Sir Donald Charles Cameron, (3 June 1872 – 8 January 1948) was a British colonial governor. He was the second governor of the British mandate of Tanganyika, and later the governor of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

Biography

Cameron was born 3 June 1872 in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

(now Guyana), the son of a sugar planter called Donald Charles Cameron and Mary Emily (née Brassington). He went to

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

School in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

, and never attended university. In 1890, he returned to British Guiana and began work as a clerk in the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

department of the civil service. In 1904, Cameron travelled to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

as assistant Colonial Secretary under Sir Cavendish Boyle. He moved to Southern

in 1908 and was central secretary under Sir

Frederick Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong ...

. He became influenced by Lugard's ideas of

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of governance used by the British and others to control parts of their colonial empires, particularly in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by variou ...

. In April 1925, Cameron became the second governor of the British

mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

of Tanganyika, taking over from John Scott, who was acting governor for Sir

Horace Byatt Sir Horace Archer Byatt (22 March 1875 – 8 April 1933) was a British colonial governor. In the early part of his career he served in Nyasaland, British Somaliland, Gibraltar and Malta. Later, he served in British East Africa, becoming the first ...

. In 1926, Sir

Edward Grigg Edward William Macleay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, (8 September 1879 – 1 December 1955) was a British colonial administrator and politician. Biography Early years Grigg was the son of Henry Bridewell Grigg, CIE, a member of the Indian Civ ...

who at the time was the Governor of British Kenya, called a conference in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

to discuss closer union of Britain's East African colonies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, which Sir William Frederick Gowers of Uganda fully supported. However, Governor Donald Charles Cameron of Tanganyika was firmly against it, thinking it would be unjust to Africans. After a somewhat prolongued diplomatic back and forth Governor Cameron prevailed in making sure that no land in Tanganyika would be taken away from native Africans and given to white settlers. From 1931 to 1935 he was governor and commander-in-chief of

. Cameron also disagreed with Grigg about the issue of enforcing bans on certain cultural practices such as female circumcision. In Kenya Grigg had attempted to use force to "stamp out the practice," by both declaring it illegal and by arresting any man found to have committed it. Cameron disagreed with this approach and believed being "heavy handed" would "backfire" and that the British should instead try to persuade people to give up such practices. On this note Cameron said "time and great patience are needed and a realization that attempts at coercion and isolated prohibitions will inevitably cause a revulsion against our culture and our religion and a disposition to reject our help..."Undesirable Practices: Women, Children, and the Politics of the Body in Northern Ghana, 1930-1972 by Jessica Cammaert (2016) - U of Nebraska Press

Personal life

In 1903, Cameron married Gertrude Gittens, the daughter of a sugar planter in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. They had one son who died in an aircraft accident at sea in 1941. Donald Cameron retired in 1935 and died 8 January 1948 in London, aged 75.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Donald Charles 1872 births 1948 deaths People from Georgetown, Guyana Governors of Tanganyika (territory) Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George History of Lagos History of Nigeria British Governors and Governors-General of Nigeria