Colonial Government: An Introduction to the Study of Colonial Institutions

1903 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 375
Author(s):  
Paul S. Reinsch ◽  
Albert G. Keller
2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 1189-1223
Author(s):  
Jutta Bolt ◽  
Leigh Gardner

The institutions that governed most of the rural population in British colonial Africa have been neglected in the literature on colonialism. We use new data on local governments, or “Native Authorities,” to present the first quantitative comparison of African institutions under indirect rule in four colonies in 1948: Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Nyasaland, and Kenya. Tax data show that Native Authorities’ capacity varied within and between colonies, due to both underlying economic inequalities and African elites’ relations with the colonial government. Our findings suggest that Africans had a bigger hand in shaping British colonial institutions than often acknowledged.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-576

The goal of this article is to examine the introduction of plantations into East Sumatra (Indonesia) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Attention is given to the five most important plantation crops, namely tobacco, rubber, oil palm, tea, and fiber. The article analyzes the economic and social transformation of the region as a consequence of the rapid expansion of plantations. Within a short period of time, East Sumatra emerged to become one of the most dynamic economic regions of Southeast Asia. The development of the region and the needs of a source of protection for Dutch planters in face of fierce competition from other Western companies and local resistance encouraged the Dutch colonial government to establish effective authority in East Sumatra. Received 4th June 2020; Revised 15th September 2020; Accepted 26th September 2020


Author(s):  
Shinyoung Kim

This article aims to explore the Japanese colonial government’s efforts to promote mass movements in Korea which rose suddenly and showed remarkable growth throughout the 1930s. It focuses on two Governor-Generals and the directors of the Education Bureau who created the Social Indoctrination movements under Governor-General Ugaki Kazushige in the early 1930s and the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement of Governor-General Minami Jirō in the late 1930s. The analysis covers their respective political motivations, ideological orientation, and organizational structure. It demonstrates that Ugaki, under the drive to integrate Korea with an economic bloc centered on Japan, adapted the traditional local practices of the colonized based on the claim of “Particularities of Korea,” whereas the second Sino-Japanese War led Minami to emphasize assimilation, utilizing the ideology of the extended-family to give colonial power more direct access to individuals as well as obscuring the unequal nature of the colonial relationship. It argues that the colonial government-led campaigns constituted a core ruling mechanism of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-134
Author(s):  
Agung Perdana Kusuma

In the 18th century, although the Dutch Company controlled most of the archipelago, the Netherlands also experienced a decline in trade. This was due to the large number of corrupt employees and the fall in the price of spices which eventually created the VOC. Under the rule of H.W. Daendels, the colonial government began to change the way of exploitation from the old conservative way which focused on trade through the VOC to exploitation managed by the government and the private sector. Ulama also strengthen their ties with the general public through judicial management, and compensation, and waqaf assets, and by leading congregational prayers and various ceremonies for celebrating birth, marriage and death. Their links with a large number of artisans, workers (workers), and the merchant elite were very influential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-551
Author(s):  
Bhuwan Kumar Jha

The Nehru Report of August 1928 presented the blueprint of a Swaraj Constitution. Encapsulating the demands of the Indians to the colonial government as opposed to the latter’s insistence on seeking opinion through an all-whites commission, the report also presents the historical roots of our present Constitution. Amid opposing claims, consensus over the communal issues in the report, which appeared possible until late 1928, became elusive from the end of December 1928. It was mainly due to the closing of the ranks of significant Muslim leadership behind Jinnah, and an ever-increasing vigilant attitude of the Hindu Mahasabha in not allowing any change beyond what had already been agreed upon. The failure of the report meant an end to the hope of finding a consensual solution to a future Indian Constitution made by the Indians and for the Indians. This, in turn, provided the colonial government with an excuse to impose its scheme through the Communal Award, White Paper and subsequently the Government of India Act of 1935. So, the most elaborate constitutional framework prepared by the leading nationalist leaders during the pre-Independence era finally crumbled under the weight of communal deadlock. This article studies the processes through which the differences over communal representation became so overpowering that they rocked the entire boat. The widening of communal fault lines precipitated by contesting claims over the recommendations of the Nehru Report left serious repercussions over the trajectory of future Indian politics.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 17-52
Author(s):  
Philip Atsu Afeadie

Colonial law in Africa involved European moral and legal codes representing some rules of western law, as well as elements of African customary law. However, the colonial situation embodying political and economic domination necessarily negated the ideal practice of the rule of law. Nevertheless, the need arose to introduce some aspects of western law and codes of administration, including salary and benefits schemes for African employees of the colonial government, and legal entitlements such as court trials for accused government employees. These considerations were deemed necessary, if at least to propitiate metropolitan critics of the colonial establishment. Also some rule of law was required for the organization of the colonial economy, including regulation of productive systems and commercial relations. As well, the need for indigenous support necessitated dabbling in indigenous customary conventions. In Muslim polities such as Kano in northern Nigeria, customary conventions included Islamic law.On the establishment of colonial rule in Kano, judicial administration was organized on three principal institutions, involving the resident's provincial court, the judicial council (emir's court), and the chief alkali's court in Kano City with corresponding district alkali courts. The resident's provincial court had jurisdiction over colonial civil servants, including African employees such as soldiers, police constables, clerks and political agents. Also, the provincial court was responsible for enforcing the abolition of the slave trade in the region. The judicial council, classified as “Grade A” court, was composed of the emir, thewaziri(chief legal counselor), the chiefalkaliof Kano (chief judge), theimam(the religious leader of Kano mosque), thema'aji(treasurer), and general assistants including some notable scholars of Kano city. The council adopted thesha'ria(Muslim law) and local Hausa custom, and its jurisdiction extended over “matters of violence, questions of taxation and administration, and cases involving property rights, whether over land, livestock, trade goods, or slaves.” On the issue of capital sentencing, the judicial council required the approval of the resident. The council was also prohibited from authorizing punishments involving torture, mutilation, or decapitation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document