Imperial Ark? The Politics of Wildlife in East and South-Central Africa, 1920-1992 By Jeffrey ...

240 Pages·2014·4.3 MB·English

Imperial Ark? The Politics of Wildlife in East and South-Central Africa, 1920-1992

By
Jeffrey Schauer

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
History
in the
Graduate Division
of the
University of California, Berkeley

Committee in charge:

Professor James Vernon, Chair
Professor Tabitha Kanogo
Professor Thomas Laqueur
Professor Michael Watts

Spring 2014
Imperial Ark? The Politics of Wildlife in East and South-Central Africa, 1920-1992

© 2014

By

Jeffrey Schauer
ABSTRACT

Imperial Ark? The Politics of Wildlife in East and South-Central Africa, 1920-1992
by
Jeffrey Schauer
Doctor of Philosophy in History
University of California, Berkeley
Professor James Vernon, Chair
The dissertation examines the “politics of wildlife” in British colonies in East and South-Central
Africa during the colonial era and after independence. By conceptualizing that “politics” around
the institutions, individuals, and interests that took an interest in wildlife matters, the dissertation
attends to the emergence of and changes in wildlife policy as they were shaped by the
characteristics of colonial rule and a broader set of regional, imperial, and global developments,
including decolonization and post-Second World War internationalism. It also attends to the
influence of Africans on shaping colonial wildlife policy, whether as farmers, nationalists, or
local officials. The central discovery of this dissertation is that wildlife policy moved from being
the preserve of an imperial lobby to a policy sphere governed by the concerns of various sectors
of local colonial society. After the Second World War, security concerns combined with a
strengthened international preservationist movement to effectively internationalise Africa’s
wildlife. This occurred alongside Africanization, a policy pursued by newly-independent
governments in order to shore up their own control over policymaking, and the arrival of
international scientists, who sought to introduce their own priorities to the wildlife sector. In this
seven-decade contest between those interests which were local, colonial, or national on the one
hand, and those which were imperial, international, or global on the other, a surprising array of
interests sought to capture East and South-Central Africa’s wildlife sector for ambitions related
to economic development, anti-colonial campaigning, preservationist advocacy, scientific
inquiry, administrative supremacy, and colonial and national security. Over time, struggles for
the control of this sector reflected broader trends at the global and local levels, marking the
ascendancy and eclipse of colonial empires, and the rise of a neo-colonial order.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

IMAGES AND TABLES ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

INTRODUCTION. The Politics of Wildlife in East and South-Central Africa 1

CHAPTER ONE. Unrepentant Butchers: Ugandan Elephant Control and the Making of Central
African Wildlife Policy, 1924-1944 21

CHAPTER TWO. Governing the Game: Expertise, Authority, and Administration in Northern
Rhodesia’s Wildlife Sector, 1925-1960 48

CHAPTER THREE. Government Cattle: Anti-Wildlife Politics in East and Central Africa, ca.
1926 to 1960 81

CHAPTER FOUR. Deferring Uhuru: Decolonization and the Coming of the Global Wildlife
Preservation Movement 113

CHAPTER FIVE. Salvation Through Science? Ecology, Culling, Bureaucracy, and the
Contradiction of National Parks in East Africa, 1952 to 1972 142

CHAPTER SIX. After Uhuru: The Post-Colonial State and Wildlife in Kenya, 1972 to 1992
173

EPILOGUE 204

BIBLIOGRAPHY 212

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IMAGES AND TABLES

Images

Image 1: Africa after the First World War 5

Image 2: Contemporary Africa 5

Image 3: Tusks in Zanzibar, a centre of the ivory trade for much of the nineteenth century.
11

Image 4: Map I from Pitman’s Northern Rhodesia report, showing the course of his survey.
40

Image 5: Map H from Pitman’s Northern Rhodesia Survey, showing distribution of fauna in
Barotse. 41

Image 6: Map J from Pitman’s Northern Rhodesia report, showing population density at the level
of the sub-District. 43

Image 7: Game Ranger Les Vaughan with an unnamed Game Guard. 61

Image 8: The evacutation of Tonga villages in the Gwembe Valley. 103

Image 9: Hastings Banda (Malawi) and Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), two post-independence
leaders whose comments about wildlife by turns frightened and heartened preservationists.
136

Image 10: The Royal Navy helps to count Tsavo’s elephants. 158

Image 11: Wildlife propaganda by the Northern Rhodesian Game and Tsetse Control
Department. 161

Table

Table 1: Size of Personnel and Area of Wildlife Departments in British/Former British Africa,
1961 177

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is immensely gratifying, at the end of one journey and the beginning of another, to be
able to reflect on the large number of people who contributed to making this historical
investigation proceed smoothly. Needless to say, while they may take credit for any of the
strengths in what follows, I reserve the right to myself to claim responsibility for its ills.
Research funding is critical for any historical study—particularly those which are
conducted in part abroad. I am grateful to the Centers for British and African Studies at UC
Berkeley. The former provided a travel grant, a pre-dissertation grant from the Anglo-California
Foundation, and a Berkeley-Pembroke Exchange Grant, which allowed me to spend a semester
at Pembroke College in Cambridge. The Center also provided a lively and generous intellectual
community. The Center for African Studies, under the tireless leadership of Martha Saavedra,
kindly administered Rocca pre-dissertation and dissertation grants, and the opportunity to present
work and discuss field methods, as well as many wonderful events. The Department of History
and Graduate Division provided further funding, and I must thank Gina Farales in the Grad
Division Fellowship Office for her help. Without this financial support, what follows would
have been impossible.
The History Department at UC Berkeley provided a happy institutional home for six
years. Much of this has to do with the incomparable Mabel Lee, who so far as I can tell has
never met a question she couldn’t answer or a problem she shouldn’t solve, an invaluable quality
in a large, bureaucratic institution, and one made all the more priceless by her warmth and
kindness. I benefited enormously from the guidance, whether in coursework or GSI work, of
Ethan Shagan, Abena Osseo-Asare, J P Daughton, Jonathan Sheehan, Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann,
and Alan Karras. Joseph Omwamba gamely provided Kiswahili lessons in a Dwinelle basement
during summer months, and Africanist Librarian Jason Schultz has been of great assistance.
Tom Metcalf not only co-taught my first course at Berkeley, but has provided leads,
advice, and feedback since. Jeff Romm, from the Environmental Sciences, Policy, and
Management Department led a wonderful graduate seminar and provided guidance for my
qualifying exams, on which he sat as a member. I arrived at Berkeley from UC Irvine, and Doug
Haynes has continued to be a source of advice and support. Laura Mitchell hosted a wonderful
African Studies multi-campus research group at Irvine, served as a member of my exam
committee, and has kept her inbox open to questions about the field, the academic world, and
miscellanea as they poured in from Berkeley, Britain, and Africa.
My fellow-travellers in the graduate program, in my cohort and in the British Studies
world and beyond, have made the experience that much better. Penny Ismay, Riyad Koya, and
Caroline Shaw first shepherded me on a tour of the Berkeley campus when I visited, and have
been supportive ever since. Chase Arnold, Nora Barakat, Angelo Caglioti, Chris Church, Jon
Cole, Graham Foreman, Rob Harkins, Katie Harper, Radhika Natarajan, Carrie Ritter and Tehila
Sasson constituted a support-group in Berkeley, and I had a number of helpful conversations
with Louisa Lombard about wildlife politics in Africa.
Work abroad and in the archives requires the support of a great many other people. At
Pembroke College, Becky Coombs and Loraine Gelthrope allowed me to slip into a productive
research routine. The Centre of African Studies at Cambridge, and Felicitas Becker and Emma
Hunter in particular, provided a welcoming community. Bill Adams at Cambridge and William
Beinart at Oxford offered insights and advice. Stella Brecknell (Hope Library), Ellie Davies
(Empire and Commonwealth Museum Library), Carol Davis (Kendal Museum), James Hatton
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(Natural History Museum), Michael Palmer (Zoological Society of London Library), and the
staffs of the Pembroke College Library, the University Library (Cambridge), the British Library,
Rhodes House Library (Oxford), and the British National Archives all provided wonderful
assistance during repeated visits to Britain. With James Vernon, David Anderson and Megan
Vaughan advocated for the opening of the records of the Nuffield Unit of Tropical Animal
Ecology at the University Library of Cambridge, and I am grateful to Claire Castle, Jane Acred,
Michael Akam, and Jacky Cox for facilitating that opening. Megan Braun was a good hiking
buddy and provided many an interesting conversation; Alethia Alfonso provided friendship and a
place to stay in London; and it was always a pleasure to run into Berkeley people at the British
Library and Kew.
In Kenya, the staff at the National Archives were always welcoming and enthusiastic in
rendering assistance. Richard Ambani, the patron saint of researchers, can dig up the most
obscure documents. Peterson Kithuka and Philip Omondi have also been of great help. The
YMCA on State House Road has been my home-away-from-home in Kenya over several visits,
and I am grateful to Antony, Fred, Freddy, Rose, Consolat, Priscilla, Jacky, and all the other staff
for making me feel so very much at home, and to Tom for the breakfast conversations. It is a
particularly great pleasure to return to Kenya to catch up with David Gathoni, Ken Owade, Felix
Onditi, and Mike Sang.
In Uganda, the staff at the Makerere Library, the National Library, the Uganda
Management Institute, the Parliament of Uganda, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority provided
assistance. I am particularly grateful to Gerald Watebawa at UWA. Innocent Taremwa deserves
many thanks for managing the logistics of my stay in Kampala, Paul Sempebwa provided a
sanctuary where I could do some writing, and Sandra Pros was a very good neighbour.
In Zambia, the staff of the National Archives are extraordinarily dedicated in their
labours under the supervision of Director Chileshe Lusale-Musukuma, and all the staff manning
the desk deserve many thanks. Marja Hinfelaar does an extraordinary job of assisting
international researchers while helping to make Zambia’s history more accessible to researchers
and the public. She was also kind enough to read a chapter of this dissertation and provide
comments. Darren Myers, Egil Droge, and the proprietors of Flatdogs Camp in the South
Luangwa National Park provided some insight into the contemporary safari industry and
conservation world of Zambia. Ken Opalo and Hikabwa Chipande provided good company and
conversation in and out of the archives, and other neighbours—David, the Christensens, Shahab,
Jen, Jess, Ben, and Paul—helped the cold winter evenings in Lusaka to pass happily. Dickson
Mambo managed the little community on Mulombwa Close, and with the help of Justin, Philip,
Chris, and Lloyd, kept me living comfortably in Lusaka.
In Washington, D.C., staff at the Manuscripts Room of the Library of Congress allowed
me to make the most out of a short visit, and the small team at the USNPS Office of International
Affairs—Jon Putnam in particular, but also Steve Morris and Rudy D’Alessandro—were
wonderful hosts and generous in sharing their library, thoughts, and contacts.
At Berkeley, the staff of Doe Library, the Biosciences Library, and the Anthropology
Library were immensely helpful, and I stand in awe of the work of the Interlibrary Loan folks
and even, though it pains me to admit it, of their Stanford counterparts.
Speed can be essential in the archives, but stamina is what matters during the writing
process, and it was then that I was able to reflect best on how critical mentorship is to the life of
a graduate student, and how lucky I have been in my dissertation committee. Mike Watts offered
support and much useful advice during my year in the archives. Tom Laqueur’s enthusiasm for
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what he practises as historical art is infectious, and he shepherded me through an early research
paper and helped to shape a messy dissertation proposal into something more workable. I had
the pleasure of taking coursework from and working as a GSI for Tabitha Kanogo on many
occasions and she was generous with her time and kind in her support. It was an honour to be
able to draw on her encyclopaedic knowledge of the field as she read drafts and helped my ideas
to develop.
As any of them will tell you, James Vernon’s advisees are the envy of students
throughout the history department. His devotion of time, thought, and support to the students in
his charge is legendary and an impressive testament to his generosity as an advisor and his broad
sense of the attributes of a good scholar. He is an inspiring example to aspiring historians, and
almost certainly knows the ins and outs of this dissertation better than I do!
The CAFL and Writer Coach Connection organisations provided me an entry-point into
the extraordinary community that is Berkeley. Bob Menzimer and Lynn Mueller run a
wonderful volunteer organisation, and it was an honour to spend time with extraordinary students
and teachers in Berkeley’s middle and high schools over six years, an experience made all the
better by the wonderful work of the site coordinators, particularly Sahib-Amar Khalsa and
Jeanine Brown.
I became a “lifer” at International House atop Piedmont Avenue, and wrote virtually this
entire dissertation in the cafe at its patio. There I have met a most extraordinary group of people
with whom I have had the pleasure of sharing hiking expeditions, laughs, and probably
thousands of hours of meal-time conversations. I can’t imagine what my experience at Berkeley
would have been like without them, and a list of some of their names is a glaringly inadequate
testament to the value of their friendships, but will have to suffice for now: Norma Altshuler,
Crispin Barker, Sebastian Benthall, Chen Chen, Gilmer Contreras, Agnes Cornell, Jeffrey
Crosby, Siva Darbha, Kartikeya Date, John Delonno, Moses Emanuel, Heather Ford, Ingunn
Grip Fjaer, Brian Gould, Timo Hoffmann, Daniel Hogan, Hanif Houston, Rachel Jamison,
Francesca Jensenius, Gathu Kirubi, Mujeeb Khan, Lexi Lambeck, Selina Makana, Gavin
McCormick, Greg Moore, Mahendra Prasad, Jeremy Prickett, Vivek Ramamurthy, Ida Cathrine
Ruud, David Schonholzer, Karin Shankar, Anne Marte Skaland, Ida Sognnaes, Cheena
Srinivasan, Bartek Sudol, Kentaro Sugino, Sarah Theiner, Ivan Tochitsky, Isolde Van Meerwijk,
Vinicius Vieira, John Wyrwas,
A child of California, I spent my undergraduate years looking to escape the state. I think
it took seeing the threat to the institution that has now been my home for ten years in order for
me to appreciate how critical the University of California and the ideas that it represents have
been to all of the opportunities I have had in my own life. Living in Berkeley, a fabled place for
many Californians, has been a wonderful experience, with all of its quirks, its heady idealism,
and the contrast between the shimmering campus, the powerful community, and the grubby
mentality which increasingly seeks to govern the institution. It has been an honor to work with
the wonderful undergraduate students who provide the life-blood of the University.
All the institutional support in the world would have meant nothing without the moral
support offered by family. One of the attractions of coming to Berkeley was the opportunity to
be close to a bevy of aunts, uncles, and cousins. The extended Flores/Rodriguez family provided
meals, rides, beds, and friendly ears on countless occasions. Lynne and Lloyd Clifton deserve
singling out for their wonderful support and for the use of the Clifton B&B at the family rate.
My grandparents, Robert and Adele Flores have an unconditional if slightly misplaced faith in
my ability to get the job done. My sisters, Taylor and Angie, never fail to make me laugh and
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offer support and fun get-togethers. My grandmother, Helen Schauer, and my uncle, Lloyd
Clifton, were with me at the beginning of this process, but not, alas, as I finish. Their love and
optimism and humour provided a mainstay that our family misses however much they remain an
inspiration.
Most importantly, my parents, through the example of their lives, their hard work and
sacrifice, and their unconditional backing for whatever my sisters and I have chosen to do, and
their love and humour have contributed more to this dissertation than they can know. They are
the best people I know and it is to them that this dissertation is dedicated with thanks that can
only ever be inadequate.

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Introduction
Imperial Ark? The Politics of Wildlife in East and Central Africa
“As any game warden from the Aberdare National Park will tell you, an elephant is not an
animal to be trifled with. After all, it is the biggest mammal that ever walked the earth. And
Kanywaji is not just another elephant. He is a terrorist. I do not know why he is not in the Most
Wanted list of the police. If someone were to write a notice about him in the newspapers, he
would have to say, ‘Kanywaji is dangerous and members of the public are warned to keep away
from him and report him to the authorities’”.1

In 1903, a small group of elite, concerned Britons created the Society for the Preservation
of the Wild Fauna of the Empire (SPFE). The SPFE was created to advocate for wildlife, and
defined its goal as follows: “to create a sound public opinion on the subject at home and in our
dependencies, further the formation of game reserves and sanctuaries, the selection of the most
suitable places for these sanctuaries, and the enforcing of suitable game laws and regulations”.2
The SPFE was not an ordinary group of concerned citizens. Many of its members were
aristocrats, with connections to powerful officials in the Foreign Office and other political
redoubts. One of its founders, Edward North Buxton, came from a family long invested in
reforming social relations in the Empire, so it was perhaps unsurprising that the Buxtons were
represented on the question of imperial preservation. The SPFE had the ear of Lord Salisbury,
and counted a great number of British aristocrats amongst its number. It was able to draw on the
writings of imperial hunters and explorers who offered first-hand testimony of the diminished
state of game in the Empire, and the need to do something to protect what wildlife remained.
The imperial wildlife lobby called for a uniform, empire-wide approach to protecting wild
animals. No less a figure than George Curzon, then between offices of state, articulated the
relationship between a central theory of imperial rule and the protecting of wildlife. “We owe
the preservation of these interesting and valuable...types of animal life as a duty to nature and to
the world”, he declared, continuing, “We are the owners of the greatest Empire in the universe
[and are] trustees for posterity of the natural content of the Empire”.3
Some saw hypocrisy and class interest in the machinations of the imperial preservationist.
But the lobby was quick to defend itself from such accusations, taking to the pages of its
increasingly popular journal to set the record straight. Henry Seton-Karr, an explorer, author,
and Conservative MP wrote that “those who are specially interested, from knowledge and
experience, in this question have been called ‘penitent butchers’”. The term was used “shall I
say wrongly and ignorantly?”, Seton-Karr explained, to characterise
Men who, having in earlier days taken their fill of big-game
slaughter an the delights of the chase in wild outlying parts of the
earth, now, being smitten with remorse, and having reached a less
strenuous term of life, think to condone our earlier bloodthirstiness
by advocating the preservation of what we formerly chased and
killed [...] Your true sportsman is always a real lover of nature. He

1 Ng’ang’a Mbugua, Terrorists of the Aberdare (Nairobi: Big Books,2009), 12-13.
2 “The Preservation of the Wild Fauna”, The Times, 21 April 1906, p. 3, Issue 38000.
2 “The Preservation of the Wild Fauna”, The Times, 21 April 1906, p. 3, Issue 38000.
3 “The Year”, Journal Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire (1907), 21.
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