British gradualism produced a chaotic rush at Somaliland independence

Evidence

While in Somalia the limitation of the period of trusteeship to ten years imparted a strong sense of urgency, in British Somaliland, where no date had been set for independence, and where indeed the matter had scarcely been raised, progress proceeded at a much more leisurely pace. This coincided with the general view prevalent in British circles that development was likely to be all the more effective if conducted at a slow and steady pace. This gradualist approach was, it may be argued, well adapted to the particularly intractable economic and social circumstances of the Protectorate. But as events turned out, the last days of colonial rule in British Somaliland ended in a hectic scramble which might have been partly avoided had the pace been quickened earlier. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 393

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A fixed trusteeship deadline forced Somalia while British Somaliland drifted; Pan-Somali nationalism forced British Somaliland into sudden premature independence; British backing and UN action set July 1960 as Somalia’s independence date (+9 more)

Related

• British Somaliland’s gradualist path ended in a hectic independence scramble. (similarity 0.94)
• Pan-Somali nationalism forced British Somaliland into sudden premature independence (similarity 0.92)
• A fixed trusteeship deadline forced Somalia while British Somaliland drifted (similarity 0.89)
• Somalia’s impending independence accelerated the Protectorate’s own timetable to independence (similarity 0.84)
• Britain’s indecision, not Somali haste, caused the Anglo-Somali rupture (similarity 0.82)
• British Somaliland abandoned caretaker governance for active development after 1941 (similarity 0.79)
• Britain’s Somaliland commitments ballooned far beyond its minimal original aims (similarity 0.79)
• British backing and UN action set July 1960 as Somalia’s independence date (similarity 0.79)
• Somalization of the British Protectorate’s civil service began in 1950 (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Somalia’s impending independence accelerated the Protectorate’s own timetable to independence #expands (0.75) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 405
• The Dervish war left British Somaliland undeveloped and bitterly mistrustful #complicates (0.55)
• Somalia became independent despite not being economically viable #corroborates (0.50)