Robert Coryndon
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Thorne Coryndon (2 April 1870 - 10 February 1925) was a British
colonial administrator, a former secretary of Cecil Rhodes who became Governor of the colonies of Uganda (1918–1922) and Kenya (1922-1925).
He was one of the most powerful of colonial administrators of his day.
, South Africa on 2 April 1870. He was educated at St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown
, and at Cheltenham College
in England.
In 1889 he returned to South Africa to serve his articles as a lawyer with his uncles's firm, Caldecott and Bell of Kimberley
.
Unhappy with office work, after a few months he joined the Bechuanaland Border Police run by the British South Africa Company
(BSAC) which Cecil Rhodes had formed in 1889.
In 1890 he was a member of the Pioneer Force occupying Mashonaland
.
In 1893 and 1896 he served in campaigns in Matabeleland
.
In 1896 Coryndon was appointed private secretary to Cecil Rhodes, and served in that role during the 1896 Parliamentary Inquiry into the Jameson Raid
.
In summer of 1897 he was sent by Rhodes to be the BSAC representative in Barotseland
.
In October 1897 he reached King Lewanika
's capital, Lealui
, where he was given a cool reception.
Lewanika could not accept that Coryndon could represent both a company and the government.
In November 1899 Queen Victoria signed an order in council that established company rule in "Barotziland - North West Rhodesia", and in September 1900 Coryndon was appointed commissioner.
He held this post until 1907.
He then became Resident Commissioner in Swaziland
, and was chairman of the Southern Rhodesian Native Reserves Commission of 1914-1915. In 1916 he was appointed Resident Commissioner in Basutoland
.
As Governor, he was involved in a crisis over the East African rupee, which had been pegged to the Indian rupee. The settlers were in favor of devaluing the currency and then pegging it to the British pound, while investors strongly objected to the loss that they would incur as a result.
One effect of the change would be to devalue the coinage, almost entirely held by African cotton growers. Some officials calculated that the loss incurred by the average family would be small, but others including Coryndon were concerned about the destruction of trust in the government that would result. Coryndon wrote "I do not think you can properly estimate the effect of a measure of this sort by a calculation of average loss per head".
Winston Churchill
was secretary of state for the colonies in the early 1920s.
In 1922 he appointed Coryndon Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Kenya and High Commissioner of Zanzibar.
The previous governor Edward Northey had written in 1919: "I believe there is a great future for this country, but only if a steady flow of natives out of the Reserves, working willingly for a good wage, well-housed and fed, under European control and supervision, can be properly organized".
However, Northey's policies had brought the colony near to bankruptcy.
Between 1913 and 1920 native production had actually fallen.
Coryndon was expected to introduce a new policy that supported expansion of African production.
In a letter to Churchill soon after arriving in Kenya, Coryndon said "I believe I shall be able to handle the settlers: largely by laughing at them a little and by getting them to use a sense of proportion in their outlook. I shall push native development and native crops. I am confident as to the future on the whole".
Coryndon defined a "dual policy" to correct the problems that stemmed from excessive bias toward settler demands, while avoiding the idea that native interests were paramount.
In September 1923 Coryndon said the interest of Europeans and natives were complementary, and that if given the proper incentives and guidance the native population would become Kenya's greatest asset. The administration should pay attention to the native's moral welfare, sense of responsibility to the state, health and material well-being. The natives should be given education suitable to their needs.
The dual policy later became the official basis for administering the colony.
Churchill gave Coryndon the mandate of solving the "Indian question" in Kenya.
Churchill was in favor of white settlement, although not of self-government. However, he saw a need for Indian settlers to act as merchants. There was a growing influx of Indians into Nairobi's city center in the 1920s, working as shopkeepers, railway workers, government clerks and small-scale manufacturers. In response, the whites moved out to the Upper Nairobi western suburbs.
The Indians were pressing for similar political rights to those of the white settlers.
The Imperial government response was to seek a way to set educational and property or income qualifications that would result in about 10% of Indians getting the vote, and defining qualifications for candidates that would ensure a solid majority of Europeans while allowing some Indian elected officials.
Coryndon presented these proposals at a meeting of representatives of the European community in Nairobi, who unanimously rejected them. Before agreeing to put the matter to the vote in the legislature, they insisted that measures had to be enacted to restrict further Indian immigration.
Coryndon was awarded the CMG in 1911 and KCMG in 1919.
He died in Nairobi
on 10 February 1925.
On 17 February 1925 the Kenyan Legislative Council granted an annual allowance of 500 pounds to Lady Coryndon for life or until she remarried, two hundred pounds to each of his three sons until they reached the age of 21, and one hundred pounds to his daughter until she married or reached the age of 21.
His private secretary later described him as a "simple man with simple ideas".
He believed in a policy of indirect rule, to "build up a more modern society on the traditions of the people".
Although he professed to like and understand Africans, in practice he did little to improve their lives and held "shamelessly racial" views. He held back development of native agriculture at the request of European coffee planters, and held back development of the milling and weaving industries due to his distrust of Indians.
In 1929 the Kenyan colonial government allocated land in Nairobi for a museum. The Coryndon Museum was officially opened on 22 September 1930. It became the Nairobi National Museum after independence in 1963.
The 207 feet (63.1 m), 800 ton steamer SS Robert Coryndon
, built by J Thorneycroft & Co of Southhampton, was in in service on Lake Albert between 1930 and 1964.
The ship provided operated a Class A ferry service from Butiaba
to the Congo, through Packwach in Nebbi district.
Ernest Hemingway
, who had stop in Butiaba after his plane crashed when he was on a hunting safari, described the ship as "magnificence on water". The ship sank in 1964. All that remains is an abandoned hulk.
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...
colonial administrator, a former secretary of Cecil Rhodes who became Governor of the colonies of Uganda (1918–1922) and Kenya (1922-1925).
He was one of the most powerful of colonial administrators of his day.
Early years
Robert Thorne Coryndon was born in Cape ColonyCape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, South Africa on 2 April 1870. He was educated at St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
, and at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
in England.
In 1889 he returned to South Africa to serve his articles as a lawyer with his uncles's firm, Caldecott and Bell of Kimberley
Kimberley
-United States:* Kimberly, Arkansas* Kimberly, Alabama* Kimberly, Idaho* Kimberly Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota* Kimberly, Oregon, unincorporated community* Kimberly, Utah, abandoned town* Kimberly, Fayette County, West Virginia, unincorporated community...
.
Unhappy with office work, after a few months he joined the Bechuanaland Border Police run by the British South Africa Company
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...
(BSAC) which Cecil Rhodes had formed in 1889.
In 1890 he was a member of the Pioneer Force occupying Mashonaland
Mashonaland
Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. It is the home of the Shona people.Currently, Mashonaland is divided into three provinces, with a total population of about 3 million:* Mashonaland West* Mashonaland Central* Mashonaland East...
.
In 1893 and 1896 he served in campaigns in 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...
.
In 1896 Coryndon was appointed private secretary to Cecil Rhodes, and served in that role during the 1896 Parliamentary Inquiry into the Jameson Raid
Jameson Raid
The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96...
.
In summer of 1897 he was sent by Rhodes to be the BSAC representative in Barotseland
Barotseland
Barotseland is a region in the western part of Zambia, and is the homeland of the Lozi people or Barotse who were previously known as Luyi or Aluyi. Its heartland is the Barotse Floodplain on the upper Zambezi River, also known as Bulozi or Lyondo, but it includes the surrounding higher ground of...
.
In October 1897 he reached King Lewanika
Lewanika
Lewanika was the Lozi Litunga of Barotseland from 1878 to 1916...
's capital, Lealui
Lealui
Lealui is the dry season residence on the Barotse Floodplain of the Litunga, king Troverman of the Lozi people of western Zambia, located about 14 km west of the town of Mongu and about 10 km east of the river's main channel...
, where he was given a cool reception.
Lewanika could not accept that Coryndon could represent both a company and the government.
In November 1899 Queen Victoria signed an order in council that established company rule in "Barotziland - North West Rhodesia", and in September 1900 Coryndon was appointed commissioner.
He held this post until 1907.
He then became Resident Commissioner in Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, and was chairman of the Southern Rhodesian Native Reserves Commission of 1914-1915. In 1916 he was appointed Resident Commissioner in Basutoland
Basutoland
Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony's inability to control the territory...
.
Colonial governor
In 1917 Coryndon was given the position of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Uganda, taking office in 1918.As Governor, he was involved in a crisis over the East African rupee, which had been pegged to the Indian rupee. The settlers were in favor of devaluing the currency and then pegging it to the British pound, while investors strongly objected to the loss that they would incur as a result.
One effect of the change would be to devalue the coinage, almost entirely held by African cotton growers. Some officials calculated that the loss incurred by the average family would be small, but others including Coryndon were concerned about the destruction of trust in the government that would result. Coryndon wrote "I do not think you can properly estimate the effect of a measure of this sort by a calculation of average loss per head".
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
was secretary of state for the colonies in the early 1920s.
In 1922 he appointed Coryndon Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Kenya and High Commissioner of Zanzibar.
The previous governor Edward Northey had written in 1919: "I believe there is a great future for this country, but only if a steady flow of natives out of the Reserves, working willingly for a good wage, well-housed and fed, under European control and supervision, can be properly organized".
However, Northey's policies had brought the colony near to bankruptcy.
Between 1913 and 1920 native production had actually fallen.
Coryndon was expected to introduce a new policy that supported expansion of African production.
In a letter to Churchill soon after arriving in Kenya, Coryndon said "I believe I shall be able to handle the settlers: largely by laughing at them a little and by getting them to use a sense of proportion in their outlook. I shall push native development and native crops. I am confident as to the future on the whole".
Coryndon defined a "dual policy" to correct the problems that stemmed from excessive bias toward settler demands, while avoiding the idea that native interests were paramount.
In September 1923 Coryndon said the interest of Europeans and natives were complementary, and that if given the proper incentives and guidance the native population would become Kenya's greatest asset. The administration should pay attention to the native's moral welfare, sense of responsibility to the state, health and material well-being. The natives should be given education suitable to their needs.
The dual policy later became the official basis for administering the colony.
Churchill gave Coryndon the mandate of solving the "Indian question" in Kenya.
Churchill was in favor of white settlement, although not of self-government. However, he saw a need for Indian settlers to act as merchants. There was a growing influx of Indians into Nairobi's city center in the 1920s, working as shopkeepers, railway workers, government clerks and small-scale manufacturers. In response, the whites moved out to the Upper Nairobi western suburbs.
The Indians were pressing for similar political rights to those of the white settlers.
The Imperial government response was to seek a way to set educational and property or income qualifications that would result in about 10% of Indians getting the vote, and defining qualifications for candidates that would ensure a solid majority of Europeans while allowing some Indian elected officials.
Coryndon presented these proposals at a meeting of representatives of the European community in Nairobi, who unanimously rejected them. Before agreeing to put the matter to the vote in the legislature, they insisted that measures had to be enacted to restrict further Indian immigration.
Coryndon was awarded the CMG in 1911 and KCMG in 1919.
He died in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
on 10 February 1925.
On 17 February 1925 the Kenyan Legislative Council granted an annual allowance of 500 pounds to Lady Coryndon for life or until she remarried, two hundred pounds to each of his three sons until they reached the age of 21, and one hundred pounds to his daughter until she married or reached the age of 21.
Postscript
Coryndon was one of Cecil Rhodes's "twelve apostles", and owed much to Rhodes' teachings.His private secretary later described him as a "simple man with simple ideas".
He believed in a policy of indirect rule, to "build up a more modern society on the traditions of the people".
Although he professed to like and understand Africans, in practice he did little to improve their lives and held "shamelessly racial" views. He held back development of native agriculture at the request of European coffee planters, and held back development of the milling and weaving industries due to his distrust of Indians.
In 1929 the Kenyan colonial government allocated land in Nairobi for a museum. The Coryndon Museum was officially opened on 22 September 1930. It became the Nairobi National Museum after independence in 1963.
The 207 feet (63.1 m), 800 ton steamer SS Robert Coryndon
SS Robert Coryndon
SS Robert Coryndon was a British passenger and cargo ferry on Lake Albert in central Africa.John I. Thornycroft & Company at Woolston, Hampshire built her for Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours in 1930. She was named after the South African Sir Robert Coryndon, who was Governor of Uganda 1918–22...
, built by J Thorneycroft & Co of Southhampton, was in in service on Lake Albert between 1930 and 1964.
The ship provided operated a Class A ferry service from Butiaba
Butiaba
Butiaba, sometimes spelled as Butyaba, is a town in Western Uganda.-Location:Butiaba is situated on the eastern shores of Lake Albert, in Masindi District. It is located approximately , by road, west of the district headquarters at Masindi. This location is approximately , by road, northwest of...
to the Congo, through Packwach in Nebbi district.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, who had stop in Butiaba after his plane crashed when he was on a hunting safari, described the ship as "magnificence on water". The ship sank in 1964. All that remains is an abandoned hulk.