Direct colonial rule

Direct colonial rule is a form of colonialism that involves the establishment of a centralized foreign authority within a territory, which is run by colonial officials. According to Michael W. Doyle of Harvard University, in a system of direct rule, the native population is excluded from all but the lowest level of the colonial government.^[1] Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani classifies direct rule as centralized despotism: a system where natives were not considered citizens.^[2]

The opposite of direct colonial rule is indirect rule, which integrates pre-established local elites and native institutions into the administration of the colonial government.^[1]

See also

• Direct rule in India
• Impact of Western European colonialism and colonisation
• Environmental determinism

References

1. Doyle, Michael W. (1986). Empires (1. publ. ed.). Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 080149334X.
2. Mamdani, Mahmood (1996). Citizen and subject : contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691027935.