Relations with Indigenous Peoples 1890-1914

Question 1

Who was Bal Tilak?

Answer 1

An Indian nationalist, a member of the INC, and the editor of the nationalist newspaper ‘Kesari’. He was arrested 3x for sedition, and named ‘the father of Indian unrest’ by the Sunday Times.

Question 2

What is sedition?

Answer 2

Trying to incite people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarchy.

Question 3

How did Britain suppress Indian nationalist newspapers in India 1890-1914 (3)?

Answer 3

1) Tilak, editor of ‘Kesari’, was accused of inciting the murder of a medical officer, and imprisoned for stirring up hostility.
2) Shivram Paranjape, founder of ‘Kaal’ (translated to either ‘Times’ or ‘Terminator’) in 1898, was arrested for sedition in 1908, serving 19 months in jail.
3) After Paranjape’s release in 1910, the publication of ‘Kaal’ was banned and Paranjape’s writings were confiscated.

Question 4

What was the Abhinav Bharat (Young India) Organisation (2)?

Answer 4

1) Founded by the Damodar Savarkar brothers in 1903, it became an organisation for several hundred revolutionaries/activists.
2) It established branches across India, carrying out assassinations of British officials, e.g. Lieutenant-Colonel Curzon-Wyllie or district magistrate Arthur Jackson.

Question 5

What was the effect of the Partition of Bengal on opposition to British rule in India?

Answer 5

Prompted great opposition to the Raj, with the swadeshi (self-sufficiency) campaign aiming to undermine British rule through protest, petitions and boycotts of British goods (1905-11).

Question 6

Who was Mohammed Abdullah Hassan?

Answer 6

A Somali religious (Muslim) and military leader, who aimed to defend Somalia from British, Italian and Ethiopian invasion. He was known to the British as the ‘Mad Mullah’.

Question 7

Explain the problem Britain faced in British Somaliland 1899-1920 (4).

Answer 7

1) After an incident in 1899, where a group of Somali children reportedly were converted to Christianity by French missionaries, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan stated ‘they have destroyed our religion and made our children their children’.
2) Hassan declared his intention to drive all Christians into the sea, building an army of 20,000 Dervishes. From c1900, he mounted raids on British Somaliland, antagonising local communities.
3) Britain conducted joint military action with Ethiopia, without much success.
4) Britain finally suppressed Hassan’s resistance, using ariel bombing to destroy Dervish strongholds, at the cost of 1000s of civilian lives.

Question 8

Explain the problem Britain faced in Zanzibar in 1896 (2).

Answer 8

1) Britain’s control was challenged upon the ascension of Khalid bin Barghash in August 1896, after the suspicious death of pro-British Sultan Hamoud.
2) Although Khalid commanded 3000 men, after heavy bombardment of his palace by nearby British ships, he fled.

Question 9

Explain the problem Britain faced in West Africa in 1898 (3).

Answer 9

1) In January 1898, Colonel Cardew (British Governor of Sierra Leone) introduced a severe tax on dwellings (the ‘hut tax’), as well as insisting local chiefs organise their followers to maintain roads.
2) These demands were met with resistance, but Cardew responded militarily. Using a scorched earth approach, entire villages, farms and crops were set on fire. 100s were killed.
3) Chief Bai Bureh (Cardew’s main adversary) surrendered in November 1898. Despite the British government’s plea for leniency, Cardew had 96 of the chief’s warrior hanged.

Question 10

What is scorched earth?

Answer 10

A military strategy involving the destruction of anything that may be useful to the enemy when advancing through or withdrawing from an area.

Question 11

What was the effect of the Mahdist regime on Sudan (2)?

Answer 11

1) A 50% decline in population due to famine, disease, persecution and warfare.
2) An economic decline.

Question 12

When was the Battle of Omdurman?

Answer 12

2 September 1898.

Question 13

How did the Daily Mail report British victory in Sudan?

Answer 13

Having secured the ‘downfall of the worst tyranny in the world’.

Question 14

How was Sudan governed by Britain after 1899 (2)?

Answer 14

1) In 1899, a joint Anglo-Egyptian government was declared. The military and civil service government had a Governor-General appointed by the Khedive, but nominated by Britain.
2) In reality, Britain ruled Sudan, ignoring the wishes of the people, whilst Egypt paid.

Question 15

How did Britain face resistance in the south of Sudan after 1898 (4)?

Answer 15

1) The Sudanese refused to renounce their customs and pay tax to Britain.
2) Britain attempted to resolve these feuds and uprisings with violence, utilising the death penalty. This caused further resistance.
3) 33 punitive expeditions were mounted by Britain to force rebels to accept their rule, treating the Sudanese harshly.
4) Uprisings occurred in 1900, 1902-03, 1904 and 1908, each followed by increasingly violent British reprisals.

Question 16

In what years did Britain face uprisings in Sudan (4), and how did Britain respond?

Answer 16

Uprisings occurred in 1900, 1902-03, 1904 and 1908, each followed by increasingly violent British reprisals.

Question 17

How did Britain economically develop Sudan after 1898 (4)?

Answer 17

1) Telegraph and railway lines were extended to link key areas in northern Sudan.
2) Port Sudan opened in 1906, as the main outlet to the Sea.
3) In 1911, a joint government and private initiative set up the Gezira Scheme to provide high quality cotton for Britain’s textile industry.
4) Improvements in irrigation, and developments particularly in the Nile Valley.

Question 18

What were the 4 main causes of the Second Anglo-Boer war?

Answer 18

1) Cecil Rhodes’ ambitions in South Africa.
2) The threat of the Boers to British dominance in South Africa.
3) Clashes over Uitlander voting rights.
4) Kruger’s strong nationalist sentiment and resentment of British interference.

Question 19

What was Rhodes’ main ambition in South Africa from 1890, and why?

Answer 19

1) To bring the Boer Republics (the Transvaal and the Orange Free State) into a South African Federation, where Britain at the Cape would be the dominant power.
2) This may have stemmed from irritation at the damage of high tariffs (imposed by Kruger) to British trade, or from personal hostility to Kruger.

Question 20

How did the Boers threaten British domination in South Africa after 1886?

Answer 20

The European discovery of gold on the Rand in 1886, increased the Transvaal’s power and prestige. They extended control over Swaziland by establishing an independent rail network. Rhodes and Chamberlain grew concerned about this, leading to the Jameson Raid in 1895, attempting to topple Kruger’s government. It failed.

Question 21

When was the Jameson Raid?

Answer 21

29 December 1895.

Question 22

Why were there clashes over the voting rights of Uitlanders (2)?

Answer 22

1) The Uitlanders were British settlers who had flocked to the Transvaal in search of gold. Despite paying taxes, they were denied the vote before 14 years residency in the Transvaal, as well as having to be over 40 years old.
2) This meant 50,000 Britons were excluded political rights, despite the fact that Boer residents in the Cape Colony were granted voting rights. Uitlanders placed pressure on the British government to take action.

Question 23

What was the significance of the Bloemfontein Conference of May-June 1899 on Anglo-Boer relations (2)?

Answer 23

1) Milner demanded that the Transvaal grant voting rights to the Uitlanders, and Kruger refused.
2) Despite half-hearted attempts at compromise, both sides began to mobilise their troops.

Question 24

How did the Second Anglo-Boer War start?

Answer 24

In October 1899, Kruger issued an ultimatum demanding the British withdrawal from the borders of the Boer Republics. Britain refused, and war began 11 October 1899.

Question 25

When did Britain win the Second Anglo-Boer War?

Answer 25

31 May 1902, upon the surrender of the Boers and the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging.

Question 26

What was the effect of the Second Anglo-Boer War on the Boers (3)?

Answer 26

1) Kitchener’s scorched earth policy incinerated farms and livestock.
2) Boers and black Africans were put in concentration camps, suffering terrible conditions. Many died due to malnutrition and disease.
3) The Boers developed a more distinctive ‘Afrikaner’ culture, forming political organisations, writing poetry/prose and promoting the colloquial version of Dutch spoken by the Boers.

Question 27

How many people were living in concentration camps by the end of the Second Anglo-Boer War?

Answer 27

Around 115,000, with many more (especially women and children) having died in them.

Question 28

How many died in British concentration camps?

Answer 28

27,927 Boers (of whom 24,074 ,50 percent of the Boer child population, were children under 16) had died in the camps. There were a reported 14,154 black African deaths, but this is likely under recorded.

Question 29

How did the Second Anglo-Boer War shake British confidence as an imperial power (5)?

Answer 29

1) Britain had anticipated the conflict to last 3-4 months, and cost no more than £10 million. Instead, it lasted nearly 3 years, involved 40,000 troops, and cost £230 million.
2) 22,000 British soldiers were killed, compared to just 6,000 Boer soldiers.
3) Fighting a white enemy destabilised notions of British moral superiority, as it was harder to justify than a war against non-whites with an imperial mindset.
4) Suggested a British inability to impose its will on Empire, without the use of force or at a cost.
5) Britain had to call troops from across Empire (notably India), leaving other colonies relatively weakened in terms of imperial defence.

Question 30

What was the effect of the Second Anglo-Boer War on attitudes to Empire in Britain (2)?

Answer 30

1) It dictated the drive for national efficiency, simultaneously dampening jingoism.
2) From 1902, only the Conservatives openly spoke out politically on imperialism. However, imperial sentiment was far from dead.

Question 31

What was the significance of the Treaty of Vereeniging of May 1902 to the Boers (2)?

Answer 31

1) It confirmed the surrender to the British, with the Transvaal and the Orange Free State having to accept British sovereignty.
2) The Boers were granted £3 million compensation to restore and restock their farms.

Question 32

When did 1) the Transvaal and 2) the Orange River Colony gain self-governing status?

Answer 32

The Transvaal gained self governing status in 1906, and the Orange River Colony in 1907.

Question 33

What colonies made up the Union of South Africa (4)?

Answer 33

1) Cape Colony.
2) The Transvaal.
3) The Orange River Colony.
4) Natal.

Question 34

How was the Union of South Africa different constitutionally from other Dominions (2)?

Answer 34

1) The mixture of black and white people in South Africa made it different to other settler colonies, where indigenous populations had been all but destroyed.
2) The constitution of the Union of South Africa allowed the states to keep their own voting policies: Cape Colony permitted all races to vote in its parliament, whilst the other 3 colonies retained a white only vote.

Question 35

When was the Union of South Africa formed/gain Dominion status?

Answer 35

31 May 1910.