Sir Alfred Claud Hollis (12 May 1874 – 22 November 1961) was

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administrator who served as British

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to the Sultan of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

between 1923 and 1929 and Governor of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

between 1930 and 1936 and author of a historical account of Spanish Trinidad.

Education and career

Hollis was born in

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, and was privately educated in

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, Switzerland and

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. He worked for a commercial company in German East Africa (1893–96) and in 1897 he was appointed assistant collector in the British East Africa Protectorate.G. H. Mungeam
"Hollis, Sir (Alfred) Claud (1874–1961)"
''

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'',

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, 2004, accessed 22 February 2015. He wrote pioneering works on the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

(1905) and the

Nandi people The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin people, Kalenjin, a Nilotic tribe living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live with close association and relation with the Kipsigis people, Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the ...

(1908). During his time in East Africa he took part in numerous expeditions including the Uganda Mutiny (1897–98) and the Jubaland Expedition (1900–01).Robert M. Maxon, Thomas P. Ofcansky, Historical Dictionary of Kenya, Rowman & Littlefield, 9 Sep 2014, p.75 Between 1901 and 1907 he worked as Secretary to the East Africa Protectorate administration, and was Secretary for Native Affairs between 1907–1913. In 1913, Hollis took up the post of colonial secretary in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, and in 1920 he was appointed chief secretary in Tanganyika (territory), Tanganyika. In 1924 he became British

Resident Minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

. In 1930 Hollis was made governor of Trinidad, holding that post until his retirement in 1936. He came into conflict with

Arthur Andrew Cipriani Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani (31 January 1875 – 18 April 1945) was a Trinidad and Tobago labour leader and politician. He served as mayor of Port of Spain, elected member of the Legislative Council, leader of the Trinidad Workingmen's Associa ...

over the transfer of the electric works to the authority of the Port of Spain City Corporation. Hollis died at the age of 87 in

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Pitt Rivers Museum controversy

In 2017

activist Samwel Nangiria discovered that many Maasai objects donated by Hollis to the

Pitt Rivers Museum Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed ...

had been mislabelled and likely either stolen and taken by the Maasai under coercion. After this discovery the museum's director Laura Van Broekhoven worked in collaboration with Maasai activists and academics to relabel and recontextualise the Pitt River's Maasai collections.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Alfred Claud Governors of Trinidad and Tobago Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Ambassadors to Zanzibar 1874 births 1961 deaths Resident ministers of Zanzibar British Kenya people