Wednesday 25 May 2011

11.15-11.30      
Welcome and introduction by Professor Philip Murphy (ICwS) 

11.30-1.00        
Session One: The Pacific/South Atlantic/Caribbean
Chairman: Professor Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield
Mr Christopher Cochran: The Solomon Islands
Mr Thomas Russell CMG, CBE: The Solomon Islands and the Cayman Islands
Mr Simon Gillett: St Helena and Nauru
Professor David Murray: The Gilbert Islands

2.00-3.30
Session Two: East Africa
Chairman: Professor Philip Murphy                
Mr Ian Buist, CB: The Colonial Office, Kenya and the East Africa High Commission                 
Mr Hubert Allen: Uganda                 
Mr John Twining: Uganda
Mr Wyn Reilly: Tanganyika/Tanzania
 
4.00-5.30
Session Three: West and Central Africa            
Chairman: Professor David Killingray
Mr John Smith, CBE: Nigeria
Sir Brian Barder, KCMG: Nigeria             
Professor Colin A Baker, MBE: Nyasaland/Malawi             
Dr Jonathan Lawley: Northern Rhodesia/Zambia

Subjects for discussion included:

•    To what extent was the ‘Westminster model’ of democracy considered suitable for British dependencies?
•    What other forms of representative government were considered in the run-up to independence?
•    How much preparation was there both for those to whom we handed over and to the general public?
•    How effective and durable were the democratic structures inherited by newly-independent governments?
•    What attempts were made to adjust the constitutional arrangements of British territories in the wake of independence?

A written transcript of the proceedings of this seminar was produced by OSPA.  It has been published by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies as Number Four in the series of the OSPA Research Project’s Occasional Papers. Price: £5.00; plus postage £2.50 UK, £5.00 overseas.

The published transcript is available from:
Olga Jimenez, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 
Senate House (Room 265), Malet Street, London  WC1E 7HU.
tel: (0)20 7862 8871   email: [email protected]

The proceedings of this seminar are available on the ICwS website.  To view and listen to the audio-video podcasts, go to: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/videos-and-podcasts