Chamberlain took formal charge of the Colonial Office on 1 July 1895, with victory assured in the 1895 general election. He had control of numerous colonies, but not of India nor Canada. He had once been an anti-imperialist but now strongly advocated imperial unity and promoted development projects. Believing that positive government action could bind the empire's peoples closer to the crown, Chamberlain stated confidently that "I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen... It is not enough to occupy great spaces of the world's surface unless you can make the best of them. It is the duty of a landlord to develop his estate." Accordingly, Chamberlain advocated investment in the tropics of Africa, the West Indies and other underdeveloped possessions, a policy that earned him the nickname "Joseph Africanus" among the press.