African Participation in the British Empire

This chapter shows that Africans did not limit themselves to one particular type of participation in the British empire. Ambitious individuals valued the autonomy and growth potential of the commercial sector and many chiefs, clerks, senior soldiers and policemen, clergymen, and teachers used their earnings and status to acquire land or set up petty trading ventures. The need for African assistance in running the empire in Africa also exposed some of the most fundamental contradictions of the colonial system. The colonial regime needed help governing the African majority, but the Native Authorities proved unreliable partners. Lacking a legitimate basis for their authority, they had difficulty executing unpopular colonial policies and were unable to blunt African political opposition.