The impact of colonialism on indigenous African military institutions: the case of the Jo-Ugenya to c. 1914

This article focuses on the impact of colonialism on indigenous African military institutions by examining the case of Ugenya, a sub-group of the Luo of western Kenya. It adds to the body of historical literature on the conquest of Kenya, delving into changes that the British introduced in Ugenya to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Eastern African studies 2011-02, Vol.5 (1), p.70-84
Main Author: Owino, Meshack
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Aggression
Armed Forces
Blacks
colonial conquest
Colonial government
Colonial history
Colonialism
Dominance
East Africa
Impact analysis
Indigenous Populations
Institutions
Kenya
Luo
Military
Military aggression
Military history
Native peoples
Neutralism
Population
Power
Resistance
Ugenya
United Kingdom
Violence
Wages
War
Warfare
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Summary:This article focuses on the impact of colonialism on indigenous African military institutions by examining the case of Ugenya, a sub-group of the Luo of western Kenya. It adds to the body of historical literature on the conquest of Kenya, delving into changes that the British introduced in Ugenya to dismantle the Ugenya military from the 1890s to 1914. Its main contention is that when the European colonial powers invaded Africa, they did not just use force and violence to subjugate Africans, they also introduced policies whose sole aim was to emasculate future African military capacity to wage war against colonial aggression: colonial policies gradually neutralized the African military and reduced the capacity of indigenous populations to resist colonial domination.
ISSN:1753-1055
1753-1063
DOI:10.1080/17531055.2011.552758