Colonial Administration: Direct and Indirect Rule
Colonial History · Colonial Administration
Syllabus tag: KCSE | History and Government | Form 3 | Topic 19 Colonial Administration
Lesson objectives
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
- Describe the structure of colonial administration and the role of African chiefs.
- Define indirect rule and explain why the British adopted it.
- Describe how indirect rule was applied in Northern Nigeria and in Kenya.
- Explain the effects of indirect rule and compare British and French policy.
Summary
The British governed through indirect rule, administering through existing African rulers under European supervision. It was adopted for reasons of cost, shortage of personnel and practicality. It worked reasonably in Northern Nigeria, where emirates already existed, and far less well in Kenya, where most societies had no chiefs to work through, so the British created them.