Robert Arthur Briggs Chamberlain (31 January 1865 – 4 February 1948) was an early British settler in the

East Africa Protectorate East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was a British protectorate in the African Great Lakes, occupying roughly the same area as present-day Kenya, from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Cont ...

, now modern day Kenya.

Early life and career

Chamberlain was born in 1865 in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was educated at

Trent College Trent College is a co-educational private boarding and day school located in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, between Nottingham and Derby. Founded in 1868 as a local 'middle class alternative' to the more famous public schools, it is now a coeduca ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. After leaving Cambridge he also studied at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

and

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. On his return to England, he studied law at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Chamberlain gave up a career in law, instead becoming a journalist with the

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

and various London newspapers. Shortly before the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

broke out he went to South Africa as editor of the

Johannesburg Star ''The Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Gauteng, South Africa that was established in 1887. The paper is distributed mainly in Gauteng and other provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, and Free State. ''The Star'' is one of the ...

. His staunch opposition to the importation of

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labour for the Rand gold mines was so unpopular that he resigned his editorship of the Star. Following the war he became a vocal critic of Britain's handling of the war and the postwar physical hardship and psychological discontent it created.Brian M. Du Toit, The Boers in East Africa: Ethnicity and Identity, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998

East Africa

In June 1903 Chamberlain visited the

with a scheme to re-settle 100 South African farmers and with a guarantee of 500,000 acres in the

White Highlands The White Highlands is an area in the central uplands of Kenya. It was traditionally the homeland of indigenous Central Kenyan communities up to the colonial period, when it became the centre of European settlement in colonial Kenya, and between ...

.Brian M. Du Toit, The Boers in East Africa: Ethnicity and Identity, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998 Whilst there, with his colleague A.S. Flemmer, he applied for his own 32,000 acre land grant in the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

. The grant was initially approved by Sir Charles Eliot, Commissioner of the Protectorate, but was later cancelled by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Lansdowne. The controversy surrounding to the grant ultimately led to Eliot's resignation in June 1904. Despite this setback Chamberlain pressed his claim, appealing first to

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, then

High Commissioner for Southern Africa The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland (now Lesotho), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland ...

, and subsequently the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

. In November 1907,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, as Colonial Under-Secretary, advised his superior

Lord Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, ( ; 20 July 176614 November 1841), often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures ...

, the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

, that the grant should be carried out according to Eliot's terms. Chamberlain therefore acquired 32,000 acres. He became a prominent farmer and voice amongst the early European settler community and played a key role encouraging European farmers into Kenya, particularly from South Africa. He was also active in politics, and instrumental in establishing the Convention of Associations in 1911. His wife Lavinia died in 1920, and he continued to farm his vast acreage until the late 1920s when he sold most of his holding.

Death

Chamberlain died at his Oldobeye Estate in Elmenteita on 4 February 1948. He was survived by his second wife Janet and is buried at Nakuru North Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Robert Arthur Briggs 1865 births 1948 deaths British Kenya people Settlers of Kenya People educated at Trent College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge White Kenyan people