2. BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY OF INDIRECT RULE INCREASED ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION

1976 ◽  
pp. 96-98
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identification ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Indirect Rule

scholarly journals The Nation as Corporation: British Colonialism and the Pitfalls of Postcolonial Nationhood in Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Maiangwa ◽  
Muhammad Dan Suleiman ◽  
Chigbo Arthur Anyaduba
Keyword(s):  
Nation State ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Business Enterprise ◽  
British Colonialism ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Indirect Rule ◽  
Scholarly Attention

This article re-examines the British colonial policy of indirect rule in Nigeria. Moving away from extant scholarly attention on this colonial policy that focuses on governance through local or native authorities, we focus rather on British colonial rule through imperial companies. We argue that the British colonist did not conceive of or organize “Nigeria” as a “nation”, rather it was administered as a business enterprise in which the Crown depended on companies to “govern” its Nigerian colonies. Accordingly, the idea of the nation as a business enterprise defined its subjects and resources in ways that produced problematic notions of nationhood imagined in corporate terms. The net effect of this dimension of indirect rule through imperial companies is that “Nigeria” has remained imagined and governed not as a nation-state but as a corporation. We suggest that the challenges of postcolonial nationhood in Nigeria derive impetus largely from this conception and management of colonial Nigeria as a corporation. Our aim is to conceptualize the colonial corporatization of Nigeria, and describe the ensuing patterns of violent relations in its postcolony.

Famine of 1943 in Bakarganj and British Colonial Policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-240
Author(s):  
Muhammad Saiful Islam ◽  
Tasnuva Habib Zisan
Keyword(s):  
Warning System ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Local History ◽  
Government Failure ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Government Inspection ◽  
Large Production ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
The Government

In the vast literature of Bengal famine of 1943, it is hard to offer new insights about that vicious source of mass misery. Local history may mark a significant departure here, as it provides scope for an in-depth study of both the origin and course of the famine. Bakarganj was called the granary of Bengal, which used to supply rice to other regions even in the driest years due to its large production. But the famine of 1943 gravely affected this district. The present study shows how it was the colonial measures that played a vital role in intensifying the famine in Bakarganj. The government’s led to: hoarding of rice and serious shortage of food supply. The article concentrates on four aspects of the government failure: inappropriate warning system, callous purchase policy, lack of effective government inspection and a policy of disaster denial.

scholarly journals Forced Labour, Roads, and Chiefs: The Implementation of the ILO Forced Labour Convention in the Gold Coast

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-476
Author(s):  
Sarah Kunkel
Keyword(s):  
Gold Coast ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Colonial Administration ◽  
British Colonialism ◽  
The North ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Forced Labour ◽  
Indirect Rule

AbstractThis article analyses the implications of the Forced Labour Convention of 1930 on colonial labour policies for road labour carried out under chiefs in the Gold Coast. The British colonial administration implemented a legal application of the convention that allowed the continuation of the existing system of public works. In the Gold Coast, the issue of road labour was most prominent in the North, where chiefs maintained the majority of roads. Indirect rule became crucial in retaining forced labour in compliance with the convention. This article focuses on “hidden strategies” of British colonialism after 1930, contrasting studies of blatant cases of forced labour. The analysis is based on a close scrutiny of the internal discourse among colonial officials on the question of road labour and the Forced Labour Convention.

Communalizing Colonial Policies and Postcolonial Ethnic Warfare: A Multimethod Analysis of the British Empire

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Matthew Lange ◽  
Emre Amasyali ◽  
Tay Jeong
Keyword(s):  
British Empire ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Ethnic Violence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Indirect Rule

Abstract In this article, we reorient the literature on colonialism and ethnic violence by exploring how different types of communalizing colonial policy (CCP) affected postcolonial patterns of ethnic warfare. We hypothesize that CCPs have limited or mixed effects when they simply recognize or empower communities but that they promote ethnic warfare when explicitly favoring some communities over others, especially when this discrimination affects the power of communities. To test these hypotheses, we combine a statistical analysis of the British Empire with a focused case study of Myanmar. We find that two relatively non-discriminatory CCPs—the use of communal census categories and high levels of indirect rule—had limited or mixed effects on postcolonial ethnic warfare. Unequal communal representation in the legislature and security forces and a mixed use of indirect rule, on the other hand, are three highly discriminatory CCPs, and we provide evidence that they increased the odds of postcolonial ethnic warfare.

‘Natural Justice, Equity and Good Conscience’: History, Politics and Law in Nigeria, 1900–1966

2019 ◽  
pp. 12-25
Author(s):  
Katherine Isobel Baxter
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Natural Justice ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Good Conscience ◽  
Politics And Law ◽  
Colonial Government ◽  
Indirect Rule

Chapter One provides an account of the history of colonial and postcolonial Nigeria, focusing particularly on politics and law. The chapter recounts the long history of British colonial presence in West Africa and explains the introduction of indirect rule as a system of colonial government from the turn of the century. Some of the impacts of indirect rule are considered through reference to Obafemi Awolowo’s memoir, Awo, and Chinua Achebe’s novel, Arrow of God. The chapter also sketches out the divisions that indirect rule fomented and the resistance to which it gave rise. Finally, the chapter explains the implications of indirect rule for the implementation of law in Nigeria both during colonial rule and following independence.

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