Geoffrey Archer's 1916 important members of Darawiish haroun list
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Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer (4 July 1882 – 1 May 1964) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
ornithologist, big game hunter and colonial official. He was Commissioner and then Governor of British Somaliland between 1913 and 1922, and was responsible for finally quelling the twenty-year-long
Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...
resistance. From 1922 to 1925, Archer was appointed Governor of
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
. He later served as Governor-General of the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...
between 1925 and 1926. In the Sudan, Archer paid a formal but friendly visit to
Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, KBE ( ar, عبد الرحمن المهدي; June 1885 – 24 March 1959) was one of the leading religious and political figures during the colonial era in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898–1955), and continued to ...
, son of the self-proclaimed Mahdi
Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad ( ar, محمد أحمد ابن عبد الله; 12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885) was a Nubian Sufi religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, as a youth, studied Sunni Islam. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi, ...
, whose forces had killed General Gordon in 1885. Abd al-Rahman was leader of the neo-Mahdists in Sudan. Archer was eventually forced to resign due to the resultant flap, and spent the remainder of his career organising salt works in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.


Early career

In 1901, the nineteen-year-old Archer joined his uncle Frederick John Jackson, the acting high commissioner in Uganda. His uncle sent him on an ornithological collecting trip the next year. He visited Lake Albert, the Semliki valley and the
Rwenzori Mountains The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range ...
, discovering over twenty species and subspecies that had been previously unknown to science. He went to Baringo in 1904 where he conducted extensive surveys. Archer was almost tempted to become a professional
big game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("s ...
. On the basis of his survey work, Archer was appointed District Commissioner of the Northern Frontier district in Kenya. The district was treated as a closed zone with little contact with the rest of Kenya. It was basically a buffer against the Ethiopians, and was not considered to have any other value. In 1920, Archer said of northern Kenya: "There is only one way to treat the northern territories and that was to give them whatever protection one can under the British flag and otherwise leave them to their own customs. Anything else is certainly uneconomic". Archer was able to supplement his District Commissioner salary by money earned from an annual elephant hunt. An official in his position was allowed to take two elephants per year, and the sale of their tusks could be worth several hundred pounds. Much later, when he introduced hunting stories into an address to the Royal Geographical Society, Archer was informed by the President that "gentlemen hunt only with the camera".


British Somaliland


Background

In 1913, Archer was appointed Acting Commissioner in British Somaliland, later becoming Governor from 1919 to 1922. He was also Commander in Chief of the forces in British Somaliland. The Darawiish proclamation of independence letter posits a
triumvirate A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
with an emir, a Dhulbahante sultan and government. The emir was Muhammad Abdullah Hassan whilst Dhulbahante head was Diiriye Guure, and the government was called haroun.Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901-04, page 319, year 1907 "The instructions to Kenna were "to endeavour by every means to locate the position of the Haroun, and having done so, to try and surprise it by long-distance marching with his mounted troops"" This triumvirate and their Darawiish forces had managed to successfully resist British troops in four consecutive expeditions sent out against them over a period of two decades. In 1919, the British government decided on a final push to quell the insurgency. However, the army was reluctant to undertake yet another drawn-out campaign. Archer proposed using air power as a way to reduce the cost of ground troops, a suggestion that was greeted with scorn by the military. However, in January 1920, a flight of RAF bombers attacked the Haroun's headquarters and nearby
Dhulbahante garesa Taleh ( so, Taleex, ar, تليح) is a historical town in the eastern Sool region of Somaliland. As of September 2015, both Puntland and Somaliland had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity. The town served as the capital of ...
s in
Taleh Taleh ( so, Taleex, ar, تليح) is a historical town in the eastern Sool region of Somaliland. As of September 2015, both Puntland and Somaliland had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity. The town served as the capital ...
. By mid-February,
Somaliland Camel Corps The Somaliland Camel Corps (SCC) was a Rayid unit of the British Army based in British Somaliland. It lasted from the early 20th century until 1944. Beginnings and the Dervish rebellion In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then r ...
troops, assisted by the
King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...
, rounded up the remaining Dervish forces. Abdullah Hassan retreated to the Ogaden region where he attempted to regroup for yet another counter-expedition. However, he died of influenza a few months later, effectively ending the insurgency. On 5 June 1920, Archer was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. While in British Somaliland, Archer collected 3,000 skins and 1,000 clutches of eggs. He discovered three new bird species and several new races. His collection and observations were basis for a later book on the birds of the region co-authored with Miss Eva Godman. In 1921, the Colonial Secretary Sir
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
called a conference in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
attended by experts on the Middle East. Sir Geoffrey Archer brought along two young lions who were being sent to the London Zoo. They broke loose at a reception held at the British residency and almost caught the pet stork that belonged to General
Edmund Allenby Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
, the high commissioner.


Taxation disconcertment

In early 1922 the
Protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...
authorities announced that they would impose a heavy tax on the people of Burao and initiate a programme of disarmament. This policy was proposed to raise much needed revenues to run the Somaliland Protectorate which was a net drain on
Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...
coffers. As well to enhance British control in the interior of Somaliland after the Dervish War. As a result the people of Burao revolted and clashed with the British in opposition to the tax and this led to targeting of British government officials. In the ensuing disturbances a shootout between the British and Burao residents broke out, Captain Allan Gibb, a Somaliland Campaign veteran and district commissioner, was shot and killed after the Camel Corps refused to fire on the rioters. After the incendiary bombardment and destruction of Burao, the leaders of the rebellion acquiesced, agreeing to pay a fine in livestock for Gibbs death but refused to identify and apprehend the individuals guilty. Most of the men responsible for Gibb's murder would evade capture. In light of the failure to peacefully implement taxation Governor Archer abandoned the policy altogether being a victory for the Somalis in the Protectorate.Correspondence between Governor of British Somaliland and Secretary of State for the Colonies. Colonial Office, 26 March 1922. Governor Archer would soon be replaced after this blunder and policy in British Somaliland would be revised in light of this resistance.


1916 important members of haroun list

The 1916 British Intelligence Report diary from the Berbera colonial office of Geoffrey Archer, published a list of the most notable members of the Dervish haroun (government), the list being revised in 1917 and 1918. The list details two scores of names, including their position, their tribe, as well as a short annotation with miscellaneous information. Geoffrey Archer subdivides the majority of these Dervish leaders into advisors, natively called ''khusuusi'', and commanders, natively called ''amaanduule''. A small minority have other positions including governors, a logistics coordinator, and arbitrators natively called ''muqaddim''. The two score of Dervish personaliies listed by Archer rejects the notion that these Dervish leaders have a rank over one another, but rather that the position of one ''khusuusi'' was egalitarian to another ''khusuusi'', and that of a ''muqaddim'' egalitarian to another Dervish ''muqaddim''.


Generals


Statesmen


Miscellaneous


Uganda

Archer was appointed Governor of Uganda in 1923, and made his first priority the control of 19,000 highly destructive elephants in the colony. He took an interest in education of the native people, asking for advice on the curriculum, buildings, organization and so on, although he was limited in what he could achieve by shortage of funds. Where he was deemed successful was in training Africans to replace European bureaucrats in several parts of the protectorate. Large portions of the governors staff were switched from British bureaucrats imported to do tasks to mission-educated Africans trained to do the same tasks. These became some of the most sought-after jobs in the Protectorate. Archer founded a department of education in Uganda and appointed a director. However, due to doubts that the local Ugandans could handle higher education the establishment at Makerere Hill in
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
only gave training for low-level clerical work. Archer himself wanted the locals to gain the higher education needed for senior positions so the administration would have to depend less on Indians. Archer's theories of education were typical of the British colonial administration. He wrote: "For Native Administration the qualities of scholarship and academic attainment are not to be prized so highly as the leadership of men. Brilliance in debate can hardly equal the initial advantage gained in youth by having led in the field a body of well trained and disciplined young men of similar age". Archer disagreed with the idea that Africans were incapable of learning or doing certain jobs, he believed such views were "naive and bigoted." However, he also believed what the immediate economic concerns were could only be addressed with more specified job training to fill certain placements in the economy.Cotton-growing in Sudan and Uganda: Sir Geoffrey Archer's Important Review of Developments by Sir Geoffrey F. Archer


Governor-General of Sudan

Aged 42, Archer was selected for the post of Governor-General of Sudan in December 1924, the first time a civilian had held this office. He replaced Sir
Lee Stack Major-General Sir Lee Oliver Fitzmaurice Stack, (15 May 1868 – 20 November 1924) was a British Army officer and Governor-General of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. On 19 November 1924, he was shot by assassins while driving through Cairo, and d ...
, who had been murdered. Archer travelled overland from Uganda to Sudan to take up his new appointment, walking from
Nimule Nimule is a city in the southern part of South Sudan in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria. It lies approximately , by road, southeast of Juba, the capital of South Sudan and largest city in the country. The town also lies approximately , by road, no ...
to Rejaf and then travelling by steamer down the Bahr al Jabal to
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
. Ceremonial etiquette was in flux. In Uganda Archer had travelled up-country by car informally dressed. In one district that he had not visited before the locals saluted his chauffeur, the only person in uniform. When Archer reached Khartoum in January 1925 he landed in frogged uniform, with sword and plumes, to be greeted on the quay by the members of his council in business suits. In 1924, there had been a crisis in Egypt when a government hostile to the British was elected. Egyptian army units in Sudan, bound by their oath to the Egyptian king, refused to obey British orders and mutinied. The British violently suppressed the mutiny, removed the Egyptian army from the Sudan and purged the administration of Egyptian officials. One of Archer's early decisions was to initiate the formation of the Sudan Defence Force, with a command completely separate from the Egyptian army. He dropped the Egyptian title "Sirdar" for the supreme commander, and did not wear the Egyptian tarboush. He made it very clear that he was commander in chief of a purely Sudanese army, while reassuring Sudanese officers who had served in the Egyptian army that they would be retained if they had not taken part in the mutiny. In the aftermath of the upheaval the British saw educated Sudanese as potential propagators of "dangerous" nationalist ideas imported from Egypt. During Archer's tenure the main concern of the government was to reduce the power of the local intelligentsia and to transfer greater authority to traditional rulers. Archer did little about the issue of whether southern administration should be "Arabicized" or given a more English and Christian flavour. However, he deferred to
Lord Lloyd Anthony John Leslie Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Berwick, (called Tony; born 9 May 1929) is a retired British judge, and a former member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Lloyd was born on 9 May 1929, the son of Edward John Boydell Llo ...
, the British High Commissioner for Egypt and the Sudan, who stated in a memo to the Foreign Office that "on political, educational, religious, and administrative grounds it is desirable that Arabic ''as a general language'' should disappear from the Southern provinces". Archer was enthusiastic about the massive scheme to dam the
Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water to ...
at
Sennar Sennar ( ar, سنار ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. It remains publicly unclear whether Sennar or Singa is the capital of Sennar State. For several centuries it was the capital of the F ...
so as to irrigate the Gezira plain for cotton cultivation. He described the plan as the application of "western science to native economic conditions". In March 1926, Archer ignored the advice of the Sudan Political Service and made an official visit to the Sayyid
Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, KBE ( ar, عبد الرحمن المهدي; June 1885 – 24 March 1959) was one of the leading religious and political figures during the colonial era in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898–1955), and continued to ...
on
Aba Island Aba Island is an island on the White Nile to the south of Khartoum, Sudan. It is the original home of the Mahdi in Sudan and the spiritual base of the Umma Party. History Aba Island was the birthplace of the Mahdiyya, first declared on J ...
accompanied by a full escort of troops and officials. Abd al-Rahman was the son of the self-proclaimed Mahdi
Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad ( ar, محمد أحمد ابن عبد الله; 12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885) was a Nubian Sufi religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, as a youth, studied Sunni Islam. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi, ...
(1844–1885) and was leader of the Ansar movement. When Archer arrived on 14 February he was formally welcomed by Sayyid 'Abd al-Rahman with 1,500 Ansar supporters. Escorted by horsemen, the dignitaries went on by car to a reception at the Sayyid's house. Replying to a speech by the Sayyid, Archer said his visit marked "an important stage forward in the relations" between the Sayyid and his followers and the government. Archer said he had come to cement the ties of friendship and understanding. Archer's visit precipitated a crisis in the colonial administration. Archer was forced to resign, replaced by Sir John Maffey.


Later life and legacy

After leaving the Sudan, Archer spent most of the next fifteen years organizing the salt industry in Kutch,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Archer settled in the south of France when he retired, dying at
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
on 1 May 1964. Archer made significant contributions to the study of birds and their breeding and migration habits in
British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
, while considering a professional career as a big-game hunter. In Uganda, Archer sought to employ indigenous residents for higher level clerical work so as to lessen the British administration's dependence on Indians for such activity. This represented something of a break from traditional protocol, as locals had hitherto mainly been recruited for low grade clerical work. He was willing to work with the Mahdists, Britain's former enemies, and this open-minded attitude put an end to his career. Archer was a tall and imposing man, and had a forceful personality. A young man who met Archer in 1939 said of him: "When I talk to him I experience the feeling one gets when one walks out of a very stuffy room full of tobacco smoke into the open air and is greeted by a heavy buffeting wind, which pushes one back a step but which exhilarates and invigorates."
Archer's buzzard Archer's buzzard (''Buteo augur archeri'') is a subspecies of the augur buzzard that is endemic to Somalia. The bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the British explorer and colonial official Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer. Taxonomy ...
,
Archer's lark Archer's lark (''Heteromirafra archeri''), also known as the Liben lark, is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Somalia, Somaliland and Ethiopia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtrop ...
(endemic to Somalia) and Archer's ground robin, a species in the
Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Northe ...
family, carry Archer's name.


Books

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References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Geoffrey Francis 1882 births 1964 deaths Governors-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan English ornithologists Governors of British Somaliland Governors of Uganda Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century British zoologists People from Kensington