Pros and Cons of Indirect Rule
What are the advantages and disadvantages of indirect rule of colonies? Indirect rule was a system of governing newly acquired colonies that incorporated the cooperation of local political figures. This system was only possible when the local figures would cooperate. If they would not, a different type of system was used. This was called direct rule. Indirect rule was implemented in many places. In the Dutch East Indies the British Empire used indirect rule. In this case it was used because the local political figures were not opposed to the idea. In Burma however, indirect rule was simply not possible because there was a huge amount of opposition. In this case the British Empire was forced to use direct rule. Another case of indirect rule was in Northern Nigeria (Then called Sokoto). In this case, indirect rule was used because the British were very interested in the country, but they wanted to keep the British flag flying over as many places as th
In the Dutch East Indies, indirect rule was a good choice for the British, but using indirect rule was not always possible. The local people do not benefit from any type of rule whether it is indirect or direct. The local leaders did not want any type of rule by the British, and they certainly did not want to be pawns of the British. For the British is was great; they got to keep Sokoto a part of the British Empire, and they got to profit from the Sokoto economy without having to invest very much money. Since the aristocrats were old and conservative, they would not ever give up power to any younger Nigerian political figures. They talked to existing political figures, and figured out a way to rule Sokoto together. In Northern Nigeria (Then Called Sokoto) the British had conquered, but they were not very interested in exploiting all the natural resources they could from the country. The local political figures get money and power while still ruling the way they want to, but they are in actuality just pawns for the ruling power. The ruling power (in these cases, the British) has to invest less money, and doesn't have to win over the support of the locals. They did however, want to keep Sokoto part of the British Empire. This seemed good for both sides, both the British and the Nigerians, but in fact it wasn't. The local political figures (who were all old conservative aristocrats) agreed to do whatever the British asked, and the British agreed to let all local customs continue, and to let the people of Sokoto continue with whatever they had been doing before the British came to power. This caused tribal tensions, and eventually caused a war for independence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**World History: The Human Odyssey; Spielvogel, Jackson.
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