ABSTRACT
THE economic development of tropical African territories in the early days of their exploitation by white men was fostered by European and American capital. These colonies imported the manufactured goods that they needed and exported tropical raw materials and foodstuffs. It might be supposed that an African territory cut off from the outside world could not long survive. East Africa was in this position between the outbreak of the first World War and the expulsion of the German troops by the Allies in November 1917. The way in which the colony maintained its civil administration and supported an efficient military force in the field in these years is not without interest.
