“Pockets full of rupees, but bodies very weak: the Carrier Corps and their demobilization at the end of WWI in East Africa”

This article investigates how wages and benefits were paid to East African military carriers at the end of the First World War. One of the aspects of post-war demobilization that has not yet been studied is the enormous difficulties that the colonial powers encountered in paying off soldiers and carriers at the end of the war, owing to the lack of currency. To resolve this situation, the British authorities in Kenya resorted to introducing one-rupee paper notes issued exclusively for the payment of carriers. After a few years, however, these notes were suddenly demonetized with no compensation. This article situates the history of the introduction and demonetization of one-rupee notes in the framework of the recruitment and demobilization of African carriers. In so doing, it aims to provide new elements for the understanding of the experience of East African carriers and the complexities of the process of demobilization after the war.