HISB51H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Indirect Rule, Monogamy, Tropical Africa
Document Summary
Inserted british colonial rule into what was already there. Indirect rule recognized african ruling and land on the ground, but invented political structures that weren"t on the ground and legitimized them to create a new governance structure: belgians + rwanda, french colonies adapted indirect rule. Preferences and biases dictated who would be under what chief europeans saw that people must be in hierarchies and that they weren"t a part of the new language and culture they"re now in. Cheapest and most effective way of administering vast populations over even vaster territories. Use existing traditional african rulers to carry out basic functions of government i. e. tax collection allowed africans to do the dirty work in case there was any resistance. No fluidity with indirect rule which made for static identities. Wage labour africans engaged in work with wages. Sisal farming made ropes, twine (fell short because plastic.
