9 why was
the Devonshire white paper declared in 1923 in Kenya?
It was a statement of government policy issued in !March 1923
during a conference in London by the colonial secretary (also the duke of Devonshire)
to claconflictsBritish government position on issues raised by the conflicts
Land and political rights were the main issues in dispute
,the paper borrowed its Name from his Majesty the duke of Devonshire
From the 1896 white settlers started flocking Kenya while
the Asian came during And after the construction of the Uganda railway
Bigger and bitter conflicts rose between the two groups and
the Africans due to the different demands and interests
The Asians wanted equal representation on the legislative
council, the white settler were dominant on the council although they were few
in the population
Racial segregation also hurt the Asians,they therefore wanted
equal treatment like the whites in politics, education, employment, health etc
although the white settlers were against such .
The Asians also wanted unrestricted movements into east Africa
since their entry was checked as a result of the white setters
The Asians also wanted to acquire land in the fertile Kenyan
lands since the white settlers had exclusively occupied them
The Asians formed associations like the east Africa India
national congress led by a trader AM jeevanjee.this became the platform for
airing out their grievances against the settlers
Africans wanted the withdrawal of kipande(identify cards)
which made them look like prisoners in their own country
Africans wanted a reduction in taxes which had suffocated
them yet many of them had no where to get the money from and most of their land
and cash crops had been taken
Africans wanted good working conditions since !many of them
were forced to work on farm of the Europeans.or had poor pay
Africans like the Masai and the Kikuyu wanted all their land
that had been taken away from them buy the settlers to be returned
Africans also wanted to regain their independence that had
been eroded by the whites
Africans demanded for similar educational opportunities like
the whites since they had been denied
education to keep them backward
Africans wanted representative in the government since they
had been totally left out of politics apart from a few who lived in Nairobi.
Africans were also restricted from growing cash crops by the
settlers claiming that they would produce low quality produce
Africans had formed tribal organizations like young Kikuyu
association and some of the Asians used to back the Africans to demand for
their rights
The Europeans had more seats on the legislative council but
still were not contented therefore wanted monopolies Kenyan politics
Europeans believed in racial superiority and strongly
advocated for separate development in social services like education and health
and didn't want to share social services with the Africans
The settlers had acquired the fertile Kenyan highlands but
the but the Africans and Asians were threatening their stay there hence wanted
to retain their fertile highlands
The white settlers wanted to control Kenya as as a separate
colony of england in other words the wanted to declare them selves independent
of Britain
Col Brogan and lord delamere worsened the situation by being
too aggressive and uncompromising the two set up a number of associations to
serve as a platform for airing out their grievances
The appointment of sir Hayes sadler as governor in 1905 also
worsened the situation since he too lenient and sympathetic to the settler
cries.all political councils he formed were full of the whites.
It was against that background that in march 1923,the duke
of Devonshire summoned the two rival groups to the conference in London to end
the rivarly between them selves.
The settler group was led by lord delamere and the Asians
were led by AM jeevanjee.what came out of the conference in London to end the
rivalry was known as the Devonshire white paper declarations
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