EAST AFRICA: AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORY

Chapter 9 EAST AFRICA FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR TO THE SECOND: 1914–1939

Chapter 9 During the First World War and the years that followed, the political patterns and structures in East Africa continued along the lines they had assumed by 1914. The war formed a brief, albeit destructive , interruption in the development of this pattern. The interwar years would be characterized by consolidation rather than innovation. Although colonial rule now came to touch regions previously loosely administered, such as northern Kenya, and the British assumed control of German East Africa, renaming it Tanganyika, colonial administration changed little for most Africans. The authoritarian structure and statist tendencies that had marked the pre-war era continued largely intact. The British had introduced legislative councils in all three mainland territories by 1939, but Africans played virtually no role in these organs of “national” politics. Indeed, the British gave little concern to democracy during these years. Stability and controlled change were the goals of administrative policy . While the goal of eventual self government for the colonies might be laid down in Britain, little was done to work towards such an end in East Africa. In the name of efficiency, order and welfare, Africans were acted upon, not consulted with, by the colonial rulers. In addition to the almost total absence of democratic initiatives between the wars, the colonial states’ administrative and political policies continued to support trends that fostered regional differentiation. From the East Africa from the First World War to the Second: 1914-1939 east africa from the first world war to the second | 181 earliest days of colonial rule, some African households responded more rapidly to the economic pressures and incentives that followed the establishment of colonial rule than did others. This, in most cases, was because of their proximity to railway lines, trade routes, or to the new urban centers established as a result of colonial rule. These households were drawn into commodity production, wage labor, or a combination of both, while others were not. The former were, more often than not, among the first to experience the impact of Christian missions in the shape of conversion and the establishment of schools. Moreover, between the wars those areas where capitalist and missionary penetration had the greatest impact were invariably the ones to experience the most extensive political activity. In terms of political activity, a truly nationalist movement in the shape of a political party with a large, representative membership with the goal of ending colonial rule and establishing an independent government representing and drawing support from the people of the colony had not emerged by 1939. Political activity between the wars was more characterized by segmentation. This rested on the economic divisions brought by colonial rule that produced white capitalist farmers, Asian merchants, African workers, commodity producing peasants, and a straddling petty bourgeoisie. Such segmentation rested not only on class, however. Ethnic, regional, religious, and racial segmentation also characterized the period as diverse interests found expression in various forms or political activity. By the end of World War II as a result, East African societies were far less united than four decades earlier. Those most involved in such political activity had usually experienced the economic, political, and social impacts of colonial rule more profoundly than other inhabitants of East Africa. More often than not, they constituted what can be broadly termed the beneficiaries of colonial rule. In this category may be placed, for instance, Kenya’s European settlers, East Africa’s Asians, and the emergent petty bourgeoisie or African middle class in the three mainland territories. All had made gains as a result of colonial rule, and they sought to protect those and to enhance their economic and social positions through political activity of various types. The class and ethnic divisions that had manifested themselves as a result of colonial rule had substantial impact on forms of African political organization and activity. For example, most political activity was “local” in nature 182 | CHAPTER NINE in that it focused on localities normally inhabited by a single ethnic group. For the most part, political activity between the wars did not bring together peoples of differing ethnic identity; rather local political activity involved peoples now recognizable as belonging to the same “tribe.” Nevertheless, the arena of local politics was diverse. The domain of local political articulation varied from mission station to chief’s baraza, to a district-wide political organization. This kind of protest encompassed the movements of organized groups as well as the...