Chapter XVIII: Part 18

_Government._--The system of government resembles that of a British crown colony. At the head of the administration is a governor, who has a deputy styled lieutenant-governor, provincial commissioners presiding over each province. There are also executive and legislative councils, unofficial nominated members serving on the last-named council. In the "ten-mile strip" (see below, _History_), the sultan of Zanzibar being territorial sovereign, the laws of Islam apply to the native and Arab population. The extra-territorial jurisdiction granted by the sultan to various Powers was in 1907 transferred to Great Britain. Domestic slavery formerly existed; but on the advice of the British government a decree was issued by the sultan on the 1st of August 1890, enacting that no one born after that date could be a slave, and this was followed in 1907 by a decree abolishing the legal status of slavery. In the rest of the protectorate slavery is not recognized in any form. Legislation is by ordinances made by the governor, with the assent of the legislative council. The judicial system is based on Indian models, though in cases in which Africans are concerned regard is had to [v.04 p.0604] native customs. Europeans have the right to trial by jury in serious cases. There is a police force of about 2000 men, and two battalions of the King's African Rifles are stationed in the protectorate. Revenue is derived chiefly from customs, licences and excise, railway earnings, and posts and telegraphs. Natives pay a hut tax. Since the completion of the Uganda railway, trade, and consequently revenue, has increased greatly. In 1900-1901 the revenue was £64,275 and the expenditure £193,438; in 1904-1905 the figures were: revenue £154,756, expenditure £302,559; in 1905-1906 the totals were £270,362 and £418,839, and in 1906-1907 (when the railway figures were included for the first time) £461,362 and £616,088. The deficiencies were made good by grants-in-aid from the imperial exchequer. The standard coin used is the rupee (16d.).

Education is chiefly in the hands of the missionary societies, which maintain many schools where instruction is given in handicrafts, as well as in the ordinary branches of elementary education. There are Arab schools in Mombasa, and government schools for Europeans and Indians at Nairobi.

_History._--From the 8th century to the 11th Arabs and Persians made settlements along the coast and gained political supremacy at many places, leading to the formation of the so-called Zenj empire. The history of the coast towns from that time until the establishment of British rule is identified with that of Zanzibar (_q.v._). The interior of what is now British East Africa was first made known in the middle of the 19th century by the German missionaries Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann, and by Baron Karl von der Decken (1833-1865) and others. Von der Decken and three other Europeans were murdered by Somali at a town called Bardera in October 1865, whilst exploring the Juba river. The countries east of Victoria Nyanza (Masailand, &c.) were, however, first traversed throughout their whole extent by the Scottish traveller Joseph Thomson (_q.v._) in 1883-1884. In 1888 Count S. Teleki (a Hungarian) discovered Lakes Rudolf and Stefanie.

The growth of British interests in the country now forming the protectorate arises from its connexion with the sultanate of Zanzibar. At Zanzibar British influence was very strong in the last quarter of the 19th century, and the seyyid or sultan, Bargash, depended greatly on the advice of the British representative, Sir John Kirk. In 1877 Bargash offered to Mr (afterwards Sir) William Mackinnon (1823-1893), chairman of the British India Steam Navigation Company, a merchant in whom he had great confidence, or to a company to be formed by him, a lease for 70 years of the customs and administration of the whole of the mainland dominions of Zanzibar including, with certain reservations, rights of sovereignty. This was declined owing to a lack of support by the foreign office, and concessions obtained in 1884 by Mr (afterwards Sir) H.H. Johnston in the Kilimanjaro district were, at the time, disregarded. The large number of concessions acquired by Germans in 1884-1885 on the East African coast aroused, however, the interest of those who recognized the paramount importance of the maintenance of British influence in those regions. A British claim, ratified by an agreement with Germany in 1886, was made to the districts behind Mombasa; and in May 1887 Bargash granted to an association formed by Mackinnon a concession for the administration of so much of his mainland territory as lay outside the region which the British government had recognized as the German sphere of operations. By international agreement the mainland territories of the sultan were defined as extending 10 m. inland from the coast. Mackinnon's association, whose object [Sidenote: A chartered company formed.] was to open up the hinterland as well as this ten-mile strip, became the Imperial British East Africa Company by a founder's agreement of April 1888, and received a royal charter in September of the same year. To this company the sultan made a further concession dated October 1888. On the faith of these concessions and the charters a sum of £240,000 was subscribed, and the company received formal charge of their concessions. The path of the company was speedily beset with difficulties, which in the first instance arose out of the aggressions of the German East African Company. This company had also received a grant from the sultan in October 1888, and its appearance on the coast was followed by grave disturbances among the tribes which had welcomed the British. This outbreak led to a joint British and German blockade, which seriously hampered trade operations. It had also been anticipated, in reliance on certain assurances of Prince Bismarck, emphasized by Lord Salisbury, that German enterprise in the interior of the country would be confined to the south of Victoria Nyanza. Unfortunately this expectation was not realized. Moreover German subjects put forward claims to coast districts, notably Lamu, within the company's sphere and in many ways obstructed the company's operations. In all these disputes the German government countenanced its own subjects, while the British foreign office did little or nothing to assist the company, sometimes directly discouraging its activity. Moreover, the company had agreed by the concession of October 1888 to pay a high revenue to the sultan--Bargash had died in the preceding March and the Germans were pressing his successor to give them a grant of Lamu--in lieu of the customs collected at the ports they took over. The disturbance caused by the German claims had a detrimental effect on trade and put a considerable strain on the resources of the company. The action of the company in agreeing to onerous financial burdens was dictated partly by regard for imperial interests, which would have been seriously weakened had Lamu gone to the Germans.

By the hinterland doctrine, accepted both by Great Britain and Germany in the diplomatic correspondence of July 1887, Uganda would fall within Great Britain's "sphere of influence"; but German public opinion did not so regard the matter. German maps assigned the territory to Germany, while in England public opinion as strongly expected British influence to be paramount. In 1889 Karl Peters, a German official, led what was practically a raiding expedition into that country, after running a blockade of the ports. An expedition under F.J. Jackson had been sent by the company in the same year to Victoria Nyanza, but with instructions to avoid Uganda. In consequence of representations from Uganda, and of tidings he received of Peters's doings, Jackson, however, determined to go to that country. Peters retired at Jackson's approach, claiming, nevertheless, to have made certain treaties which constituted "effective occupation." Peters's treaty was dated the 1st of March 1890: Jackson concluded another in April. Meantime negotiations were proceeding in Europe; and by the Anglo-German agreement of the 1st of July 1890 Uganda was assigned to the British sphere. To consolidate their position in Uganda--the French missionaries there were hostile to Great Britain--the company sent thither Captain F.D. Lugard, who reached Mengo, the capital, in December 1890 and established the authority of the company despite French intrigues. In July 1890 representatives of the powers assembled at Brussels had agreed on common efforts for the suppression of the slave trade. The interference of the company in Uganda had been a material step towards that object, which they sought to further and at the same time to open up the country by the construction of a railway from Mombasa to Victoria Nyanza. But their resources being inadequate for such an undertaking they sought imperial aid. Although Lord Salisbury, then prime minister, paid the highest tribute to the company's labours, and a preliminary grant for the survey had been practically agreed upon, the scheme was wrecked in parliament. At a later date, however, the railway was built entirely at government cost (_supra_, § _Communications_). Owing to the financial strain imposed upon it the company decided to withdraw Captain Lugard and his forces in August 1891; and eventually the British government assumed a protectorate over the country (see UGANDA).

Further difficulties now arose which led finally to the extinction of the company. Its pecuniary interests sustained a severe [Sidenote: The company and the crown.] blow owing to the British government--which had taken Zanzibar under its protection in November 1890--declaring (June 1892) the dominions of the sultan within the free trade zone. This act extinguished the treaties regulating all tariffs and duties with foreign powers, and gave free trade all along the coast. The result for the company was that dues were now swept away without compensation, and the company was left saddled with the payment of the rent, and with the cost, in addition, of administration, [v.04 p.0605] the necessary revenue for which had been derived from the dues thus abolished. Moreover, a scheme of taxation which it drew up failed to gain the approval of the foreign office.

In every direction the company's affairs had drifted into an _impasse_. Plantations had been taken over on the coast and worked at a loss, money had been advanced to native traders and lost, and expectations of trade had been disappointed. At this crisis Sir William Mackinnon, the guiding spirit of the company, died (June 1893). At a meeting of shareholders on the 8th of May 1894 an offer to surrender the charter to the government was approved, though not without strong protests. Negotiations dragged on for over two years, and ultimately the terms of settlement were that the government should purchase the property, rights and assets of the company in East Africa for £250,000. Although the company had proved unprofitable for the shareholders (when its accounts were wound up they disclosed a total deficit of £193,757) it had accomplished a great deal of good work and had brought under British sway not only the head waters of the upper Nile, but a rich and healthy upland region admirably adapted for European colonization. To the judgment, foresight and patriotism of Sir William Mackinnon British East Africa practically owes its foundation. Sir William and his colleagues of the company were largely animated by humanitarian motives--the desire to suppress slavery and to improve the condition of the natives. With this aim they prohibited the drink traffic, started industrial missions, built roads, and administered impartial justice. In the opinion of a later administrator (Sir C. Eliot), their work and that of their immediate successors was the greatest philanthropic achievement of the latter part of the 19th century.

On the 1st of July 1895 the formal transfer to the British crown of the territory administered by the company took place at Mombasa, the foreign office assuming responsibility for its administration. The territory, hitherto known as "Ibea," from the initials of the company, was now styled the East Africa protectorate. The small sultanate of Witu (_q.v._) on the mainland opposite Lamu, from 1885 to 1890 a German protectorate, was included in the British protectorate. Coincident with the transfer of the administration to the imperial government a dispute as to the succession to a chieftainship in the Mazrui, the most important Arab family on the coast, led to a revolt which lasted ten months and involved much hard fighting. It ended in April 1896 in the flight of the rebel leaders to German territory, where they were interned. The rebellion marks an important epoch in the history of the protectorate as its suppression definitely substituted European for Arab influence. "Before the rebellion," says Sir C. Eliot, "the coast was a protected Arab state; since its suppression it has been growing into a British colony."

From 1896, when the building of the Mombasa-Victoria Nyanza railway was begun, until 1903, when the line was [Sidenote: A white man's country.] practically completed, the energies of the administration were largely absorbed in that great work, and in establishing effective control over the Masai, Somali, and other tribes. The coast lands apart, the protectorate was regarded as valuable chiefly as being the high road to Uganda. But as the railway reached the high plateaus the discovery was made that there were large areas of land--very sparsely peopled--where the climate was excellent and where the conditions were favourable to European colonization. The completion of the railway, by affording transport facilities, made it practicable to open the country to settlers. The first application for land was made in April 1902 by the East Africa Syndicate--a company in which financiers belonging to the Chartered Company of South Africa were interested--which sought a grant of 500 sq. m.; and this was followed by other applications for considerable areas, a scheme being also propounded for a large Jewish settlement.

During 1903 the arrival of hundreds of prospective settlers, chiefly from South Africa, led to the decision to entertain no more applications for large areas of land, especially as questions were raised concerning the preservation for the Masai of their rights of pasturage. In the carrying out of this policy a dispute arose between Lord Lansdowne, foreign secretary, and Sir Charles Eliot, who had been commissioner since 1900. The foreign secretary, believing himself bound by pledges given to the syndicate, decided that they should be granted the lease of the 500 sq. m. they had applied for; but after consulting officials of the protectorate then in London, he refused Sir Charles Eliot permission to conclude leases for 50 sq. m. each to two applicants from South Africa. Sir Charles thereupon resigned his post, and in a public telegram to the prime minister, dated Mombasa, the 21st of June 1904, gave as his reason:--"Lord Lansdowne ordered me to refuse grants of land to certain private persons while giving a monopoly of land on unduly advantageous terms to the East Africa Syndicate. I have refused to execute these instructions, which I consider unjust and impolitic."[1]

On the day Sir Charles sent this telegram the appointment of Sir Donald W. Stewart, the chief commissioner of Ashanti, to succeed him was announced. Sir Donald induced the Masai whose grazing rights were threatened to remove to another district, and a settlement of the land claims was arranged. An offer to the Zionist Association of land for colonization by Jews was declined in August 1905 by that body, after the receipt of a report by a commissioner sent to examine the land (6000 sq. m.) offered. Sir Donald Stewart died on the 1st of October 1905, and was succeeded by Colonel Hayes Sadler, the commissioner of Uganda. Meantime, in April 1905, the administration of the protectorate had been transferred from the foreign to the colonial office. By the close of 1905 considerably over a million acres of land had been leased or sold by the protectorate authorities--about half of it for grazing purposes. In 1907, to meet the demands of the increasing number of white inhabitants, who had formed a Colonists' Association[2] for the promotion of their interests, a legislative council was established, and on this council representatives of the settlers were given seats. The style of the chief official was also altered, "governor" being substituted for "commissioner". In the same year a scheme was drawn up for assisting the immigration of British Indians to the regions adjacent to the coast and to Victoria Nyanza, districts not suitable for settlement by Europeans.

In general the relations of the British with the tribes of the interior have been satisfactory. The Somali in Jubaland have given some trouble, but the Masai, notwithstanding their warlike reputation, accepted peaceably the control of the whites. This was due, in great measure, to the fact that at the period in question plague carried off their cattle wholesale and reduced them for years to a state of want and weakness which destroyed their warlike habits. One of the most troublesome tribes proved to be the Nandi, who occupied the southern part of the plateau west of the Mau escarpment. They repeatedly raided their less warlike neighbours and committed wholesale thefts from the railway and telegraph lines. In September 1905 an expedition was sent against them which reduced the tribe to submission in the following November; and early in 1906 the Nandi were removed into a reserve. The majority of the natives, unaccustomed to regular work, showed themselves averse from taking service under the white farmers. The inadequacy of the labour supply was an early cause of trouble to the settlers, while the labour regulations enforced led, during 1907-1908, to considerable friction between the colonists and the administration.

For several years after the establishment of the protectorate the northern region remained very little known and no attempt was made to administer the district. The natives were frequently raided by parties of Gallas and Abyssinians, and in the absence of a defined frontier Abyssinian government posts were pushed south to Lake Rudolf. The Abyssinians also made themselves masters of the Boran country. After long negotiations an agreement as to the boundary line between the lake and [v.04 p.0606] the river Juba was signed at Adis Ababa on the 6th of December 1907, and in 1908-1909 the frontier was delimited by an Anglo-Abyssinian commission, Major C.W. Gwynn being the chief British representative. Save for its north-eastern extremity Lake Rudolf was assigned to the British, Lake Stefanie falling to Abyssinia, while from about 4° 20' N. the Daua to its junction with the Juba became the frontier.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The most comprehensive account of the protectorate to the close of 1904, especially of its economic resources, is _The East Africa Protectorate_, by Sir Charles Eliot (London, 1905). The progress of the protectorate is detailed in the _Reports_ by the governor issued annually by the British government since 1896, and in _Drumkey's Year Book for East Africa_ (Bombay), first issued in 1908. The _Précis of Information_ concerning the British East Africa Protectorate (issued by the War Office, London, 1901) is chiefly valuable for its historical information. The work of the Imperial British East Africa Company is concisely and authoritatively told from official documents in _British East Africa or Ibea_, by P.L. McDermont (new ed., London, 1895). Another book, valuable for its historical perspective, is _The Foundation of British East Africa_, by J.W. Gregory (London, 1901). Bishop A.R. Tucker's _Eighteen Years in Uganda and East Africa_ (London, 1908) contains a summary of missionary labours. Of the works of explorers _Through Masai Land_, by Joseph Thomson (London, 1886), is specially valuable. For the northern frontier see Capt. P. Maud's report in _Africa No. 13_ (1904). For geology see, besides Thomson's book, _The Great Rift Valley_, by J.W. Gregory (London, 1896); _Across an East African Glacier_, by Hans Meyer (London and Leipzig, 1890); and _Report relating to the Geology of the East Africa Protectorate_, by H.B. Muff (Colonial Office, London, 1908). For big game and ornithology see _On Safari_, by A. Chapman (London, 1908). The story of the building of the Uganda railway is summarized in the _Final Report of the Uganda Railway Committee, Africa, No. 11_ (1904), published by the British government.

(F. R. C.)

[1] See _Correspondence relating to the Resignation of Sir C. Eliot, Africa, No. 8_ (1904).

[2] The Planters and Farmers' Association, as this organization was originally called, dates from 1903.

BRITISH EMPIRE, the name now loosely given to the whole aggregate of territory, the inhabitants of which, under various forms of government, ultimately look to the British crown as the supreme head. The term "empire" is in this connexion obviously used rather for convenience than in any sense equivalent to that of the older or despotic empires of history.

The land surface of the earth is estimated to extend over about 52,500,000 sq. m. Of this area the British empire occupies [Sidenote: Extent.] nearly one-quarter, extending over an area of about 12,000,000 sq. m. By far the greater portion lies within the temperate zones, and is suitable for white settlement. The notable exceptions are the southern half of India and Burma; East, West and Central Africa; the West Indian colonies; the northern portion of Australia; New Guinea, British Borneo and that portion of North America which extends into Arctic regions. The area of the territory of the empire is divided almost equally between the southern and the northern hemispheres, the great divisions of Australasia and South Africa covering between them in the southern hemisphere 5,308,506 sq. m., while the United Kingdom, Canada and India, including the native states, cover between them in the northern hemisphere 5,271,375 sq. m. The alternation of the seasons is thus complete, one-half of the empire enjoying summer, while one-half is in winter. The division of territory between the eastern and western hemispheres is less equal, Canada occupying alone in the western hemisphere 3,653,946 sq. m., while Australasia, South Africa, India and the United Kingdom occupy together in the eastern hemisphere 6,925,975 sq. m. As a matter of fact, however, the eastern portions of Australasia border so nearly upon the western hemisphere that the distribution of day and night throughout the empire is, like the alternations of the seasons, almost complete, one-half enjoying daylight, while the other half is in darkness. These alternations of time and of seasons, combined with the variety of soils and climates, are calculated to have an increasingly important effect upon the material and industrial, as well as upon the social and political developments of the empire. This will become evident in considering the industrial productions of the different divisions, and the harvest seasons which permit the summer produce of one portion of the empire to supply the winter requirements of its other markets, and conversely.

The empire contains or is bounded by some of the highest mountains, the greatest lakes, and the most important rivers of the world. Its climates may be said to include all the known climates of the world; its soils are no less various. In the prairies of central Canada it possesses some of the most valuable wheat-producing land; in the grass lands of the interior of Australia the best pasture country; and in the uplands of South Africa the most valuable gold- and diamond-bearing beds which exist. The United Kingdom at present produces more coal than any other single country except the United States. The effect of climate throughout the empire in modifying the type of the Anglo-Saxon race has as yet received only partial attention, and conclusions regarding it are of a somewhat empiric nature. The general tendency in Canada is held to be towards somewhat smaller size, and a hardy active habit; in Australia to a tall, slight, pale development locally known as "cornstalkers," characterized by considerable nervous and intellectual activity. In New Zealand the type preserves almost exactly the characteristics of the British Isles. The South African, both Dutch and British, is readily recognized by an apparently sun-dried, lank and hard habit of body. In the tropical possessions of the empire, where white settlement does not take place to any considerable extent, the individual alone is affected. The type undergoes no modification. It is to be observed in reference to this interesting aspect of imperial development, that the multiplication and cheapening of channels of communication and means of travel throughout the empire will tend to modify the future accentuation of race difference, while the variety of elements in the vast area occupied should have an important, though as yet not scientifically traced, effect upon the British imperial type.

The white population of the empire[1] reached in 1901 a total of over 53,000,000, or something over one-eighth of its entire [Sidenote: Population.] population, which, including native races, is estimated at about 400,000,000. The white population includes some French, Dutch and Spanish peoples, but is mainly of Anglo-Saxon race. It is distributed roughly as follows:--

United Kingdom and home dependencies 41,608,791
Australasia 4,662,000
British North America 5,500,000
Africa (Dutch and British) 1,000,000[2]
India 169,677
West Indies and Bermuda 100,000
----------
53,040,468

The native population of the empire includes types of the principal black, yellow and brown races, classing with these the high-type races of the East, which may almost be called white. The native population of India, mainly high type, brown, was returned at the census of 1901 as 294,191,379. The population of India is divided into 118 groups on the basis of language. These may, however, be collected into the following principal groups:--

(A) Malayo-Polynesian.
(B) Indo-Chinese:
i. Mon-Khmer.
ii. Tibeto-Burman.
iii. Siamese-Chinese.
(C) Dravido-Mu[n.][d.][=a]:
i. Mu[n.][d.][=a] (Kolarian).
ii. Dravidian.
(D) Indo-European.
Indo-Aryan sub-family.
(E) Semitic.
(F) Hamitic.
(G) Unclassed, e.g. Gipsy.

_Eastern Colonies_

Ceylon, high type, brown and mixed 3,568,824
Straits Settlements, brown, mixed and Chinese 570,000
Hong-Kong, Chinese and brown 306,130
North Borneo, mixed brown and Sarawak 700,000
---------
5,144,954

[v.04 p.0607] Of the various races which inhabit these Eastern dependencies the most important are the 2,000,000 Sinhalese and the 954,000 Tamil that make up the greater part of the population of Ceylon. The rest is made up of Arabs, Malays, Chinese (in the Straits Settlements and Hong-Kong), Dyaks, Eurasians and others.

_West Indies._

The West Indies, including the continental colonies of British Guiana and Honduras, and seventeen islands or groups of islands, have a total coloured population of about 1,912,655. The colonies of this group which have the largest coloured populations are:--

Jamaica--Chiefly black, some brown and yellow 790,000
Trinidad and Tobago--Black and brown 250,000
British Guiana--Black and brown 286,000
---------
1,326,000

The populations of the West Indies are very various, being made up largely of imported African negroes. In Jamaica these contribute four-fifths of the population. There are also in the islands a considerable number of imported East Indian coolies and some Chinese. The aboriginal races include American Indians of the mainland and Caribs. With these there has been intermixture of Spanish and Portuguese blood, and many mixed types have appeared. The total European population of this group of colonies amounts to upwards of 80,000, to which 15,000 on account of Bermuda may be added.

_Africa._

Chiefly black, estimated
South 5,211,329
Central 2,000,000

The aboriginal races of South Africa were the Bushmen and Hottentots. Both these races are rapidly diminishing in numbers, and in British South Africa it is expected that they will in the course of the twentieth century become extinct. Besides these primitive races there are the dark-skinned negroids of Bantu stock, commonly known in their tribal groups as Kaffirs, Zulu, Bechuana and Damara, which are again subdivided into many lesser groups. The Bantu compose the greater part of the native population. There are also in South Africa Malays and Indians and others, who during the last two hundred years have been introduced from Java, Ceylon, Madagascar, Mozambique and British India, and by intermarriage with each other and with the natives have produced a hybrid population generally classed together under the heading of the Mixed Races. These are of all colours, varying from yellow to dark brown. The tribes of Central Africa are as yet less known. Many of them exhibit racial characteristics allied to those of the tribes of South Africa, but with in some cases an admixture of Arab blood.

_East Africa._

Protectorate--Black and brown:
Natives (estimated) 4,000,000
Asiatics (estimated) 25,000
Zanzibar--Black and brown 200,000
Uganda 3,200,000
---------
Total 7,425,000

_West Africa._

Estimated.
Nigeria (including Lagos)--Black and brown 15,000,000
Gold Coast and hinterland--Chiefly black 2,700,000
Sierra Leone " " 1,000,000
Gambia " " 163,000
----------
18,863,000

From east to west across Africa the aboriginal nations are mostly of the black negroid type, their varieties being only imperfectly known. The tendency of some of the lower negroid types has been to drift towards the west coast, where they still practise cannibalistic and fetish rites. On the east coast are found much higher types approaching to the Christian races of Abyssinia, and from east to west there has been a wide admixture of Arab blood producing a light-brown type. In Uganda and Nigeria a large proportion of the population is Arab and relatively light-skinned.

_Australasia_.

Australia--Black, very low type 200,000
Chinese and half castes, yellow 50,000
New Zealand--Maoris, brown, Chinese and half castes 53,000
Fiji--Polynesian, black and brown 121,000
Papua--Polynesian, black and brown 400,000
-------
824,000

The native races of Australia and the Polynesian groups of islands are divided into two main types known as the dark and light Polynesian. The dark type, which is black, is of a very low order, and in some of the islands still retains its cannibal habits. The aboriginal tribes of Australia are of a low-class black race, but generally peaceful and inoffensive in their habits. The white Polynesian races are of a very superior type, and exhibit, as in the Maoris of New Zealand, characteristics of a high order. The natives of Papua (New Guinea) are in a very low state of civilization. The estimate given of their numbers is approximate, as no census has been taken.

_Canada._

Indians--Brown 100,000

The only coloured native races of Canada are the Red Indians, many in tribal variety, but few in number.

_Summary_.

Native Populations:
India 294,191,379
Ceylon and Eastern Colonies 5,144,954
West Indies 1,912,655
South Africa 5,211,329
British Central Africa 2,000,000
East Africa 7,425,000
West Africa 18,863,000
Australasia and Islands 824,000
Canada 100,000
-----------
335,672,317
White populations 53,040,468
Total 388,712,785

This is without taking into account the population of the lesser crown colonies or allowing for the increase likely to be shown by later censuses. Throughout the empire, and notably in the United Kingdom, there is among the white races a considerable sprinkling of Jewish blood.

The latest calculation of the entire population of the world, including a liberal estimate of 650,000,000 for peoples not brought under any census, gives a total of something over 1,500,000,000. The population of the empire may therefore be calculated as amounting to something more than one-fourth of the population of the world.

It is a matter of first importance in the geographical distribution of the empire that the five principal divisions, the United [Sidenote: Divisions.] Kingdom, South Africa, India, Australia and Canada are separated from each other by the three great oceans of the world. The distance as usually calculated in nautical miles: from an English port to the Cape of Good Hope is 5840 m.; from the Cape of Good Hope to Bombay is 4610; from Bombay to Melbourne is 5630; from Melbourne to Auckland is 1830; from Auckland to Vancouver is 6210; from Halifax to Liverpool is 2744. From a British port direct to Bombay by way of the Mediterranean it is 6272; from a British port by the same route to Sydney 11,548 m. These great distances have necessitated the acquisition of intermediate ports suitable for coaling stations on the trade routes, and have determined the position of many of the lesser crown colonies which are held simply for military and commercial purposes. Such are the Bermudas, Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Labuan, Hong-Kong, which complete the [v.04 p.0608] chain of connexion on the eastern route, and such on other routes are the lesser West African stations, Ascension, St. Helena, the Mauritius and Seychelles, the Falklands, Tristan da Cunha, and the groups of the western Pacific. Other annexations of the British empire have been rocky islets of the northern Pacific required for the purpose of telegraph stations in connexion with an all-British cable.

For purposes of political administration the empire falls into the three sections of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with the dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man; the Indian empire, consisting of British India and the feudatory native states; and the colonial empire, comprising all other colonies and dependencies.

In the modern sense of extension beyond the limits of the United Kingdom the growth of the empire is of comparatively [Sidenote: Growth.] recent date. The Channel Islands became British as a part of the Norman inheritance of William the Conqueror. The Isle of Man, which was for a short time held in conquest by Edward I. and restored, was sold by its titular sovereign to Sir William Scrope, earl of Wiltshire, in 1393, and by his subsequent attainder for high treason and the confiscation of his estates, became a fief of the English crown. It was granted by Henry IV. in 1406 to Sir John Stanley, K.C., ancestor of the earls of Derby, by whom it was held till 1736, when it passed to James Murray, 2nd duke of Atholl, as heir-general of the 10th earl. It was inherited by his daughter Charlotte, wife of the 3rd duke of Atholl, who sold it to the crown for £70,000 and an annuity of £2000. With these exceptions and the nominal possession taken of Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583, all the territorial acquisitions of the empire have been made in the 17th and subsequent centuries.

The following is a list of the British colonies and dependencies (other than those belonging to the Indian empire) together with a summary statement of the date and method of their acquisition. Arranged in chronological order they give some idea of the rate of growth of the empire. The dates are not, however, in all cases those in which British sovereignty was established. They indicate in some instances only the first definite step, such as the building of a fort, the opening of a trading station, or other act, which led later to the incorporation in the empire of the country indicated. In the case of Australian states or Canadian provinces originally part of other states or provinces the date is that, approximately, of the first settlement of British in the district named; _e.g._ there were British colonists in Saskatchewan in the last half of the 18th century, but the province was not constituted until 1905. Save where otherwise stated, British authority has been continuous from the first date mentioned in the table. Reference should be made to the articles on the various colonies.

Name. Date. Method of Acquisition.

Newfoundland 1583 Possession taken by Sir H. Gilbert
for the crown.

_17th Century._

Barbados 1605-1625 Settlement. Bermudas 1609 " Gambia c. 1618 " A second time in 1816. St Christopher 1623 " Did not become wholly British until 1713. Novia Scotia 1628 " Ceded to France 1632; recovered 1713. Nevis 1628 " Montserrat 1632 " Antigua 1632 " Honduras 1638 " St Lucia 1638 " Finally passed to Great Britain in 1803. Gold Coast c. 1650 Settlement. Danish forts bought 1850, Dutch forts 1871. Northern Territories added 1897. St Helena 1651 Settled by East India Co. Government vested in British crown 1833. Jamaica 1655 Conquest. Bahamas 1666 Settlement. Virgin Islands 1666-1672 Settlement and conquest. N.W. Territories of Canada 1669 Settlement under royal charter of Hudson's Bay Co. Purchased from imp. gov. 1869, and transferred to Canada 1870. Turks and Caicos Is. 1678 Settlement.

_18th Century._ Gibraltar 1704 Capitulation. New Brunswick 1713 Cession. Prince Edward Is. 1758 Conquest. Ontario 1759-1790 With New Brunswick and Nova Quebec 1759-1790 Scotia constituted Dominion of Canada 1867. Prince Edward Is. enters the confederation 1873. In 1880 all British possessions (other than Newfoundland) in North America annexed to the Dominion. Dominica 1761 Conquest. St Vincent 1762 Capitulation. Grenada 1762 " Tobago 1763 Cession. Afterwards in French possession. Reconquered 1803. Falkland Is. 1765 Settlement. Reoccupied 1832. Saskatchewan 1766 Settlement. Separation from N.W. Territories of Canada 1905. Pitcairn I. 1780 Settlement. Straits Settlements 1786 to 1824 Settlement and cession. Vested (1858) in crown by E.I. Co. Transferred from Indian to colonial possessions 1867. Malacca in British occupation 1795-1818. Sierra Leone 1787 Settlement. Alberta c. 1788 Separated from N. W. Territories of Canada 1905. New South Wales 1788 Settlement. Ceylon 1795 Capitulation. Trinidad 1797 " Malta 1800 "

_19th Century._

British Guiana 1803 Capitulation.
Tasmania 1803 Settlement.
Cape of Good Hope 1806 Capitulation. Present limits not
attained until 1895. First
British occupation 1795-1803.
Seychelles 1806 Capitulation.
Mauritius 1810 "
Manitoba 1811 Settlement by Red River or Selkirk
colony. Created province of
Canada 1870.
Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 1815 Military occupation.
B. Columbia and Vancouver Island 1821 Settlement under Hudson's Bay Co.
Entered Canadian confederation
1871.
Natal 1824 Settlement. Natal Boers submit
1843.
Queensland 1824 Separated from New South Wales
1859.
West Australia 1826 Settlement.
Victoria 1834 Separated from New South Wales
1851.
South Australia 1836 Settlement.
New Zealand 1840 Settlement and treaty.
Hong-Kong 1841 Treaties. Kowloon on the mainland
added in 1860; additional area
leased 1898.
Labuan 1846 Cession. Incorporated in Straits
Settlements 1906.
Lagos 1861 Cession. South Nigeria amalgamated
with Lagos, under style of
Colony and Protectorate of
Southern Nigeria 1906.
Basutoland 1868 Annexation.
Fiji 1874 Cession.
[v.04 p.0609]
W. Pacific Islands, including 1877 High commission created by order
including Union, Ellice, in council, giving jurisdiction
Gilbert, Southern Solomon, over islands not included in
and other groups other colonial governments, nor
within jurisdiction of other
civilized powers. Protectorates
over all these islands by 1900.
Federated Malay States 1874-1895 Treaty.
Cyprus 1878 Occupied by treaty.
North Borneo 1881 Treaty and settlement under royal
charter. Protectorate assumed
1888.
Papua 1884 Protectorate declared.
Nigeria 1884-1886 Treaty, conquest and settlement
under royal charter. Chartered
Co.'s territory transferred to
crown, and whole divided into
North and South Nigeria 1900.
Somaliland 1884-1886 Occupation and cession.
Protectorate declared 1887.
Bechuanaland 1885-1891 Protectorate declared. Southern
portion annexed to Cape Colony
1895.
Zululand 1887 Annexation. Incorporated in Natal
1897.
Sarawak 1888 Protectorate declared.
Brunei 1888 " "
British East Africa 1888 Treaty, conquest and settlement
under royal charter. Transferred
to crown 1895.
Rhodesia 1888-1893 Treaty, conquest and settlement
under royal charter.
Zanzibar 1890 Protectorate declared.
Uganda 1890-1896 Treaty and protectorate.
Nyasaland 1891 Protectorate declared.
Ashanti 1896 Military occupation.
Wei-hai-wei 1898 Lease from China.
Pacific Islands--
Christmas, Fanning, 1898 Annexed for purposes of projected
Penrhyn, Suvarov Pacific cable.
Choiseul and Isabel Is. 1899 Cession.
(Solomon Group)
Tonga and Niué 1900 Protectorate declared.
Orange Free State 1900 Annexation. Formerly British
1848-1854.
Transvaal and Swaziland 1900 Annexation. Formerly British
1877-1881.

_20th Century._
Kelantan, Trengganu, &c. 1909 Cession from Siam.

In the Pacific are also Bird Island, Bramble Cay, Cato Island, Cook Islands, Danger Islands, Ducie Island, Dudosa, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kermadec Islands, Macquarie Island, Manihiki Islands, Nassau Island, Palmerston Island, Palmyra Island, Phoenix Group, Purdy Group, Raine Island, Rakaanga Island, Rotumah Island, Surprise Island, Washington or New York Island, Willis Group and Wreck Reef.

In the Indian Ocean there are, besides the colonies already mentioned, Rodriguez, the Chagos Islands, St Brandon Islands, Amirante Islands, Aldabra, Kuria Muria Islands, Maldive Islands and some other small groups.

In certain dependencies the sovereignty of Great Britain is not absolute. The island of Cyprus is nominally still part of the Turkish empire, but in 1878 was handed over to Great Britain for occupation and administration; Great Britain now making to the Porte on account of the island an annual payment of £5000. The administration is in the hands of an official styled high commissioner, who is invested with the powers usually conferred on a colonial governor. In Zanzibar and other regions of equatorial Africa the native rulers retain considerable powers; in the Far East certain areas are held on lease from China.

Egypt, without forming part of the British empire, came under the military occupation of Great Britain in 1882. "By right of conquest" Great Britain subsequently claimed a share in the administration of the former Sudan provinces of Egypt, and an agreement of the 19th of January 1899 established the joint sovereignty of Great Britain and Egypt over what is now known as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

The Indian section of the empire was acquired during the 17th-19th centuries under a royal charter granted to the East India Company by Queen Elizabeth in 1600. It was transferred to the imperial government in 1858, and Queen Victoria was proclaimed empress under the Royal Titles Act in 1877. The following list gives the dates and method of acquisition of the centres of the main divisions of the Indian empire. They have, in most instances, grown by general process of extension to their present dimensions.

Name. Date. Method of Acquisition.

Madras 1639 By treaty and subsequent conquest.
to Fort St George, the foundation
1748 of Madras was the first territorial
possession of the E.I. Co. in India.
It was acquired by treaty with its
Indian ruler. Madras was raised into
a presidency in 1683; ceded to France
1746; recovered 1748.

Bombay 1608 Treaty and cession. Trade first
to established 1608. Ceded to British
1685 crown by Portugal 1661. Transferred
to E.I. Co. 1668. Presidency removed
from Surat 1687.

Bengal 1633 Treaty and subsequent conquests. First
to trade settlement established by
1765 treaty at Pipli in Orissa 1633.
Erected into presidency by separation
from Madras 1681. Virtual sovereignty
announced by E.I. Co., as result of
conquests of Clive, 1765.

United Provinces 1764 By conquests and treaty through
of Agra and Oudh to successive stages, of which the
1856 principal dates were 1801-3-14-15.
In 1832 the nominal sovereignty of
Delhi, till then retained by the
Great Mogul, was resigned into the
hands of the E.I. Co. Oudh, of which
the conquest may be said to have
begun with the battle of Baxar in
1764, was finally annexed in 1856.

Central Provinces 1802-1817 By conquest and treaty.
Eastern Bengal 1825-1826 Conquest and cession. The Bengal
and Assam portion of the province by
separation from Bengal in 1905.
Burma 1824-1852 Conquest and cession.
Punjab 1849 Conquest and annexation. Made into
distinct province 1859.
N.-W. Frontier 1901 Subdivision.
Province
Ajmere and Merwara 1818 By conquest and cession.
Coorg 1834 Conquest and annexation.
British Baluchistan 1854-1876 Conquest and treaty.
Andaman Islands 1858 Annexation.

The following is a list of some of the principal Indian states which are more or less under the control of the British government:--

1. In direct political relations with the governor-general in council.

Hyderabad.
Baroda.
Mysote.
Kashmir.

2. Under the Rajputana agency.

Udaipur.
Jodhpur.
Bikanir.
Jaipur (and feudatories).
Bharatpur.
Dholpur.
Alwar.
Tonk.

3. Under the Central Indian agency.

Indore.
Rewa.
Bhopal.
Gwalior.

4. Under the Bombay government.

Cutch.
Kolhapur (and dependencies).
Khairpur (Sind).
Bhaunagar.

[v.04 p.0610] 5. Under the Madras government.

Travancore.
Cochin.

6. Under the Central Provinces government.

Bastar.

7. Under the Bengal government.

Kuch Behar.
Sikkim.

8. Under United Provinces government.

Rampur.
Garhwal.

9. Under the Punjab government.

Patiala.
Bahawalpur.
Jind.
Nabha.
Kapurthala.
Mandi.
Sirmur (Nahan).
Faridkot.
Chamba.

10. Under the government of Burma.

Shan states.
Karen states.

In addition to these there are British tracts known as the Upper Burma frontier and the Burma frontier. There is also a sphere of British influence in the border of Afghanistan. The state of Nepal, though independent as regards its internal administration, has been since the campaign of 1814-15 in close relations with Great Britain. It is bound to receive a British resident, and its political relations with other states are controlled by the government of India. All these native states have come into relative dependency upon Great Britain as a result of conquest or of treaty consequent upon the annexation of the neighbouring provinces. The settlement of Aden, with its dependencies of Perim and Sokotra Island, forms part of the government of Bombay.

This vast congeries of states, widely different in character, and acquired by many different methods, holds together under [Sidenote: Administration.] the supreme headship of the crown on a generally acknowledged triple principle of self-government, self-support and self-defence. The principle is more fully applied in some parts of the empire than in others; there are some parts which have not yet completed their political evolution; some others in which the principle is temporarily or for special reasons in abeyance; others, again--chiefly those of very small extent, which are held for purposes of the defence or advantage of the whole--to which it is not applicable; but the principle is generally acknowledged as the structural basis upon which the constitution of the empire exists.

In its relation to the empire the home section of the British Isles is distinguished from the others as the place of origin of the British race and the residence of the crown. The history and constitutional development of this portion of the empire will be found fully treated under separate headings. (See ENGLAND; WALES; IRELAND; SCOTLAND; UNITED KINGDOM; ENGLISH HISTORY; INDIA; AFRICA; AUSTRALIA; CANADA; &c.)

It is enough to say that for purposes of administration the Indian empire is divided into nine great provinces and four minor commissionerships. The nine great provinces are presided over by two governors (Bombay and Madras), five lieut.-governors (Bengal, Eastern Bengal and Assam, United Provinces [Agra and Oudh], the Punjab and Burma), a chief commissioner (the Central Provinces) and an agent to the governor-general (the N.-W. Frontier Province). The four minor commissionerships are presided over each by a chief commissioner. Above these the supreme executive authority in India is vested in the viceroy in council. The council consists of six ordinary members besides the existing commander-in-chief. For legislative purposes the governor-general's council is increased by the addition of fifteen members nominated by the crown, and has power under certain restrictions to make laws for British India, for British subjects in the native states, and for native Indian subjects of the crown in any part of the world. The administration of the Indian empire in England is carried on by a secretary of state for India assisted by a council of not less than ten members. The expenditure of the revenues is under the control of the secretary in council.

The colonial empire comprises over fifty distinct governments. It is divided into colonies of three classes and dependencies; these, again, are in some instances associated for administrative purposes in federated groups. The three classes of colonies are crown colonies, colonies possessing representative institutions but not responsible government, and colonies possessing representative institutions and responsible government. In crown colonies the crown has entire control of legislation, and the public officers are under the control of the home government. In representative colonies the crown has only a veto on legislation, but the home government retains control of the public officers. In responsible colonies the crown retains a veto upon legislation, but the home government has no control of any public officer except the governor.

In crown colonies--with the exception of Gibraltar and St Helena, where laws may be made by the governor alone--laws are made by the governor with the concurrence of a council nominated by the crown. In some crown colonies, chiefly those acquired by conquest or cession, the authority of this council rests wholly on the crown; in others, chiefly those acquired by settlement, the council is created by the crown under the authority of local or imperial laws. The crown council of Ceylon may be cited as an example of the first kind, and the crown council of Jamaica of the second.

In colonies possessing representative institutions without responsible government, the crown cannot (generally) legislate by order in council, and laws are made by the governor with the concurrence of the legislative body or bodies, one at least of these bodies in cases where a second chamber exists possessing a preponderance of elected representatives. The Bahamas, Barbados, and Bermuda have two legislative bodies--one elected and one nominated by the crown; Malta and the Leeward Islands have but one, which is partly elected and partly nominated.

Under responsible government legislation is carried on by parliamentary means exactly as at home, with a cabinet responsible to parliament, the crown reserving only a right of veto, which is exercised at the discretion of the governor in the case of certain bills. The executive councils in those colonies, designated as at home by parliamentary choice, are appointed by the governor alone, and the other public officers only nominally by the governor on the advice of his executive council.

Colonial governors are classed as governors-general; governors; lieut.-governors; administrators; high commissioners; and commissioners, according to the status of the colony and dependency, or group of colonies and dependencies, over which they preside. Their powers vary according to the position which they occupy. In all cases they represent the crown.

As a consequence of this organization the finance of crown colonies is under the direct control of the imperial government; the finance of representative colonies, though not directly controlled, is usually influenced in important departures by the opinion of the imperial government. In responsible colonies the finance is entirely under local control, and the imperial government is dissociated from either moral or material responsibility for colonial debts.

In federated groups of colonies and dependencies matters which are of common interest to a given number of separate governments are by mutual consent of the federating communities adjudged to the authority of a common government, which, in the case of self-governing colonies, is voluntarily created for the purpose. The associated states form under the federal government one federal body, but the parts retain control of local matters, and exercise all their original rights of government in regard to these. The two great self-governing groups of federated colonies within the empire are the Dominion of Canada and the Commonwealth of Australia. In South Africa unification was preferred to federation, the then self-governing colonies being united in 1910 into one state--the Union of South Africa. India, of which the associated provinces are under the control of the central government, may be given as an example of the practical federation of dependencies. Examples [v.04 p.0611] of federated crown colonies and lesser dependencies are to be found in the Leeward Island group of the West Indies and the federated Malay States.

This rough system of self-government for the empire has been evolved not without some strain and friction, by the recognition through the vicissitudes of three hundred years of the value of independent initiative in the development of young countries. Queen Elizabeth's first patent to Sir Walter Raleigh permitted British subjects to accompany him to America, "with guarantee of a continuance of the enjoyment of all the rights which her subjects enjoyed at home."

This guarantee may presumably have been intended at the time only to assure the intending settlers that they should lose no rights of British citizenship at home by taking up their residence in America. Its mutual interpretation in a wider sense, serving at once to establish in the colony rights of citizenship equivalent to those enjoyed in England, and to preserve for the colonist the status of British subject at home and abroad, has formed in application to all succeeding systems of British colonization the unconscious charter of union of the empire.

The first American colonies were settled under royal grants, each with its own constitution. The immense distance in time which in those days separated America from Great Britain secured them from interference by the home authorities. They paid their own most moderate governing expenses, and they contributed largely to their own defence. From the middle of the 17th century their trade was not free, but this was the only restriction from which they suffered. The great war with France in the middle of the 18th century temporarily destroyed this system. That war, which resulted in the conquest of Canada and the delivery of the North American colonies from French antagonism, cost the imperial exchequer £90,000,000. The attempt to avert the repetition of such expenditure by the assertion of a right to tax the colonies through the British parliament led to the one great rupture which has marked the history of the empire. It has to be noted that at home during the latter half of the 17th century and the earlier part of the 18th century parliamentary power had to a great extent taken the place of the divine right of kings. But parliamentary power meant the power of the English people and taxpayers. The struggle which developed itself between the American colonies and the British parliament was in fact a struggle on the part of the people and taxpayers of one portion of the empire to resist the domination of the people and taxpayers of another portion. In this light it may be accepted as having historically established the fundamental axiom of the constitution of the empire, that the crown is the supreme head from which the parts take equal dependence.

The crown requiring advice in the ordinary and constitutional manner receives it in matters of colonial administration from the secretaries of state for the colonies and for India. After the great rupture separate provision in the home government for the administration of colonial affairs was at first judged to be unnecessary, and the "Council[3] of Trade and Plantations," which up to that date had supplied the place now taken by the two offices of the colonies and India, was suppressed in 1782. There was a reaction from the liberal system of colonial self-government, and an attempt was made to govern the colonies simply as dependencies.