SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Slaves, Trains, and Missionaries: British Moral Imperialism and the Development of Precolonial East Africa, 1873-1901 A Dissertation Presented By Daniel Seth Woulfin To The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University December 2011 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Daniel Seth Woulfin We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctorate of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Wolf Schafer – Dissertation Advisor Professor of History John Williams – Chairperson of Defense Associate Professor Emeritus of History Jennifer Anderson Assistant Professor of History William Arens Professor of Anthropology – Stony Brook University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Slaves, Trains, and Missionaries: British Moral Imperialism and the Development of Precolonial East Africa, 1873-1901 by Daniel Seth Woulfin Doctorate of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University 2011 This dissertation explores the role of moral imperialism in the late nineteenth century expansion of the British Empire using East Africa as a case study. Moral imperialism, the ideology that argued that the British had a moral duty to “civilize,” “Christianize,” “uplift,” and economically “develop” non-Europeans and their territories, has not been taken as seriously by historians as other factors for British expansion, namely economic arguments and strategic geopolitics by British officials. By applying Alan Lester’s model of three categories of colonial discourse in nineteenth century South Africa: governmentality, humanitarianism, and settler capitalism to East Africa between 1873 and 1901, I isolate moral imperialism (humanitarianism) as a contributing factor of imperialism, which is possible because the region had limited economic and geopolitical significance to the British Empire. Missionary, religious, civic, and anti-slavery organizations formed a moral lobby that actively interacted with and pressured government officials to increase Britain’s activities and influence in Zanzibar, East Africa, and Central Africa thereby moving these areas from the informal empire to the formal empire. By analyzing how these moral imperialists, mainly upper and middle class men from the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, Church Missionary Society, Universities’ Mission to Central Africa, and the Imperial British East Africa Company communicated their positions on East African slavery, the slave trade, and other moral imperial issues to their members, their supporters, the general public, and the decision makers within the British government this dissertation analyzes moral imperialism’s efforts to change the racial and labor dynamics as well as the transportation system of East Africa into something that was controllable by Europeans. This process, which took a generation, began with a series of treaties focused on combating the slave trade throughout the Indian Ocean, accelerated during the Partition of Africa and the jingoistic 1890s, and ended with the building of the Uganda Railroad and the birth of a white settler society in British East Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. iii For my grandfathers, Albert Korn and Samuel Woulfin iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….. vii I. Introduction……………………………………………………………….................1 Humanitarian Efforts and the State in Zanzibar Before 1873…….…..….…7 Historiography……………………………………………………...................18 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….………..30 II. Missionaries and Statesmen: Moral Imperialism, Indian Ocean Geopolitics, and the Repercussions of Sir Bartle Frere’s Mission to East Africa, 1873-1883 …………………………………………………………...35 Policymaking, British Committees, and the East African and Indian Ocean Slave Trade, 1870-1871……………………………………………...40 Moral Imperial Statesmanship: The Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean and the 1873 Anti-Slave Treaty..………………………………………..…...51 Foreign Office and Moral Imperial Symbiosis: Housing the Liberated Slaves and the Building of Freretown, 1874-1875 ………………………...63 Fugitive Slaves and the End of the Foreign Office and Moral Imperial Partnership, 1875-1880…………………………………………….….………76 Conclusion: The Moral Imperial Expansion into Central Africa Before the Partition, 1876-1885……………………………………….………………84 III. In the Midst of the Scramble: Moral Imperialism During the Partition of East Africa, 1884-1890…………………………………………………………….90 British Missionaries During the Partition: New Borders and New Critiques, 1885 – 1888………………………………………………………...97 Missionaries in the Middle: Chartered Companies, the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa, and the Church Missionary Society During Bushiri’s Uprising, 1888………………………………………………………104 Finishing the Scramble: A Blockade, Moral Imperial Division, and the End of Bushiri’s Uprising, 1889-1890……………………………………….120 Conclusion: The 1890 Anti-Slavery Conference of the Powers at Brussels………………………………………………………………………..134 IV. Removing a Stain on the British Flag: The Campaign Against Slavery in East Africa, 1890-1897……………………………………………………………140 Uganda, the Imperial British East Africa Company, and Caravan Controversies, 1891-1894……………………………………………………147 v The Anti-Slavery Society, the Foreign Office, and the Case Against Gradual Abolition, 1893-1895…………………………………………………160 Meetings and Mobilizations: The Final Push in the Campaign to Abolish the Status of Slavery in East Africa, 1895-1896…………………..177 Conclusion: The Sultan’s Decree Abolishing the Legal Status of Slavery, 1897……………………………………………………………..........186 V. “Civilizing” East Africa: Moral Imperialists and the Building of the Uganda Railroad, 1890-1901……………………………………………….………..192 An Unlikely Alliance: The Imperial British East Africa Company, Lord Salisbury’s Foreign Office, and the Moral Imperial Argument for a Railroad, 1890-1892……………………………………..………………196 Macdonald’s Survey from Mombasa to Lake Victoria, 1891-1892………..208 The New Liberal Government, the End of the Imperial British East Africa Company, and the Mombasa Railway, 1892-1895………………....222 Conclusion: Building the Railway, 1896-1901……………………………….238 VI. Conclusion: Unintended Consequences: The Introduction of Settler Capitalism and the fall of Moral Imperial Influence in East Africa, 1902-1906………………………..……………………………………....246 White Settlers, Government Regulations, and the Criminalization of the African………………………………….……………………………..….250 Unwanted Neighbors: The White Settler Response to Jewish Immigration and Indian Landownership………………………………………258 The “Desirable” Immigrant: South Africans Arrive in East Africa…………..265 The New East African Dynamic: The Colonists Association, Indians, and the Colonial Office…………………………………………….....272 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….280 vi Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of many people, both inside and outside academia. First and foremost, I’d like to thank my committee members, Wolf Schäfer, John Williams, Jennifer Anderson, and Bill Arens. Without their help, especially John William’s guidance, insight, and patience, this project would not have come to fruition. Jennifer Anderson’s useful commentary and advice on writing were also crucial to the completion of this dissertation. In addition to my committee, I’d also like to thank Gary Marker for leading the prospectus class where this project was originally formed and Gene Lebovics for leading some of the most thought provoking and interesting courses I took at Stony Brook. I’d also like to thank Donna Sammis from the Interlibrary Loan Office of Stony Brook University’s Melville Library. Her tireless efforts not only made hard to find sources accessible, but also serves as an amazing resource for everyone at the university. Friends provided companionship and support through this process. My colleagues in the History Department, especially Luke Feder, Kraig Larkin, Bridget Chesterton, and Melixa Abad- Izquierdo, were always supportive and willing to read drafts, give advice, and made classes worthwhile and enjoyable. Most importantly, I’d like to thank my fellow Africanists, Mwangi Njagi, and Tim Nicholson, for providing a sympathetic ear when I was working through problems and an even more useful and critical eye when reading drafts. Outside of Stony Brook’s History Department, I would like to thank a number of friends. Jen Iacona from the Charles B. Wang Center was the best Coordinator I could ever ask for, especially because she put up with me during the worst moments of the research and writing vii process. Bonnie De Witt’s support throughout the research and writing process, including sharing her hospitality at her apartment in Harlem while I was doing research at the Burke Theological Seminary at Columbia University was invaluable. Some of my best memories of Stony Brook occurred while working with Andrei Antonenko in the Graduate Student Organization, Victor Rosado in the Graduate Student Employees Union, and Isobel Breheny- Schafer from WUSB 90.1 FM. Running Stony Brooklyn, a 21+ concert series, with Bill Wenzel made the last years of grad school bearable