Robert Edward Codrington
Encyclopedia
Robert Edward Codrington (6 January 1869 – 16 December 1908) was the colonial
Administrator
of the two territories ruled by the British South Africa Company (BSAC)
which became present-day Zambia
. He was Administrator of North-Eastern Rhodesia
, based at Fort Jameson
, now Chipata, from 11 July 1898 to 24 April 1907, and then of North-Western Rhodesia
, based at Livingstone
from February 1908 to his death in London on 16 December 1908 from heart disease at the age of only 39. He laid the foundation for the amalgamation of the two territories as Northern Rhodesia
four years later.
His administration was influential in establishing British colonial government
in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland
and making them different in character from white-settler-led Southern Rhodesia
.
into a Gloucestershire
family with a background of service in the Royal Navy
, but instead he went to southern Africa
and joined the Bechuanaland Border Police in 1890. In 1893 this force took part in the occupation of Matabeleland
by white
settler
s, the overthrow of its ruler, Lobengula
, and the taking of African land by force, which still has violent consequences in today's Zimbabwe
.
in the British Central Africa
Protectorate
, also known as Nyasaland (later Malawi
). He rose rapidly through the colonial ranks and as a result of his military experience he was given the job of conquering the Ngoni
and Yao
by force and stamping out the last vestiges of the slave trade in the area.
He was a practical man and he solved the shortage of British people in the territory available to run the administration by appointing Africans educated by the Scottish
missionaries
in Nyasaland. In this way he helped support education generally and establish a group of Nyasaland African administrators (though he kept them subordinate to the whites
) who were influential there and in Northern Rhodesia. This set him against the settler
s especially in Southern Rhodesia
who opposed education and employment of native people other than in manual labour.
Although he saw the value in allowing missions in his new territory to provide educated personnel and tradesmen (since the BSAC did not provide such education), he controlled the incursion of missionaries to prevent conflict with tribes such as the Bemba
who might be hostile to them. His administration initially told the French Catholic bishop Joseph Dupont that he had to leave, even though he had set up in Bemba territory before Codrington arrived on the scene, had opened up Bemba lands to the British, and had been accepted so completely he had been offered a Bemba chieftainship. However, Codrington saw the practical value of Dupont staying and invited him to sit next to him at a Bemba coronation.
He worked closely with Alfred Sharpe
, the Governor in Nyasaland, and with the latter's military assistance ensured the subjugation of the Bemba and the Kazembe-Lunda.
In 1907 Codrington was appointed Administrator of North-Western Rhodesia
based at Livingstone
, but only served a year before his death. In that time he reorganised its administration in a similar fashion to North-Eastern Rhodesia, paving the way for the two territories to be merged in 1911.
He was knight
ed as 'Sir Robert Codrington' for his work.
origin were taken from the court of Mwata Kazembe by the British punitive expedition
sent by him against Mwata Kazembe X in 1897, and these he kept. They were placed in 1920 in a museum in Southern Rhodesia
, 1000 km from their Kazembe-Lunda owners.
Codrington also wrote a number of articles for the Royal Geographical Society
.
He encouraged African education and employed them in administration, he instigated indirect rule through local chiefs, and he opposed rule by white settlers, keeping it firmly in the hands of trained administrators. These factors helped put Zambia and Malawi on a different path from Southern Rhodesia, helping them gain peaceful independence more than fifteen years before Zimbabwe.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
Administrator
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the two territories ruled by the British South Africa Company (BSAC)
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
which became present-day Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
. He was Administrator of North-Eastern Rhodesia
North-Eastern Rhodesia
North-Eastern Rhodesia in south central Africa was formed by and administered by the British South Africa Company as the other half, with North-Western Rhodesia, of the huge territory lying mainly north of the Zambezi River into which it expanded its charter in 1891...
, based at Fort Jameson
Chipata
Chipata, population 98,416, is the capital of the Eastern Province of Zambia. The two languages spoken are Nyanja and English, though you might find some Indian languages, as there is a large number of Zambian Indians located in the town...
, now Chipata, from 11 July 1898 to 24 April 1907, and then of North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia in south central Africa was formed and administered from 1891 under charter by the British South Africa Company which in 1890 had signed a treaty with King Lewanika of the Barotse, the most powerful traditional ruler in the territory...
, based at Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia
Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls...
from February 1908 to his death in London on 16 December 1908 from heart disease at the age of only 39. He laid the foundation for the amalgamation of the two territories as Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
four years later.
His administration was influential in establishing British colonial government
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...
in Northern Rhodesia and 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....
and making them different in character from white-settler-led Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
.
Background
Robert Codrington was born in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
into a Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
family with a background of service in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, but instead he went to southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
and joined the Bechuanaland Border Police in 1890. In 1893 this force took part in the occupation of Matabeleland
Matabeleland
Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...
by white
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s, the overthrow of its ruler, Lobengula
Lobengula
Lobengula Khumalo was the second and last king of the Ndebele people, usually pronounced Matabele in English. Both names, in the Sindebele language, mean "The men of the long shields", a reference to the Matabele warriors' use of the Zulu shield and spear.- Background :The Matabele were related to...
, and the taking of African land by force, which still has violent consequences in today's Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
.
Nyasaland
Codrington was then appointed Collector of RevenueTax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
in the British Central Africa
British Central Africa
The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1893 and 1907.-History:The Shire Highlands south of Lake Nyasa and the lands west of the lake had been of interest to the British since they were first explored by David Livingstone in the 1850s, and...
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...
, also known as Nyasaland (later Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
). He rose rapidly through the colonial ranks and as a result of his military experience he was given the job of conquering the Ngoni
Ngoni people
The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, in east-central Africa. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa...
and Yao
Yao (ethnic group in Africa)
The Yao people, Wayao, are a major ethnic and linguistic group based at the southern end of Lake Malawi, which played an important part in the history of East Africa during the 19th century. The Yao are a predominantly Muslim people group of about 2 million spread over three countries, Malawi,...
by force and stamping out the last vestiges of the slave trade in the area.
He was a practical man and he solved the shortage of British people in the territory available to run the administration by appointing Africans educated by the Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in Nyasaland. In this way he helped support education generally and establish a group of Nyasaland African administrators (though he kept them subordinate to the whites
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
) who were influential there and in Northern Rhodesia. This set him against the settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s especially in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
who opposed education and employment of native people other than in manual labour.
North-Eastern and North-Western Rhodesia
He came to the attention of Cecil Rhodes who appointed him at the age of 29 as Deputy Administrator, later Administrator (equivalent to Governor), of North-Eastern Rhodesia, charged with subduing by force any opposition to the BSAC's rule. He used military approaches to administration and leadership, and his African nickname 'Mara' relates to his saying 'it is settled', by which he terminated any discussion, reflecting his use of his authority. He brought in staff and workers from Nyasaland.Although he saw the value in allowing missions in his new territory to provide educated personnel and tradesmen (since the BSAC did not provide such education), he controlled the incursion of missionaries to prevent conflict with tribes such as the Bemba
Bemba people
The Bemba belong to a large group of peoples mainly in the Northern, Luapula and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia who trace their origins to the Luba and Lunda states of the upper Congo basin, in what became Katanga Province in southern Congo-Kinshasa...
who might be hostile to them. His administration initially told the French Catholic bishop Joseph Dupont that he had to leave, even though he had set up in Bemba territory before Codrington arrived on the scene, had opened up Bemba lands to the British, and had been accepted so completely he had been offered a Bemba chieftainship. However, Codrington saw the practical value of Dupont staying and invited him to sit next to him at a Bemba coronation.
He worked closely with Alfred Sharpe
Alfred Sharpe
Sir Alfred Sharpe was a professional hunter who became a British colonial administrator and Commissioner of the British Central Africa Protectorate from 1896 until 1910...
, the Governor in Nyasaland, and with the latter's military assistance ensured the subjugation of the Bemba and the Kazembe-Lunda.
In 1907 Codrington was appointed Administrator of North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia
North-Western Rhodesia in south central Africa was formed and administered from 1891 under charter by the British South Africa Company which in 1890 had signed a treaty with King Lewanika of the Barotse, the most powerful traditional ruler in the territory...
based at Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia
Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls...
, but only served a year before his death. In that time he reorganised its administration in a similar fashion to North-Eastern Rhodesia, paving the way for the two territories to be merged in 1911.
He was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed as 'Sir Robert Codrington' for his work.
Ethnological collection and writing
Codrington studied ethnological aspects of Africa, and collected cultural artefacts. While some of these had been taken from their rightful owners by slave traders whom he had defeated, many valuable pieces including very old works of LubaLuba people
The Luba are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa. They are indigenous to the Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema regions which were historic provinces of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo...
origin were taken from the court of Mwata Kazembe by the British punitive expedition
Punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge...
sent by him against Mwata Kazembe X in 1897, and these he kept. They were placed in 1920 in a museum in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
, 1000 km from their Kazembe-Lunda owners.
Codrington also wrote a number of articles for the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
Legacy
Codrington was, after Cecil Rhodes, one of the chief architects of British rule in central Africa. Although portrayed by some European writers as kind and just, he was paternalistic towards Africans and uncompromising in his view of the superiority of the British. Though he had taken part in the bloody events in Matabeleland, three aspects of his later work influenced the course of history north of the Zambezi in more peaceful ways.He encouraged African education and employed them in administration, he instigated indirect rule through local chiefs, and he opposed rule by white settlers, keeping it firmly in the hands of trained administrators. These factors helped put Zambia and Malawi on a different path from Southern Rhodesia, helping them gain peaceful independence more than fifteen years before Zimbabwe.