The imposition of colonialism on
Africa altered its history forever. African modes of thought, patterns of
cultural development, and ways of life were forever impacted by the change in
political structure brought about by colonialism.
The African economy was
significantly changed by the Atlantic slave trade through the process of imperialism
and the economic policies that accompanied colonization. Prior to the
"Scramble for Africa," or the official partition of Africa by the
major European nations, African economies
were advancing in every area, particularly in the area of trade. The aim of
colonialism is to exploit the physical, human, and economic resources of an
area to benefit the colonizing nation. European powers pursued this goal by
encouraging the development of a commodity based trading system, a cash crop
agriculture system, and by building a trade network linking the total economic
output of a region to the demands of the colonizing state. The development of
colonialism and the partition of Africa by the European colonial powers
arrested the natural development of the African economic system.
Africa prior to colonialism was
not economically isolated from the rest of the world. Indeed, African states
had engaged in international trade from the time of the pharaohs of ancient
Egypt, and west Africa specifically had developed extensive international
trading systems during the eras of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. These huge empires
relied heavily on the taxing of foreign trade to finance government
expenditures. The wealth of these nations was dependent largely on the trade in
gold, but also on the levying of customs, taxes, booty from foreign
expeditions, and fees associated with administrative offices. However, even more
significant to the era of colonialism is the era of the Atlantic slave trade.
The Atlantic slave trade existed
in Africa for over three hundred years, and it introduced to the continent
sophisticated systems of credit and exchange. Although these markets existed
prior to the trade, the great increase in trading brought about by European
demand for slaves stimulated their further development. "Credit, debt in currency,
and interest all developed apace with the trade. One result of the increase in international
trade was that indigenous African economy was subordinated to the interests of
Europe. The slave trading system did this by substituting European manufactured
products for those products which normally would have been made locally. Thus
we see early developing a pattern of Africa as a source of raw materials and labour,
and as only a consumer of goods. The result of such uneven trade is evident.
Even innocuous imports
such as textiles, competed damagingly with local products, with the result that
the technological gap between Africa and Europe, confined in the 15th century
to shipping and firearms, widened to such an extent that African technology
failed to progress.
This pattern of unbalanced trade
continued into the period of colonialism and remains today. In spite of this,
local states still controlled the supply side of the slave trading system.
Although some slave raiding was done by European merchants, they still depended
on the cooperation of local rulers to insure a steady supply of slaves for the
market. In fact, it has argued that the slave trade itself was an essential
part if the development of some African states. "The compulsions of the
times were such that neither Europeans nor Africans had any alternatives but to
engage in the trade. In any event, the development of the Atlantic slave trade
forever altered the relationship between Africa and Europe.
The demise of the slave trade
began in 1807 when the British government made it illegal for British subjects
to engage in the slave trade. The era of "legitimate trade" began and
Africa became a source of raw materials for the rapidly industrializing
European powers. Legitimate trade in West Africa particularly was characterized
by the extensive development of cash crops that could be exchanged or sold for
imported European goods. Because of the increase in demand for agricultural
products such as palm oil and ground nuts, the transition was made without any
severe economic consequences. These goods literally greased the wheels of the
industrial revolution and were used in Europe to increase the efficiency of
machine production as well as in the manufacture of consumer goods. Politically,
the abolition of the slave trade had more long range consequences. While slaves
had been exported from Africa to the plantations of the New World, the
agricultural products demanded by the industrial revolution were shipped
directly to Europe. It became necessary therefore for Europeans to more
actively secure the supply of these goods. "The British, in their zeal to
extirpate the slavers and to protect their own legitimate commerce, were driven
to intervene in local politics on a scale which no European power had ever done
before. The suppression of the slave trade and the resulting shift to the
export of natural products integrated Africa more deeply into the capitalist
world economy than ever before.
The nineteenth century and the end of slaving
saw the commercial integration of the entire continent of Africa: north, west,
south, and central. 8 Africa also became more centralized politically, and the
nineteenth century saw the rise of large African states that exerted
considerable influence on the trade of these commercial goods. Typical of these
states were Buganda, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Asante. Although some of these
states disintegrated before the "Scramble for Africa" began in
earnest in 1880, they were as involved in the production and trading of these
commodities as the Europeans were. An important example of the interest of
African states in the development of commerce and trade is in the
constitutional experimentation undertaken by the Fante Confederation. This
group was formed in Ghana in 1868 to not only improve internal relations, erect
a modem infrastructure facilitating trade, and establish schools, but also held
as one of its major objectives, "to promote agricultural and industrial
pursuits, and to endeavor to introduce such new plants as may hereafter become sources of profitable commerce to the country." The Fante Confederation
was concerned about the export market but also sought to, "develop and
facilitate the working of the mineral and other resources of the country."
Thus we see a demonstrated effort by African states to control the
international commerce of their territories and also to promote their internal
development. Since they controlled the resources, they were able to demand high
prices for the goods. Interestingly enough, the type of raw materials that were
exported from Africa during this period were not those deemed essential to the
industrialization of Europe.
Import needs and raw
materials prices in the late nineteenth century do not support the assertion that
the industrial core economies were increasingly dependent on raw materials
supplies from the periphery. The raw materials of the Industrial Revolution had
been coal, iron ore, cotton, and wool, and these the core produced itself.
These goods could therefore be
considered as luxuries to the European market. As Europeans exercised greater
and greater control over the production of these commodities and as they began
to establish colonies in Africa, the prices for these goods were driven down.
"Prices for palm oil and kernels - the great staples that developed at mid-century actually fell in the last three decades." Thus we see that the
European colonizing powers sought to control the economics of Africa more and
more. To do this, power was wrested from local control and in 1880, the
partition of Africa began in earnest.
The economic goals of colonialism
were simple: to provide maximum economic benefit to the colonizing power at the
lowest possible price. As the effects of the Berlin Conference which establish
the "rules" of the partition game became clear, those areas of Africa
which had previously been developing significant trade and economies of their
own were brought under the control of European economic policies. To the
British, French, and Germans, the primary colonizing nations, the individual
needs of their colonial subjects were not important. Instead the desire to
"vertically integrate" the colonies of Europe by controlling
production from start to finish became the overriding goal of colonial agents.
Europe was still rapidly
developing and therefore needed the raw materials that Africa had to offer.
Prior to partition, the European powers had to contend with the varying moods
of African governments that, although dependent on international trade, still
exercised significant control over their economic development. These nations
could produce what goods they desired, some for export and some for internal
consumption. Colonialism forced these nations to produce solely for the export
market, thereby keeping prices low for their European consumers. One good that
stands out in the annals of colonial history is cotton. "The notion that
West Africa could be a source for raw cotton was one that arose early and
persisted late. The insistence of European powers on the production of certain
goods was done to the exclusion of the practicality of the crop or the impact
on the local economy. In Tanganyika for example, "the colonial authorities
shifted labor from food production and attempted to create a surplus of a labor
intensive, non food cash crop; cotton." The colonial authorities also
promoted the minor crops of peanuts and sesame while reducing dietary staples
such as millet and sorghum. This led to inadequacy of the food reserves and
subsequently, chronic malnutrition and famine. It has been argued that European
industrialization drove the colonial economies to produce commodities useful in
an industrial economy. In fact, the demand for products in Europe was often not
a factor in the trade of African commodities. "if ivory and rubber prices
rose, the reasons for this are only partly rising European demand." This
shows that the imposition of economic policy was often arbitrary and unrelated
to any real need. Colonialism was not just about economic subjugation, but
about the ability to wrest control of the local economy from African rulers.
Improving the production methods or strengthening the economy was not
important. "The British opposed the general development of palm oil
plantations in Nigeria, despite the fact that the collection method of
production was wasteful and produced a poor quality of oil." Colonial
powers instituted trade controls that limited colonial imports to those from
the colonizing power and restricted exports to that same market. This reduced
the freedom of choice in marketing goods that was previously available to
commodities producers. Taking this power away under the guise of colonial
development made traditional rulers weaker because their power base was
destroyed. Since Africans were not allowed to improve their methods or to
market their goods freely, they were forced into the colonial system. By
insisting on the development of certain crops, Europeans undermined the
existing economic power structure and made Africa totally reliant upon Europe
for their economic destiny. Driven by outside forces, the local farmer was no
longer able to decide for himself what crops to grow or what resources to
cultivate. Instead, the decision was made for him in a predetermined market. Under
the British for example, colonial economic policy reached far and wide.
"few commodities escaped the 'long arm' of the British raw materials
trade."
One of the most significant
reasons for such stringent economic controls was the desire for colonies to be
self supporting. Although originally European nations took great interest in
Africa, they felt that the main duty of the colonial governments was to
maintain law and order at the lowest possible cost. Economic development and
education were considered unimportant and were left to the private sector. Designed
to enrich the mother country, colonies were expected to foot the bill for their
internal development and administration. "One measure of the viability of
a colonial territory was its financial self sufficiency. Ironically, the bill
for colonialism was covered in the same way that West African nations had
always paid for government: through the taxation of trade. "A large
portion of government revenue derived, directly and indirectly, from foreign
trade. Unlike its predecessors however, the taxing authorities were foreign
powers who had no real interest in supplying the needs of local citizens.
Taxing foreign trade and strictly regulating the economy paid for any
expenditure for development. This situation persisted after the end of
colonialism and its effects are still felt today. Colonialism completed the
process of fully integrating Africa into the world economic system. Similar to
the slave trade however, Africans were unequal partners in the arena of
international trade and economics. Economic theory dictates that the production
of cash crops for overseas consumption invariably enriches the producer as well
by utilizing surplus capacity. Under European imperial colonialism, however,
these gains were drained off by colonial governments and "the economic
well-being of Africa became sensitive to the rise and fall of the demand for
these primary products and the movement of industrial prices, over neither of
which she had any control. The individual subjects of the various colonial
empires did experience some gains in wealth, income, and standard of living,
but nothing comparable to the resources they developed. Africa was a net
exporter of its wealth during this period.
Colonial economic policy made
itself felt in other ways as well. As previously mentioned, African governments
focused substantial energy on developing an internal infrastructure for trade
during both the era of the slave trade and during the period of "legitimate
commerce." Colonial governments, focused solely on the export component of
the economy, improved the infrastructure as well. Their interests were only to
improve transport of raw materials to market and not the improvement or
enrichment of the colonies themselves. "In order to encourage the movement
of commodities for export, the government built and operated railways to
connect the interior and the coastal markets. This resulted in most of the
roads and rail systems in colonial Africa to be oriented towards the coast.
Little or no development of railways occurred between colonies or within
colonies. The impact of colonialism affected Africans in other ways as well.
While economic policies were designed to keep prices low, under colonialism,
agriculture became increasingly commercialized. "The commercialization of
land provided an avenue of escape for many of the males of the servile and
cheap labour force in agriculture and added the price of land to the cost of
production. Thus colonialism saw the rise of a large, landless class of labourers
who travelled from place to place in search of work. It became easier to
provide wage labour than to produce for the export market. It was certainly an
easier and more secure way of obtaining money for taxes and for purchasing
consumer goods. Colonialism also changed patterns of work and gender roles. The
demands of the cash crop economy forced many women and children into the
production system. "these women and children performed the bulk of the
labour in farming enterprises that considerably enriched many owners. Colonialism
and its economic demands irrevocably altered the social structure of many
African societies and set the stage for later problems in African economic
development.
Colonialism lasted in Africa for
only a period of about eighty years. During that time, colonial governments
built a substantial infrastructure, introduced a cash crop system of
agriculture, and changed the traditional standards of wealth and status. Education
reforms were introduced and in many areas, modem state systems implemented.
However, the long term economic impact of European development held some very
negative consequences for Africa also. The infrastructure that was developed
was designed to exploit the natural resources of the colonies. Also, the
technological and industrial development that had been occurring in Africa was
stalled by the imposition of colonialism. Prior to the partition of Africa,
local production provided Africans with a wide variety of consumer goods. The
policies of colonialism forced the demise of African industry and created a
reliance on imported goods from Europe. Had native industry been encouraged and
cultivated by the colonizing powers, Africa would probably be in a much better
economic and technological position today. The most significant negative impact
of colonialism on Africa was the overemphasis on single cash crop production.
Colonial African economies were focused on the production of one or two
agricultural products for consumption in the world markets. The coming of
independence during the mid nineteen sixties led to the breakup of many large
colonies. The individual nations that remained often could not or did not
produce the range of agricultural goods that were produced prior to independence
and the breakup of colonies. An example of this is in French West Africa. The
interior states of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali did not have access to the
lucrative cocoa market that tided Cote D'Ivoire through the first precarious
days of independence. Other consequences of colonialism is the destruction of
trans - African trade and cooperation. Prior to the partition of Africa, the
continent had become increasingly integrated economically, with trade occurring
north - south and east -west. The policies of the governing powers redirected
all African trade to the international export market. Thus today, there is
little in the way of inter-African trade, and the pattern of economic
dependence continues.
The imposition of colonialism on
the continent of Africa occurred for many reasons, not the least of which was
economic. Prior to this development, Africa was advancing and progressing
economically and politically. Colonialism encouraged this development in some
areas, but in many others severely retarded the natural progress of the
continent. Had colonialism never been imposed on Africa, its development would
be significantly different and many of the problems that plague it today would
not exist.
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Black Africa by Cheikh Diop
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Paths in the Rainforest by Jan Vansina
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