KT1 - Govt & Admin

• Nature of British Empire: Africa - Era of Free Trade

  Chartered companies

  1879: George Goldie forms the United African Company, controlling 30 trading posts. UAC focused on palm oil trade.

  1881: UAC’s application for a royal charter rejected because of competing French interests in the Niger region
• Nature of British Empire: Africa - Era of New Imperialism

  Direct Rule

  1899 Royal Niger Company sells its holdings in Nigeria to the British for £865,000 following the revoking of its charter. Public opinion turned against the company after the Brass Oil Wars fought against the Kingdom of Benin
• Nature of British Empire: Africa - Era of Decolonisation

  Unwillingness to decolonise

  Kenya is struggling for independence following the Mau Mau rebellion, where 1090 were hung, and Kenya only got independence in 1963 compared to  South Africa who got their in 1910
• Nature of British Empire: Asia & Arab region - Era of Free Trade


  Chartered company to Direct rule 

  The EIC was was dissolved following the Indian Mutiny, and Britians need to keep the ‘jewel in the crown’, there was a decline in trustee-ship through the 1858 Government of India Act
• Nature of British Empire: Asia & Arab region - Era of New Imperialism


  Protectoratship

  Anglo-Egyptian Treaty 1899 in Sudan created a veiled protectorate where the British manipulated the weak Khedive Caliph Abdallahi ibn Muhammad aiming to protect the Suez Canal.
• Nature of British Empire: Asia & Arab region - Era of Decolonisation 


  Resistance 

  Abdel Nasser pledge to nationalise the Suez Canal in 1956, Britain and France attempted to deploy soldiers but were forced to withdraw through American pressure from, Eisenhower in Jan 1957
• Nature of British Empire: White dominions - Era of Free Trade


  New Zealand 

  1869 British troops were withdrawn from New Zealand following the war with the Maoris. The Maoris managed to maintain control of land and gained a voice in the constitutional assembly - they were treated less harshly than Australian aborigines & others.
• Nature of British Empire: White dominions - Era of New Imperialism


  South Africa

  1906-7: Britain restored self government and free elections for white people in Transvaal and Orange free State following the atrocities of the Second Boer War (1899-1901).
• Nature of British Empire: White dominions - Era of Decolonisation

  British Policy 

  1926 Imperial Conference conceded that all White Dominions were equal members of a community within the British Empire. 

  1931 Westminster Act granted the Dominions full legal autonomy except in those areas where they choose not to take advantage of it.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Economic - Era of Free Trade


  Second Opium War (1856-60)

  The Treaty of Tientsin, followed by the Convention of Peking in 1860 opened Chinese ports to trade by the British, thus legalising the opium trade.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Economic - Era of New Imperialism


  Second Boer War (1899-1901)

  British South Africa Company residing Rhodes as prime minister there due to the Witwatersrand gold mines thus making Transvaal the richest area.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Economic - Era of Decolonisation


  Mau Mau Emergency 1952-60 

  Native Grown Coffee Rules (1953) meant no Kenyan could grow coffee without a permit - the Kikuyu would earn ⅕ of what the white workers earnt.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Strategy - Era of Free Trade


  India & EIC - Self-centred

  Doctrine of Lapse = British imperialism, they annexed Jhansi & Nagpur in 1854 - Indian seen as ‘jewel in the crown’ due to exportation of raw materials e.g. cotton, or opium.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Strategy - Era of New Imperialism


  Berlin Conference of 1884-85 - European powers

  Growing tensions between European powers (organised by Otto von Bismarck) meant that European imperialism was becoming more competitive e.g. French had a foothold in Indo-China (1860s) & Germany had been making annexations from 1884.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Strategy - Era of Decolonisation


  Suez Crisis 1956 - US dominance

  President Nassar wanted to nationalise the Suez Canal (to augment lost money from British & US withdrawal of it), the gunboat diplomacy backlashes on British as Eisenhower was mad about international supporting of Egypt and threatened to kick UK out NATO - British ceasefire
• Driving Imperial Policy: Opposition - Era of Free Trade


  Indian Rebellion 1857

  Enfield rifle sparked discontent, leading to sepoys mutinying , 85 men from the 3rd Bengal cavalry refused to use the cartridges, thus were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
• Driving Imperial Policy: Opposition - Era of New Imperialism 


  The Fashoda Incident (1898)

  Disputes arose from British dominance in Egypt to secure the Nile-to-Cairo ambitions thus preventing French expansion eastward, Marchand (French foreign minister) promoted expansion of 150 men from Gabon to east.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Opposition - Era of Decolonisation 


  Palestine - MacDonald Letter & Arab Revolt (April 1937)

  Upon Macdonald letter (reaffirming Passfield White Paper) issued, the Arab Higher Committee (AHC) declared a national strike and 80 Jews were murdered in the strike.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Formal & Informal Empire: Era of Free Trade


  Mercantilism & Informal Empire

  Mercantilism is encouraging high exports but low imports.

  In India the EIC (chartered company) had no tariffs on raw cotton making them easy to export and benefit Britain.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Formal & Informal Empire: Era of New Imperialism 


  Free Trade & Formal Empire

  Free trade is having no restrictions on imports or exports.

  In Egypt (known as a ‘veiled protectorate’), 80% of their exports went to Britain, while 40% of their imports were coming from Britain by 1880.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Formal & Informal Empire: Era of Decolonisation


  Indirect Rule

  In Palestine, the July 1937 Peel Commission it proposed that Palestine should be split into 3 zones: an Arab state, a Jewish state, and a neutral territory which contained the holy sites e.g. prominent temples & mosques.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Economic explanations for imperialism: Era of Free Trade


  J.A Hobson: Overseas investment

  Argued imperialism was due to the greed of private financiers who had invested in British industry, so they wanted to invest overseas

  E.g. In 1875, 26% of all British exports went to the Empire
• Driving Imperial Policy: Economic explanations for imperialism: Era of New Imperialism 


  Lenin: Crisis of capitalism 

  By the outbreak of WW1 these monopoly capitalists poured money into profitable enterprises abroad.

  Britain invested in their informal empire E.g. Argentina the Roca-Runciman Treaty (1933) provided financial protection for British companies & lower taxes.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Economic explanations for imperialism: Era of Decolonisation


  Cain & Hopkins: Gentlemanly capitalism 

  Believed the driving force for empire was wealthy families linked to commerce 

  E.g. In the 1956 Suez Crisis, Anthony Eden partnered with David Ben-Gurion to invade Egypt in order to take back control of Suez canal, in which Britain had est. 45% shares into
• Driving Imperial Policy: Imperial rivalry: Era of Free Trade


  India & EIC - Self-centred

  Doctrine of Lapse = British imperialism, they annexed Jhansi & Nagpur in 1854 - Indian seen as ‘jewel in the crown’ due to exportation of raw materials e.g. cotton, or opium .
• Driving Imperial Policy: Imperial rivalry: Era of New Imperialism


  Berlin Conference of 1884-85 - European powers

  Growing tensions between European powers (organised by Otto von Bismarck) meant that European imperialism was becoming more competitive e.g. French having a foothold in Indo-China (1860s) & Germany had been making annexations from 1884.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Imperial rivalry: Era of Decolonisation

  Suez Crisis 1956 - US dominance

  President Nassar wanted to nationalise the Suez Canal, the gunboat diplomacy backlashes on British as Eisenhower was mad about international supporting of Egypt and threatened to kick UK out NATO this led to British ceasefire.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Metropolitan influence on the Empire: Era of Free Trade


  Religion 

  David Livingstone, Henry Morton Stanley and Cecil Rhodes were a prominent missionaries. John Jennings aimed to Christianise the city of Delhi in India.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Metropolitan influence on the Empire: Era of New Imperialism


  Sport

  Issac Newell opened a school in Rosario in 1884, where he introduced football - Maradona even played for the teams.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Metropolitan influence on the Empire: Era of Decolonisation 


  Technology & Machinery

  In 1964 Rhodesian Bush War, the British exported a plethora of guns to Southern Rhodesian from pistoles, to revolvers, to the prominent machine guns.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Forms of Governance: Era of Free Trade


  Chartered companies

  1879: George Goldie forms the United African Company, controlling 30 trading posts. UAC focused on palm oil trade.

  1881: UAC’s application for a royal charter rejected because of competing French interests in the Niger region.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Forms of Governance: Era of New Imperialism


  Direct Rule 

  1899 Royal Niger Company sells its holdings in Nigeria to the British for £865,000 following the revoking of its charter. Public opinion turned against the company after the Brass Oil Wars fought against the Kingdom of Benin.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Forms of Governance: Era of Decolonisation 


  Unwillingness to decolonise

  Kenya is struggling for independence following the Mau Mau rebellion, where 1096 were hung, and Kenya only got independence in 1963 compared to  South Africa who got their in 1910.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Security and Coercion: Era of Free Trade


  Second Opium War (1856-1860)

  British utilisation of gunboat diplomacy, docking in Canton which was against Emperor Qing propositions - around 15,000 - 30,000 Chinese troops died
• Driving Imperial Policy: Security and Coercion: Era of New Imperialism


  Second Boer War (1899-1901)

  Kitchener was determined to defeat the Boer so he continued Lord Robert’s scorched-earth policy and installed 50 concentration camps, killing over 20,000 Boer women and children.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Collaboration & Indigenous Elites: Era of Free Trade


  India - Princely States

  During the rebellion there was key EIC collaborated with in northern & central regions, e.g. Nizam of Hyderabad and Maharajas of Rajputana all cooperated with the British and provided large Punjab Sikh troops for the Siege of Delhi.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Collaboration & Indigenous Elites: Era of New Imperialism


  Palestine - Sharif of Mecca

  In July 1915, Sir Herbert McMahon (British High Commissioner) considered a partnership with the Arabs in order to take down the Ottoman Empire, he said to Sharif of Mecca that he would ‘assist the Arabs to government in those various territories’.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Collaboration & Indigenous Elites: Era of Decolonisation


  Kenya - Kenyatta 

  Jomo Kenyatta was LSE educated and represented the moderates in Kenya’s political system, he became the leader of the Kenya African Union (KAU) and in the Third Lancaster House Settlement (1963) Kenya became a republic.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Use of technology across Empire: Era of Free Trade


  India - Telegram

  By the end of 1856, there were 4,250 miles of telegraph lines in India & 46 receiving offices. The postmaster at Meerut sent his aunt in Agra a telegram saying: ‘Cavalry have risen setting fire to houses having killed or wounded all Europeans they could find’. This telegram was shown to Sir John Colvin (Governor at Agra) who told Lord Canning.
• Driving Imperial Policy: Use of technology across Empire: Era of New Imperialism


  Argentina - Railway 

  Around 1914 the nominal capitalisation of major networks e.g. the Buenos Ayres Great Southern and the Central Argentine stood around £50 million, which was about ⅔  the nominal capital of the North Eastern Railway, a large regional network in the UK.