ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an attempt to put the counterpart aspect of technical assistance in historical perspective. It traces the evolution of British and French colonial policy from the New Imperialism of the 1880s to the depression colonialism of the decade before World War II. The chapter describes the post-War change of course that led to the counterpart system. In sum, British policy in the interwar, pre-counterpart years can be viewed as scaffolding around a slowly rising structure of African self-government. The closest equivalents to the modern counterparts in the period were, on the larger scale, the ruler-ruled relationships of Indirect Rule and, on a lower level. Britain's best known solution to the problem was, of course, Lord Lugard system of Indirect Rule, which he pioneered in northern Nigeria. Native Administrations provided the rationale for Britain's post-War emphasis on the development of local government institutions and on Africanization.