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 they could.
             In the Dutch East Indies indirect rule was the ideal choice for ruling. It was a cheaper alternative to direct rule because using existing political figures eliminated the need to train more Europeans in politics. Instead the British could just use local aristocrats whom they could control. It also made it easier for the British to gain access to natural resources. In the Dutch East Indies, indirect rule was a good choice for the British, but using indirect rule was not always possible.
             In Burma, the British wanted to rule indirectly. They found that ruling this way was ideal, but in Burma it was not possible. There was a huge amount of opposition from the local leaders and from the local inhabitants. 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.
             In Northern Nigeria (Then Called Sokoto) the British had conquered, but they were not very interested in exploiting all the natural resources t...