MC_A Concise History of Africa

A Concise History of Africa

was in the past, and was used as a model in British Africa in the early days, later taking a back seat to the state, the professions and the business world. The use of the military model was also prominent in French colonies, the splendidly-named Louis-Léon-César Faidherbe having been germane in establishing the French colonial empire in Africa and transforming Senegal into the dominant military and political power in West Africa. In the 1850s he had African volunteers, dressed in fetching uniforms, taking oaths on the Qur’an and listening to stories of French military triumphs; there was even the notion of providing replica uniforms for the children, to influence them in the way that they should go. Faideherbe’s economic regime was able to pay for his innovations, and he was a more skilled manager than most, but others were unable to But the military was not the sole focus: besides soldiers, Africans also became teachers and ministers of religion. Fourah Bay College, in Sierra Leone, was founded as early as 1827, and was a magnet for the repatriated and for Africans seeking higher education, its aims being mainly focused on the Christian ministry. The British did not favor force to hold their empire steady, preferring the co-operation of local kings, headmen, tribal elders, and other authority figures, who would often be imbued with the almost mystical notions the British attached to their own monarchy. Honors would be given out, fêtes organized, and combine economic and organizational success.

The British accepted that some Africans would be part of the governing class, while others would take orders and hold different positions in the hierarchy. In preparing for rule, nothing was considered more effective than public school education, a British “public” school in fact being both private and expensive. Uganda’s King’s College, Budo, was formed along public school lines and was (and still is) an excellent school.

Edward Mutesa (1924–69) was educated at Budo and went on to Cambridge and the army, where he was enrolled as a captain in the Grenadier Guards. He was the Kabaka of Buganda, the kabakaship being an Anglo-African institution by this time, and when he died, merited two funerals, that were conducted with full military honors both in Uganda and London. By now, the British military had become rather more genteel than it

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