Well let's see, all things are relative, when did Blacks in the USA actually get their "civil rights" Charley, when did they become fully equal?

The Spaniards, Portuguese and Belgians tended to kill the indigenous people off wholesale in the establishment of their colonies. The Dutch weren't so far behind them and all employed slave labour.

The French, incorporated their overseas possessions as part of metropolitan France.

Britain on the other hand, in the 1700's granted the indigenous natives in Cape Colony, which was ceded to Britain as part of a peace treaty, equal rights under law, thereby causing the First Boer "Great Trek". Actively campaigned for the abolition of slavery then enforced it (The only country to do so).

Charley, I don't know if you have ever read any of the histories of the African tribes? If not then you should as it has a direct bearing on something you asked further up the thread:

"I don't suppose that the British colonial administrators ever took advantage of tribal rivalries, to solidify their control? I believe that was a general policy throughout the Empire."

Not a case of ever taking advantage of Charley, the script actually ran more like this, we'll take the Zulu as an example:

Each year the Zulu King stood outside his Kraal with a spear in his hand. On whatever whim took his fancy he threw the spear and the direction indicated the war path the Impi were to follow. The Zulu preyed upon subservient tribes, killing or enslaving the men women and children and taking all their cattle, leaving nothing behind. Then along come the Brits, they defeat the Zulus, difference now is that there is no annual spear throwing with it's ensuing death and destruction. In fact the new kids on the block are really quite benign in comparison to the old order. Too few of them of course to run everything so they have to take on locals. Now the pride of the Zulu will not permit them to co-operate with their conquerors, but for the other tribes, who for years had been the oppressed and the conquered, they saw no shame in working for the "white man". Along comes "Independence", who is best equipped and trained to run this newly independent country? Not the Zulu. But once independence came the old pecking order re-emerges as people do not forget their history. Now tell me Charley do you remember the tensions between Incata and the ANC down in South Africa at the end of the apartheid era? If you don't, I most certainly do.