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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Feb 2007 : 13:14:02
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FOCUS ON THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE GAMBIA
GAMBIA BEFORE COLONIAL RULE
How Was Gambia Like Before Colonial Rule?
By Suwaibou Touray
The Gambia was not a single geographical or political entity before colonial rule. The area that we called Gambia today was patched up between different kingdoms inhabited by different tribes, who were each considered sovereign. That means, each state or empire considered itself as a separate entity. These kings sometime have treaties or understanding but also misunderstandings, and wars raged on. Some of these kings at the time do pay tax to bigger empires like Mali. Up to 1807, many of these kingdoms existed, namely; Jarra, Kiang, Niani, Nuimi, Fuladu, Wulli, Europina, Kombo, Kantora etc.
During this period, 1800s, many Jihadist emerged in the Gambia who refused to recognize the traditional kings and waged war against them. Many kings were removed.
History also teaches us that about 1807, British subjects left their country to established settlements in the Gambia and other places. They did not initially use force at the time to establish these settlements. Instead they asked permission from the kings to settle on their territories. Through that, they signed treaties granting them permission to settle on their lands, but these settlers also in turn paid customs duties and other taxes to the kings.
For example, St. Mary's Island, Marcarthy Island, etc are some of the settlements before 1894.
Later on, attempts were made to introduce the sovereignty of the British Monarch through out the area we called the Gambia today.
HOW DID THE BRITISH SUCCEED TO COLONIZE THE GAMBIA?
According to the records, between 1850 and 1901,the jihadists who never wanted to be under the rule of kings whom they considered to be unbelievers, rebelled and waged war on them thereby uprooting a lot of them.
According to historical records, the British settlements were untouched. The Administrators of the settlements therefore developed a military tactic of giving support to kings who were threatened by Jihadist invasion in order to defeat the invaders. Accordingly, they provided arms and ammunitions to assist the weaker kings to resist the invaders. Once they become successful, the administrators considered those kings to be under their protection. Hence the concept "Protectorate" which originated from this collaboration between the British settlers and the kings who were threatened by the jihadists or stronger kings.
According to historical records, by 1894, the settlers introduced a protectorate ordinance which will pave the way to control all the socalled areas under their protection. The ordinance provided for the division of the territories into administrative divisions administered by commissioners, districts administered by head Chiefs and villages administered by Alkalos (head men). They made laws for the chiefs and village heads to abide by the orders of the commissioners. They also made laws for the Governor to vary the boundaries and appoint all the divisional and district administrators as they wished. They then established what they called Native Courts whose members were appointed by the Governor.
This law, the protectorate ordinance, has sparked new resistance between 1894 and 1901. Many wars against the British settlements broke out. But because of the fact that many traditional rulers were already replaced by new people appointed by the British, who had anyway accepted to collaborate with them, there were thus little pockets of resistance to colonial domination.
However, the defeat of Fode Sillah of Kombo and the defeat of Fode Kaba Dumbuya in 1901 and the acceptance of Musa Molloh to be under the protectorate ordinance led to the implementation of the protectorate ordinance in 1894.
Therefore by 1902, the protectorate ordinance 1902 came into force. It was at this stage that all the inhabitants of The Gambia fell under the complete control of the British crown. The urban settlements were considered the colony and the rest of the country was considered the protectorate.
As it can be clearly stated that the 1902 protectorate ordinance marked the beginning of the effective control of our country by the British Colonialists.
WHAT COLONIAL RULE MEANT FOR GAMBIANS
It means that power is vested in the Governor who can divide the country into divisions, appoint commissioners to administer them, divide divisions into districts and appoint head chiefs to administer them and districts into villages and empower chiefs to appoint village headmen. This, then, means that once a commissioner issued orders, the head chiefs of districts and the headmen of villages must follow those orders.
Colonial rule also means that it is the foreigners who are in control, power is vested in them, they make the laws and through that they create two types of justice system for the same country. They established (Native Tribunals) for those in the provinces/protectorates and also established magistrates' courts, high court etc in the urban areas/colony, meant for the socalled civilized subjects. So this, in essence, had created two standards of justice. It has created tyranny in the protectorates where chiefs ruled by customs and orders from the commissioners even to the extent of banishing or expelling those people deemed to be dissidents from the country. Nobody dares to raise one's voice above a chief's voice not to talk of a commissioner. Chiefs could threaten herdsmen of banishment from their districts. They were more or less ruling as the traditional kings before them who ruled by pronouncements. No one dared to disobey the order of a chief or commissioner. A chief could send his chief's police to any cattle herdsman and ask for a bull for his lunch and no herdsman dared to disobey such requests for fear of banishment.
This is what colonialism meant: Injustice and tyranny, not democracy, not rule of law. Laws were just meant to be smokescreens. The Governors were to have Executive and Legislative Councils to advice them. For example, at a given stage, the governor, the colonial Secretary and collector of customs constituted the Executive Council. These all goes to show that the Executive and Legislative Councils were not democratic institutions because the governor and his advisers were not elected by the people, and did not govern according to the consent of The Gambian people.
From 1902 to 1965, Gambians do not determine the manner of Government in their country nor do they decide who should govern them. For over 63 years an undemocratic government which is not accountable to Gambians in any way was imposed on the people. So the question is, how did the colonial regime survived for this period.
Needless to say, how did the colonial government relied on the people to derive revenue. They imposed yard, cattle and other direct taxes on the people. They imposed import and export duties on goods. Those who paid import duties added them to the prices of the sugar and other goods they sold to the people. Those who paid export duties subtracted the sum from the prices of the groundnuts and other goods they bought from the people.
The revenue collected from the people did not go to promote social services. For example, the revenue collected from the people rose from £46,640 in 1908 to £96,221 in 1912. It rose to £268,788 in 1902. however, in 1912, out of £96,221, £1000 was spent on education.
It is also important to point out that despite the limited funds collected, the lack of provision of social services enabled the colonial administrators maintain a budget surplus which amounted to £107,731 in 1912 and £328,677 in 1920.
The farmers who produced groundnuts earned very little. The employees of the colonial administration and the trading enterprises received very low incomes.
For example, the production of groundnuts rose from 18,000 tonnes in 1890 to 96,000 tonnes in 1915, the price of groundnuts was £4 per tonne. The Gambian farmers earned less than 4 pounds sterling a year. Workers at different periods earned less than 1 pound sterling a month. Up to the 1930s, civil servants received between £1.10s and £2 per month.
Hence, there was taxation without adequate provision of public services. There was taxation without representation. The tax payer had no means of replacing the Governor through periodic elections. The farmers and workers had no freedom of assembly or association to express grievances.
Continued: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3109
Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 18/2007, 14-15 February, 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2007 : 01:26:59
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I dont know why the year 1902 was used by Swaebou, but by 1815, banjul was settled and taxation started since then. So Gambians were under British rule for 150 years and not 63 years. However what constituted Gambia varied gradually from the time when banjul was bought, to 1823 when Georgetown was bought to the extension of the protectorate to the interior.
However since the current boundaries were drawn in 1889, its safe to say that british rule was more than 62 years.
Just my comment. I know the author. I am not just sure if he can rememebr me. |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2007 : 07:14:12
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| SO cassamance was not part of the then gambia ,or was it ? i was with the feeling that kowlac was part of the gambia . can we start telling senegal to hand it over .mr touray did a brief analysis but it's quiet educative . i wish i was mansa denba then ,i will have one cow a day for lunch with my bride . imagine being in charge of fuladu ,jimara ,wulli ,kantora and jarra . you do as you wish . |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2007 : 18:50:51
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quote:
Originally posted by SANTANFARA
SO cassamance was not part of the then gambia ,or was it ? i was with the feeling that kowlac was part of the gambia . can we start telling senegal to hand it over .mr touray did a brief analysis but it's quiet educative . i wish i was mansa denba then ,i will have one cow a day for lunch with my bride . imagine being in charge of fuladu ,jimara ,wulli ,kantora and jarra . you do as you wish .
Which Gambia. Current boundaries were drawn after the Berlin Conference so i dont know what is "the then Gamabia". |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 17 Feb 2007 : 16:25:13
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
quote:
Originally posted by SANTANFARA
SO cassamance was not part of the then gambia ,or was it ? i was with the feeling that kowlac was part of the gambia . can we start telling senegal to hand it over .mr touray did a brief analysis but it's quiet educative . i wish i was mansa denba then ,i will have one cow a day for lunch with my bride . imagine being in charge of fuladu ,jimara ,wulli ,kantora and jarra . you do as you wish .
Which Gambia. Current boundaries were drawn after the Berlin Conference so i dont know what is "the then Gamabia".
KEBA KONDO STOP BANGING YOUR HEAD .YOU ARE MAKING SQUEEKY . |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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