ABSTRACT
An important element in the paternalist faith of the inter-war period was the new emphasis on Britain’s role as that of a kind of development agency, responsible from now on for applying Western knowledge and skills to the special problems of Africa. It was part of the nineteenth century laisser-faire doctrine that the investment of capital in profitable enterprises would result in economic development and improved human welfare. It is possible to regard all ‘development’ in Africa as involving the application of Western science and technology to the particular problems of the Continent. The passage through the British Parliament in 1940 of the Colonial Development and Welfare Act represented a victory for the developers. In the 1920s the colonies were still largely thought of as an extension of Great Britain and collectivist demands were made on behalf of British interests.
