The Cabinet Papers banner

You are here: Cabinet Papers home > Browse by theme > Empire, commonwealth and de-colonisation > East and West Africa

East and West Africa

Lieutenant General Sir George Erskine, Commander-in-Chief of East Africa, in Kenya.

Lieutenant General Sir George Erskine, Commander-in-Chief of East Africa, in Kenya.
©Imperial War Museum MAU780

In the course of the First World War, Britain conquered African territories from Germany. A system of indirect government was pioneered in West Africa, enabling the British to rule through African political structures.

Related documents

Search using East Africa Protectorate Colonial Development Act

'Trusteeship' in East Africa

Cabinet Memorandum. Indians in Kenya. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 14 February 1923 (PDF, 3.722MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. East Africa. 29 June 1927 (PDF, 2.206MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Indians in Kenya. 20 July 1923 (PDF, 2.838MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Indians in Kenya. 20 July 1923 (PDF, 0.535MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Indians in Kenya. 21 July 1923 (PDF, 0.261MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the East Africa Commission. May 1925 (PDF, 35.122MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Future Policy in Regard to Eastern Africa. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 16 June 1927 (PDF, 1.450MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on Policy in East Africa. Report. 4 July 1927 (PDF, 0.711MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Future Policy in Regard to Eastern Africa. Draft White Paper. July 1927 (PDF, 1.163MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Report by the Hilton Young Commission. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 4 March 1929 (PDF, 0.581MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on Policy in East Africa. Report. 15 April 1930 (PDF, 1.318MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on Police in East Africa. Note by the Secretary of State for India. 7 April 1930 (PDF, 0.423MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Closer Union in East Africa. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 15 May 1931 (PDF, 0.606MB)

Colonial development

Cabinet Memorandum. Proposals for Financial Assistance to Accelerate the Development of Imperial Resources. Joint Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the President of the Board of Trade. 8 February 1923 (PDF, 1.292MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 9. Future Provision for Colonial Development and Welfare. 21 November 1944 (PDF, 1.608MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 8. Future Provision for Colonial Development and Welfare. 21 November 1944 (PDF, 2.030MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Future Provision for Colonial Development and Welfare. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 15 November 1944 (PDF, 0.731MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Colonial Development and Welfare. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 19 December 1944 (PDF, 0.437MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. East African Groundnut Scheme. Memorandum by the Minister of Food. 14 January 1948 (PDF, 2.328MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. East African Groundnuts Scheme. Memorandum by the Minister of Food. 6 July 1948 (PDF, 1.243MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Production of Groundnuts in East Africa. 7 December 1950 (PDF, 2.411MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Future of the East African Groundnut Scheme. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Minister of Food. 30 November 1950 (PDF, 5.989MB)

Independence in East Africa

Cabinet Memorandum. Independence of Tanganyika. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 6 March 1961 (PDF, 0.454MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Kenya. 8 February 1962 (PDF, 0.883MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Kenya. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 6 February 1962 (PDF, 0.818MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Kenya. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. 20 June 1963 (PDF, 0.404MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Foreign Affairs: East Africa. 23 January 1964 (PDF, 0.584MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. East Africa. 28 January 1964 (PDF, 1.476MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. East Africa. 12 March 1964 (PDF, 1.976MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Foreign Affairs: Zanzibar. 9 April 1964 (PDF, 1.230MB)

Independence in West Africa

Cabinet Conclusion 2. The Gold Coast. 11 September 1956 (PDF, 1.635MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Gold Coast. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 29 August 1956 (PDF, 1.163MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Oversea Affairs: Nigeria. 6 April 1967 (PDF, 3.023MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Oversea Affairs: Nigeria. 30 July 1969 (PDF, 2.427MB)

Further reading

Lonsdale, J., East Africa In Brown, J. M. and Louis, W.R. ed., The Oxford History of the British Empire Volume IV The Twentieth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)
Falola, T. & Roberts, A.D., West Africa In Brown, J.M. and Louis, W.R. ed., The Oxford History of the British Empire Volume IV The Twentieth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)

Content

Related Links

Map link

Interwar British Empire

Print this page content

The National Archives

Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 4DU
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8876 3444