The title director has been used in colonial administrations not only as a bureaucratic rank and for the members of a board of directors, but also specifically, as in this article, for the head of the colonial administration of a territory (e.g.

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), 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 ...

) under

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of public administration, governance used by imperial powers to control parts of their empires. This was particularly used by colonial empires like the British Empire to control their possessions in Colonisation of Afri ...

by a

chartered company A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is Incorporation (business), incorporated and granted rights (often Monopoly, exclusive rights) by royal charter (or similar instrument of government) for the purpose of ...

, functionally equivalent to a

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Elsewhere, the same function went by the - in principle higher - title

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

, as in

Demerara-Essequibo The Colony of Demerara-Essequibo was created on 28 April 1812, when the British combined the colonies of Demerara and Essequibo into the colony of Demerara-Essequibo. They were officially ceded to Britain on 13 August 1814. On 20 November 1815, t ...

(Dutch Guyana).

British colonies

* From 5 June 1885 the Niger Districts Protectorate (under the

United African Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

) was administered by Sir George Goldie (1846–1925), until it became on, 10 July 1886, the Niger River Delta Protectorate (under the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

, which appointed two consecutive

s, the second being the same Sir George Goldie). * The short-lived (1613–1623) English trading post at

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,172, and a population density of 120 people per km2. The total area of the city is Geography Hirado City occupies the northern part of Nagasaki P ...

(Japan) had a single director: Richard Cocks

Other colonial powers

Director, or rather its equivalent in the colonizer's language, was similarly used elsewhere: * ''Directeur'', in Caribbean possessions under Dutch WIC ( West India Company) administration: **

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

1833–1848 only three incumbents, the first having been the last

commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, t ...

, the last becoming the first gezaghebber **

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

1634–1792 and once more 1828–1833 (Isaäk Johannes Rammelman Elsevier), at other times various other titles were in use, mostly governor * ''Directeur'' of

Dutch Bengal Dutch Bengal, was a directorate of the Dutch East India Company in Mughal Bengal between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1800. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the Britis ...

(a few factories in

Dutch India Dutch India () consisted of the settlements and trading posts of the Dutch East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. It is only used as a geographical definition, as there was never a political authority ruling all Dutch India. Instead, D ...

), from 1635 (until 1655, however, filled by the governors of Coromandel) until the 1795 annexation to British India

Sources and references

World Statesmen- see each present nation
Gubernatorial titles {{gov-job-stub