Misplaced Pages

#550449

126-652: In the 1940s and early 1950s, the most pressing problem in Nyasaland was that of African access to land. Between 1892 and 1894, about 15% of the total land area of the Nyasaland, including over 350,000 hectares of the best land in the Shire Highlands , the most densely populated part of the country, had been turned into European-owned estates. Africans who were resident on these estates were required to pay rent, normally satisfied by undertaking agricultural work for

252-695: A Native Tobacco Board in 1926 stimulated the production of fire-cured tobacco. By 1935, 70% of the national tobacco crop was grown in the Central Province where the Board had around 30,000 registered growers. At first, these farmed Crown land, but later estates contracted sharecropping "Visiting Tenants". The number of growers fluctuated until the Second World War then expanded, so by 1950 there were over 104,500 growers planting 132,000 acres and growing 10,000 tons of tobacco. 15,000 were growers in

378-500: A "police state". Its strongest criticism was over the "murder plot", which it said not exist, and it condemned the use made of it by both the Nyasaland and British governments in trying to justify the Emergency. It also declared that Banda had no knowledge of the inflammatory talk of some Congress activists about attacking Europeans. Finally, it noted the almost universal rejection of Federation by Nyasaland's African people and suggested

504-550: A better grasp if realities than a Commission that visited Nyasaland only briefly. The Secretary of State for the Colonies said that the government had the right and a duty to reject any of the Devlin Commission's conclusions or recommendations where it disagreed with them, and used this argument to justify accepting only what little in its report was favourable and rejecting all that was unfavourable, instead of rejecting

630-622: A copy to Armitage, which he used to prepare a document attacking its findings. Armitage and two senior Nyasaland civil servants then flew to London, where they joined a high level working party which drafted a despatch, often known as the Armitage Report , to counter the Devlin Report. The working party consisted of three British ministers, Julian Amery, Reginald Manningham-Buller , the Attorney-General and Lord Kilmuir

756-578: A debate developed about the respective needs of European and African communities for land. The protectorate administration suggested that, although the African population might double in 30 years, it would still be possible to form new estates outside the Shire Highlands. Throughout the whole protectorate, the vast majority of its people were rural rather than urban dwellers and over 90% of the rural African population lived on Crown Lands (including

882-401: A longer period of labour to pay the "rent." In 1911 it was estimated that about 9% of the protectorate's Africans lived on estates: in 1945, it was about 10%. These estates comprised 5% of the country by area, but about 15% of the total cultivable land. Estates appeared to have rather low populations relative to the quality of their land. Three major estate companies retained landholdings in

1008-616: A minority of nominated "non-official" members was added. Until 1961, the Governor had power to veto any ordinance passed by the Legislative Council. The Executive Council was a smaller body advising on policy. It was formed solely of officials until 1949, when two nominated white "non-official" members were added to eight officials. The composition of the Legislative Council gradually became more representative. In 1930, its six "non-official" members were no longer nominated by

1134-488: A rapid rate is contradicted by recent research. This showed that the majority of soils in Malawi were adequate for smallholders to produce maize. Most have sufficient (if barely so) organic material and nutrients, although their low nitrogen and phosphorus favours the use of chemical fertilisers and manure. Although in the early years of the 20th century European estates produced the bulk of exportable cash crops directly, by

1260-555: A state of emergency, and military forces were brought in from the Rhodesias and Tanganyika . Police manpower was rapidly expanded to about 3,000 through recruiting and training. After the Malawi Congress Party took power in 1962, it inherited a colonial police force of 3,000, including British senior officers. European acquisition and ownership of large areas of land presented a major social and political problem for

1386-446: A total area of some 1.3 million acres in the Shire Highlands. But two large belts, one from Zomba town to Blantyre-Limbe the second from Limbe to Thyolo town, were almost entirely estates. In these two significant areas, Trust land for Africans was rare and consequently overcrowded. In the early years of the protectorate, little of the land on estates was planted. Settlers wanted labour and encouraged existing African residents to stay on

SECTION 10

#1732797487551

1512-562: A weekend, so it could be released on the same day as the Devlin Report. Although Devlin had been a Conservative supporter and the other Commissioners were Conservatives party members, the Commission went about its work in a way that concerned the Nyasaland government, which had hoped that its declaration of the State of Emergency and the subsequent actions of the police and troops would be vindicated. The Commission concentrated on three areas:

1638-460: A wider Royal Commission on the future of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was to be held in 1960. The chairman of the Commission of Inquiry was Patrick Devlin , who had been born in 1905 and made a High Court judge in 1948. Its three other members included a former colonial governor, the head of an Oxford College and a Scottish Lord Provost . Macmillan, who was out of the country at

1764-470: A younger and more militant generation revived the NAC. They invited Hastings Banda to return to the country and lead it to independence as Malawi in 1964. The 1911 census was the first after the protectorate was renamed as Nyasaland. The population according to this census was: Africans, classed as "natives": 969,183, Europeans 766, Asians 481. In March 1920, Europeans numbered 1,015 and Asians 515. In 1919,

1890-595: Is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British , Commonwealth , Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, usually of a political or sensitive nature, and conducts investigations to protect the State from perceived threats of subversion , particularly terrorism and other extremist political activity. The first Special Branch, or Special Irish Branch , as it

2016-591: Is responsible for collecting, assessing, and collating significant intelligence and communicating it to the government through periodic and special reports. The special branch functions as an intelligence agency and as the eyes and ears of the respective state governments. The special branch consists of several units such as Intelligence, Security, Internal Security, and sub-units like the extremist cell, digital surveillance unit, organized crime cell, VVIP security, bomb detection disposal squad, foreigners cell, passport verification, etc." There have been many allegations that

2142-611: Is the main domestic intelligence and security service in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas . It is mandated to perform intelligence operations inside the Bahamas to ensure the safety of Bahamian citizens and foreigners. The branch is also mandated to perform background checks on persons who have been recruited for jobs such as police officers and defence force officers and to check persons up for promotions. The Director of

2268-658: Is usually by recruitment. Even though it is a police unit, Special Branch also recruits from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces . The unit's name was changed to the Fiji Police Intelligence Bureau in 2009. According to the Fijian government, this was done due to the "impact of modern crimes with other unlawful and illegal activities in national development demands dramatic changes in the Force." This

2394-713: The Bangladesh Police . The chief of the Special Branch has the rank of Additional Inspector General (Addl IGP) and reports directly to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh . It is responsible for the internal affairs of the country and collecting intelligence on behalf of the security services. The ISD was created to replace the Royal Brunei Police's Special Branch division, which was disbanded on August 1, 1993. The RCMP Security Service

2520-491: The British South Africa Company for its mineral potential; it was never turned into plantations . But much of the remaining land, some 867,000 acres, or over 350,000 hectares of estates, included a large proportion of the best arable lands in the Shire Highlands , which was the most densely populated part of the country and where Africans had relied on subsistence farming. The first Commissioner of

2646-775: The Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) launched an armed uprising to establish a communist state. It was structured under the Singapore Police Force and headed by a Deputy Commissioner. After Singapore achieved independence, the SSB was renamed as the Internal Security Department and became a separate agency on 17 February 1966, together with its foreign counterpart, the Security and Intelligence Division (SID). Both agencies operated under

SECTION 20

#1732797487551

2772-701: The Garda Síochána , such as the National Surveillance Unit (NSU) and Emergency Response Unit (ERU), and Ireland's national and military intelligence agency – the Defence Forces Directorate of Military Intelligence . The Special Detective Unit has a close working relationship with similar units in other western countries, particularly the United Kingdom, who share information to target, detect and disrupt

2898-549: The Intelligence Bureau (IB), India's federal internal security agency. The nomenclature varies from state to state, such as State Special Branch (SSB), Special Branch CID (SB-CID), State Intelligence Department (SID),etc. The Special Branch functions at the state level and is headed by a senior-ranked officer, the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). The State Special Branch

3024-600: The Lord Chancellor and senior civil servants, together with Armitage and his two aides. It met at Chequers on 18 July 1959 and worked through the weekend to consider the British government’s response to the draft of the Devlin Report it had. In the Commons debate on the Devlin Report, the government noted that the Commission had found the declaration of a State of Emergency justified, but it attacked their use of

3150-657: The Malawi Congress Party won 22 of 28 seats. The party was also nominated to seven of the 10 Executive Council seats. The protectorate was divided into districts from 1892, with a Collector of Revenue (later called District Commissioner in charge of each. There were originally around a dozen districts, but the number had increased to some two dozen at independence. The 12 Collectors and 26 assistants in 1907 were responsible for collecting Hut tax and customs duties; they also had judicial responsibilities as magistrates , although few had any legal training. From 1920

3276-714: The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in 1950. The British South Africa Police (BSAP) developed its Special Branch in the early 1950s amid growing political unrest in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . It remained active following the dissolution of the federation and was instrumental in creating the Selous Scouts during the Rhodesian Bush War . Following formal recognition of Zimbabwean independence in 1980,

3402-583: The United Kingdom , became increasingly politically active and vocal about gaining independence. They established associations and, after 1944, the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC). When Nyasaland became part of a federation with Southern and Northern Rhodesia in 1953, there was a rise in civic unrest, as this was deeply unpopular among the people of the territory. The failure of the NAC to prevent this caused its collapse. Soon,

3528-673: The 'Special Branch' is known officially as the Special Detective Unit (SDU). The counter-terrorist and counterintelligence unit operates under the auspices of the Crime & Security Branch (CSB) of the Garda Síochána (Irish National Police). The SDU is responsible for the investigation of threats to state security and the monitoring of persons and groups who pose a threat on both national and international fronts. The SDU works closely with other special units within

3654-452: The 1930s, a large proportion of many of these crops (particularly tobacco) was produced by Africans, either as smallholders on Crown land or as tenants on the estates. The first estate crop was coffee, grown commercially in quantity from around 1895, but competition from Brazil which flooded the world markets by 1905 and droughts led to its decline in favour of tobacco and cotton. Both these crops had previously been grown in small quantities, but

3780-412: The 1946 Land Commission) was appointed by the Nyasaland government to inquire into land issues in Nyasaland following these riots and disturbances. Abrahams proposed that the Nyasaland government should purchase all unused or under-used freehold land on the estates, which would be allocated to African smallholders as Native Trust Land . The programme of land acquisition accelerated after 1951, and by 1957

3906-662: The ANC and SACP. They first gained this role in the 1960s, under the regime of Justice Minister "B.J." Vorster, who convened the Special Branch to target these groups. Controversially, they have also been linked to the bombing of anti-apartheid groups COSATU and SACC during the South African Truth & Reconciliation Committees. It is now the Crime Intelligence Unit which investigates crime but which continues to investigate groups perceived to be enemies of

Armitage Report - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-528: The Abrahams Commission divided opinion. Africans were generally in favour of its proposals, as was the governor from 1942 to 1947, Edmund Richards (who had proposed the establishment of a Land Commission) and the incoming governor, Geoffrey Colby . Estate owners and managers were strongly against it, and many European settlers bitterly attacked it. As a result of the Abrahams report, in 1947

4158-437: The African population, probably under-estimated absentees, and under-counted in remote areas. The census of 1945 was better, but still not a true record of the African population. The censuses of 1921, 1931 and 1945 all recorded the numbers of Mozambique immigrants. Those conducted before 1945 may have substantially under-recorded the number of Africans and also the full extent of labour emigration out of Nyasaland. Throughout

4284-616: The Blantyre District who had been served with notices to quit refused to leave since there was no other land for them. Two years later the same difficulty arose in the densely populated Cholo District, two-thirds of whose land constituted private estates. In 1946 the Nyasaland government appointed a commission, the Abrahams Commission (also known the Land Commission) to inquire into land issues following

4410-464: The British government should negotiate with African leaders on the country's constitutional future. A few days after Devlin arrived in Nyasaland, Armitage received advice from the Colonial Office on the action to be followed when a Governor dissented from the findings of a Commission of Inquiry, and was told that he could dissent if he felt it was justified. At the end of May, Armitage thought

4536-498: The Collectors. From 1912, Collectors were able to nominate principal headmen and village headmen as local intermediaries between the protectorate administration and local people, in an early form of Indirect rule . Each Collector could determine what powers to delegate to headmen in his district. Some appointed existing traditional chiefs as Principal headmen, who had significant authority locally. Another version of indirect rule

4662-436: The Commission was satisfied that the State of Emergency was necessary, but that it did not accept that there was a massacre plot, and that it had concentrated on the use of firearms and the burning of houses by government forces, ignoring events leading up to such incidents. He suspected that the Commission's report would be highly critical. The Commission's use of the phrase "a police state" caused deep offence, particularly as it

4788-586: The Congress proposals that would inevitably lead to a demand for withdrawal from the Federation. This breakdown in talks led to Congress demands for an escalation of anti-government protests and more violent action. Action by Congress supporters became more violent and, on 21 February, and, in the days immediately following, police or troops opened fire on rioters in several places, leading to four deaths. Armitage decided against offering any concessions to Congress, and drafted plans for mass arrests covering of almost

4914-768: The Devlin Report, once Iain Macleod replaced him at the Colonial Office late in 1959, Devlin was approached by Macleod for advice. Armitage, on the other hand, was discredited. Iain Macleod saw Armitage as an obstacle to rapid constitutional advancement, and he was advised to go on leave pending retirement in August 1960. Glyn Smallwood Jones became acting Governor until Armitage retired in April 1961. Nyasaland 13°30′S 34°00′E  /  13.500°S 34.000°E  / -13.500; 34.000 Nyasaland ( / n ɪ ˈ æ s ə l æ n d , n aɪ ˈ æ s ə -/ )

5040-730: The District Commissioners reported to three Provincial Commissioners for the Northern, Central and Southern provinces. They, in turn, reported to the Chief Secretary in Zomba. The numbers of District Commissioners and their assistants rose slowly to 51 in 1937 and about 120 in 1961. In many parts of the protectorate, there were few strong chiefs. At first the British tried to evade the powers of existing chiefs who were powerful, minimising them in favour of direct rule by

5166-425: The Federation rather than to secure peace and order in Nyasaland. This was denied by the government despite Welensky providing the troops that made declaring the Emergency possible and the Colonial Office plan to eliminate Congress. Within two days of the declaration of the state of emergency, the British cabinet under Harold Macmillan decided to set up a Commission of Inquiry into the disturbances. In addition,

Armitage Report - Misplaced Pages Continue

5292-476: The Federation, with African majority rule deferred to some distant future date, but Alan Lennox-Boyd , the Colonial Secretary, rejected any plan for the protectorate having local autonomy and, in early January 1959, the Colonial Office made it clear that, as the protectorate would not be allowed to leave the Federation, Banda and Congress would have to be neutralised. The governor therefore rejected

5418-521: The Governors' former powers was transferred to the Federal government. This had sole responsibility for external affairs, defence, immigration, higher education, transport, posts and major aspects of economic policy, and the predominant role in health, industrial development and electricity. The Colonial Office retained ultimate power over African affairs and the African ownership of land. The Federation

5544-601: The Land Commission did not consider that the country was inherently overcrowded, it noted that, in congested districts where a large proportion of the working population was employed, particularly on tea estates or near towns, families had only 1 to 2 acres to farm. By 1946, the congested districts were even more crowded. From 1938, the protectorate administration began to purchase small amounts of under-used estate land for resettlement of those evicted. These purchases were insufficient and, in 1942, hundreds of Africans in

5670-756: The Nyasaland African Congress invited Hastings Banda, then living in the Gold Coast to return to Nyasaland, which he did in July 1958, becoming the president of Congress. Banda was absolutely opposed to Federation, but otherwise quite moderate and far less radical that younger Congress members. In the nine months between his return and the declaration of a State of Emergency, he combined opposition to Federation with more popular causes, such as opposition to agricultural practices imposed on Africa farmers, which aimed to promote soil conservation, and also

5796-506: The Nyasaland Government Information Department’s Bulletin, which stated that it was “…the government’s intention to clean the country of Congress now and keep it clean always…”, a reference to the political objective in declaring the State of Emergency, which both British and Nyasaland governments had consistently denied The Colonial Office obtained an early draft of the Commission's report and passed

5922-420: The Nyasaland government set up a Land Planning Committee of civil servants to advise on implementing its proposals and deal with the acquisition of land for resettlement. It recommended the re-acquisition only of land which was either undeveloped or occupied by large numbers of African residents or tenants. Land capable of future development as estates was to be protected against unorganised cultivation. From 1948,

6048-694: The Protectorate, Sir Harry Johnston, had hoped that the Shire Highlands would become an area for large-scale European settlement. He later considered it was too unhealthy. He acknowledged that it had a large African population who required sufficient land for their own use, although his successors did not share this view. Additional land alienations were much smaller. Around 250,000 acres of former Crown Lands were sold as freehold land or leased, and almost 400,000 acres more, originally in Certificates of Claim, were sold or leased in holdings whose average size

6174-512: The Second World War, the government increased expenditures on the police and expanded its forces into rural areas. A Police Training School was opened in 1952, police man-power increased to 750 by 1959, and new units were set up (the Special Branch and the Police Mobile Force for riot control). These changes proved insufficient when major disturbances took place in 1959, as support began to grow for independence. The government declared

6300-563: The Security Intelligence Branch holds the rank of Chief Superintendent. The Bangladeshi Special Branch is an intelligence agency of Bangladesh Police . The Special Branch has twelve different sections through which it carries out the directives of the Government and around 64 district based offices, called District Special Branch and also has offices in many Upazila/Thana areas. All the members are recruited from

6426-435: The Shire Highlands rose from 4,500 acres in 1911 to 14,200 acres in 1920, yielding 2,500 ton of tobacco. Before 1920, about 5% of the crop sold was dark-fired tobacco produced by African farmers, and this rose to 14% by 1924. The First World War boosted the production of tobacco, but post-war competition from United States Virginia required a rebate of import duty under Imperial Preference to assist Nyasaland growers. Much of

SECTION 50

#1732797487551

6552-497: The Shire Highlands. The British Central Africa Company once owned 350,000 acres, but before 1928 it had sold or leased 50,000 acres. It retained two large blocks of land, each around 100,000 acres, in the Shire Highlands. The rest of its properties were in or near to the Shire valley. From the late 1920s, it obtained cash rents from African tenants on crowded and unsupervised estates. A L Bruce Estates Ltd owned 160,000 acres, mostly in

6678-495: The Southern Province. About three-quarters were smallholders on Native Trust Land, the rest estate tenants. Numbers declined later, but there were still 70,000 in 1965, producing 12,000 tons. Although the value of tobacco exports continued to rise, they decreased as a proportion of the total after 1935 because of the increased importance of tea. Egyptian cotton was first grown commercially by African smallholders in

6804-542: The Southern Rhodesian government preferred. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was pushed through in 1953 against very strong African opposition. The main African objections to the Federation were that political domination by the white minority of Southern Rhodesia would prevent greater African political participation and that control by Southern Rhodesian politicians would lead to an extension of racial discrimination and segregation. In 1957, some members of

6930-399: The Special Branch is used by the ruling government for setting up surveillance on their political opponents. The Special Branch has its own Detective Constables , Head Constables, Inspector rankings and superior police officer rankings. Every police station is to have a Special Branch head constable or Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) (working plain clothes or Mufti ), he would be observing

7056-879: The Special Branch was succeeded in part by the Central Intelligence Organisation and later, the Police Internal Security and Intelligence division (PISI). The Internal Security Department of Singapore was initially established as the Criminal Intelligence Department in 1918 after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1915. In 1933, the CID was renamed as Special Branch. In 1939, it was restructured into the Malayan Security Service (MSS) which

7182-428: The Special Branch, following a recent precedent established by a conference of Police Commissioners in Melbourne in November 1949. Its functions included dealing with subversive organisations and vetting public servants. Known targets of the Special Branch included the Communist Party of New Zealand , the Waterside Workers' Union , and the left-wing New Zealand diplomat and alleged KGB spy Desmond Patrick Costello and

7308-473: The State of Emergency, the murder plot and African opposition to Federation. It found that the declaration of a State of Emergency was necessary to restore order and prevent a descent into anarchy, but it criticised instances of the illegal use of force by the police and troops, including burning houses, destroying property and beatings. It also found that the Nyasaland government's suppression of criticism and of support for Congress justified calling it being called

7434-404: The activities of terrorists. The Malaysian Special Branch is an intelligence agency attached to the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP). The SB is empowered to acquire and develop intelligence on internal and external threats to the nation, subversive activities, extremist activities and activities of sabotage and spying. It is also empowered to analyse and advise on the necessary course of action to

7560-448: The approval of the Colonial Office, over 1,000 European troops of the Rhodesia Regiment were flown into Nyasaland, the first arriving on 27 and 28 February On 3 March 1959 Armitage, as governor of Nyasaland, declared a State of Emergency over the whole of the protectorate and arrested Dr. Banda, the Congress president, and other members of its executive committee as well as over a hundred local party officials. The Nyasaland African Congress

7686-418: The benefit of African communities, and it was not until 1936 that all conversion of Native Trust Land to freehold was prohibited by the 1936 Native Trust Lands Order. The aims of this legislation were to reassure the African people of their rights in land and to relieve them of fears of its alienation without their consent. Reassurance was needed, because in 1920 when Native Trust Land covered 6.6 million acres,

SECTION 60

#1732797487551

7812-526: The civil servant and intellectual Bill Sutch . In November 1956, the Special Branch's functions were transferred to the New Zealand Security Service , which was later renamed the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service . The Special Branch is an intelligence unit of the Police Service of Pakistan . Special Branch sections of the New Guinea Police Force and Royal Papuan Constabulary, in Australia-controlled Territory of Papua and Territory of New Guinea , were established in 1947. These were merged into

7938-606: The colonial period and up to the present, the rural population density of Nyasaland/Malawi has been among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the population increased quite rapidly, doubling between 1901 and 1931, high infant mortality and deaths from tropical diseases restricted the natural increase to no more than 1 to 2 percent a year. The rest of the increase seems to have resulted from immigration from Mozambique . From 1931 to 1945, natural increase doubled, probably through improved medical services, and infant mortality gradually decreased. Although immigration continued throughout

8064-447: The colonial period, although with less millet and more maize. Tobacco and a local variety of cotton were grown widely. Throughout the protectorate, the colonial Department of Agriculture favoured European planter interests. Its negative opinion of African agriculture, which it failed to promote, helped to prevent the creation of a properly functioning peasant economy. It criticised the practice of shifting cultivation in which trees on

8190-756: The colonial period, it was a less significant factor. The 1921 census listed 108,204 "Anguru" ( Lomwe -speaking immigrants from Mozambique). It is likely that a large number of those listed under other tribal names had crossed the border from Mozambique as well. It is also likely that the numbers of immigrants from tribal groups believed to belong to surrounding territories, mainly Mozambique and Northern Rhodesia , had doubled between 1921 and 1931. Most of this large migratory movement took place after 1926. The Anguru population further increased by more than 60 percent between 1931 and 1945. The 1966 census recorded 283,854 foreign-born Africans, of whom about 70 percent were born in Mozambique. This inward immigration of families

8316-483: The community members, but limit its allocation to outsiders. Customary law had little legal status in the early colonial period and little recognition or protection was given to customary land or the communities that used it then. It has been claimed that throughout the colonial period and up to 1982 Malawi had sufficient arable land to meet the basic food needs of its population, if the arable land were distributed equally and used to produce food. As early as 1920, while

8442-481: The de jure population by subtraction of those known to be abroad. +derived from the de facto population by addition of those known to be abroad. Source: Final Report of the 1966 Census of Malawi, Zomba, 1968. The colonial censuses were imprecise: those of 1901 and 1911 estimated the African population based on hut tax records, and adult male tax defaulters (up to 10% of the total) went unrecorded. The censuses of 1921, 1926 and 1931 did not make individual counts of

8568-403: The debate in the House of Commons on 3 March 1959, the day that the State of Emergency was declared, Alan Lennox-Boyd , the Colonial Secretary, stated that it was clear from information received that Congress had planned the widespread murder of Europeans, Asians and moderate Africans, "... in fact, a massacre was being planned". This was the first public mention of a murder plot and, later in

8694-426: The decline of coffee prompted planters to turn to tobacco in the Shire Highlands and cotton in the Shire Valley. Tea was also first planted commercially in 1905 in the Shire Highlands, with significant development of tobacco and tea growing taking place after the opening of the Shire Highlands Railway in 1908. During the 56 years that the protectorate existed, tobacco, tea and cotton were the main export crops, and tea

8820-401: The early colonial period. In January 1915, the Reverend John Chilembwe staged an attempted rebellion to protest against colonial forced labour and discrimination against Africans, among other grievances. Although the rebellion was unsuccessful, colonial authorities responded by reassessing some of their policies. Throughout the 1930s, a growing class of educated African elite, many educated in

8946-436: The end of 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which was not a fully independent state as it was constitutionally subordinate to the British government. Nyasaland remained a protectorate and its Governors retained responsibilities for local administration, labour and trade unions, African primary and secondary education, African agriculture and forestry, and internal policing. The greater part of

9072-438: The estates. Earlier African residents who had fled to more defensible areas usually avoided returning to settle on estates. New workers (often the so-called "Anguru" migrants from Mozambique) were encouraged to move onto estates and grow their own crops but were required to pay rent. In the early years, this was usually satisfied by two months' labour annually, under the system known as thangata . Later, many owners required

9198-488: The expression "police state" and its rejection of any talk about killings and beatings of Europeans as no more than rhetoric. The government also minimised Devlin's criticisms of handcuffing and gagging prisoners, burning houses and other illegal acts on the grounds of necessity. It made full use of the Armitage Report to support its attack, claiming it represented the considered views of Nyasaland-based officials with

9324-788: The former Ministry of Interior and Defence until 11 August 1970, when the ministry was split into the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and MHA with SID and ISD falling under the them respectively. During Apartheid , the South African Police 's Security Branch, also known as the Special Branch was a police unit often used to attack anti- Apartheid groups using techniques and tactics including such as conducting surveillance, infiltrating meetings, recruiting informers, and obtaining documents and leaflets. They have also been linked to torture, extralegal detention, and forced disappearances and assassinations against anti-Apartheid activists in

9450-472: The former estimate was probably undercounting the total number of workers in other countries. In 1937, it was estimated that over 90,000 adult males were migrant workers: of these a quarter was thought not to have been in touch with their families for more than five years. By 1945 almost 124,000 adult males and almost 9,500 adult females were known to be absent, excluding those who were not in touch with their families. The great bulk of migrant workers came from

9576-608: The government had negotiated the purchase of most of the land it had targeted for purchase. In the same period, the political aspirations of Nyasaland's Africans received a set-back. Agitation by the Southern Rhodesia government led to a Royal Commission (the Bledisloe Commission ) on future association between Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland: its report in 1939 did not rule-out some form of future association between Southern Rhodesia and

9702-462: The governor but were selected by as association representing white planters and businessmen. Until 1949, African interests were represented by one white missionary. That year the governor appointed three Africans and an Asian to join six white "non-official" and 10 official members. From 1955, its six white "non-official" members were elected; five Africans (but no Asians) were nominated. Only in 1961 were all Legislative Council seats filled by election:

9828-557: The indiscriminate killing of Europeans, Asians and of those Africans opposed to Congress (the so-called "murder plot"). However, the Nyasaland government took no immediate action against Banda or other Congress leaders in January 1959, and continued to negotiate with them until late February. The governor also made no specific reference to the "murder plot" until after his declaration of a State of Emergency had failed to restore order quickly. However, Banda and his colleagues refused to condemn

9954-483: The land to be cultivated were cut down and burnt and their ashes dug into the soil to fertilise it. The land was used for a few years after another section of land was cleared. Compared with European, North American and Asian soils many sub-Saharan African soils are low in natural fertility, being poor in nutrients, low in organic matter and liable to erosion. The best cultivation technique for such soils involves 10 to 15 years of fallow between 2 or 3 years of cultivation,

10080-458: The lesser status of British protected person . The term 'native' was used in all colonial censuses up to and including 1945. Census data from colonial censuses and the first census after independence in the table below show a population that increased quite rapidly. The de facto populations count those who are resident; the de jure populations include absent migrant workers who gave addresses in Malawi as their permanent home. @derived from

10206-424: The number of Africans was estimated at 561,600 males and 664,400 females, a total of 1,226,000. Blantyre , the chief town, had some 300 European residents. The number of resident Europeans was always small (only 1,948 in 1945). By 1960 their numbers rose to about 9,500, but they declined afterward following the struggle for independence. The number of ethnic Asian residents, many of whom were traders and merchants ,

10332-645: The oversight of District Commissioners, and they were generally used by the colonial administration to enforce unpopular agricultural rules. They dealt with the vast bulk of civil disputes in the protectorate. From 1902, the British established English law as the official legal code, and set up a High Court on the English model, with a Chief Justice and other judges. Appeals were heard by the East African Appeals Court in Zanzibar . Customary law

10458-575: The owner under the system known as thangata , which later developed into a form of sharecropping . By the 1940s, very little land on these estates, except for tea estates, was farmed directly by the estate owners: elsewhere the land was farmed by African tenants. Tensions between estate owners and tenants remained high up to the early 1950s. There were riots in some overcrowded districts in 1945 and between 1950 and 1953 related to evictions and rent increases, and riots in August 1953 led to eleven dead and seventy-two injured. The Abrahams Commission (also known

10584-539: The period 1907 to 1953, Nyasaland was subject to direct superintendence and control by the Colonial Office and the United Kingdom parliament. Its administration was headed by a Governor, appointed by the British Government and responsible to the Colonial Office. As Nyasaland needed financial support through grants and loans, Governors also reported to HM Treasury on financial matters. From 1953 to

10710-410: The present and future needs of the African people were met. This plan was rejected by the Colonial Office. Much of the best land in the Shire Highlands was alienated to Europeans at the end of the 19th century. Of more than 860,000 acres, over (350,000 hectares) of estates in the Shire Highlands, only a quarter was poor-quality land. The other 660,000 acres were in areas of more fertile soils, which had

10836-526: The prevailing annual rent was 6 shillings (30 pence). After 1928, maximum cash rents were fixed at £1 for a plot of 8 acres, although some estates charged less. The "equivalent" rents in kind required delivering crops worth between 30 and 50 shillings instead of £1 cash, to discourage this option. Estate owners could expel up to 10% of their tenants every five years without showing any cause, and could expel male children of residents at age 16, and refuse to allow settlement to husbands of residents' daughters. The aim

10962-644: The programme of land acquisition intensified, assisted by an increased willingness of estate owners who saw no future in merely leasing land and marketing their tenants' crops. In 1948, it was estimated that 1.2 million acres (or 487,000 hectares) of freehold estates remained, with an African population of 200,000. At independence in 1964, only some 422,000 acres (171,000 hectares) of European-owned estates remained, mainly as tea estates or small estates farmed directly by their owners. Although Nyasaland has some mineral resources, particularly coal, these were not exploited in colonial times. Without economic mineral resources,

11088-485: The protectorate's economy had to be based on agriculture, but in 1907 most of its people were subsistence farmers. In the mid-to-late 19th century, cassava , rice, beans and millet were grown in the Shire Valley, maize, cassava, sweet potatoes and sorghum in the Shire Highlands, and cassava, millet and groundnuts along the shores of Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi). These crops continued to be staple foods throughout

11214-409: The protectorate, as Africans increasingly challenged this takeover of their land. Between 1892 and 1894, 3,705,255 acres, almost 1.5 million hectares or 15% of the total land area of the Protectorate, was alienated as European-owned estates through the colonial grant of Certificates of Claim . Of this, 2,702,379 million acres, over 1 million hectares, in the north of the protectorate had been acquired by

11340-551: The remnants of thangata. Banda's strategy was to use these popular issues to mobilise Congress supporters into strikes, demonstrations, disobedience and protests that would disrupt the everyday operation of the colonial government. In December 1958, Banda presented Congress proposals for an African majority in the Legislative Council to the governor, Sir Robert Armitage. Armitage was not opposed to limited constitutional development, envisaging autonomy for Nyasaland with

11466-426: The reserves). Their access to land for farming was governed by customary law. This varied, but generally entitled a person granted or inheriting the use of land (not its ownership) the exclusive right to farm it for an indefinite period, with the right to pass it to their successors, unless it was forfeited for a crime, neglect or abandonment. There was an expectation that community leaders would allocate communal land to

11592-520: The riots and disturbances by tenants on European-owned estates in 1943 and 1945. It had only one member, Sir Sidney Abrahams, who proposed that the Nyasaland government should purchase all unused or under-used freehold land on European-owned estates which would become Crown land , available to African farmers. The Africans on estates were to be offered the choice of remaining on the estate as workers or tenants or of moving to Crown land. These proposals were not implemented in full until 1952. The report of

11718-592: The rural Northern and Central regions: in 1937, out of 91,000 Africans recorded as absent, fewer than 11,000 were from districts in the south, where there were more jobs available. Labour migration continued up to and after independence. It was estimated that in 1963, some 170,000 men were absent and working abroad: 120,000 in Southern Rhodesia, 30,000 in South Africa, and 20,000 in Zambia . Throughout

11844-586: The same debate, the Minister of State at the Colonial Office, Julian Amery , reinforced what Lennox-Boyd had said with talk of a "... conspiracy of murder" and "a massacre ... on a Kenyan scale". It was subsequently difficult for ministers to repudiate these statements. However, opposition politicians made allegations of collusion between the Federal Prime Minister, Welensky, and Armitage to arrest Congress supporters in order to preserve

11970-569: The single Magomero estate in Zomba, and Chiradzulu districts. Before the 1940s, it had sold little of its land and preferred to farm it directly; by 1948 the estate was largely let to tenants, who produced all its crops. Blantyre and East Africa Ltd had once owned 157,000 acres in Blantyre and Zomba districts, but sales to small planters reduced this to 91,500 acres by 1925. Until around 1930, it marketed its tenants' crops, but after this sought cash rents. The 1920 Land Commission also considered

12096-660: The situation immediately and a significant number of Africans were killed and wounded up to 19 March. The arrests were made as part of " Operation Sunrise ", so called because the State of Emergency was declared just after midnight on 3 March and arrest squads were sent out at 4.30 am. By 6 am most principal Congress leaders had been arrested and detained, by 9 pm that day 130 had been arrested. Some were released quickly, but 72 prominent detainees, including Dr Banda, were flown to Southern Rhodesia later on 3 March. Others were detained in Nyasaland. In immediate aftermath of Operation Sunrise, 21 people were killed on 3 March. In

12222-412: The situation of Africans living on private estates and proposed to give all tenants some security of tenure. Apart from the elderly or widows, all tenants would pay rents in cash by labour or by selling crops to the owner, but rent levels would be regulated. These proposals were enacted in 1928 after a 1926 census had shown that over 115,000 Africans (10% of the population) lived on estates. Before 1928,

12348-424: The society in general, and also taking reports from the uniformed police constables on general patrol. The special branch staff play a very important role in collecting advance intelligence about law and order matters as well as illegal activities like cannabis plantation/transportation, illicit attacks, etc. They forward the information to the respective Superintendents of police for necessary action. In Ireland,

12474-556: The state such as social movements. The Special Branch of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ) was created in late 1966 tasked with national security as an intelligence agency attached Ceylon Police Force . This was closed down in 1970. The first Special Branch in the world was that of the Metropolitan Police , formed in London in 1883, with each British police force going on to form its own Special Branch. In Northern Ireland,

12600-418: The system of shifting cultivation and fallowing that was common in Nyasaland as long as there was sufficient land to practice it. As more intensive agricultural use began in the 1930s, the amounts and duration of fallow were progressively reduced in more populous areas, which placed soil fertility under gradually increasing pressure. The Department of Agriculture's prediction that soil fertility would decline at

12726-404: The time, did not choose Devlin and later criticised his appointment on the basis that his Irish ancestry and Catholic upbringing made him too sympathetic to the Nyasaland African Congress. Macmillan not only broadly rejected the Devlin Report, which had taken several months to prepare, but engineered the production of the rival Armitage Report, which was prepared very quickly, mostly in the course of

12852-545: The tobacco produced by the European estates was of low-grade. In 1921, 1,500 tons of a 3,500-ton crop was saleable and many smaller European growers went out of business. Between 1919 and 1935 their numbers fell from 229 to 82. The decline in flue-cured tobacco intensified throughout the 1920s. Europeans produced 86% of Malawi's tobacco in 1924, 57% in 1927, 28% in 1933, and 16% in 1936. Despite this decline, tobacco accounted for 65–80% of exports from 1921 to 1932. Formation of

12978-524: The two territories north of the Zambezi. The threat of Southern Rhodesian rule channeled African political demands into the Nyasaland African Congress . From 1946, the Nyasaland African Congress received financial and political support from Hastings Banda , then living in Britain. Post-war British governments of both main parties agreed to a federal solution for Central Africa, not the full amalgamation that

13104-411: The undeveloped land. According to L. White, by the 1880s, large areas of the Shire Highlands may have become underpopulated through fighting or slave raiding. It was these almost empty and indefensible areas that Europeans claimed in the 1880s and 1890s. Few Africans were resident on estate lands at that time. After Europeans introduced the requirement for rent payments by tenant farmers, many Africans left

13230-502: The upper Shire valley in 1903 and spread to the lower Shire valley and the shores of Lake Nyasa. By 1905 American Upland cotton was grown on estates in the Shire Highlands. African-grown cotton was bought by British Central Africa Company and the African Lakes Corporation until 1912 when government cotton markets were established where a fairer price for cotton was given. Special Branch Special Branch

13356-753: The various departments and agencies both within the Police Department and other related agencies. The Special Branch under the control of the Myanmar Police Force is also known as the Special Intelligence Department. The New Zealand Police Special Branch was formally created on 29 December 1949. At the time, the-then Police Commissioner Jim Cummings decided that the section of the Police Force dealing with subversive organisations would be designated

13482-483: The violent actions of Congress members, which were increasingly directed against Africans who failed to support Congress. After the breakdown of talks in late February, Armitage made preparations for a State of Emergency in Nyasaland, which were approved by the Colonial Office. After consulting the Federal Prime Minister, Roy Welensky and the Southern Rhodesia Premier, Edgar Whitehead , and with

13608-504: The whole of the Congress organisation. He later claimed to have been influenced by reports of a meeting of Congress leaders (held in Banda's absence) on 25 January 1959, which approved a policy of strikes, retaliation against police violence, sabotage and defiance of the government. Reports by police informers formed the basis for the claim by the Head of Special Branch that there were plans for

13734-510: The whole report. The opposition rejected the claim that the government did not have to accept the conclusions of the Commission on the basis that it had set out the relevant facts objectively and that it made no recommendations. The Devlin Report is the only example of a British judge examining whether the actions of a colonial administration in suppressing dissent were appropriate. The Nyasaland government had imprisoned Banda, not realising that he

13860-490: Was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . After the Federation was dissolved, Nyasaland became independent from Britain on 6 July 1964 and was renamed Malawi . Nyasaland's history was marked by the massive loss of African communal lands in

13986-797: Was a counterintelligence unit or "Special Branch" from 1950 to 1984. It was replaced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service . The Special Branch unit of the Fiji Police Force is classed as one of the best intelligence units in the Asia Pacific region. Similar to their Commonwealth counterparts, the Fijian Special Branch deals with matters of national security. They facilitate Interpol, counter terrorism, surveillance, anti-espionage and VIP protection units. Entry into Special Branch

14112-515: Was allowed (but not mandatory) in cases involving Africans, if native law or custom was not repugnant to English legal principles. Order was at first maintained by soldiers of the King's African Rifles , some of whom were seconded to assist the District Commissioners, or by poorly trained police recruited by the District Commissioners. A better-trained central colonial police force was set up in 1922, but in 1945 it still had only 500 constables . After

14238-796: Was also done while the police force was being modernised. In the face of a perceived direct Communist threat to Hong Kong, an Anti-Communist Squad was established in the Criminal Investigation Department of the then Hong Kong Police by 1930. It was named the Political Department in Chinese (政治部). In 1933, the squad's English name became "Special Branch" while its Chinese name remained unchanged. In addition to anti-subversion operations, its role during its first two decades also included immigration, passport control and registration of persons. The division

14364-525: Was also small. The category of 'native' was large, but there was no general definition of the term. In a Nyasaland court case in 1929, the judge opined that, "A native means a native of Africa who is not of European or Asiatic race or origin; all others are non-natives. A person's race or origin does not depend on where he or she is born. Race depends on the blood in one's veins ...". Unlike Europeans of British origin, Nyasaland natives did not hold British citizenship under British nationality law , but had

14490-464: Was around 1,000 acres. Many of these were smaller farms operated by Europeans who came to Nyasaland after the First World War to grow tobacco . As late as 1920, a Land Commission set up by the Nyasaland authorities proposed further land alienation, to promote the development of small to medium-size European plantations, from the 700,000 acres of Crown Land which it said were available after

14616-422: Was banned the next day. Those arrested were detained without trial and the total number detained finally rose to over 1,300. Over 2,000 more were imprisoned for offences related to the emergency, including rioting and criminal damage. The stated aim of these measures was to allow the Nyasaland government to restore law and order after the increasing lawlessness following Dr Banda's return. However, they failed to calm

14742-528: Was disbanded in 1995, prior to the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. Units of SB were reassigned under the Security Wing (Department B) – Crime and Security. The Special Branch is a separate wing in the state police agencies in India. Like their counterparts in the United Kingdom, they deal with matters of state security. However, more serious espionage detection is the responsibility of

14868-462: Was formally dissolved on 31 December 1963; at the same time Nyasaland's independence was fixed for 6 July 1964. Most governors spent the bulk of their career in other territories but were assisted by heads of departments who spent their working life in Nyasaland. Some of these senior officials also sat on the two councils that advised governors. The Legislative Council was formed solely of officials in 1907 to advise governors on legislation; from 1909

14994-489: Was instituted in 1933. The government authorized the chiefs and their councils as Native Authorities, but they had few real powers and little money to enforce them. The Native Authorities could set up Native Courts to decide cases under local customary law. But Sir Charles Golding , governor from 1924 to 1929, believed that the system of traditional chiefs was in decay and could not be relied on. Native Courts had no jurisdiction over European-owned estates. They were subject to

15120-649: Was not yet fully operational by the time of the outbreak of the Second World War . The MSS was disrupted by the Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation of Singapore and Malaya . It was disbanded in 1948 and two secret branches, one in Singapore and the other in Malaysia, were created. The Singapore Special Branch (SSB) was first established on 23 August 1948 by the British colonial government, after

15246-460: Was placed on the first page of his report. Armitage was incensed by this allegation, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Alan Lennox-Boyd, thought the claim was grossly unfair. In May and June 1959, a number of issues caused Armitage and the Colonial Office concerns, in case the Devlin Commission should take note of them in producing its report. The most significant was the publication of

15372-405: Was somewhat balanced by outward labour emigration, mainly by men, to Southern Rhodesia and South Africa . The development of Nyasaland was likely adversely affected by the drain of workers to other countries. The Nyasaland government estimated that 58,000 adult males were working outside Nyasaland in 1935. The Southern Rhodesian census of 1931 alone recorded 54,000 male Nyasaland Africans there, so

15498-458: Was the only African politician they could negotiate with on a credible constitution for the protectorate. Devlin's conclusion that there was no murder plot and that Banda, unlike other Congress leaders, was not involved in promoting violence opened the way for the British government to deal with him. Had Devlin found there was a murder plot and that Banda had encouraged violence, this would have been very difficult. Despite Lennox-Boyd's rejection of

15624-409: Was the only one that remained an estate crop throughout. The main barriers to increasing exports were the high costs of transport from Nyasaland to the coast, the poor quality of much of the produce and, for African farmers, the planters' opposition to them growing cotton or tobacco in competition with the estates. The areas of flue-cured brightleaf or Virginia tobacco farmed by European planters in

15750-750: Was then known, was a unit of London's Metropolitan Police formed in March 1883 to combat the Irish Republican Brotherhood . The name became Special Branch as the unit's remit widened to include more than just Irish Republican-related counterespionage. Most state police forces and the federal police had a Special Branch. They were tasked mainly with monitoring the Communist Party of Australia and related political groups regarded as extremist or subversive. They also focused on German and Japanese activity during World War II . The Security and Intelligence Branch , also known as Special Branch,

15876-411: Was to prevent overcrowding, but there was little land available to resettle those expelled. From 1943, evictions were resisted. British legislation of 1902 treated all the land in Nyasaland not already granted as freehold as Crown Land, which could be alienated regardless of its residents' wishes. Only in 1904 did the Governor receive powers to reserve areas of Crown Land (called Native Trust Land ) for

#550449