Colonial system of administration in Kenya
In their administration of Kenya, the British employed both central government and local government as the basic administrative framework.
Central Government. The protectorate was divided into provinces headed by Provincial commissioners, who acted as representatives of the Governor. The governor was answerable to the colonial secretary in Britain. Hierarchy of colonial administration in Kenya.
Local Government.
They were established in 1922 after the passing of the Native Authority Ordinance. In 1924, the District Advisory Councils (DACs) were renamed Local Native Councils (LNCs) Objectives of the LNCs.
Impact of Local government.
Factors that undermined the local Government.
COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION
The methods mainly used by the British to administer their colonies were
This was a policy advanced by Fredrick Lugard, the British High Commissioner in the protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1900 to 1906. To Lugard, as summed up in his book, The Dual Mandate in the Tropical Africa (1922),”the resident acts as a sympathetic adviser to the native chief, on matters of general policy. But the native ruler issues his instructions to the subordinate chiefs and district heads, not as orders of the resident but as his own”. Such a system was applied in Kenya and in West Africa. Why Britain used indirect rule in Kenya and Nigeria.
British rule in Kenya.
In Kenya, the British lacked both funds and experienced personnel to facilitate their administration. Kenya also did not have a reference model of an administrative system –like that in Buganda Kingdom. It was only among the Wanga section of the Abaluhyia and the Maasai where traditional chiefs that were recognized by the British existed.
Where the institution of chieftainship did not exist as the case of the Agikuyu, the British appointed chiefs (men with ability to communicate in Kiswahili and organize porters) like Kinyanjui wa Gathirimu in Kiambu, Karuri wa Gakure in Murang’a and Wang’ombe wa Ihura in Nyeri. The passing of the Village Headman Act in 1902 gave the chiefs the responsibilities of maintaining public order, hearing of petty cases and clearing of roads and footpaths. The 1912 0rdinance increased the powers of the chiefs and their assistants (headmen); they were now allowed to employ other persons to assist them, such as messengers and retainers. They were to assist the District officers in Tax collection and control brewing of illegal liquor and cultivation of poisonous plants like Cannabis sativa. They were to control carrying of weapons and mobilize African labour for public works. The selected colonial chiefs however faced two problems;
The British in Nigeria.
Nigeria comprised the Lagos colony and protectorate, the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. These regions were later amalgamated into the Nigerian protectorate in 1914.
In Northern Nigeria, Fredrick Lugard employed indirect rule. Reasons for the use of indirect rule by the British in northern Nigeria.
This system was mainly used in regions with large white settler population such as Algeria , south Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Direct rule in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe was colonized by the British South African Company under John Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes used his resources to sponsor a group of South African Europeans who set out to establish in Southern Rhodesia, a satellite of South African System. They began off by engaging the Ndebele in a series of wars from 1893 before finally occupying the fertile land in Mashonaland and Matabeleland.
Characteristics of direct rule in Zimbabwe.
The government was headed by a resident Commissioner who was appointed by the Company stationed at Salisbury. Below him were various commissioners in charge of the Districts (all Europeans). Below them were African Chiefs whose duty included collecting tax, recruiting labour and maintaining law and order. In 1898, a LEGCO was established –heavily dominated by the European settlers. An Executive Council, consisting of the Resident Commissioner and 4 nominees of BSA.Co was also established. In 1902, a Native Affairs Department, headed by a European Native Commissioner was created thus entrenching the dominance of Europeans in Zimbabwe. The duty of the commissioner was to allocate land to Africans, collect taxes and recruit labour. For lack of enough valuable minerals in Zimbabwe as expected, the Europeans compensated by acquiring large tracts of land from African communities with some having grants of upto 3000 acre pieces of land.( Europeans occupied 21 million acres while Africans despite their majority were confined to 24 million acre reserves.) The Company relinquished control in 1923 to for Zimbabwe to become a crown colony. Crown colony Rule (1923-1953) Why the settlers favoured crown colony over merger with South Africa.
To legitimize the two pyramids policy were two Acts that were passed in 1930 and 1934. a) Land Apportionment Act of 1930. The Act introduced rigid territorial segregation with land being divided into white’s and Africans’ portions. No African was allowed to acquire land outside their segregated portion. The minority whites acquired over half of the best arable land. Africans were given the semi arid areas infested by mosquitoes. Land was categorized into four;
The Central African Federation.
The federation was organized as follows;
In 1970, UDI declared itself a republic under a new constitution that entrenched white's’ position in Zimbabwe by spelling the following;
Effects of British rule in Zimbabwe.
ASSIMILATION
Definition.
This was a system of administration in which French colonies were given a culture and civilization similar to that of France. This system was influenced by the French revolution of 1789, which emphasized the equality of all men. In Africa, it was perfected by Lewis Faidherbe in Senegal when he was governor from 1854 to 1865. To many historians Assimilation was a deliberate French policy to help them destroy African Chieftaincies and Kingdoms that were thriving at the time of their arrival. Under the system, Africans had to;
French administration in West Africa. The French system of administration was highly centralized. The eight French colonies were grouped into the confederation of French West Africa. They were governed from one capital, Dakar, Senegal. The federation was headed by a Governor-General answerable to the French Minister for colonies in Paris. Each colony was headed by a lieutenant- Governor answerable to the Governor-General in Dakar. Each colony was divided into cercles (provinces), each headed by a commandant de cercle. Each cercle was further divided into small districts each headed by a chef de sub-division below whom were African chiefs (chefs de cantons in charge of locations). At the base were chefs de village in charge of the sub-locations. All the French overseas colonies were seen as overseas provinces and each elected a deputy to the French Chamber of Deputies in Paris (lower House). However the French administrators appointed lacked high standards of education and some were military officers simply rewarded with senior administrative positions. This led to inefficiency. French administration in Senegal. In Senegal, the policy of assimilation was only applied in the four communes of St.Louis, Goree, Rufisque and Dakar. In the rest of the country, African chiefs who ruled were put I three grades namely;
Economic privileges
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Characteristics of assimilation.
Under this system, the French colonial government was to respect the cultures of her colonial peoples and allow them to develop independently rather than force them to adopt French civilization and culture. Unlike the assimilated Africans, subjects retained their cultural practices e.g polygamy and Islam. The subject came under a system of law known as indigenat where the subject could suffer arbitrary arrest or be forced to serve a longer period in the army than assimilated citizens. Why the French government replaced the policy of assimilation with that of association in 1945. a) The French had realized that assimilation would lead to equality between them and the colonized people. b) Assimilation was too expensive especially because West African colonies were not self-supporting yet. c) The method clashed with the commercial interests. The French businesspersons and their friends in the colonial administration saw Africans as source of cheap labour. They therefore disapproved the idea of uplifting them. d) The French had realized that not all the colonial people could be assimilated. Only the elite ones among them could. Association aimed at transforming the Native elites into Frenchmen while allowing the other masses to learn enough French for communication purposes. e) They had realized that there was need to allow the colonies to enjoy the freedom of developing according to existing traditional political and social structure. / respect for the culture of her colonies. The similarities between the French and the British colonial administrations
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The origin of USA dates back to 1776, when the thirteen British Colonies declared their independence from Britain. USA is a federal government, a form of representative democracy comprising a union of 50 states
The adopted a new constitution in 1787 and has the following features.
The electoral process in USA
There are three types of election held in USA.
Senators and members of the House of Representatives are elected after every two years. Senators serve for a period of six years with a third of them elected after every 2 years. Members of the House of Representatives serve for four years and are elected on party basis. Each state elects 2 representatives to the senate making a total of 100 senators for the 50 states. Election of House of Representatives is on the basis of state population. For example, the largest state, California has 52 representatives while Wyoming, the smallest has only one representative. State governors and legislators are elected after every 4 years. Features of the US system of government.
How the conduct of USA president is checked
Differences existing between the House of Representatives and the senate in terms of membership.
Electoral Process in the India
Describe the Indian electoral process.
Functions of a prime minister in India.
Chapter 32: The Electoral Process and Functions of Governments in Other Parts of The World21/3/2017 BRITAIN
Britain comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The country has evolved a parliamentary system of government over the years.
The Saxon Kings who invaded Britain in the 5th Century AD had absolute powers- ruling without consulting the citizens, and their positions were hereditary. However, in the 12th century AD, they introduced the parliamentary system. They agreed that the kings/queens could only rule according to the laws of the land that should be made by the representatives of the people. This was what came to known as a constitutional monarchy.
The electoral process in Britain
The British government is based on the party system. Elections for party leaders are held separately before the general elections. The three main parties are the Conservative Party, Liberal Party and Labor Party. Unlike USA and other major democratic states outside commonwealth, there is no fixed date for British parliamentary elections. The date of a general election is decided upon by the prime Minister. The Choice of a date of elections is influenced by the following factors; 1. The economic situation that is the availability of funds. 2. The state of the government’s legislative programme in the House of Commons. 3. The desire to increase government support in parliament. The electoral system for the House of Commons is based on the principle of ‘one person, one vote’ There are two types of elections for the House of Commons.
In Britain, there are also euro-elections, first introduced in 1979, in which representatives to the European Union parliament are chosen.81 MPs were elected in 1979.
Voter Registration.
It is the local authorities that hold the responsibility of registering voters. Since 1948, a postal vote is possible for citizens who are away from their constituencies during the voting period, either on business or other reasons. The following categories of people qualify to vote in Britain;
Election officials work hand in hand with party agents during Election Day. Each candidate must deposit 500 sterling pounds with the registrar, which is returned in the event that the candidate garners over 5% of the total vote in the constituency. Elections in Britain are by plurality. Candidates who get the highest of votes win the elections. The party that secures most parliamentary seats is declared winner and is asked to form the next government. Emphasis is on number of seats not votes cast. The House of Lords members are drawn from people with high offices. E.g. bishops, distinguished scientists and artists, great sportsmen, retired judges etc
Functions of Government in Britain.
The British government operates around four basic institutions; a) The Monarchy. b) The Legislature. c) The Executive. d) The Judiciary. The Monarchy. In Britain, the Monarchy is represented by the queen. The Monarch assents to all legislations. The Monarch appoints the PM and approves the cabinet Other Functions of the Monarchy.
Importance of the monarchy to the British people.
It is made up of the monarchy, House of Lords and House of commons. The following are ways through which one can gain membership to parliament in Britain;
How parliamentary supremacy is demonstrated in Britain.
The House of Lords.
Membership to The House of Lords is based on nomination by the monarch or by hereditary principle. Some membership is through holding senior positions within the Church of England Consists of 1200 members 800 of whom are heredity peers, 26 are Bishops and 21 are Lords of Appeal. One can become a member of the House of Lords in the following ways;
Role played by the House of Lords in the British parliamentary system.
House of Commons.
It is the major legislative arm of the government. It comprises 650 elected members representing constituencies. The leader of the House is the P.M. The chief officer is the speaker who is elected at the start of a new parliamentary session. Functions of the House of Commons.
The executive. The executive is made up of the Prime Minister, the cabinet and the civil service. The Prime Minister. Appointed by the monarch, being the leader of the political party that controls an absolute majority, He/she is the Chief executive of the country. He performs the following functions;
The cabinet is made of the ministers appointed by the P.M with the approval of the monarch and nominated from the party with the majority of seats. The cabinet performs the following functions; a) The cabinet ministers institute policies that guide the operations in the various departments of the ministry. b) Cabinet determines the policy to present to parliament for consideration. c) Cabinet is responsible for the coordination of government activity. E.g. all ministers must implement cabinet decisions with regard to their department. The following conventions provide guidance on the operation of the cabinet;
The British law stipulates the civil servants are servants of the crown. A civil servant is expected to nonpartisan and to serve the government of the day without favour. Civil service staff does not change with change of government. Recruitment In the civil service is based on merit. Functions of the civil Service in Britain.
The judiciary in Britain is based on the supremacy of the law. To safeguard the rule of law, the British Judiciary has an independent court system. How judicial independence is ensured in Britain.
(Further reading encouraged) Components of the British constitution.
The 1930’s witnessed the rise of dictators in Europe like Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito
Mussolini of Italy and General Francisco Franco of Spain who intentionally defied international opinion and disregarded the Versailles Treaty and League of Nations. Their activities and those of Japan began to interfere with prevailing peace in the world. This happened at the time when USA had retreated into isolation leaving the task of maintaining world peace only to Britain and France. The Second World War involved most countries in the world with millions of people conscripted for service in both the military and war related industries. Causes of the Second World War.
a) Germany’s dissatisfaction based on territorial grievances.
The Versailles treaty of 1919 imposed harsh and humiliating conditions on Germany, which aggrieved the Germans to the level of being ready to go to war again. b) The rise of nationalism in Europe. In Germany, the chancellor, Adolf Hitler who had the desire to dominate the whole world, fuelled it. For example, he encouraged German speakers in Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia to demand independence from Czechoslovakia. Italy under Mussolini invaded Ethiopia, in 1939 to regain her lost glory and national pride after the Adowa defeat I 1896. Syria rose up against France. c) Political developments in Europe. In Italy in 1922, the fascist government under Benito Mussolini came to power. In Germany, Hitler’s Nazi government assumed power in 1933. The Fascist government in Italy emphasized on the regaining of lost glory. The Nazi government began a fresh new policy of aggression. d) The economic problems caused by the great depression of 1929 to 1931. The great slump led to widespread unemployment, declining wages, poverty etc. these led to social discontent and political unrest in many countries of the world. e) The failure of Germany to pay reparations. This was followed by the French invasion of the Ruhr industrial region- a German territory. This led to increased tension. f) Weakening of the League of Nations. Japan left the League of Nations after protest over Manchuria, which she had grabbed, from china. Italy left the League of Nations after Mussolini had grabbed Abyssinia and annexed it against the will of the allies and Ethiopians. Russia invaded Finland in 1939 and the league was unable to intervene. There were many secret treaties among members of the league. g) The Spanish civil war (1936-1939). The republican revolution of 1931 ended the Spanish monarchy. The struggle between the royalists and socialists, however, continued. The European powers took sides in the civil war. France, Britain and Russia supported the royalists. Germany and Italy supported General Franco who was fighting from exile in Morocco. h) Growth of military alliances. Hitler and Mussolini established a military pact in 1936 (The Berlin-Rome Axis). it became the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis with the joining of Japan. The alliance between Russia and Germany to divide Poland widened the gap between them and the allied forces. It created fear and suspicion. i) The invasion of Poland by Germany. This happened in September 1939 was the immediate cause of the war. This upset Britain and France, who stated their intentions of assisting Poland. They declared war on Germany in October 1939. COURSE OF WORLD WAR 2
The invasion of Poland by German forces on 1st of September 1939 and the subsequent declaration of war against Germany by Britain and France on 3rd of September 1939 marked the beginning of the Second World War. Meanwhile on 17th September 1939, the USSR attacked Poland from the East, as per the secret clause in the Nazi-Soviet act of August 1939. Poland had been overrun by German and Russian forces by 27th September 1939. The country was divided between Russia and Germany.
The phoney war. This was a period during world war two when no major military operations were undertaken on the western front although war had been declared on Germany by France and Britain. The period lasted eight months from 3rd of September 1939. It was used by the Allied countries to fully mobilise their forces for an attack on Germany since they had not initially been prepared. Hitler on his part did not want to be involved in war in the west since his armies had not fully recovered from the consequences in the east. During this period, two unsuccessful attempts were made to bring peace;
On 9th April 1940, Hitler launched a sea-borne invasion against Norway after attacking Denmark via land. They were assisted by a Norwegian Nazi sympathiser Vidkund Quisling. The prime minister of Norway and his Ministers fled to London and Hitler established a puppet government in the country. The defeat of British and French forces in Norway sparked off a parliamentary revolution in Britain forcing the PM Neville Chamberlain to resign to be replaced by Sir Winston Churchill. Germany extended their attack on Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium. The Allies were unable to contain the German advance and even retreated to the French port of Dunkirk, marking a major defeat of the allies in Europe. On 14th June 1940, the Germans captured Paris forcing the new Prime Minister Paul Reynaud to sue for peace with Hitler on 22nd June 1940. Under the peace agreement, The Germans took over Alsace –Lorraine, Northern France and the Atlantic coastline. the French government fled to Vichy, southern France. Why the French were defeated so quickly.
The battle of Britain determined the future of World War II. It forced Hitler to delay his attacks. War in North Africa.
WWII in Africa was marked by the Italian successful attack on French and British Somaliland. Under Marshal Graziani, the Italian forces advanced to Egypt though unsuccessful. In June 1942, German forces moved to North Africa to reinforce the Italians.
However, British forces led by General Bernard Montgomery moved quickly and captured Malta which would have been used as a base for attack by the Germans. General Montgomery attacked the Germans at El Alamein in Egypt, forcing them to move to west. On 8th November 1942, British and American forces invaded Morocco and Algeria. Although the Germans continued fighting in Tunisia, by May 1943, their Army under General Rommel had surrendered. War in the Balkans. In August 1940, Hitler Attacked and captured Romania and Bulgaria. In April 1941, Yugoslavia and Greece were taken. Crete was taken in May 1941. On 22nd June 1941, Hitler attacked USSR forcing the Russian troops to retreat. However, he failed to capture Moscow before the onset of winter. In June 1942, the Germans resumed their offensive. They were finally defeated at the battle of Stalingrad on 31st January 1943 by the Russian Red Army led by Marshal Zhukov. The Germans lost 300,000 men while 100,000 survivors surrendered. By May 1944, the Russians had pushed the Germans from their territory and were approaching Germany itself. Why the Germans were defeated during the Russian Invasion.
USA entry into World War II
The Japanese attack on the American great Naval Base at Pearl Harbour on the Hawaiian
island is the one incident that dragged USA into WWII. On 8th December 1941, the USA, Britain and the Netherlands declared war on Japan. The Germans and Italians also declared war on the USA. Russia kept off the war in Asia having signed a treaty with Japan. Japan resisted fiercely. Her air force sank two British battleships on 10th December 1941.She captured Hong Kong, Malaya in Malaysia and took over the great naval base at Singapore. She also occupied Burma, Dutch East Indies, the Philippines and parts of the western pacific islands. The Japanese forces were repulsed while on their way to Port Moresby, New Guinea in may 1942. In 1942, Britain used her bases in India to attack Japan. Japan attacked India in 1944, but the strong and large allied forces defeated the Japanese at the battle of Kohima. The defeat of Germany. After 1942, the tide of success began to turn against Hitler. German forces were defeated by the allies in North Africa and France. By March 1945, the Allies had crossed the Rhine, pushed the Germans out of France in June 1944. The Germans were meanwhile facing the Russian attack from the East. Hitler accepted defeated and handed over power to one of the Military Generals to retreat to an underground Bunker in Berlin. On 29th April 1945, Hitler married his long term Mistress Eva Braun. On the following day, he committed suicide by shooting himself while Eva Braun took Poison. On 7th May 1945, the Germans surrendered unconditionally. Why the Germans were defeated.
After Germany surrendered, Japan continued with fierce fighting sometimes employing the services of suicide bombers known as Kamikaze. The allies were able to liberate the territories captured by Japan. After the defeat at Okinawa, Japan was certain of defeat, but her PM , Admiral Suzuki Kantaro, did not believe in unconditional defeat. On 6th August 1945, a bomber Aeroplane, Enola Gay, commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets, flew over Hiroshima dropping a 4535.15kg atomic bomb. About 78,000 people died. On 8th August 1945, Russia attacked Japan. On 9th August 1945, an even larger Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing more than 40,000 people. Japan surrendered unconditionally on 15th August 1945 bringing WWII to an end. Factors that enabled the allied powers to win the Second World War
Political effects of the World War II.
PODCAST ABOUT SECOND WORLD WARRECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU ON SECOND WORLD WARThe Peace Treaties.
In January 1918, Woodrow Wilson, President of the USA, outlined, in his speech to the congress, the ‘fourteen points’ that were essential in maintenance of world peace.
Among these were three great principles that formed the basis of world peace namely;
The Treaty of Versailles.
It should be noted that all the above treaties were generally referred to as the Treaty of Versailles.
Terms of the Versailles Treaty of 1919.
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Origin and organization of the League of Nations.
The League of Nations was established by the victors of the First World War in 1920 at the treaty of Versailles with the main aim of preventing the occurrence of another war. The idea of its formation was mooted by Woodrow Wilson, the US president who was supported by Lord Robert Cecil of Britain, Jan Smuts of South Africa and Leon Bourgeois of France. The League of Nation came into force during the first meeting in London Britain, on 10th January 1920. Reasons for the formation of the League of Nations in 1920.
The Council. It was made up of permanent and Non-permanent members. The permanent members were France, Britain, Italy and Japan. Non permanent members were four, elected by the general assembly. The main role of the council which sat in Geneva was to appoint committees and secretary General with the approval of the majority of the Assembly. It also dealt with disputes amongst member states, reduction of armament, execution of arbitral awards and admittance and expulsion of members. The Assembly. It met once a year at Geneva and was comprised of three delegates from each member state. It elected non-permanent members to the council. The functions of the Assembly included;
The Secretariat, based in Geneva, consisted of the secretary general and his staff. It was the administrative body of the League of Nations. It kept records of the organization and conducted correspondences including treaties by member states. It implemented thedecisions of the League of Nations. It provided continuity between one meeting of the council or the assembly and the next, The International Court of Justice. Set up between 1920 and 1922, it comprised of eleven judges and four deputy judges elected for nine years by the assembly and the council. It was based at the Hague-Holland. Decisions made by the court were binding on all parties in dispute. International Labour Organization. It consisted of 4 delegates- two for member states and two for workers from each member state. Its main aim was to maintain good working conditions for men, women and children. The Mandates Commission. It had then responsibility of supervising the administration of the trustee colonies. The League of Nations also had several specialized agencies. Achievements of the League of Nations.
The League of Nations failed its Prime objective of maintaining world peace in the following ways;
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