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Today’s Class Africa's colonial legacy on development

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Upcoming Events July 16th Decide whether to cancel quiz July 18th Dr. Sunday Goshit on Military regimes in

Nigeria July 23rd Quiz #4 July 25th Development Proposal Due July 30th Take Home Final Distributed August 1 Take Home Final Due and last class

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Africa’s Colonial Legacy

Events leading up to the Berlin Conference Scramble for Africa: The Berlin Conference Colonial Governance Colonial Economic Policies A Legacy of Development or

Underdevelopment?

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Events leading up to the Berlin Conference

Inland Africa virtually unknown to West at beginning of 19th century

British abolish slave trade 1807 and slavery in 1834 while U.S.A. and Brazil end slavery in 1860-80s. Decline in slave trade weakened coastal African slave trading

states Terms of trade in other commodities forced independent

traders to be middlemen for large trading companies European explorers report inland findings to excited

merchants and industrialists about commerce opportunities in interior

Events Leading up the Berlin Conference: “Civilizing Mission”

Missionaries on “Civilizing Mission” push to combat slave trade, start schools, support development of commerce, but primarily spread the gospel

Early mission work central to belief that colonialism was charitable undertaking “Bible and the Gun” Remember “White Man’s Burden”

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Scramble for Africa: The Berlin Conference

By 1880 90% of Africa ruled by Africans, but in two decades only Liberia? And Ethiopia remain independent Prior to 1880 only a few remnants of “slave castles” Other Pre-Berlin Holdings:

French; Senegal: British; Gambia, Sierra Leone, S.A.: and Portuguese; Angola and Mozambique

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Scramble for Africa: The Berlin Conference

Berlin Conference 1884-1885 European powers carve up the map of African to

keep peace among themselves New Annexations would not be recognized unless

effectively occupied Scramble continues with French through west Africa;

British with “Cape to Cairo”; Portuguese move inland from their established coastal territory; Italians move to Somalia and Eritrea; and Ethiopia expands its empire while defeating Italians; Spanish in Equatorial Guinea; and King Leopold’s country to Belgium

Scramble for Africa: The Berlin Conference

Scramble begins: French expand in upper Niger region; King Leopold in the Congo basin; British from “Cape to Cairo”; Germans into Togo, Cameroon,

Tanganyika and South West Africa Scramble made possible by advances

in Gatlin Gun

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Scandal in the Scramble African indigenous resistance, ie Maji Maji War Boundaries divided ethnic groups and traditional political

units ie Kanen-Borno by Germans, French, and British Uncivilized Colonial behavior

British concentration camps in Boer War Genocides by Germans in SW Africa King Leopold’s “heart of darkness” Human game hunting in Kenya 1950s Concentration camps in the Mau Mau War

Conflict between the missionaries and the playboys Scramble Altered by WWI

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Colonial Governance

Colonial Governance reflected orders from euro-metropole

Different by colonizer Direct vs. Indirect rule White Settler interests vs. home

country interests Control of indigenous population at

the expense of good governance

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Colonial Governance reflected orders from euro-metropole

Colonial plans developed in London, Paris, Brussels, Rome, and Lisbon without local knowledge of Africa

Job of local colonial administrator to interpret and implement those plans in Africa

Colonial governance designed to maintain law and order and development of interest to metropole

No plans for eventual African independence

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Governance differed by colonizer sometimes by Geography

French, Belgians and Portuguese sponsored “assimilated” status to local ruling class

British kept governance at a distance from people although did implement some indirect rule especially in northern Nigeria

Germans even more distant with German direct rule with policies against Africans speaking German in some colonies

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Direct vs. Indirect rule

Some colonies develop direct rule, but most developed “Indirect Rule”

Indirect rule Local elites or traditional rulers rule on behalf

colonial gov’t to European needs Often indirect rule excuse for little development Where “cheifs” did not exist they were appointed

Gikuyu and Ibgo• Tax collectors and other “popular tasks”• Chief Wahiriu

Almost Indirect rule

French and Portuguese establish “assimilated class” from Slave and lower caste groups

Sometimes exacerbated class inequality e.g. Rwanda/Burundi

Liberia: a republic ruled indirectly through colonization of America’s Diaspora

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Colonization or Occupation

Colonies Areas of settlement from the mother

country E.g. Kenya, S.A., Rhodesia

Occupation Characterized by administrative functions,

military, economic exploitation, but not wide scale settlement from “mother” country

E.g. Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana

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White Settler interests vs. mother country interests At times colonial gov’t served the settlers when it

coincided with colonial interest Colonial segregation for settler privilege Inducing and controlling labor Restrictions on commerce for non-whites

Other times “Colonial State” protected “natives” against exploitation from settlers to ensure stability and often food security

Settler rebellion in Rhodesia and settler legislature in Kenya

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Control of indigenous population at the expense of good governance

Governance meant to control territory not provide for common good Police meant to destroy threats to power and

promote public safety Colonial officers get rich grabbing resources, land,

and money while providing little in the way of development Corruption the norm (Leopold’s fiefdom, stories of

Nairobi city council) Often principle function of gov’t was collection of

taxes

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Colonial Economic Policies Destruction of local industry and economy

through restrictions in certain types of commerce ie Kano Nigeria textiles

Integrated African extraction industry into global economy with profit depending on Control of the most desirable land Access to overseas markets Cheap African labor

Creation of extraction infrastructure with outward leading roads, rails, and ports

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Colonial Economic Policies: continued

Hut Tax and Cash incentives Where labor could not be subtly

persuaded through taxation, forced labor occurred

Where there was little white settlement e.g. Ghana, Nigeria, cash crop production encouraged or coerced

Positive: cash in hand for wealth and purchase

Negative: need cash to pay hut tax

Migrant Labor

Hut tax in place even where economy not providing cash Regions known as “Labor reserve”

E.g. northern Uganda, western Kenya

Migrant labor goes to mines, white owned farms, cash crop farms, some urban employment but….

Pass laws, Kipande

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Forced Labor

Congo Free State Kenya and Rhodesia: What choice do

squatters have? Liberia and rubber Mazrui: “Forced labor practices of slavery

and colonialism destroyed African concept as work as a process of self-fulfillment

Labor seen as retrograde to civilization by many Africa’s through colonial situation

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Colonial cultural under-development

Racist notions trickle down to cultural projects of education and missions encouraging Africans to forget their own heritage Denial of achievements such as Zimbabwe or

Gedhi European assimilation project through boarding

schools creating “colonized” minds and self-esteem Negative reactions toward “mother tongues” and

local customs Diminished opportunities for African dev. practices

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A Legacy of Development or Underdevelopment?

Development Infrastructure for extraction and

settlers built and remained e.g S.A., Kenya

Colonialism as modernization and path to development

Western Medicine Western Education Western business practices,

natural and social sciences Common languages across

continent Diminished Slave Trade Christianity New systems of governance

and administration

Underdevelopment Introduction of cash crops

degrades Africa’s soil and environment

Colonial limitations on extraction industries destroys local industry

Indigenous Knowledge destroyed Societies divided across imposed

boundaries Africans left with “foreign”

institutions and languages and separated from local ways

Imposition of Racism on Africa e.g. S.A., Rodesia

Extraction industries created dependency

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Remember Walter Rodney on colonialism

Rodney: Colonialism as a system for underdeveloping Africa

Africans restricted from certain industries by colonialism and forced to work as labor in primary extraction industries

Profits from colonialism reinvested in Europe Colonial educational process fosters underdevelopment of

Africa’s intellectual resources and indoctrinated Africans to work for European development at the expense of local development

Labor taken away from African development to be wasted on European extraction of wealth from continent

Colonial enterprises destroy local industries