1907-1918 History of Southern Africa 1939-1964






History of Nyasaland, 1918-1939



In 1922, the Trans-Zambezia Railway, through Mozambique territory, was completed; Beira became the main port for Nyasaland trade. In 1935 a bridge crossing the Zambezi between Sena and Dona Ana, again on Mocambique territory, was completed. In the 1930es, the GREAT EAST ROAD through Northern Rhodesia had been constructed, connecting Nyasaland with the GREAT NORTH ROAD and giving it access to a British/South African road network through southern central Africa. From now on there was an alternative to the Beira/Mocambique road.
In 1935, Nyasaland had 1,614,530 narive inhabitants, 1558 Asiartics and 1838 Europeans, in 1938 1,672,787 native inhabitants, 1748 Asiatics and 1847 Europeans. Asiatics, mostly Gujaratis, emigrated / were brought into the country durinmg British rule; their number reached 12,000 in 1970. In the 1930s, more than 100,000 Nyasalanders worked abroad, many of them in the mines of South Africa.
In 1926 the Government, seated at ZOMBA, established an EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, which assumed a supervisory function. Increased state interference in education also brought with it increased state subsidies for missionary schools. Since 1925, the cultivation of TEA flourished.

In reaction to the Chilembwe Rising, during the Interbellum the British Colonial Office pursued a policy placing greater emphasis on the 'African interests', the interests of the native population, as expressed in the DEVONSHIRE PAPER of 1923 and the PASSFIELD MEMO of 1930. This brought the administration in conflict with the community of white settlers in Nyasaland, which in response came to look more favourable on suggestions to federate Nyasaland and the two Rhodesias. In 1939 the BLEDISLOE COMMISSION suggested the three territories to cooperate in the fields of trade / customs, defense and education.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		History of Malawi, from Africanet
Articles from Infoplease : Malawi, History of
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE South and East African Year Book and Guide, 49th edition 1949, pp.765-766, 867-881 [G]
Cynthia A. Crosby, Historical Dictionary of Malawi, Metuchen : Scarecrow 1980 [G]
Article : Nyasaland Protectorate, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1919 pp.192-194, 1924 pp.201-203, 1925 pp.205-207, 1926 pp.209-211, 1928 pp.207-209, 1929 pp.208-209, 1932 pp.211-213, 1937 pp.230-232 [G]
Article : Nyasaland, in : Americana Annual 1927 pp.640-641, 1928 p.594, 1930 p.585, 1931 p.567, 1932 p.540, 1933 pp.571-572, 1934 p.447, 1935 p.532, 1936 p.536, 1937 p.525, 1938 p.514, 1939 p.585, 1940 pp.591-592 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on August 27th 2007

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