[article ID:198]

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

1820 – governed by Egypt

*1898 – British victory in invasion wars

1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Condominium set up and area effectively becomes British Protectorate

1955 – independence as Sudan

Basutoland

*1865 – protectorate established

1871 – annexed to Cape Colony

1884 – comes under direct control from UK

1910 – on South Africa s independence, Basutoland remains British and under jurisdiction of British High Commissioner in South Africa

(much reluctance in Basutoland to become part of South Africa)

1966 – independence as Lesotho

Bechuanaland

*1884 – established as a Protectorate

[1895 – southern part incorporated into Cape Colony]

1966 – independence as Botswana

British Cameroons

*1919 – Britain administers smaller western parts of Kamerun (France has the rest), dividing it into Southern and Northern Cameroons

1961 – Northern Cameroons join Nigeria; Southern Cameroons become fully independent with former French territories as Cameroons Republic [note 80% of this country is formerly French, and 20% formerly British]

British Somaliland  see below

Cape Colony

*1814 – created

1910 – merged into Union of South Africa as Province of Cape of Good Hope

Egypt

some sources say never considered part of British Empire, but:

*1882 – comes under British control

1914 – formally becomes a British Protectorate 1914

1922 – independence

Eritrea

*1941 – becomes British (gained from Italy)

1952 – passes back to Italy

[1962 – becomes part of independent Ethiopia

1993 – independence as Eritrea]

The Gambia

1618 – first settlements

*1843 – becomes a Crown Colony

1965 – independence

The Gold Coast

1618 – first settlements

*1821 – Direct Rule begins

1957 – independence as Ghana

Kenya *

1888 – British begin to settle area (1505-1729, Portuguese settlements)

1895 – East Africa Protectorate declared

1920 – becomes a Crown Colony

1963 – independence

Mauritius

[1511 – Portuguese; 17^th century – Dutch; 1715 – French]

*1814 – becomes British

1968 – independence

Natal

*1844 – annexed to Cape Colony

1856 – becomes a separate colony

1910 – merged into Union of South Africa

Nigeria

before 1851 – area under spreading influence of National Africa Company

*1851 – Lagos seized by British

1886 – region becomes a British colony (and National Africa Company changes its name to Royal Niger Company)

1914 – area now recognised as Nigeria is formed

1954 – Eastern, Western and Northern regions organised into a unified state

1956 – Eastern and Western regions gain internal self-government

1960 – independence

1963 – declares itself a Republic

Northern Rhodesia *

1889 – controlled, together with Southern Rhodesia, by Rhodes' South African Company

1911 – split administratively from Southern Rhodesia (border = Zambezi)

1924 – South African Company control ends and area becomes a Crown Protectorate

1953 – briefly rejoined by Welensky with Southern Rhodesia and with Nyasaland to form Central African Federation

1963 – Central African Federation dissolved

1964 – independence as Zambia

Nyasaland

*1891 – becomes a British Protectorate

1953 – briefly joined by Welensky with Southern Rhodesia and with Northern Rhodesia to form Central African Federation

1960 – leaves Central African Federation

1964 – independence as Malawi

Orange Free State *

1848 – annexed to Empire but then Boers (who were already there) were allowed to develop their own Free State

1854 – Boers free state confirmed by Bloemfontein Convention

1900 – overrun by British in Anglo-Boer War and annexed as Orange River Colony

1910 – merged into Union of South Africa

Sierra Leone  *1788 – first settlements

1808 – becomes a Crown Colony

1961 – independence

Seychelles

[1756 – French]

*1794 – British capture them and they become a dependency of Mauritius

1904 – become a Crown Colony separate from Mauritius

1976 – independence

Somaliland

1887 – part of what is now Somalia becomes the protectorate of British Somaliland; rest of what is now Somalia is at this time Italian

Somaliland

1941 – Britain gains Italian Somaliland

1950 – Italian Somaliland passes back to Italy

1960 – both British and Italian Somalilands become independent and join up as United Republic of Somalia

[note that what was once French Somaliland is now the separate country of Djibouti]

Southern Rhodesia

*1889 – controlled, together with Northern Rhodesia, by Rhodes' South African Company

1911 – split administratively from Northern Rhodesia (border = Zambezi)

1924 – South African Company control ends and area becomes a Crown Colony

1953 – briefly rejoined by Welensky with Northern Rhodesia and with Nyasaland to form Central African Federation

1963 – Central African Federation dissolved

1964 – Ian Smith becomes premier and declares unilateral independence

1970 – Smith declares Rhodesia a republic

1980 – Mugabe becomes President of what is now Zimbabwe

[South West Africa technically never part of British Empire – first German, then South African – by the time the colony passed to South Africa, the latter country had Dominion Status and so was effectively independent, although this was not formally established by UK Parliament until 1931

[1880-1915 – German Protectorate of South West Africa]

1915 – captured by Allies

1919 – becomes South African mandate

1990 – independence (from South Africa) as Namibia]

St Helena

*1659 – controlled by East India Company

1815 – leased to British government (as prison for Napoleon)

1834 – becomes Crown Colony; still an overseas territory

Swaziland

*1894 – becomes protectorate of the Transvaal

1910 – included in Union of South Africa as South-Eastern Transvaal

1968 – independence as Swaziland

Tanganyika

[1885 – German East Africa established]

*1919 – small part goes to Belgium (Rwanda and Burundi) and Portugal; rest becomes British mandated Tanganyika Territory

1961 – independence

1964 – Zanzibar joins, and country is renamed Tanzania

Togoland

*1914 – gained from Germany by French and British forces; Western Togoland becomes British Togoland and is administered from Gold Coast (the rest becomes French Togoland and eventually becomes independent as the Republic of Togo)

1957 – British Togoland gains independence as region of Ghana

Transvaal

1836/7 – Boers establish independent republic after Great Trek

*1877 – British annex region

1881 – Boers granted independence

1900 – falls again to British

1910 – becomes province of Union of South Africa

Uganda 

*1884 – Lugard arrives in area

1894 – British protectorate declared

1961 – internal self-government granted

1962 – independence

Zanzibar

*1890 – becomes a British Protectorate

1963 – independence

1964 – becomes part of Tanzania

Non-British Colonies or always independent countries [Africa]

Algeria

Angola

Benin Republic

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon Cameroun[1]

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Congo, Democratic Republic of

Congo, People's Republic of

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast

Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea[2]

Ethiopia

Gabon

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Liberia

Libya

Madagascar

[Madeira]

Mali

Mauritania

Mayotte

Melilla

Morocco

Mozambique (Moçambique)

Niger

Reunion

Rwanda

São Tomé & Príncipe

Senegal

Togo[3]

Tunisia

Western Sahara

For the purpose of this statistical exercise, the following countries have been considered as PART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE for entire period up to 1945:

Botswana

Egypt [4]

The Gambia

Ghana

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Mauritius

Namibia[5] , [6]

Nigeria

Seychelles[7], [8]

Sierra Leone

Somalia[9]

South Africa[10]

St Helena

Sudan

Swaziland[11]

Tanzania[12]

Tristan da Cunha

Uganda[13]

Zambia

Zimbabwe

[blue colour indicates those countries that were not part of British Empire for entire period]

[article ID:199]

List of African countries currently used on database:

Algeria

Angola

Ascension Island

Benin Republic

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon Cameroun

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Congo, Democratic Republic of

Congo, People's Republic of

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast

Djibouti

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gabon

The Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Ivory Coast Côte d'Ivoire

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mayotte

Melilla

Morocco

Mozambique (Moçambique)

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Reunion

Rwanda

São Tomé & Príncipe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

St Helena

Sudan

Swaziland

Tanzania

Togo

Tristan da Cunha

Tunisia

Uganda

Western Sahara

Zambia

Zimbabwe

NB Madeira is counted geographically as part of Africa but culturally it is part of Europe (there was no indigenous population before the Portuguese colonised it) I have therefore included it within Portugal within the European statistics.

[article ID:200]

47,114, or 27 per cent of the total collections up to 1945. Africa artefacts form the largest continental collection in the Pitt Rivers.

Note that this includes 35 Madeiran entries that are otherwise excluded from the African statistics (they are also counted as European and have been included in those statistics)

[article ID:201]

Definitely ethnographic - 27,178

Definitely archaeological - 19,078

Possibly archaeological or ethnographic - 858

This is a very close match to the division globally (60 - 40).

Note that this includes 35 Madeiran entries that are otherwise excluded from the African statistics (they are also counted as European)

[article ID:202]

Algeria - 2,480

Angola - 702

Ascension Island - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Benin Republic - 58

Botswana - 177

Burkina Faso - 19

Burundi - 173

Cameroon Cameroun - 1,756

Cape Verde - 133

Central African Republic - 36

Chad - 182

Comoros - 2

Congo, Democratic Republic of - 1,635

Congo, People's Republic of - 178

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast - 19

Djibouti - 25

Egypt - 8,673

Equatorial Guinea - 19

Eritrea - 8

Ethiopia - 172

Gabon - 356

The Gambia - 55

Ghana - 4,331

Guinea - 18

Guinea-Bissau - 13

Kenya - 1,085

Lesotho - 22

Liberia - 30

Libya - 240

Madagascar - 147

Malawi - 546

Mali - 77

Mauritania - 193

Mauritius - 3

Mayotte - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Melilla - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Morocco - 635

Mozambique (Moçambique) - 259

Namibia - 53

Niger - 309

Nigeria - 7,119

Reunion - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Rwanda - 183

São Tomé & Príncipe - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Senegal - 31

Seychelles - 6

Sierra Leone - 167

Somalia - 436

South Africa - 6,747

St Helena - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Sudan - 4,754

Swaziland - 4

Tanzania - 814

Togo - 91

Tristan da Cunha St Helena - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Tunisia - 395

Uganda - 1,245

Western Sahara - 0 [from this point discounted as country in stats]

Zambia - 734

Zimbabwe - 1,170

NB there is double counting between the countries. Many objects are not clearly either Congo DR or PR so double counting is even more pronounced between these two countries

Note also that there are 2,132 objects for which no country has been identified, many of these are identified by loose regional associations such as West Africa etc. However I have not counted them in any of the statistics about countries or regions.

African countries with the most objects, up to 1945

Egypt - 8,673

Nigeria - 7,119

South Africa - 6,747

Sudan - 4,754

Ghana - 4,331

Algeria - 2,480

Cameroon Cameroun - 1,756

Congo, Democratic Republic of - 1,635

Uganda - 1,245

Zimbabwe - 1,170

Kenya - 1,085

Tanzania - 814

Zambia - 734

Angola - 702

Morocco - 635

Malawi - 546

Somalia - 436

Tunisia - 395

Gabon - 356

Niger - 309

Mozambique (Moçambique) - 259

Libya - 240

Mauritania - 193

Rwanda - 183

Chad - 182

Congo, People's Republic of - 178

Botswana - 177

Burundi - 173

Ethiopia - 172

Sierra Leone - 167

Madagascar - 147

Cape Verde - 133

Togo - 91

Mali - 77

Benin Republic - 58

The Gambia - 55

Namibia - 53

Central African Republic - 36

Senegal - 31

Liberia - 30

Djibouti - 25

Lesotho - 22

Burkina Faso - 19

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast - 19

Equatorial Guinea - 19

Guinea - 18

Guinea-Bissau - 13

Eritrea - 8

Seychelles - 6

Swaziland - 4

Mauritius - 3

Comoros - 2

African countries with the most objects, up to 1945 with Colonial countries marked in blue

Egypt - 8,673

Nigeria - 7,119

South Africa - 6,747

Sudan - 4,754

Ghana - 4,331

Algeria - 2,480

Cameroon Cameroun - 1,756

Congo, Democratic Republic of - 1,635

Uganda - 1,245

Zimbabwe - 1,170

Kenya - 1,085

Tanzania - 814

Zambia - 734

Angola - 702

Morocco - 635

Malawi - 546

Somalia - 436

Tunisia - 395

Gabon - 356

Niger - 309

Mozambique (Moçambique) - 259

Libya - 240

Mauritania - 193

Rwanda - 183

Chad - 182

Congo, People's Republic of - 178

Botswana - 177

Burundi - 173

Ethiopia - 172

Sierra Leone - 167

Madagascar - 147

Cape Verde - 133

Togo - 91

Mali - 77

Benin Republic - 58

The Gambia - 55

Namibia - 53

Central African Republic - 36

Senegal - 31

Liberia - 30

Djibouti - 25

Lesotho - 22

Burkina Faso - 19

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast - 19

Equatorial Guinea - 19

Guinea - 18

Guinea-Bissau - 13

Eritrea - 8

Seychelles - 6

Swaziland - 4

Mauritius - 3

Comoros - 2

Unsurprisingly lots of objects come from colonial areas. The non-colonial areas with the biggest collections in the top 20 for African countries are:

Algeria - 2,480

Cameroon Cameroun - 1,756

Congo, Democratic Republic of - 1,635

Angola - 702

Morocco - 635

Tunisia - 395

Gabon - 356

Niger - 309

There is a large single collection from Algeria which probably explains why that comes so high (Hilton-Simpson, roughly a quarter of the Algerian collection at 1945), and the same is true for Cameroon (Mervyn David Waldegrave Jeffreys, at 1,553, his is almost the entirety of the Cameroon collections by 1945). Nearly a quarter of the Democratic Republic of Congo's collections come from Emil Torday so yet again a single collector probably affects the overall figures.

The same story is true for Angola, where Antoinette Powell-Cotton gave 477 objects, well over half of the entire Angolan collection up to 1946. There does not seem to be a predominating collector of Moroccan and Tunisian objects, so it might be geographical proximity that explains their relatively high positions. Just under a third of the Gabon objects were collected by Robert Bruce Napoleon Walker and nearly 5/6ths of the Niger collections come from another single donor Francis James Rennell Rodd.

It therefore seems that single field collectors or large donations from an individual of objects from a single country can affect the figures quite considerably.

Note that there are several British colonies from whom we have no objects:

Ascension Island

St Helena and Tristan da Cunha

Although the easy explanation for this is that the population of these places is very low (and therefore presumably their material culture).

[article ID:203]

We have used the divisions based upon the 'Dictionary of Art' divisions: They are defined as follows, where countries in bold type and underlined were countries (either whole or part thereof) under British control at some point in the period 1880-1900, and countries in bold only were also under British control but not in 1880-1900:

North Africa  Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco (incl. Western Sahara), Mauritania

Northeast Africa Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti

West Africa Nigeria, The Gambia, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Chad

Guinea Coast Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Benin Republic, Guinea,

Liberia, Cote d Ivoire

Western Equatoria Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea

Central Africa Zambia, DR of Congo, PR of Congo, Angola (incl. Cabinda)

East Africa Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zanzibar/Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi

Southern Africa Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique,

Namibia

Other Mauritius, Comoros Islands, Cape Verde, Madagascar [plus Seychelles, Ascension   Island,   Tristan da Cunha, St Helena, etc]

North Africa:

Egypt - 8,673

Libya - 240

Tunisia - 395

Algeria - 2,480

Morocco - 635

Mauritania - 193

Total of North African objects up to 1945: 12,616

Northeast Africa:

Sudan - 4,754

Somalia - 436

Eritrea - 8

Ethiopia - 172

Djibouti - 25

Total of NE African objects up to 1945: 5,395

West Africa:

Nigeria - 7,119

The Gambia - 55

Niger - 309

Mali - 77

Burkina Faso - 19

Senegal - 31

Chad - 182

Total of West African objects up to 1945: 7,792

Guinea Coast:

Ghana - 4,331

Sierra Leone - 167

Togo - 91

Guinea-Bissau - 13

Benin Republic - 58

Guinea - 18

Liberia - 30

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast - 19

Total of Guinea Coast objects up to 1945: 4,727

Western Equatorial:

Cameroon Cameroun - 1,756

Central African Republic - 36

Gabon - 356

Equatorial Guinea - 19

Total of Western Equatorial objects up to 1945: 2,167

Central Africa:

Zambia - 734

Congo, Democratic Republic of - 1,635

Congo, People's Republic of - 178

Angola - 702

Total of Central African objects up to 1945: 3,249

East Africa:

Kenya - 1,085

Uganda - 1,245

Malawi - 546

Tanzania - 814

Rwanda - 183

Burundi - 173

Total of East African objects up to 1945: 4,046

Southern Africa:

Zimbabwe - 1,170

Botswana - 177

South Africa - 6,747

Lesotho - 22

Swaziland - 4

Mozambique (Moçambique) - 259

Namibia - 53

Total of Southern African objects up to 1945: 8,432

Other Africa and unprovenanced:

Mauritius - 3

Comoros - 2

Cape Verde - 133

Madagascar - 147

Seychelles - 6

Total for Other Africa objects up to 1945: 291 + 2133 [those countries not given specific country or countries provenance ] = 2423

Note also that there are 2132 objects for which no country has been identified, many of these are identified by loose regional associations such as West Africa etc. However we have not counted them in any of the statistics about countries or regions apart from this one

North African objects up to 1945: 12,616

NE African objects up to 1945: 5,392

West African objects up to 1945: 7792

Guinea Coast objects up to 1945: 4727

Western Equatorial objects up to 1945: 2167

Central African objects up to 1945: 3249

East African objects up to 1945: 4046

Southern African objects up to 1945: 8432

Other African objects up to 1945: 2424

Because of the double counting between countries of one object (because it is not accurately enough provenanced by the original documentation) caution must be taken when examining statistics such as this however it does appear that North African objects form roughly a quarter of the entire African collections up to 1945, with West Africa and Southern Africa being next best represented.

Overall division of African objects into those that came from parts of the British Empire and those that did not:

Botswana - 177

Egypt - 8,673

The Gambia - 55

Ghana - 4,331

Kenya - 1085

Lesotho - 22

Malawi - 546

Mauritius - 3

Namibia - 53

Nigeria - 7,119

Seychelles - 6

Sierra Leone - 167

Somalia - 436

South Africa - 6,747

Sudan - 4,754

Swaziland - 4

Tanzania - 814

Uganda - 1,245

Zambia - 734

Zimbabwe - 1,170

Total for objects from African countries that were part of British Empire up to 1945: 38,141*

[ * Double counting between countries, some of which may be inside the British Empire and some outside will account for the total of colonial and non-colonial countries exceeding the total count of objects!]

Non British Empire countries' objects:

Algeria - 2,480

Angola - 702

Benin Republic - 58

Burkina Faso - 19

Burundi - 173

Cameroon Cameroun - 1,756

Cape Verde - 133

Central African Republic - 36

Chad - 182

Comoros - 2

Congo, Democratic Republic of - 1,635

Congo, People's Republic of - 178

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast - 19

Djibouti - 25

Equatorial Guinea - 19

Eritrea - 8

Ethiopia - 172

Gabon - 356

Guinea - 18

Guinea-Bissau - 13

Liberia - 30

Libya - 240

Madagascar - 147

Mali - 77

Mauritania - 193

Morocco - 635

Mozambique (Moçambique) - 259

Niger - 309

Rwanda - 183

Senegal - 31

Togo - 91

Tunisia - 395

Total for objects from outside the British Empire in Africa up to 1945: 10,574*

[ * Double counting between countries, some of which may be inside the British Empire and some outside will account for the total of colonial and non-colonial countries exceeding the total count of objects]

[1] Part of Cameroon was British for the relevant period BUT it was a relatively small part, as the northern part of British Cameroon joined Nigeria, only the southern part became part of the Republic of Cameroon. We have therefore decided to exclude the whole country, the majority of which was for most of the relevant period part of the French Empire.

[2] Was British from 1941, but such a short period that difficult to access statistically (We would have to be sure that the object had been COLLECTED prior to 1941)

[3] Togo was originally German and from 1914 was shared between the British and French although it does not appear to have been a very important British colony (the French part pre-dominating). We have therefore decided to consider the whole NOT a British colony despite the fact that part was for over half the colonial period (this also reflects the practical implications that it is extremely unlikely that we can provenance objects well enough to know if they come from French or British Togoland).

[4] Egypt was never a formal colony as such but can be considered to be so for the purposes of this exercise

[5] Namibia was part of South Africa (and therefore for the purposes of this exercise part of British Empire) from 1919, before that date it was German: it may not be possible to divide the object neatly to being collected before and after this date

[6] NB Namibia not included as part of British Empire in Sandra's pilot project, the position post 1900 changes

[7] The Seychelles formally became a British crown colony in 1903 and was declared independent in 1976

[8] NB Seychelles not included as part of British Empire in Sandra's pilot project, the position post 1900 changes

[9] Note that part of Somalia was for a time part of Italy but it will not be possible to identify the provenance of most (?all) objects so precisely that it will be possible to identify which these are so for these purposes it has all been considered part of British Empire.

[10] South Africa was technically a protectorate rather than a colony for most of the relevant period, however in effect it was part of the British Empire

[11] Again was not incorporated into what became South Africa until 1894 but it is probably too difficult (?impossible) to sort out those items which came into the collections prior to 1894

[12] Tanzania was German until 1919

[13] Uganda was formally part of British Empire from 1894