Indirect Rule
Zanzibar and Tangyanika
Africa Forum – 13 February 2015
Sultanate of Zanzibar
• Flourishing commercial
empire along East African
coast - Oman
• 1856 Oman divided:
– Sultan of Oman
– First Sultan of Zanzibar
• Sultans control large part
of Swahili coast (known
as Zanj, now
Kenya/Tanzania)
• Arabs, Shirazi, Bantu,
Indian traders
Europeans carve up mainland
The domination of Germans with
the abolition of slave trade
weakened the Sultan's empire.
Bit by bit he lost more land to the
new European colonizers.
• 1885 German gun boats sent
by Bismarck, arrive in Zanzibar
• 1886 German/British
commission established Zanj
as 10 mile nautical strip.
• Remainder split between
Britain (to the north) and
Germany (to the south)
British Protectorate
• 1890 British declare a
protectorate over Zanzibar
and the narrow coastal strip
• Sultan signs an agreement
to end the slave trade
• Germany recognises the
protectorate over Zanzibar
• 1896 ships of Royal Navy
bombard the palace –
shortest war in history.
Indirect rule
Sultan Ali Bin Hamud of Zanzibar and Arthur Raikes
• Sultan retained as
ceremonial figure-head –
British rule under cover
• 1890 – 1913 traditional
viziers were in charge,
supervised by advisors
appointed by the colonial
office
• 1906-8 Arthur Raikes
vizier, later first minister
• 1913 switch to direct rule
through residents.
Up to Independence of Zanzibar
• Trade and infrastructure
benefits eg deep-water harbour
• Indirect rule and policies of
division and rule created ethnic
conflicts and later parties
• 1948 ethnic based census
1963 return of Independence:
• Sultan reinstated as sovereign
• almost all wealth and power
returned to old Arab families
1964 Revolution. Union with
Tanganyika
Tanganyika
• German protectorate
1885 – 1920
• Treaty with mainland
chieftains opposite
Zanzibar island – Carl
Peters
• 1885 Bismarck grants
company imperial charter.
Aim - protectorate in
Africa Great Lakes region
• 1890 carve up
Transition to German colony
• Company associated
with corruption and
brutality. Revolts
• 1907 Colonial
administration reform.
• Model of colonial
efficiency. Great loyalty
from native troops in
WWI
German administration
•Use of Swahili language and
Swahili dominated structures
•Heavy reliance on native chiefs
to keep order and collect taxes
•Boma centre of administration
•African educational programme
- elementary, secondary and
vocational – high standards
•Programme of African cashcrop agriculture.
•Much investment in railroads,
harbours, commercial crops
Onset of British rule soon became ‘indirect rule’
• 1925 Sir Donald Cameron,
former governor of Nigeria
• “We are here on behalf of
the League of Nations to
teach Africans to stand by
themselves. When they can
do that, we must get out.
• "We must determine from
the start the place of the
African in the political
structure and how he is to
achieve it.
• Importance of education
Native Authorities
• The idea was to integrate the
indigenous political systems
into the colonial administr’n
– Chief and his council
– Native courts
– Native treasury
• Sometimes ‘invented’ chiefs
• After WWII taken further,
smaller chiefs under
paramount chiefs
• Accountability to colonial
power
Success of indirect rule
•Ruling through chiefs largely
ineffective. Not N Nigeria or
Buganda
• Real amount of power small
•Coercive economic
developments through the
native authorities discredited
the chiefs
Transition to independence
• Despite introduction of
‘indirect rule’ the traditional
authorities remained weak.
• But there were strong
factors ensuring a cohesive
native population
• These enabled the growth
of a strong nationalist
movement
• Which eased the transition
to independence - more
than the policy of indirect
rule?
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