The Carrier Corps The Carrier Corps. Military Labor in the East African Campaign 1914–1918. By Geoffrey Hodges. New York and London: Greenwood Press, 1988. Pp. xxiii + 244. £28.95.

TLDR: Ekechi as mentioned in this paper narrated the major changes during the colonial era, narrated in a paradoxical manner: the people hated colonial rule but loved its positive elements, especially education and social services that were introduced.

Abstract: it. The emphases are on the spread of education and Christianity, with an apology for saying so little on the economy. Both the framework and the themes covered are very familiar. They revolve round the major changes during the colonial era. These changes are narrated in a paradoxical manner: the people hated colonial rule but loved its positive elements, especially the education and social services that were introduced. The chapter on colonial administration shows that the region lost its ' democratic character' with the imposition of warrant chiefs. These chiefs were blamed for inaugurating a 'painful era of political and social disharmony, political corruption, authoritarianism, and various forms of colonial oppression and exploitation' (p. 199). The people's hostile reaction to the chiefs is said to have given birth to the native authority system of local administration in the 1930s. This, too, was not a satisfactory arrangement, and another re-organization had to be undertaken in the 1950s. Other chapters are devoted to the economy, education and religion. On the economy, the author uses his data on road and railway construction to reach the conclusion that exploitation and oppression accompanied British rule. Western education is described as an agent of transformation. It encouraged 'extreme individualism' and altered the patterns of authority by enabling the newly educated elite to control and dominate political affairs. The success of the expansion of Western education owes much to the colonial government, the people themselves, and the missionaries. The missions receive the most prominent attention in the book: they were credited for their great contributions to education and religion, even if Professor Ekechi regards missionaries as iconoclasts.