 |
 |
Living
in the British empire: Africa |
 |
 |
 |
The British empire in Africa was
vast. It included lands in North Africa, such as Egypt, much
of West Africa, and huge territories in Southern and East Africa.
Living under British rule in Africa was different, depending
on which part of Africa you lived in. However, there is no doubt
that British rule had a huge impact on the lives of millions
of Africans. |
 |
 |
 |
Photograph taken on the
British governor's tour of Tanganyika in 1925. This territory
later became Tanzania when it merged with Zanzibar after independence
from British rule. (Catalogue ref:
CN 3/40) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In Egypt British rule had important political and economic
effects. The main interest of the British in Egypt was to keep
control of the trade route that ran through Egypt to the Red
Sea and then on to India. Egyptians were also an important market
for British industries to sell to. On the whole, the rich and
powerful ruling classes in Egypt accepted British rule. They
often sent their children to be educated in Britain. They became
lawyers and administrators on behalf of the British. The British
did not try to interfere with the Islamic beliefs of the vast
majority of Egyptians. In fact, British governors actually provided
subsidies to help with the building of mosques. Even so, many
Egyptians resented British rule. By the early 1900s there was
a small but growing movement for independence in Egypt. |
 |
 |
 |
In West Africa the impact of
British rule was more dramatic. The British had been heavily
involved in the West African slave trade in the 1700s. The
trade was abolished in the early 1800s and the British put
a lot of effort into trying to wipe out slavery and the slave
trade in all of Africa. This changed Britain's relations with
West Africa. British merchants and traders developed close
links with the rulers of the many different nations on the
West Coast of Africa, such as the rulers of Benin, Dahomey
and Asante. These nations provided Britain with gold, luxury
foods and many other goods.
Throughout the 1800s British traders
and politicians became increasingly involved with the leaders
of these nations. They made alliances and helped out some
nations in their wars with others. By the 1880s West Africa
was dominated by Britain. Local chieftains ruled their own
peoples using their own customs. However, they paid taxes
to Britain.
As in Egypt, the families of chieftains
often gained from British rule. They adopted the English language
and British clothes. They were educated in Britain. They took
up some posts in the civil service in West Africa, although
the senior posts were always taken by British officials. For
ordinary West Africans, British rule brought major changes
to their everyday lives. The British brought in a system of
owning, buying and selling land, which meant many Africans
had to pay rent. This meant that instead of growing crops
for food, they had to grow crops to sell (to pay the rent).
These were usually crops like rubber or cocoa. They also found
that their traditional crafts were sometimes destroyed by
competition from goods produced in British factories. |
 |
 |
 |
In South Africa there was a complex
mix of peoples - British, Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers
from the 1600s) and native African peoples like the Xhosa,
the Zulu and the Matabele. The British wanted to control South
Africa because it was one of the trade routes to India. However,
when gold and diamonds were discovered in the 1860s-1880s
their interest in the region increased. This brought them
into conflict with the Boers. The Boers disliked British rule.
They wanted a simple farming life. British rule made their
country increasingly a country of industry and business. The
Boers also felt that the native Africans were inferior and
should be treated as slaves. The British insisted that Africans
should have rights. Despite this, they fought several wars
with African peoples in the 1870s and effectively broke the
power of the Zulus.
Tensions between Boers and British
led to the Boer War of 1899-1902. This was an extremely bloody
and brutal war, which the British eventually won. However,
the peace terms were generous. By 1910 the Boers ruled a South
Africa that was virtually independent from Britain. This did
little to help the native Africans. They had few rights under
the British. They got the lowest paid and most dangerous jobs
in the mines. However, when South Africa ruled itself they
were even worse off. The white South Africans passed a range
of laws that discriminated against them. The black African
majority would not enjoy full rights in South Africa until
the 1990s. |
 |
 |
 |
A rickshaw run by an African
in the South African city of Durban around 1900. This is typical
of the type of jobs that the majority of black Africans could
expect to achieve. There was a small, privileged African class,
but their numbers were tiny compared to the mass of ordinary
Africans. (Catalogue ref: COPY 1/445
f.577) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
So it is difficult to make a
sweeping judgement about British rule in Africa. The arrival
of the British certainly disrupted traditional African culture
and ways of living. It widened the gap between African chiefs
and their people. It changed African economies and made them
dependent on trade with Britain. The British invested in the
development of roads and railways. They brought new ideas
about education and medicine (although they also brought diseases
with them). British officials generally treated the Africans
better than the settlers who were left behind when the British
pulled out. The British were also generally more tolerant
of local religions and customs than other European rulers.
The British put enormous resources
into combating slavery. The Royal Navy stopped slave ships,
raided the camps of slave traders and co-operated closely
with the navies of other countries in the campaign against
slavery. In 1841 the British government negotiated treaties
with Prussia, Holland, Denmark, France, Austria and Russia
in which the powers all agreed to combat slavery. After slavery
was abolished in the USA (in 1865) the British and American
navies worked out detailed plans to catch illegal slavers.
British missionaries and explorers, with the help of British
officials and the military, worked tirelessly to stop the
slave trade from East Africa to Arabia. Against this, some
historians argue that fighting slavery, building railways
etc simply helped Britain's trading interests. |
 |
 |
 |
|