Colonialism and the African Experience

Colonialism and the African Experience

The author of this document is . This document is a chapter in a textbook-like history book. It was written in. The intended audience appears to be people learning about colonialism in Africa. The audience seems to be expected to have a basic understanding of world history, but no specific understanding of African history. Therefore, it appears safe for one to assume that the audience is a history class or history students, who are seeking to learn about how European colonialism impacted Africa.

The document was written in order to inform people about the nature and impact of European colonialism in Africa. First, it explains why Europeans would want to colonize Africa. Modern depictions of Africa make it seem like a resource-poor and violent country, making it difficult for a modern audience to understand why anyone would want to colonize Africa in the first place. However, by contrasting the absolute vastness of Africa's territory with the relative minuteness of lands in Europe, the author is able to convey the fact that European countries were able to gain tremendous prestige by having vast holdings in colonies. The author also explains how strategic positioning in Africa enabled European countries to establish superior military positions, so that African holdings could and did impact political and military struggles in Europe. Of course, the land itself was only one benefit that European countries received from colonization. Africa was, and continues to be, a land with vast natural resources, and controlling the land put the imperial colonists in control of the resources. The most obvious of those resources may have been the African people. While most are familiar with the idea that European countries used the Africans in the slave trade, what they may not realize is how that practice had long-lasting effects on military power. For example, in World War I, approximately 1 million people of African descent fought on the side of the allies, a number that doubled by World War II (p.116). After explaining why the Europeans wanted to colonize Africa, the author goes on to explain how the Europeans used the missionaries and the idea of spreading Christianity to further secular goals in colonization. The author also discusses what these secular goals of colonization were. For example, Europeans honestly believed themselves to be culturally superior to colonized people. Therefore, the considered it a moral obligation to "civilize" the people they colonized. The author mentions segregation in the colonies, both de facto and de juris, and compares French, British, and Portuguese colonies and their attitudes towards race. The author also discusses the different ways in which the European countries ran their colonies, and how the different types of rule impacted development under colonial rule. Next, the author discusses the economics of colonialism, including: the expropriation of land, the exploitation of labor, the introduction of cash crops and the one-crop economy, unfair taxation, the introduction of immigrant labor from India, the transfer of mineral wealth from Africa to Europe, and the lack of industrialization. (p.135). Finally, the author ends the chapter with a discussion of whether colonialism helped or hurt Africa.

The author makes a very valiant and effective attempt to remain neutral and to present the information in an unbiased manner. However, the author makes several assumptions about the material presented. First, the author makes the assumption that the Europeans were exploitative when the colonized Africa. While acknowledging that Europeans may have legitimately believed that they needed to spread Christianity and otherwise "civilize" Africans, the author makes it clear that these beliefs furthered their own political and economic agendas, and could not have been the sole motivating factor. Those are assumptions that, while almost certainly true, are based upon personal belief and not fact. However, the author also seems to conclude that colonialism benefitted Africa, through things such as the introduction of Western medicine. This conclusion seems weak and is based upon the assumption that, absent colonization, Africa would not have been able to incorporate some of the benefits of Western life. When one looks at superpowers such as China, which have incorporated some of the beneficial aspects of Western life without being colonized, it becomes clear that assumption is unfounded.