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Malawi Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1967

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A tobacco plantation in Nyasaland. Two men stand under a shelter smoking pipes while a carriage drawn by long horned cattle, loaded with crates, sets off in to the distance.

Annual Departmental Reports relating to Nyasaland, 1907-1967

This political link with the settler-dominated Rhodesias was bitterly unpopular in Nyasaland and did much to arouse nationalist sentiments which ultimately destroyed the Federation and brought about independence.
Robin Palmer, University of Malawi

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Explore key government reports that chart Malawi’s journey towards independence

A train goes through the jungle on the trans-Zambezi railway. The locomotive has open carriages which people stand in.

Malawi Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1967 contains papers from the colonial government in Malawi. They reveal the approach the British took to colonial rule in this country. The reports are divided into nine distinct volumes for convenience. These are Administration, Finance, Judicial and Police, Natural Resources (1), Natural Resources (2), Social Services, Transport and Public Works, Communication and Post Office Savings, and Miscellaneous.

The government reports contained in this collection cover several important developments and events in the twentieth century, including the dissolution of the Central African Protectorate in 1907, the First and Second World Wars, and Malawi’s declaration of independence. The reports, therefore, provide students and academics with a unique insight into the history of Malawi, the development and eventual dissolution of British colonialism in Africa, and the colonial administration’s evolving attitude towards native power structures.

Note: Further information on the Annual Departmental Reports relating to Nyasaland can be found in the guide to the microfilm edition, written by Dr Robin Palmer.

Contents

Malawi Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1967...

Annual Departmental Reports relating to Nyasaland, 1907-1967

Discover 
A collection of various coloured Nyasaland stamps with King George V's head printed on them.

Highlights

Section of the cover of the Nyasaland Protectorate Public Service Commission Annual Report for 1962.

Licensed to access Public Service Commission, 1961-1963

The early 1960s were a period of systemic change as government powers were devolved from the Governor to departments. This change is covered in more detail in this document, especially so within the 1962 Annual Report.

Section of a document featuring a section titled Epidemic Diseases, with a table regarding Smallpox beneath.

Licensed to access Medical, 1907-1919

The social services provided by the colonial administration in Nyasaland were skeletal. Education and Medical/Health services, for example, were very much in the hands of the various missions. This document provides insight into the rudimentary medical services provided by the colonial government.

Section of a table titled Migration of Labour to Territories Outside Nyasaland.

Licensed to access Labour, 1938-1950

The Labour reports included in this document are principally concerned with the export of workers to countries such as South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, and Northern Rhodesia, and the money that the colonial government hoped to obtain from this export of labour.

Section of a map of Malawi.

Licensed to access Lands and Survey, 1919-1962

This document includes reports which highlight the scarcity of Nyasaland’s natural resources and details how bad weather spells had the potential to push farmers into bankruptcy and poverty.

Insights

  • Track the evolution of Malawi's services throughout joining and leaving a forced federation with Zambia and Zimbabwe.

  • These reports are arranged by department. Comparison of reports over time yields insights into how each area of government developed throughout the period of British colonial rule.

  • These papers cover the dissolution of the Central African Protectorate in 1907, the First and Second World Wars, and Malawi’s declaration of independence.

  • The contents page at the front of each report lists the departments which existed at that time. Comparison of these contents pages reveals how the structure of the colonial government changed over time.

  • Audits, Estimates, and other financial reports provide a wealth of quantifiable information and statistics on the allocation of resources by and within the Colonial Government.

  • Given the period this collection covers, students and academics are able to use these resources to trace the gradual transfer of power from the British Empire to Malawi, culminating in Malawi’s declaration of independence in 1964.

Sculpture of enslaved people dedicated to victims of slavery in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Licensed to access Tanzania and Malawi in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1857-1965

1857   1965
A black and white image of a gavel resting on a table, with a plush chair and scales of justice in the background.

Licensed to access Colonial Law in Africa, 1920-1945

1920   1945
A greyscale photograph of the front of the Nairobi city hall, capital of Kenya.

Licensed to access Kenya Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1964

1907   1964
Freetown, Sierra Leone, the way we looked at it in 1949.

Licensed to access Sierra Leone Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1893-1961

1893   1961
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