African Survey
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| Author | Malcolm Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey |
|---|---|
| Subject | Colonial administration |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press[1], Under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs |
Publication date | 1938[2] (2nd edition: 1945) |
| Pages | 1,837 pp |
An African Survey: A Study of Problems arising in Africa South of the Sahara, often simply known as African Survey, was a report originally published in 1938 under the auspices of The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) which paved the way for the reorganisation of research into the situation of the British Empire in Sub-Saharan Africa through the Colonial Development and Welfare Act 1940. The report was published by Oxford University Press and ran to 1,837 pages.[3] It was subsequently republished in several revised editions.[4]
The publication's origins arose out of a proposal by Jan Smuts in 1929 when he delivered the Rhodes Memorial Lecture at Oxford University.[5]
The missionary Joseph Oldham played a key role in getting the survey under way. John Cell has argued that reference to Jan Smuts in Lord Lothian's foreword to the work should not be given much weight. Smuts had advocated White settlement throughout the highlands of East Africa, with a view of creating a similar dominion to South Africa. This proposal, centred on Oxford University, lost out to other viewpoints.[6] In 1931 Oldham got an agreement for the survey to be funded from the Carnegie Foundation, however a suitable director would have to be found. Three people declined the role, William Marris, George Schuster and Whitney Shephardson before the two year search was over. Lionel Curtis, a friend of Lord Hailey sounded him out and he was soon seen as an ideal candidate for the role. Hailey formally accepted the role in July 1933[6]