the colonies she occupied.
Hence, she managed to reduce the rate of unemployment of her people.
2. The
system managed to suppress resistance, since it ensured that the colonies had
enough white military officials to safeguard their interests. For instance, the
Abushiri war of resistance of 1888 was suppressed by the German colonial
administration. Some weaknesses
of direct rule were:
3. The use
of harsh and brutal means to make Africans meet colonial demands such as production
of raw materials and paying taxes. Their approach led to many sufferings of the
Africans that included death or imprisonment.
4. It
undermined the pre-existing African traditional rulers. For instance, the
German administration in Tanganyika removed the African traditional rulers,
replacing them with Arab Akidas and Liwalis from the coastal areas.
Weaknesses and impact of assimilation policy
Due to constraints they encountered, the French were forced to
loosen their ties by initiating another system of ruling known asassociation.
·
The major reason that made the French to drop the assimilation
policy of administration was that, the policy proved quite impractical because
it could not make an African a French citizen. It managed to change the person
mentally and morally but the person remained inferior because he remained a
black man who could not even be accepted by fellow Africans who were not
assimilated and would neither be accepted in the European world. On other hand,
association gave freedoms to Africans in the colonies to develop in their
chiefdoms using their own culture.
·
The assimilation system proved to be too expensive. As the
French kept on expanding their territory in Africa, it was a burden to
assimilate more of the Africans inhabitants since the French government could
incur more costs for building more social facilities such as schools,
hospitals, churches and many more. Thus the assimilation system found itself in
a dilemma.
·
It arose fears among Frenchmen in France that the assimilated Africans
could bring economic challenge to them, since they would get equal rights as
other Frenchmen, particularly in trade activities. Thus, they thought of
discrediting the assimilation policy in order to safeguard their own interests.
Many African traditional authorities were replaced with eroded assimilated
rulers who had been brainwashed with the French culture.
·
There was a great gap among Africans as an effect of
assimilation policy, as the assimilees were favored by the colonial government
while the other people from other community were exploited a great deal. The
assimilees were exempted from taxpaying and forced labor because they were
considered French citizens, while the unassimilated were forced to pay tax and
were subjected to forced labor.
·
The African colonies were regarded as part and parcel of France,
since the assimilation system of administration considered their colonies as
their overseas provinces.
·
French became an official language in most of African countries
that were colonized by French (Francophone countries). The reason behind such
decision was the impact of assimilation whereby many Africans were influenced
by the French language.
Factors that led to
assimilation policy to fail in West Africa
1. Some
African communities with strong cultural ties refused to accept the French
assimilation policy and abandon their traditional way of living.
2. African
traditional chiefs discredited the assimilation system because it threatened
their authority and assimilees did not accept being under the African chiefs,
as they regarded themselves to be superior to them.
3. Muslim
disapproved the assimilation policy for it wanted them to become Christian,
while they wished to maintain their Islamic faith.
4. The
spread of Islamic religion in West African communes became an obstacle for the
spread of assimilation system, since the system encouraged people to be
converted to Christianity.
5. Africans
were not motivated to participate in political affairs of France.
Strengths of association policy
1. It did
not interfere with African cultural practices such as religion, custom and
traditions.
2. The
association policy considered the assimilated Africans as French citizens.
3. It did
not apply French civil and criminal law to Africans in the colonies.
Weaknesses of the association policy
1. The
association policy was more authoritarian and withheld Africans rights to
freedom of expression, trade union activities and the press freedom.
2. It
forced Africans who were not assimilated to serve French colonial army for
longer period than the assimilated ones.
3. It
regarded the non-assimilated Africans as second class citizens.
Colonial Military and
Colonial Legal Institutions
The Meaning Of Colonial Military And Colonial Legal Institutions
Explain
the meaning of colonial military and colonial legal institutions
Colonial military legal institution some time refers to colonial
state apparatus that were responsible to protect colonial interests, colonial
military force included:
·
The army force
·
Police force
·
Prison/judiciary
These
institutions were concerned with the maintenance of law, order and the security
of the colonial state to ensure that colonialists achieve their ultimate goals.
The British established their military institutions in East Africa and central
Africa. In East Africa it was referred to as a East Africa Rifles it has the
duty of protecting Uganda and Kenya.
In
central Africa it was known as central Africa Rifles of Nyasaland (Malawi). The
two military institution were joined in 1902 and formed the king‟s African Rifles (KAR) the
KAR had battalions in every British territory. KAR was established in Tabora
Tanganyika in 1919. The KAR recruited soldiers from Somalia, Kenya, Uganda,
Tanganyika and Malawi.
Another
part of the colonial military institution was the police force. This recruited
cadets in the colonies or externally. The police recruited from outside the
colonies were from India, Europe and some were Nubians from Sudan.
The
colonialist always recruited their force to foreign land which would make it
easy for these workers to be fierce ruthless and harsh to the people of the
foreign land.
On the
other hand the French had thier army which was very popular among the French
West African colonies such as Senegal, Guinea and Mali. Germany never had a
stable recognised army; they preferred hired mercenaries from other parts of
the world and Africa.
The
major reason for establishing the colonial military force was to defend the
White colonial administrators in the colonies and safeguard colonial interests
against internal and external threats.
In
addition, the colonial army had a duty of suppressing and exploiting Africans
with the help of other established colonial organs such as the police, the
prison and the judiciary without forgetting the colonial administration, since
colonialism was very much resented and resisted by the Africans.
The top
and middle positions of the army were dominated by the European officials and
the lowest levels consisted of Africans. The Africans were included in the
colonial army in the period of world wars I and II. For instance the KAR had
all white soldiers in its army during the word wars.
Africans
were later recruited in this army in order to suppress the Germans in East
Africa. Many of the East Africa KAR soldiers offered their services in Burma,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
The
police force
The
colonial police force was created in order to ensure that peace and order
weremaintained in their colonies. In addition it made sure that Africans paid
taxes, produced raw materials such as cash crops production in the colonial
plantations and performed public works such as building railways, and roads
when required by the colonial government.
The
other role of the police was to suppress the unacceptable African practices in
the eyes of Europeans such as human sacrifice, slavery and the buying of the
dead bodies. Police caught African people who committed crimes and brought them
before the court of the law for European justice to take its course. In
Tanganyika the first police force initiated in 1919, under the command of Dutch
officers from South Africa
The
prison
Prisons
were created in the African colonies in order to discipline and guard African
prisoners who were convicted and sentenced by the colonial judicial system.
Many African prisoners during colonial rule were those who failed to pay taxes
or refused to work in the colonial plantations and for public services.
The Functions of each Colonial Military and Colonial Legal
Institutions
Analyse
critically the functions of each colonial military and colonial legal
institutions
Major
functions of the colonial military institutions
To defend of colonial boundaries:The
colonial administration ordered their army to fight against their enemies. For
instance in 1919, 6 th KAR battalion of the British in Tanganyika fought in
World War I in Kalito (Ethiopia) and another part of it fought in Burma and
Sudan.
Implemented land alienation for colonial settlers: To
establish colonial plantation they enforced the land alienation policy
throughout the colonies.
Suppression of African resistance: SomeAfricans
reacted very strongly to colonial rulership so it was the duty of colonial
military to suppress the opposition. This was used as the only way for
colonialists to maintain their administration.
They had a task of maintaining peace and order through
maintaining colonial laws and orders: They
also prevented crimes in the colonies. Not only that but they also protected
the colonial properties such as buildings, infrastructure etc.
Tax collection and information: They
were responsible for collecting information and supervising the tax collected
in the colony. The information collected was to be communicated to the colonial
masters.
Supervision of public works was among the functions of the
colonial military institutions:Public works included the
construction of infrastructures such as railway, ports, prisons, hospitals,
schools, churches etc. all these had to be supervised by the colonial military.
Implement colonial conquest: To effect
colonial invasion and domination in Africa during the colonial penetration and
occupation the colonial military had to penetrate to the interior for the
purpose of establishing the colonisation process.
Characteristics
of the colonial military
Provided low wages: Exploited African
soldiers through low payment of salaries although they performed the tough work
in the army, while the Whites were paidhighly.
Poor working condition:African soldiers were
subjected to poor social services. They lived in low standards and small houses
with shared bathrooms and toilets while white soldiers and their officers lived
in big well-ventilated, well furnished houses; other social services such as
health and education were also offered on discriminatory bases.
Practiced racism:Africans was restricted
from interacting with white soldiers apart from official meetings. For instance
African entertained themselves in their social halls that were of low standards
and had minimum facilities and White had their clubs where they interacted
among themselves
Poor education: Most colonial forces were
more or less illiterate because it was believed that an uneducated force was
better for the colonialists.
Applied force not brains: Most
colonial forces used strict command with less reasoning.
Colonial
legal institutions
The
colonial legal institutions were the colonial organisations that dealt with
legal issues. It had the duty of advising colonial government, receiving
people's claims, educating the society and guiding on the procedures to be
followed, and providing legal aid. It included the legislative councils of
elders, the prisons and the courts.
They
adapted the colonial administrative system such as the councils of elders which
were common in British colonies.
The
legal systems during the colonial period in many African colonies were led by
European judges and magistrates. It sued and sentenced those who were not
affecting the oppressive colonial laws.
The nature of punishment administered in the colonial judicial
system ranged from fines, caning, imprisonment and execution. The colonial
judiciary system was governed by the help of
·
The Criminal Investigation Department: This department performed
the task of investigating all criminal reports.
·
The motorised companies: Those performed the task of suppressing
strikes formed by trade unionists. The motorised companies were established in
1947.
·
The militia: This took charge of collecting taxes and arrested
Africans who failed to pay tax or evaded paying taxes.
Duties
of the legal institutions
The
major duties of the legal institutions were vast. Some of them were to amend
laws, acts and ordinances as they were amended time after time in order to suit
the colonial situation. Legal institutions had to do so to ensure that Africans
performed various colonial activities.
Among
the laws and ordinances made was the crown land ordinance of 1915 in Kenya.
This offered white settlers the right to own Kenyan highlands for a 99 years
lease. Another instance was that of masters and servants ordinance of 1924
which was established in Tanganyika.
The
handling of various claims of the people was done through councils of elders
and the legislative council (LEGCO) the councils of elders dealt with African
cases while the LEGCO handled both European and African claims.
PICTURES
SHOWING COLONIAL ARMY
BASIC
ASSIGNMENT/ACTIVITY TO DO
1. Explain
the meaning of colonial military and colonial legal institutions.
2. What
were the functions of colonial military and colonial legal institutions?
3. Explain
the features of colonial military.
4. Describe
the duties of the colonial legal institutions.
