What were the resources available in the British Empires african territories in the 1920s?
The majority of the British Empire’s wealth came from India. Before the Suez Canal in Egypt was built (connecting the Med and the Red Sea) merchant vessels had to travel all the way around Africa and Cape Horn. At this time there were lots of Pirates, so the British needed a way to protect their fully-laden ships from these bandits. Basically, the Empire established naval bases all around Africa, and then went on to conquer the surronding territories for added protection. The defense of these in the 20s is just an example of the small remaining patriotism in the modern government, to make a point that the British Empire was still strong when the reality was that it was failing miserably. Furthermore, the world economy was still at a stage when land equaled power, the reason empires sprung up in the first place.