Barotseland's Scramble for Protection
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8979161 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gerald L Caplan (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1969 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 277-294 |
| Publication date | 1969-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of African History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s002185370000952x |
| OpenAlex | W2133634252 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 19 |
| References cited | 8 |
The arrival of European concession-seekers in Barotseland coincided with a period of internal instability in that kingdom. King Lewanika, fearing both enemies within the ruling class as well as Ndebele raids, decided to follow the example of his friend Khama of the Ngwato in seeking British protection. With considerable difficulty he prevailed upon a local missionary, François Coillard, to write a letter on his behalf requesting such protection. It had already become clear that an important faction of the Lozi ruling class opposed the king's decision. Some of its members feared that his ‘protectors’ would make his overthrow that much more difficult; others were concerned that he more powerful white men would undermine the authority of the nation's traditional rulers. These suspicions received apparent confirmation when the representative who appeared to negotiate the concession proved to be an agent, not of Her Majesty's Government, but of the British South African Company. Thanks, however, to the ignorance of the missionaries who were interpreting for the court, as well as to the duplicity of Rhodes's agent himself, this distinction was successfully blurred. Opposition remained, however, until, at a critical moment in the negotiations, Khama's envoy threatened the council with harsh retribution if it refused to sanction the proposed treaty. In the face of this united stand of those who represented the power of the British government and its white associates and black collaborators, the National Council of Barotseland finally agreed to the concession, and, for better or worse, the Lozi found themselves under white ‘protection’
Ignorance · Magistrate · Negotiation · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Treaty · White (mutation · African history and culture studies · History · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture
United in Separation? Lozi Secessionism in Zambia and Namibia
Angola and Mozambique, 1870–1905
East Africa 1870–1905
French Congo and Gabon 1886–1905
Africa on the Eve of Partition
Western Africa, 1870–1886
Western Africa, 1886–1905
North Africa
Madagascar and France, 1870–1905
The European Partition of Africa
The European Scramble and Conquest in African History
King Leopold's Congo, 1886–1908
The Cambridge History of Africa
Conflict, Justice, and the Stranger-King Indigenous Roots of Colonial Rule in Indonesia and Elsewhere
Cecil Rhodes and his ‘cosmic dreams’
Neither arbitrary nor artificial
The Origins of Nationalism in East and Central Africa
Lewanika's Achievement
Chiefs of rain - chiefs of ruling
| Unique citing works | 19 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,34 |
| Citation span | 1970 - 2019 (50) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 19 |