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The Germans ruled Tanganyika till the end of the First World War in 1918; they applied direct rule. Under this administrative system, Africans were ruled by the colonialists without the support of the local rulers. The traditional chiefs lost their positions and power to the chiefs newly elected by the colonialists.
These newly appointed chiefs were known as Akidas and Jumbes. However, the Akidas and Jumbes were harsh, cruel, and oppressive which made them unpopular among the locals. The Governor was the head of the colony. He was stationed in Dar-es-Salaam, and was a soldier.
The Governor had absolute power and authority, and he was directly answerable to the Colonial Minister in Berlin. He was assisted by a Governor’s Council, consisting of officials and non-officials. The Germans divided Tanganyika into districts for efficient administration. By
1914, there were twenty-four districts in Tanganyika.
The Germans thought that using direct rule was the only way they could effectively occupy and control Tanganyika. They also thought that it would promote their superior culture, dominate the Africans, thoroughly exploit their resources, and effectively introduce their economic policies.
Reasons for Adoption of Direct Rule by the Germans
There are many reasons for the adoption of direct rule. Direct rule was designed to create a strong ground for the German control of Tanganyika.
Desire to have full control of East African states. With direct rule, Germany was able to conquer the people and transmit her language, culture, and system of government into a subordinate Tanganyika.
It was made a condition for inheritance plans in Tanganyika. Native inhabitants who wished to succeed under direct rule had to adopt the values and lifestyles of the ruling power (Germans).
It was the best way to suppress the nationalistic tendencies in Tanganyika because they had centralized administrations that stressed policies of assimilation. The direct rule also used the strategy of “divide and rule” by implementing policies that intentionally weakened indigenous power networks and institutions. At the top were the whites and down were the Akidas and
Jumbes. Community natives were not given a chance to rule themselves at all.
Other imperial powers had used it successfully in other countries. For example, the French, Belgians, Germans, and Portuguese are considered to have used this model in governing their African colonies. The colonies included: Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire under the French; Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi under the Belgians; Tanganyika, Namibia, Cameroon, Togo under the Germans, and Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe under Portuguese rule.
It was believed as the system through which Germans would efficiently administer, exploit, and benefit from the Tanganyika people. It had an element of maximum supervision of the colony.
Germans had used force to colonize many parts of Tanganyika; therefore, soldiers had to remain as part of administrators; otherwise, the natives would easily riot against the German imperial rule.
The Germans were proud people, and they were not willing to use the same system used by the British in East Africa. Therefore, they used the direct rule system in order to be different.
Germany found many societies in Tanganyika not centralized. Therefore, their direct policies could work easily among the clan systems of Tanganyika.
The lack of recognized, trained, and experienced local chiefs in Tanganyika made Germany use the direct rule system, and the lack of many centralized states
deprived Tanganyika of experienced local chiefs to be taken on by German colonialists. Therefore, they had to apply direct rule.
The early resistance they faced in Tanganyika made the Germans to use direct rule. Their home was far; therefore, they rushed and picked the Swahili tribe of Jumbes and the Akidas to work with them in the interior.
The Germans wanted to “civilize” the indigenous people by undermining their traditional institutions. This could easily be done by application of direct rule.
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