Date of Graduation

2012

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This study examines British responses to African resistance in three specific locations within the East Africa Protectorate both before and during the First World War. Two specific questions are addressed. First, what kind of African resistance did the British colonial authorities face prior to the outbreak of the First World War and how were these resistance movements handled? The second question is what impact did the First World War have upon British policy in dealing with African resistance during the war itself? As case studies for British policy relating to the handling of African resistance before the start of the East African Campaign in 1914, this study focuses on Gusii resistance 1905-1908 to the implementation of colonial control in western Kenya, as well as the Marehan expedition of 1913-1914 in the northeastern part of Kenya known as Jubaland. In addition to Gusii and Marehan resistance prior to the First World War, this study also examines the Giriama Rebellion along the coastal region of Kenya, which started simultaneously with the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in August 1914. Thus, the Giriama Rebellion has special significance in that it occurred during the very early months of the East African Campaign and was the first major resistance movement the British colonial and military authorities had to address during the war. In all cases of pre-war African resistance discussed in this study, the response of the colonial authorities was quick and decisive. Punitive expeditions were sent into the regions, fines in the form of livestock were assessed, and the African forced to submit to colonial authority. It is only in the case of the Giriama Rebellion that the First World War had an impact, if even a limited influence, upon how the colonial authorities handled the situation. In addressing the second question, concerning the impact of the First World War upon British policy towards African resistance, thus study examines the Giriama Rebellion of 1914, the Gusii sacking of the British post at Kisii in September 1914, and the Aulihan Somali Rebellion of 1916-1918 in the northeastern province of Jubaland. These resistance movements were chosen specifically because of their location, relative to German East Africa (GEA), the main theater of military operations during the East African Campaign. Both Giriamaland and Gusiiland are located very close to the border with GEA. They also occurred very early in the war, before any major military actions had taken place. The war against the Germans, as this study proves, certainly had an impact upon how the colonial and military authorities handled the situation. Given the timing of these two events, in terms of the greater war in East Africa, and their locations, being close to the border, the decision was made to crush the rebellious tribes quickly, before any troops might be needed to fight against the Germans. The final form of African resistance is the Aulihan Somali Rebellion of 1916 in Jubaland, which occurred in the middle of the war and was hundreds of miles from the GEA border. In order to understand how the military and colonial authorities addressed the Aulihan situation, this study provides a summary of the East African Campaign from 1914 to 1916. Special attention is paid to the Battle of Tanga in November 1914, which was a complete disaster for the British, and the subsequent chaos within the military command structure. After the British failed to capture the GEA port city of Tanga, military authorities in the East Africa Protectorate (EAP) went on the defensive. For nearly two years the British regrouped and reorganized in military forces in the EAP, in preparation for the eventual offensive against the Germans. In early 1916, General Jan Christian Smuts was appointed commanding officer in the EAP, and he planned a major offensive to begin when he arrived. However, upon his arrival to the EAP in February 1916, the Aulihan Somali in Jubaland rebelled against colonial authority, sacked the British station at Serenli and killed the officer stationed there, Lt. F. Elliott. Since General Smuts was planning a major offensive against the Germans, and, as this study proves, needed all the military capabilities of the EAP, the colonial authorities, supported by the military, made the decision to abandon Jubaland until the situation in GEA improved to a point in which troops could be spared for operations against the Aulihan. From February 1916 until late September 1917, Jubaland remained completely void of any colonial authority. It was not until the situation along the GEA front has improved to a satisfactory degree, the Germans having been forced from the border region and most of GEA under British control, that troops were available for operation against the Aulihan. Thus, this example indicates, as in the case of the two earlier incidences, that the First World War had a major impact upon British policy in dealing with African resistance.

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