Nyasaland or the
Nyasaland Protectorate, was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
protectorateA protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...
which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. It is now known as
MalawiThe 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, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
.
Nyasaland's history was marked by numerous attempts to obtain independence from the British. Growing European and US-educated African elite became increasingly vocal and politically active - first through associations, and after 1944, through the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC).
The population at the 1911 census was: natives 969,183,
EuropeansWhite Africans or European Africans are white people living in Africa of European descent. These individuals are mostly of Dutch, British, French, Portuguese, German, and to a lesser extent, Italian, Spanish, Austrian, Scandinavian, Greek, Lithuanian, Belgian, Swiss, and Irish ancestry...
766, Asians 481.
Nyasaland or the
Nyasaland Protectorate, was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
protectorateA protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...
which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. It is now known as
MalawiThe 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, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
.
Nyasaland's history was marked by numerous attempts to obtain independence from the British. Growing European and US-educated African elite became increasingly vocal and politically active - first through associations, and after 1944, through the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC).
Population
The population at the 1911 census was: natives 969,183,
EuropeansWhite Africans or European Africans are white people living in Africa of European descent. These individuals are mostly of Dutch, British, French, Portuguese, German, and to a lesser extent, Italian, Spanish, Austrian, Scandinavian, Greek, Lithuanian, Belgian, Swiss, and Irish ancestry...
766, Asians 481. In March 1920 Europeans numbered 1,015 and Asians 515. The natives were estimated (1919) at 561,600 males and 664,400 females, a total of 1,216,000.
BlantyreBlantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce and its largest city, by population, with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants . It sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe...
, the chief town, had some 300 European residents.
Colonial Economy
CottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
growing was the chief industry, though from 1918 onward it was being supplanted by
tobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it most commonly appears in the forms of smoking, chewing, snuffing, or...
. In 1916–17 the export of cotton reached 3,462,000 pounds; it fell to 866,000 pounds in 1917–18 (largely owing to shipping restrictions), rose again to 2,670,000 pounds in 1918–19, but in 1919–20 dropped to 930,000 pounds Increasing attention was given to
teaTea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
, while
coffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of "coffee cherries" that grow on trees in over 70 countries. It has been said that green coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil. Due to its...
was largely discarded. (The export of coffee which was 748,000 pounds in 1909–10 had fallen to 113,000 pounds in 1918–19.) The disfavour into which cotton fell was partly due to the neglect to use selected seed and to other errors in cultivation, but also to the fact that, where soil and climate suited both crops, tobacco growing was more profitable. After some unfortunate experiences arrangements were made in 1917 for the fumigation of the tobacco before shipment, with the result that the crop thereafter, in normal circumstances, commanded a high price in the markets of Great Britain. The export of tobacco was 4,304,000 pounds in 1916–17, fell to 2,025,000 pounds the following year, was 5,800,000 pounds in 1918–19 and 4,340,000 pounds in 1919–20. Both cotton and coffee were largely cultivated by native farmers as well as by the European planters.
List of Nyasaland Governors
- Sir William Henry Manning: October 1907 – 1 May 1908
- Sir 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...
: 1 May 1908 – 1 April 1910
- Francis Barrow Pearce: 1 April 1910 – 4 July 1910
- Henry Richard Wallis: 4 July 1910 – 6 February 1911
- Sir William Henry Manning: 6 February 1911 – 23 September 1913
- George Smith
-American:* George William Smith , governor of Virginia* George Smith , Republican US representative from Pennsylvania, 1809-1812...
: 23 September 1913 – 12 April 1923
- Richard Sims Donkin Rankine: 12 April 1923 – 27 March 1924
- Sir Charles Calvert Bowring: 27 March 1924 – 30 May 1929
- Wilfred Bennett Davidson-Houston: 30 May 1929 – 7 November 1929
- Shenton Whitelegge Thomas: 7 November 1929 – 22 November 1932
- Sir Hubert Winthrop Young
Major Sir Hubert Winthrop Young, KCMG, DSO, was an English soldier, politician, diplomat and colonial governor.Born in 1885, Young was educated at Eton before being commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1904....
: 22 November 1932 – 9 April 1934
- Kenneth Lambert Hall: 9 April 1934 – 21 September 1934
- Sir Harold Baxter Kittermaster: 21 September 1934 – 20 March 1939
- Sir Henry C. D. Cleveland Mackenzie-Kennedy: 20 March 1939 – 8 August 1942
- Sir Edmund Charles Smith Richards: 8 August 1942 – 27 March 1947
- Geoffrey Francis Taylor Colby: 30 March 1948 – 10 April 1956
- Sir Robert Perceval Armitage: 10 April 1956 – 10 April 1961
- Sir Glyn Smallwood Jones
Sir Glyn Smallwood Jones, GCMG, MBE was a British colonial administrator in Southern Africa. He was the last governor of Nyasaland from 1961 until it achieved independence in 1964. He served as the only governor-general of Malawi from 1964 until it became a republic in 1966. In 1964, he was...
: 10 April 1961 – 6 July 1964
External links