The Nadir of Colonial Power in Northern Rhodesia

On 2 April 1917, a terse telegram informed London Wall of a major insurrection in the Barue region of neighbouring Portuguese East Africa. A crucial half-sentence in the despatch, that the rebellion was ‘probably due to commandeering of natives by Portuguese authorities for military service’, 1 brought home the potentially disastrous political consequences the rebellion might have for the Company’s own tenuous control. 2 A London Wall Director, D. O. Malcolm, immediately confided to the Colonial Office, with masterly understatement, that ‘one doesn’t like native risings in one’s neighbour’s territory’. 3 An official Company despatch about the crucial importance of honouring carrier contracts more accurately represented the fears of London Wall. It agreed that the rising was the direct result of the ‘commandeering of natives [ ... ] for military service’ and stressed that it was ‘vitally important to avoid the risk of similar trouble in Rhodesia’. 4 These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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