Colonialism And Imperialism, Africa's Twin Woes

The Twilight of African Development And Civilization

May 2, 2009 Tongkeh Joseph Fowale

The period of European colonialism in Africa was marked by ruthless exploitation. It also marked a turning point in African development and civilization.

Interaction between people of different geographical and cultural backgrounds has contributed both positively and negatively in shaping their development throughout history. This is very true of Africa’s contact with Europe. Several parts of Africa had established contacts with the outside world before the 15th century. West Africa, however, only came into contact with Europe by the middle of the 15th century this contact marked a turning point in Africa’s development and civilization.

Conceptual Framework: Imperialism and Colonialism

Imperialism and colonialism are concepts used in describing the state of relations between Africa and Europe from their first period of contact to the end of World War 11. Imperialism, according to John Middleton, is “the exercise of power by a state beyond its borders.” To George W. Bock, it is “the domination by one country of the political, economic and cultural life of another country or region.”

Middleton again sees colonialism as “the erection by a state of an apparatus of administrative control over people who are defined as distinct.” Walter Rodney on his part sees it as “direct political control resulting from imperialism.” From these definitions, it is clear that imperialism and colonialism are twin concepts separated only by time. Put in other words, colonialism was the advanced stage and latter manifestation of imperialism.

Different colonial policies, one motive

The policies employed by different European countries in Africa differed in name. The Portuguese talked of “Assamilado” or “Civilizado.” The Germans and French used “Direct Rule.” The Belgians employed “Paternalism” and the British used “Indirect Rule,” a system imported stock and barrel from India. These differences existed only in name and implementation. The purpose was the same – the exploitation of African resources both human and natural.

To realize the agenda of exploitation, all colonial administrations in Africa are known to have manifested features of a police state. This was seen in the arbitrary and repressive exercise of power. Forced labor, brutal land excision, torture and taxation were the universal features of colonialism which Frantz Fanon latter described as “violence in its natural state.” It was through this brutality that African lives were lost in colonial mines, roads, railways and plantations.

The “Balance Sheet” of Colonialism

The debate about the impact of colonialism is a heated one. Apologists for colonialism point to the roads, railways and bridges built by the colonial powers as proof of their contribution to African development. The reputed British economist, Lord Alfred Marshall, for example, claims that the colonies received very good value in the services of the British administrators whose salaries they paid. There is also the claim that colonialism brought Africa into the money economy.

These claims have, however, been challenged by leftist scholars. Rodney agrees with the above assertions but insists that “the sum total of these services was amazingly small.” He further contends that the same roads and railways on which the Europeans claim credit were built with African toil and at a frightful cost of African lives. Rodney points to the plight of African workers under colonial rule, the diseases and deaths in the mines of colonial Africa. In Rodney’s view, colonialism was “a one armed bandit.”

When all is said and done, there are only two objective ways of reading the “balance sheet” of colonialism. The first is to assess the level of development Africa attained before its encounter with Europe. The second is to examine the rate at which Africa collapsed in C.19th. On this debate James Foreman-Peck concludes “… the undesirable features of colonialism were deliberately intended … the effects were universally deplorable.”

For specific case studies, see Portuguese, German, and Belgian colonialism in Africa.

Sources

Fage, J.D. A History of West Africa, 1967.

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth, 1990.

Foreman-Peck, James. A History of the world Economy: International economic Relations Since 1850., 1973.

Gunther,John. Inside Africa, 1955.

Middleton, John. Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara. Vol. 1. 1997

Rodney, Walter. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, 1990.

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