Frederick Lugard
Encyclopedia
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard GCMG
, CB
, DSO
, PC
(22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British
soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator, who was Governor of Hong Kong
(1907–1912) and Governor-General of Nigeria (1914–1919).
in India
, but was raised in Worcester
, England
. He was the son of the Reverend F. G. Lugard, a British Army Chaplain at Madras, and Mary Howard (1819–1865), the youngest daughter of Reverend John Garton Howard (1786–1862), a younger son of Yorkshire
landed gentry. Lugard was educated at Rossall School
and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
.
in 1878, joining the second battalion
in India, and serving in the following campaigns:
In May 1888, Lugard took command of an expedition organized by the British settlers in Nyasaland
against Arab slave traders on Lake Nyasa and was severely wounded.
mainland. In 1890, Lugard was sent by the company to Uganda
, where he secured British predominance of the area and put an end to the civil disturbances. The efforts came with severe fighting, chiefly notable for an unprovoked attack by the French
on the British faction. After the successful efforts to end disturbances, Lugard became Military Administrator of Uganda
from 26 December 1890 to May 1892. While administering Uganda, he journeyed round Ruwenzori to Albert Edward Nyanza, mapping a large area of the country. He also visited Albert Nyanza, and brought away some thousands of Sudanese who had been left there by Emin Pasha
and H. M. Stanley during the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
.
When Lugard returned to England in 1892, he successfully dissuaded Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone
and his cabinet from abandoning Uganda. In 1894, Lugard was despatched by the Royal Niger Company
to Borgu
, where he secured treaties with the kings and chiefs acknowledging the sovereignty of the British company, while distancing the other colonial powers that were there. From 1896 to 1897, Lugard took charge of an expedition to Lake Ngami
on behalf of the British West Charterland Company. From Ngami he was recalled by the British government and sent to West Africa, where he was commissioned to raise a native force to protect British interests in the hinterland of the Lagos Colony
and Nigeria
against French aggression. In August 1897, Lugard organized the West African Frontier Force, and commanded it until the end of December 1899, when the disputes with France were composed.
, a position he held until 1906. At that time, the portion of Northern Nigeria under effective control was small, and Lugard's task in organizing this vast territory was made more difficult by the refusal of the sultan of Sokoto
and many other Fula
princes to fulfil their treaty obligations.
In 1903, British control over the whole protectorate
was made possible by a successful campaign against the emir of Kano
and the sultan of Sokoto. By the time Lugard resigned as commissioner, the entire Nigeria was being peacefully administered under the supervision of British residents. There were however uprisings that were brutally put down by Lugard's troops. A Mahdi
rebellion in 1906 at the Satiru, a village near Sokoto resulted in the total destruction of the town with huge numbers of casualties.
, Lugard was appointed as Governor of Hong Kong
, a position he held until March 1912. During his tenure, Lugard proposed to return Weihaiwei to the Chinese government, in return for the ceding of the rented New Territories
in perpetuity. However, the proposal received less than warm receptions, and it was not acted upon. Some believed that if the proposal was acted on, Hong Kong might forever remain in British hands.
Lugard's chief interest was education, and he was largely remembered for his efforts to the founding of the University of Hong Kong in 1911, of which he became the First Chancellor, despite the cold receptions from the imperial Colonial Office and most local British companies, such as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
. The Colonial Office called the idea of a university "Sir Frederick's pet lamb". In fact, Lugard's idea was to create a citadel of higher education which could serve as the foremost bearer of Western culture
in the Orient. Whether or not this lofty idea had entirely succeeded, the university has grown from strength to strength to attain the highest reputation in the region.
into one colony. Although controversial in Lagos
, where it was opposed by a large section of the political class and the media, the amalgamation did not arouse passion in the rest of the country. From 1914 to 1919, Lugard was made Governor General of the now combined Colony of Nigeria. Throughout his tenure, Lugard sought strenuously to secure the amelioration of the condition of the native people, among other means by the exclusion, wherever possible, of alcoholic liquors, and by the suppression of slave raiding and slavery.
Lugard, ably assisted by his wife Flora Shaw, concocted a legend which warped understanding of him, Nigeria, and colonialism for decades. The revenue that allowed state development (harbours, railways, hospitals) in Southern Nigeria came largely from taxes on imported alcohol. In Northern Nigeria that tax was absent and development projects far fewer. In Northern Nigeria Lugard permitted slavery within traditional elite families. He loathed the educated and sophisticated Africans of the coastal regions, ran the country with 50% of each year spent in England (where he could promote himself and was distant from realities in Africa where subordinates had to delay decisions on many matters until he returned), and based his rule on a military system - unlike William MacGregor
, a doctor turned governor, who mixed with all ranks of people and listened to what was wanted. Lugard, who opposed "native education" later became involved in Hong Kong University, and that Lugard who disliked traders and businessmen, became a director of a bank active in Nigeria are strange aspects of the man and the myth.
' Permanent Mandates Commission
. Lugard's The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa was published in 1922. It discusses indirect rule
in colonial Africa. In this work, Lugard outlined the reasons and methods that he recommended for the colonisation of Africa by Britain. Some of his justifications included spreading Christianity and ending barbarism. He also saw state-sponsored colonisation as a way to protect missionaries, local chiefs, and local people from each other as well as from foreign powers. Also, for Lugard, it was vital that Britain gain control of unclaimed areas before Germany
, Portugal
, or France
claimed the land and its resources for themselves. He realised that there were vast profits to be made through the exporting of resources like rubber and through taxation of native populations, as well as importers and exporters. In addition, these resources and inexpensive native labour (slavery having been outlawed by Britain in 1834) would provide vital fuel for the industrial revolution in resource-depleted Britain as well as monies for public works projects. Finally, Lugard reasoned that colonisation had become a fad and that in order to remain a super power, Britain would need to hold colonies in order to avoid appearing weak.
Lugard pushed for native rule in African colonies. He reasoned that black Africans were very different from white Europeans. He did speculate about the admixture of Aryan
or Hamitic
blood arising from the advent of Islam
amongst the Hausa
and Fulani. He considered that natives should act as a sort of middle manager in colonial governance. This would avoid revolt because, as Lugard believed, the people of Africa would be more likely to follow someone who looked like them, spoke their languages, and shared their customs.
Olufemi Taiwo argues that in fact Lugard blocked qualified Africans educated in Britain from playing an active role in the development of the country, preferring to advance prominent Hausa and Fulani leaders from traditional structures.
(CB) in 1895. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
(KCMG) in 1901 and raised to a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1911. He was appointed to the Privy Council
, entitling him to style himself "The Right Honourable", in the 1920 New Year Honours. In 1928 he was further honoured when he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Lugard, of Abinger in the County of Surrey.
, daughter of Major-General George Shaw, in 1902. She was a journalist and writer for The Times
. There were no children from the marriage. Flora died in January 1929. Lord Lugard survived her by sixteen years and died on 11 April 1945, aged 87. As he was childless the barony died with him.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator, who was Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
(1907–1912) and Governor-General of Nigeria (1914–1919).
Early life and education
Lugard was born in Madras (now Chennai)Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, but was raised in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was the son of the Reverend F. G. Lugard, a British Army Chaplain at Madras, and Mary Howard (1819–1865), the youngest daughter of Reverend John Garton Howard (1786–1862), a younger son of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
landed gentry. Lugard was educated at Rossall School
Rossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
.
Military career
Lugard was commissioned into the 9th Foot (East Norfolk Regiment)9th Regiment of Foot
The 9th Regiment of Foot was a infantry line regiment of the British Army from 1751 to 1881. It became the Norfolk Regiment following the Army reforms of 1881.-Early history:...
in 1878, joining the second battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
in India, and serving in the following campaigns:
- Afghan War (1879–1880)
- Sudan campaignMahdist WarThe Mahdist War was a colonial war of the late 19th century. It was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese and the Egyptian and later British forces. It has also been called the Anglo-Sudan War or the Sudanese Mahdist Revolt. The British have called their part in the conflict the Sudan Campaign...
(1884–1885) - Third Burmese War (1886–1887)
In May 1888, Lugard took command of an expedition organized by the British settlers in Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
against Arab slave traders on Lake Nyasa and was severely wounded.
Post-military career
After he left Nyasaland in April 1889, Lugard joined the Imperial British East Africa Company. In their service, he explored the Sabaki river and the neighbouring region, in addition to elaborating a scheme for the emancipation of the slaves held by Arabs in the ZanzibarZanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
mainland. In 1890, Lugard was sent by the company to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, where he secured British predominance of the area and put an end to the civil disturbances. The efforts came with severe fighting, chiefly notable for an unprovoked attack by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on the British faction. After the successful efforts to end disturbances, Lugard became Military Administrator of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
from 26 December 1890 to May 1892. While administering Uganda, he journeyed round Ruwenzori to Albert Edward Nyanza, mapping a large area of the country. He also visited Albert Nyanza, and brought away some thousands of Sudanese who had been left there by Emin Pasha
Emin Pasha
Mehmed Emin Pasha — he was born Isaak Eduard Schnitzer and baptized Eduard Carl Oscar Theodor Schnitzer — was a physician, naturalist, and governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria on the upper Nile...
and H. M. Stanley during the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
Emin Pasha Relief Expedition
The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1886 to 1889 was one of the last major European expeditions into the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century, ostensibly to the relief of Emin Pasha, General Charles Gordon's besieged governor of Equatoria, threatened by Mahdist forces...
.
When Lugard returned to England in 1892, he successfully dissuaded Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and his cabinet from abandoning Uganda. In 1894, Lugard was despatched by the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed the basis of the modern state of Nigeria....
to Borgu
Borgu
Borgu was a 15th-16th century state in West Africa, partitioned between the Great Britain and France by the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. It lies in what is now Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.People of Borgu were known as Bariba and Borgawa....
, where he secured treaties with the kings and chiefs acknowledging the sovereignty of the British company, while distancing the other colonial powers that were there. From 1896 to 1897, Lugard took charge of an expedition to Lake Ngami
Lake Ngami
Lake Ngami is an endorheic lake in Botswana north of the Kalahari Desert. It is seasonally filled by the Taughe River an affluent of the Okavango River system flowing out of the western side of the Okavango Delta. It is one of the fragmented remnants of the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi...
on behalf of the British West Charterland Company. From Ngami he was recalled by the British government and sent to West Africa, where he was commissioned to raise a native force to protect British interests in the hinterland of the Lagos Colony
Lagos Colony
Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centered on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 and declared a colony on 5 March 1862....
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
against French aggression. In August 1897, Lugard organized the West African Frontier Force, and commanded it until the end of December 1899, when the disputes with France were composed.
Early colonial services
After he relinquished command of the West African Frontier Force, Lugard was made High Commissioner of the Protectorate of Northern NigeriaNorthern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate formed in 1900. The basis of the protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their protectorates in Southern Nigeria...
, a position he held until 1906. At that time, the portion of Northern Nigeria under effective control was small, and Lugard's task in organizing this vast territory was made more difficult by the refusal of the sultan of Sokoto
Sokoto
Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 427,760...
and many other Fula
Fulani Empire
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic spiritual community in Nigeria, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in 1809 by Usuman dan Fodio, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization...
princes to fulfil their treaty obligations.
In 1903, British control over the whole protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
was made possible by a successful campaign against the emir of Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
and the sultan of Sokoto. By the time Lugard resigned as commissioner, the entire Nigeria was being peacefully administered under the supervision of British residents. There were however uprisings that were brutally put down by Lugard's troops. A Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
rebellion in 1906 at the Satiru, a village near Sokoto resulted in the total destruction of the town with huge numbers of casualties.
Governor of Hong Kong
About a year after he resigned as High Commissioner of the Protectorate of Northern NigeriaNorthern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate formed in 1900. The basis of the protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their protectorates in Southern Nigeria...
, Lugard was appointed as Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
, a position he held until March 1912. During his tenure, Lugard proposed to return Weihaiwei to the Chinese government, in return for the ceding of the rented New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
in perpetuity. However, the proposal received less than warm receptions, and it was not acted upon. Some believed that if the proposal was acted on, Hong Kong might forever remain in British hands.
Lugard's chief interest was education, and he was largely remembered for his efforts to the founding of the University of Hong Kong in 1911, of which he became the First Chancellor, despite the cold receptions from the imperial Colonial Office and most local British companies, such as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
. The Colonial Office called the idea of a university "Sir Frederick's pet lamb". In fact, Lugard's idea was to create a citadel of higher education which could serve as the foremost bearer of Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
in the Orient. Whether or not this lofty idea had entirely succeeded, the university has grown from strength to strength to attain the highest reputation in the region.
Governor of Nigeria
In 1912, Lugard returned to Nigeria as Governor of the two protectorates. His main mission was to complete the amalgamationAmalgamation (politics)
A merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...
into one colony. Although controversial in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, where it was opposed by a large section of the political class and the media, the amalgamation did not arouse passion in the rest of the country. From 1914 to 1919, Lugard was made Governor General of the now combined Colony of Nigeria. Throughout his tenure, Lugard sought strenuously to secure the amelioration of the condition of the native people, among other means by the exclusion, wherever possible, of alcoholic liquors, and by the suppression of slave raiding and slavery.
Lugard, ably assisted by his wife Flora Shaw, concocted a legend which warped understanding of him, Nigeria, and colonialism for decades. The revenue that allowed state development (harbours, railways, hospitals) in Southern Nigeria came largely from taxes on imported alcohol. In Northern Nigeria that tax was absent and development projects far fewer. In Northern Nigeria Lugard permitted slavery within traditional elite families. He loathed the educated and sophisticated Africans of the coastal regions, ran the country with 50% of each year spent in England (where he could promote himself and was distant from realities in Africa where subordinates had to delay decisions on many matters until he returned), and based his rule on a military system - unlike William MacGregor
William MacGregor
Sir William MacGregor GCMG, CB was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, Governor of Newfoundland and Governor of Queensland.-Early life:...
, a doctor turned governor, who mixed with all ranks of people and listened to what was wanted. Lugard, who opposed "native education" later became involved in Hong Kong University, and that Lugard who disliked traders and businessmen, became a director of a bank active in Nigeria are strange aspects of the man and the myth.
The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa
From 1922 to 1936 he was British representative on the League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
' Permanent Mandates Commission
Permanent Mandates Commission
The Permanent Mandates Commission was the commission of the League of Nations responsible for oversight of mandates. The commission was established in 1919 under Article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant and was headquartered at Geneva....
. Lugard's The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa was published in 1922. It discusses indirect rule
Indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of government that was developed in certain British colonial dependencies...
in colonial Africa. In this work, Lugard outlined the reasons and methods that he recommended for the colonisation of Africa by Britain. Some of his justifications included spreading Christianity and ending barbarism. He also saw state-sponsored colonisation as a way to protect missionaries, local chiefs, and local people from each other as well as from foreign powers. Also, for Lugard, it was vital that Britain gain control of unclaimed areas before Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, or France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
claimed the land and its resources for themselves. He realised that there were vast profits to be made through the exporting of resources like rubber and through taxation of native populations, as well as importers and exporters. In addition, these resources and inexpensive native labour (slavery having been outlawed by Britain in 1834) would provide vital fuel for the industrial revolution in resource-depleted Britain as well as monies for public works projects. Finally, Lugard reasoned that colonisation had become a fad and that in order to remain a super power, Britain would need to hold colonies in order to avoid appearing weak.
Lugard pushed for native rule in African colonies. He reasoned that black Africans were very different from white Europeans. He did speculate about the admixture of Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
or Hamitic
Hamitic
Hamitic is an historical term for the peoples supposedly descended from Noah's son Ham, paralleling Semitic and Japhetic.It was formerly used for grouping the non-Semitic Afroasiatic languages , but since, unlike the Semitic branch, these have not been shown to form a phylogenetic unity, the term...
blood arising from the advent of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
amongst the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
and Fulani. He considered that natives should act as a sort of middle manager in colonial governance. This would avoid revolt because, as Lugard believed, the people of Africa would be more likely to follow someone who looked like them, spoke their languages, and shared their customs.
Olufemi Taiwo argues that in fact Lugard blocked qualified Africans educated in Britain from playing an active role in the development of the country, preferring to advance prominent Hausa and Fulani leaders from traditional structures.
Honours
Lugard was appointed a Companion of the Order of the BathOrder of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(CB) in 1895. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(KCMG) in 1901 and raised to a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1911. He was appointed to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, entitling him to style himself "The Right Honourable", in the 1920 New Year Honours. In 1928 he was further honoured when he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Lugard, of Abinger in the County of Surrey.
Personal life
Lord Lugard married Flora LouisaFlora Shaw
Dame Flora Louisa Shaw, Lady Lugard, DBE , the daughter of an English father, Captain George Shaw and a French mother, Marie Desfontaines, was a British journalist and writer...
, daughter of Major-General George Shaw, in 1902. She was a journalist and writer for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. There were no children from the marriage. Flora died in January 1929. Lord Lugard survived her by sixteen years and died on 11 April 1945, aged 87. As he was childless the barony died with him.
Published works
- In 1893, Lugard published The Rise of our East African Empire, which was partially an autobiography. Also, Lugard was the author of various valuable reports on Northern Nigeria issued by the Colonial OfficeColonial OfficeColonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
. - The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa, 1926.
Quotations
"the typical African ... is a happy, thriftless, excitable person, lacking in self control, discipline and foresight, naturally courageous, and naturally courteous and polite, full of personal vanity, with little sense of veracity ...in brief , the virtues and defects of this race-type are those of attractive children."Places named after him
- The Lugard RoadLugard RoadLugard Road is a popular walking path in Hong Kong. The road is semi-circular and links with Harlech Road to surround Victoria Peak. It is notable for its view, tranquility, and simplicity: continuing along the path will take visitors back to the Peak Tram station...
at The PeakVictoria PeakVictoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. The mountain is located in the western half of Hong Kong Island...
in Hong Kong - Lugard Tower (the Faculty of Education Building in University of Hong Kong)
- Lugard Hall (a dormitory complex in the University of Hong Kong)
- Lugard Avenue IkoyiIkoyiIkoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, Nigeria, located on Lagos Island. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and encompasses the eastern half of Lagos Island and lies at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon...
LagosLagosLagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... - Lugard Hall, KadunaKadunaKaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...
, Nigeria. Currently used by Kaduna StateKaduna State-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to Kaduna State in 1976. This was further divided in 1987, losing the area now part...
House of Assembly - Lugard Avenue EntebbeEntebbeEntebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by... - Lugard House Rossall SchoolRossall SchoolRossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
, Fleetwood - Lugard Road, Jos, Nigeria
- Many school dormitories, guest houses etc. in East Africa and West Africa are named Lugard House
- The fictional Lord Lugard's College, a preparatory schoolPreparatory school (UK)In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Chinua AchebeChinua AchebeAlbert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...
's Anthills of the SavannahAnthills of the SavannahAnthills of the Savannah is a 1987 novel by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. A finalist for the 1987 Booker Prize for Fiction, it has been described as the "most important novel to come out of Africa in the [1980s]."-Plot:...
, where three of the central characters were educated - Lugard House (a dormitory on the eastern compound of Achimota school in Achimota, Ghana)
- Lugard House (The official residence of the governor of Kogi State, Nigeria in Lokoja the state capital)
Further reading
- 'Reading the Colonizer's Mind: Lord Lugard and the Philosophical Foundations of British Colonialism' by Olufemi Taiwo in Racism and Philosophy edited by Susan E. Babbitt and Sue Campbell, Cornell University PressCornell University PressThe Cornell University Press, established in 1869 but inactive from 1884 to 1930, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States.A division of Cornell University, it is housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage....
, 1999