The tribal chief was a local despot who could requisition tribesmen for any number of purposes, including “defense, or to suppress disorder or rebellion, or as laborers for public works, or for the general needs of the colony.” The tribal chief was in turn appointed—and removable—by the supreme chief, who was not a native but the lieutenant governor of the colony. The nomenclature of “supreme chief” suggested that his powers were a continuation of native tradition, but in fact they exceeded those of any precolonial despot.
