FORM THREE
NOTES
IZOWG ONLINE
NOTES
ESTABLISHMENT OF COLONIAL
Scramble for and Partition
of Africa
The Meaning of Scramble for and
Partition of Africa
explain the meaning of scramble for and
partition of Africa
The scramble for
Africa:A competition among European powers to obtaining colonies.
Partition: This was a process of dividing colonies to
their respective colonial masters. This acts as a solution for the scramble of
Africa.
Periodisation:Scramble
for Africa started more in 1870s while involving different European
countries.
The
Causes of the Scramble for Africa leading to the Partition
Assess the causes of the scramble for Africa
leading to the partition
“Scramble” for and partition of Africa was a result of
several factors, some of which included:
1.
National balance of power while other European
countries demanded colonies to be equal or similar to Great Britain.
2.
Prestige (pride) of the nations: The number of colonies
controlled by the colonial master/nation was the measure of wealth of a nation.
3.
Industrial Revolution led to the demand of raw
materials from Africa hence competition among the European nations to obtain
many colonies as possible in Africa.
4.
Industrial revolution led to overproduction in Europe
hence creating a need to find external markets (outside Europe) thus resulting
in competition.
5.
Change of monopoly system: In Europe few capitalists
started to own land while others failed (those who failed to obtain land in
Europe they started to find in Africa hence competition).
6.
Conflicts between capitalists and labourers in Europe
while labourers demanded bigger salaries capitalists started to look for
cheaper labour thus started economic activities in Africa.
Why
Areas in Africa Experienced more Intensive Scramble than Others
Explain why areas in Africa experienced more
intensive scramble than others
During the scramble for and partition of Africa some African
areas like Egypt, Congo basin, Niger delta, East Africa, Central Africa and
South Africa experienced more intensive scramble than others due to their
potential. These included natural resources that existed in the colonies i.e.
minerals in South Africa, fertile soil in central Africa, water bodies in East
Africa, Egypt and Congo.
The
Impact of the Scramble for and Partition of Africa
Assess the impact of the scramble for and
partition of Africa
The scramble for and partition of Africa affected both
European powers and the African continent as well. Some of the impacts included
•
the Berlin conference,
•
cultural interference,
•
disputes and rivalries,
•
occurrence of war among European powers,
•
establishment of colonial rule,
•
colonial economy and monopoly companies in
Africa.
The Berlin Conference
(1884-85)
The Berlin conference was a
meeting held in Berlin that was called by Chancellor Otto von Bismark of
Germany. The meeting took place between November 1884 and February 1885. 14
European countries were represented at this conference. USA and Denmark
attended the conference as observers. Members in this meeting drew out a map of
Africa ready for partition
(drawing out colonial master‟s borders marking their
respective colonies (African States) that they would colonise).
The Events Leading to the Berlin Conference (1884/85
Explain the events leading to the Berlin
conference (1884/85)
The events leading to the Berlin conference in 1884-1885
included the intervention of the late comers in the process of scramble for and
partition of Africa. Military confrontation, conflicts over territorial
boundaries, European nationalism, German unification, hostility relations,
European industrialization, disputes and rivalries among the European powers.
The
Resolutions of the Berlin Conference
Evaluate the resolutions of the Berlin
conference
Representatives at the Berlin conference agreed on the
following principles: (these principles were to be followed by all colonial
masters).
1.
To abolish slave trade on their colonies: All and any
elements of slave trade in their respective colonies.
2.
They agreed to send a lot of missionaries, traders and
explorers on their respective colonies.
3.
They were required to stop or to make an end of
resistances that occurred between Africans and colonial government.
4.
They were required to
have effective control of their
colonies e.g. by
building/constructing social services.
5.
Colonial masters were required to notify other on the
possession of colonies.
6.
They agreed to have free navigation on the navigable
rivers like Congo, Nigeria etc. (In order to solve the conflict between the
European Countries).
7.
They were required to open up economic activities on
their respective colonies (establishment of colonial economy e.g. agriculture,
trading industry etc.)
The Berlin conference involved division of colonies to the
imperial trading companies e.g.
•
BEACO - Kenya
•
BSACO - South Africa, S. Rhodesia, N. Rhodesia
•
GEACO - Tanganyika, Rwanda and Burundi
Others involved:
•
Germany - Cameroon, Togo
•
France - Congo, Kinshasa, Tunisia, Morocco,
Senegal etc.
•
Belgium - Congo Brazzaville
•
Portugal - Angola and Mozambique
The
Significance of the Berlin Conference to Africa
Assess the significance of the Berlin
conference to Africa
The Berlin Conference had significance to Africa, addressing
the colonization of Africa, abolition of slave trade, suffering of African
people under colonial administration, division of African continent,
introduction of European language as well as land alienation.
Establishment of Colonial
Control/Rule
The
Concept of Colonialism
Explain the concept of colonialism
Colonialism refers to a situation whereby strong nations
dominate weak ones economically, politically, militarily or culturally. Africa
was subjected to colonialism in the 2nd half of 19th century as European powers
acquired full control over African countries by 1900 and extended their
colonial rule to the entire continent with the exclusion of Ethiopia and
Liberia.
The
Tactics Used to Impose Colonial Control /Rule in Africa
Explain the tactics used to impose colonial
control /rule in Africa
The process of colonial occupation in Africa by the
Europeans that started from the 19th Century involved different techniques, these
techniques were depending on the nature of colonial Government and
Africans.
These techniques included:
a.
|
Treaty making
|
b.
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Force
|
c.
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Collaboration
|
d.
|
Dual tactics (Treaties and
force)
|
Treaty making
These were bogus agreements that were signed by European
agents and African rulers (African rulers signed without understanding what
they were signing or what the agreement meant) on signing these treaties
African rulers were promised to be given luxurious things by the Europeans
(1880s)
Examples of these treaties:
a.
Carl Peters signed a treaty with the chief of Usagara,
Kilosa, Pangani etc.
b.
French Lochner (BSACO) signed a treaty with Lewanika
(N. Rhodesia 1860)
c.
Maffat signed with Lobengula on taking Matobele land
while Lobengula was promised to be given: £ 100 £ 500 (instead of gunboat) 100
Rifles
d.
Savognan De Brazza signed with Makoko Chief (Congo
Brazzaville) 1881 –1882
Why the use of
treaties.
African rulers signed the treaties due to:
a.
Some African rulers were weak economically and
politically thus they were in need of assistance.
b.
African rulers were ignorant as they signed without
understanding what they signing.
Forces/ violence
This was a method, which involved
the use of weapons to occupy colonies. The method was highly used in the
strongest African societies. Example
a.
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Germany Vs. Hehe
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b.
|
Germany Vs. Abushiri and
the Coastal people
|
c.
|
Germany Vs. Bwana Heri and
Coastal people
|
d.
|
Germany Vs. Mahemba and
Yao.
|
Why the use of force
African rulers use force/violence due to:
•
Some states African rulers were strong
economically and politically
•
The nature of colonial Government believed they
had to use force e.g. Germany
Collaboration (Alliance)
In this method Europeans tended to form an alliance with
some African societies to oppose other Africans.
The method was used on those areas with conflict. Example:
•
Mangi Marealle and Germany against other
Africans. E.g. Mangi Sina, Mangi Meli
•
Sangu, Bena and Germany Vs. Hehe
•
Shona and the British against Ndebele (Matebele)
•
Herero and Germany against Nama
Why the use of
collaboration
The African rulers use collaboration because
•
Some Africans were weak politically and
economically. Hence they were in need of assistance.
•
Some Africans were ignorant
•
Assimilation policy
•
Association policy
Indirect rule
Was a system of administration that involved the use of
African personnel to fill the the lowest posts of administration.
Who used this System?
It was used by British an administration their colonies
starting from 1920s e.g. in Nigeria, Tanganyika.
Origin
Indirect rule has its origins in the northern part of
Nigeria when Sir Laggard (from England) decided to use African Emirs to control
the Northern part involving Fulani, Ibo etc. In 1919 Sir Laggards started to
use African Emirs in the northern part while in 1922 the system was well known
to all parts of West Africa. Indirect rule was introduced in Tanganyika in
1926.
Conditions/Factors
that led to the introduction of indirect rule in Africa (advantages of indirect
rule)
Indirect rule in Africa was introduced due to the following
factors:
1.
It was introduced to reduce the cost of administration
(while African personnel were cheap).
2.
The shortage of European administrators, in Africa led
to the introduction of indirect rule in Africa (as African personnel were used
to help the colonial Government).
3.
Indirect rule helped European administrators with
collecting tax and obtaining cheap labour (African leaders were used to collect
tax and source cheap labourers).
4.
Due to the remoteness (poor infrastructure) of some
areas, European colonial masters failed to reach all areas and decided to use
Africans leaders (puppets).
5.
Climate conditions e.g. tropical climate affected a lot
of Europeans they became susceptible to tropical diseases thus they decided to
use Africans in those areas.
6.
Language problems: While Europeans failed to
communicate with local people educated Africans were used instead.
7.
It was introduced in order to solve enmity between
African and colonial Government Africans started to believe that they are ruled
by their fellow Africans. Due to this it reduced resistances from the Africans.
Effects of indirect
rule (on Africans)
Indirect rule had several effects to the Africans as
follows:
1.
It led to the formation of classes, that is families of
African leaders where considered of a higher class than others.
2.
It increased exploitation of African human and natural
resources.
3.
After independence of some Africans nations they
continued to use local rulers like chiefs to administer their societies.
Assimilation Policy
Was a system of administration used by the French in their
colonies (the system involves more on cultural change. This system of
administration comes from French Language “Assimila” that means caused “to
resemble”.
Origin:The origins of assimilation can be deduced from the
French revolution of 1789 while after the decline of Monarch Government,
Napoleon. Bonaparte was intending to build a strong nation.
In order to build a strong nation they also needed to spread
their culture (French Culture) in 1920s. This was a time when the French
started to use this system in their colonies. The system was used in Senegal
and other parts like Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria etc.
Implementation of
assimilation policy (how assimilation policy was introduced in Africa).
Implementation of Association policy was highly involving in
cultural change as follows:
1.
They built schools on their colonies that used the
French language as the medium for instruction and French culture in general
(educated Africans were made to behave like the French that they resemble
French people).
2.
Africans were given certificates that were used as an
identity to obtain French passport.
Evolved (those who attained certificate) were
allowed to enter in France.
3.
In order to blind Africans: French colonies were known
as “Provinces” and not colonies.
(Province meant outside France).
4.
Europeans introduced provinces in Africa having the
same name like that of France e.g. four province were introduced i.e. Goree,
Rafisque, Dakar and St. Louis.
5.
The four provinces were used as headquarters while in
Dakar it was to act as headquarter of others under governor in charge.
6.
They allowed Africans and Europeans representatives in
legilco (in France). This was a guise to blind Africans.
Failure of
assimilation policy
Assimilation policy started to fail in the 1930s and was
replaced with the association policy.
Factors for the failure of assimilation policy
1.
Muslims rejected to send their sons and daughters in
Mission Schools (thus it was not possible to introduce this system in these
areas).
2.
Some Africans resisted the colonial government due to
cultural interference.
3.
Assimilation policy was expensive to carry out and the
French decided to introduce another system of administration which that was
cheaper, association policy.
4.
Since assimilation involved cultural change it was not
beneficial to the colonial government (economic gain was less).
5.
Influence of educated African elites who started to
fight against the colonial government (they started to mobilise their fellow
Africans against the colonial government.
6.
Africans were highly exploited that is, in terms of
natural and human resources hence they started to resist colonial government).
Association Policy
Was a system
of administration used by the French after the failure of assimilation policy.
This system started to be used more in 1930s. In this they started to associate
Africans in the production of material wealth e.g. raw materials. It was at
this time when African leaders started being used by the colonial governments.
Association policy involved the use of African chiefs who
were divided into three types that is:
•
Chef de village - (chief of the village)
•
Chef de conton - (chief of the district)
•
Chef de communes - (chief of the province)
Those leaders were used in forcing Africans to pay tax and
on obtaining African labourers (to be used on colonial economies).
Activity
1
Explain the reasons for the failure
of the assimilation policy and the introduction of the association policy.
1.
|
Define association policy
and assimilation policy.
|
2.
|
In one paragraph, explain
briefly what assimilation policy is.
|
3.
|
Factors for the
introduction of association policy.
|
4.
|
How did the French
introduce Association policy (in brief)?
|
African Reactions to
Colonial Rule
The
Meaning of African Reactions to Colonial Rule
Explain the meaning of African reactions to
colonial rule
Reaction means response to something (whether in a negative
or positive manner). Africans' reaction to colonialists highly depended on the
nature of Africans in the area and the
colonial governments‟ style (it depended on the ways/methods used by the
colonial rulers on imposition of colonial rules).
The
Various Form of African Reactions
Explain the various form
of African reactions
This response of Africans to colonial rulers can be divided
into two types being active and passive.
Active
Africans responded negatively against Europeans
Passive
Africans obeyed colonial rules.
Nature of African response to colonial imposition
The nature of Africans‟ response to colonial rule imposition
can be divided into four forms:
•
Violence
•
Non Violence
•
Mercenary
•
Adoption
The
Causes of and Reasons for the Different African Reactions
Account for the causes of and reasons for
the different African reactions
Violence
This involves Africans who tended to use weapons against
colonial rules. This method was highly used by the strangest African societies
such as:
•
Abushiri and Coastal people against Germans
•
Hehe against Germans
•
Ndebele against British
•
Jaja of Opobo against British
Why
the use of violence
The reasons are:
•
Some Africans were politically and economically
strong and ere able to resist the Europeans.
•
Harsh treatment from colonial rulers forced
Africans to use violence.
•
Africans were exploited for natural and human
resources and started to fight back.
Non violence
Some Africans decided to flee their homes our of fear of
European colonialists and some of them decided to boil seeds before planting
them, striking against the colonial rule. Example, nonviolence was used by the
Maasai and Haya (in East Africa).
Why the use of non violence The reasons
are:
•
Africans who used this system were politically
and economically week.
•
Nature of economic activities, It was not easy
for nomadic pastoralist to use violence.
•
Some Africans were affected by diseases e.g.
Jiggers for the Haya.
Mercenary
This was a response where some African societies started to
hire soldiers from other societies e.g. Nyamwezi tribe used to hire soldiers
from the Ngoni tribe (soldiers known as Rugaruga) to fight against the colonial
rulers.
Why the use of
mercenaries
Some of the societies were weak hence they needed assistance
from other soldiers.
Adaptation
Some African
societies tended to copy the methods of fighting from the European colonial
masters during their friendship.These African societies started to use the
methods to fight against colonial rule e.g. Menelek of Ethiopia who fought
against Italians using this method.
Why the use of
adaptations
It was due to the weakness of some African societies who
tended to copy the methods of fighting.
The
Factors which Determined the Nature of African Reactions
Assess the factors which determined the
nature of African reactions
Factors which determine the nature of African reactions
included military strength, ideological beliefs, diseases, economic strength,
existence of missionaries, geographical position, nature of the state, the role
of leaders, level of colonial exploitation and political awareness among the
Africans.
COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIVE
SYSTEM
Direct Rule, Indirect Rule,
Assimilation and Association
The
Concept of Direct Rule, Indirect Rule, Assimilation and Association
Explain the concept of direct rule, indirect
rule, assimilation and association
Indirect rule
This is a colonial system of administration, whereby,
African traditional rules were involved in administering their fellow Africans
at the local level while the colonial officials and administrators administered
at the higher level.Indirect rule was pioneered by Sir Fredrick John Lugard who
was the British High Commissioner to Nigeria in 1990.
Reasons for the
British to use indirect rule in their colonies
The British colonial government used indirect rule in most
of her colonies in Africa because of the following reasons.
1.
Britain drew more attention to her colony in India,
thus it was difficult for her to introduce direct rule in Africa.
2.
Britain did not have enough manpower to administer her
colonies in Africa. For instance, in 1900 it was reported that the British had
only 42 British officials in her Nigerian colony. This number was not
sufficient to administer the whole colony. The shortage of personnel was caused
by lack of experienced workers. Moreover, British citizens were not willing to
work in Tropical Africa for fear of Tropical diseases and other physical
problems such as transportation.
3.
Less funds were set by the British government for the
maintenance of the colonies. It was convenient for the colonial administrators
to use the indirect rule system in the colonies so as to reduce administrative
costs.
4.
The indirect rule proved to be effective and efficient
in their Indian colony; therefore, the British government was inspired to apply
it in Africa.
5.
The British thought of using the indirect rule in order
to overcome resistances from
Africans. Consequently, Africans rulers were made to feel that their
status was honored by British, as this system of administration gave them an
opportunity of keeping some of the money corrected in form of taxes for their
native treasuries. That money was spent for paying messengers and policemen
salaries. However, the local African chiefs retained the money for their
personal use.
6.
Physical barriers such as poor infrastructure, presence
of mountains, thick forests and dangerous animals in the colonial African
forces the British to use indirect rule.
7.
A language barrier between the British and the Africans
forced the British to use indirect rule. Neither Africans nor Europeans
understood the language of the other. Hence, they used interpreters.
Direct rule
This was a colonial system of administration whereby the
colonies were governed by Europeans officials at the top position, Arabs Akidas
and Liwalis were at the bottom. The Germans preferred this system of
administration in their metropolitan country.
Assimilation policy
The termassimilationmeans
„similar to‟. The French used this term to refer to a system of administration
that aimed at creating French Black Africans among the West Africans who would
be French citizens. The French wanted the French Black Africans to enjoy the
same status and privileges or suffer penalties like any French citizen in
France.
The assimilation policy was first used in Indo-China and
Algeria and later introduced in the four communes of Senegal-Goree, St. Louis,
Rufisque and Dakar-in 1854 and spread to other French colonies in Africa. the
assimilation policy proved to be successful when it was applied in Morocco. In
Senegal the assimilation policy was introduced by Lewis, a trench governor,
between 1854 and 1865.
Characteristics of
assimilation policy
1.
The French regarded their colonies as their overseas
provinces thus the colonies were closely attached to France.
2.
African citizens within the French colonies enjoyed the
privileges and the rights that were
given to any French citizen in the metropolis.
3.
The African colonies under the French rule were
represented in lower House of parliament. This showed that there was political
integration of the Africans with France.
4.
There was a close economic relationship between France
and her colonies in Africa. The French currency was used in the colonies, an
indication that the colonies were integrated to the metropolis country.
5.
They had intention of making the Africans in their
colonies to be good French citizens through dictatorship that forced the
Africans to learn French language, follow the French laws, apply French civil
and political system, be Christians and adopt French manners.
6.
They encountered a lot of difficulties in West Africa,
since their attitude towards Africans culture and African chiefs were negative.
The Association Policy
This was the system of French colonial administration that
prevailed in the colonies after the failure of the assimilation policy. Unlike
assimilation, association policy respected the culture of Africans and allowed
them to develop independently, and did not force them to adapt French culture.
The association policy was practiced in Africa after the failure
of the assimilation policy. It insisted on the relationship between the
Africans and the French being that of association and not otherwise. The
association had to use the indigenous elites who were trained in France as
administrators to mediate between fellow Africans and French colonial
administrators.
The major purpose of association was to create mutual
economic development for both the Africans and the French. However, the
implementation of the association policy was impractical, since the Africans
had their traditional institutions such as custom and traditions.
African
rulers were used by the colonial administration to fulfill their demands such
as collection of tax, labor recruitments and maintaining peace and order in
their areas. African chiefs who failed to perform such duties were replaced.
Africans traditional rulers were not given any authority to
execute anything through their own initiatives without the consent of the
French colonial administrators.
Unlike the British colonies, the French association policy
limited the Africans in their colonies of the right of free speech, trade union
activities and freedom of press. This policy of administration wanted the
French colonial government to respect the culture of the people in the colonies,
and allow them to develop independently instead of forcing them to adapt French
culture.
Moreover the association policy of the French treated the
other Africans as second class-citizens; they were not obligated to follow the
French civil and criminal laws but the assimilees remained as French citizen
with all rights. However the non-citizen subjects could suffer arbitrary arrest
or serve a longer term in French army than the citizen, a thing that motivated
them to be French citizens.
The new French policy of association encouraged the colonial
administrators to respect the African cultures and give them freedom of
developing separately. However this policy made Africans in the colonies to be
regarded as second-class citizens and French criminal and civil laws could not
be applied to them. The Africans were governed by a system of law known justice
indigiene. This law made Africans to serve the army for a long time by force or
face arbitrary arrest; as a result Africans opted in becoming French citizens.
Africans had the right of maintaining their culture.
Examples, of such cultural practices were polygamy and Islamic religion in West
Africa.
The Motive for the Application of Various Colonial Administrative Systems
Appraise the motive for the application of
various colonial administrative systems
The motive for the application of indirect rule
The major reasons that made Europeans to initiate and apply
the indirect rule system of administration in Africa were:
1.
The Europeans did not want to interfere with the
African traditional systems of administration.
2.
The Europeans administrators wanted their instructions
or orders to appear as if they
were emanating directly from the African traditional rulers. This was
aimed at reducing African resistances against the European policies.
3.
The Europeans wanted the African chiefs to appear as
the ones giving orders to their subordinates (fellow Africans).
4.
The Europeans introduced the indirect rule system with
an assumption of civilizing the Africans.
5.
In other areas, indirect rule was used when the system
of direct rule had proved failure. For example, the British colonial government
decided to use indirect rule in Tanganyika to avoid what happened to the
Germans.
The reasons or motives for the application of assimilation policy
The assimilation policy made by European countries that
employed the policy in their colonies to consider their culture and
civilization as superior to those of the colonized people (Africans). The
French believed that their culture was the best in the world, and that they had
enlightened their colonies with their rich heritage of civilization.
Some of the reasons for introducing the assimilation policy
in Senegal were:
1.
The four communes of Senegal consisted of 90% of
mulattoes who emerged after the establishment of St. Louis in 1659, a trading
post where many French traders (male) intermingled with African women; this led
to the creation of light-skinned population (mulatto). Moreover, the mulattoes
could be identified more with the French culture than that of the Africans,
thus it was easy for the French to assimilate them.
2.
The Africans in the four communes-Goree, Dakar, St.
Louis and Rufisque were quite familiar with the white traders in their
communes, thus it was easy for them to adapt with the assimilation system.
3.
The four communes of Senegal had a higher percentage of
the converted Christian; it was easy to accept the assimilation policy applied
by the government in their country.
The
Similarities and Differences of Colonial Administrative Systems
Analyse the similarities and differences of
the colonial administrative systems
The similarities of direct and indirect rule
Both were colonial systems of administration with one major
interest of exploiting Africans and their resources. The two colonial
administrative systems used their state organs to suppress the Africans. Their
organs were police, courts and prisons. In addition, the two system of colonial
administration used African traditional chiefs to supervise colonial works in their
areas. However, African rulers who supported colonial administration did not
get full support from their people; they were regarded as puppets or traitors.
Lastly, both policies maintained racial discrimination. The Europeans were
favored and considered superior to Africans. All high ranking jobs in the
government were reserved for Europeans while Africans held the lower position
of jobs in their local areas.
The differences between direct and indirect rule
1.
The direct rule did not use the traditional Africans
chiefs as their intermediaries while the indirect rule used the African chiefs.
For instance, in Kenya the British used some Kikuyu chiefs as paramount chiefs,
like chiefs Koinange wa Mbiyu and many others. Germans used direct rule in her
colonies in African including Tanganyika.
2.
The indirect rule practiced by the British did not
great enmity from the Africans because African traditional chiefs were involved
in the colonial administration, and their subjects were loyal to them. This was
not the case with the direct rule employed by the Germans, since they
experienced frequent resistances due to their harsh and brutal treatment of
Africans.
3.
Furthermore, it was easy for the indirect rule
administration convince African traditional chiefs to mobilize their subjects
to participate in various colonial tasks while the direct rule administration
rule encountered difficulties in mobilizing Africans to perform their colonial
duties and as a result opted to use force to make Africans participate in their
various colonial duties. For example, the Germans in Tanganyika forced southern
people to work in their colonial plantations.
4.
The indirect rule system of administration had less
costs of administration unlike the
direct rule that required many Europeans to perform all tasks of
administrations hence high costs of administration.
5.
Direct rule was characterized by the use of force and
racial superiority. For instance, the Germans considered themselves to be
superior to other races. Brutality was also characteristic of direct rule,
whereby Africans were handled brutally by colonial administrators. On other
hand the indirect rule system of administration used African local chiefs in
handling their people and at the same time performing colonial duties.
Despite all the differences stated above between direct and
indirect rule, both administrative system was created in order to safeguard the
interest of the colonialists and not to benefit the Africans.
The similarities between the direct rule and the assimilation policy
1.
Both the colonial administration system used European
officials at the higher administrative position in their colonies.
2.
Both colonial system of administration ensured that
Africans were subjected to colonial laws that exploited Africans through tax
payment, and forced labor, and deprived Africans of the right to vote.
3.
Both colonial system of administration created
positions of chiefs in areas that had no central authorities. For instance,
the British did this in some parts of Nigeria and Kenya while the France
formulated chieftainship in Senegal.
4.
Both colonial administrative systems exploited the
African natural resources, such as minerals, forests and rivers.
5.
Both colonial administrative system underrated and
ignored the traditional African chiefs.
|
The differences between the direct rule and the assimilation policy
1.
The British colonies were separately administered by an
appointed governor from Britain, while the French colonies where considered
similar to other provinces of France.
2.
The direct rule involved separate administration of
African colonies, as opposed to the
assimilation policy which involved the administration of all African
colonies as a federation.
3.
The British colonies formulated the legislative
councils in the colonies and discussed policy that governed the colonies. Thus
the British colonies had no representative in house of commons. On the other
hand, the French colonies elected representative to the chamber of deputies of
France.
4.
The laws that were used by the British in the colonies
were those passed by the legislative council in the colonies, while those
enacted in the French colonies in Africa were the laws created in France.
5.
The assimilation policy made the Africans who were in
French colonies to be French citizens and enjoy all republican rights. This was
opposed by the British colonies, whereby no matter what position someone may
hold in a colonial state, still he remained the subject of British colony.
The similarities between the assimilation policy and indirect rule
1.
Both systems used crude exploitation measure like
taxation, land alienation and forced labor.
2.
Both policies were based on misbelieve about Africans.
Europeans considered their religion, races, education, policies and other kind
of civilization as superior and thus they had a mission to civilize the
Africans.
3.
In both systems, the African chiefs were used as a
means to achieve what colonial masters wanted. This caused the chiefs not to
work for the interest of their people, nor be loyal to them, but to the
Europeans.
4.
Both policies maintained racial discrimination. The
Europeans were favored and considered more superior than Africans. All
high-ranking jobs in the government were reserved for Europeans while Africans
held the lower positions of jobs in their local areas.
5.
In both systems policy-making and legislation were made
by their home National Assembly and were sent to the colonies to be implemented
by the governor and local authorities through the secretary of state.
6.
The laws which were enforced in both systems originated
from their home government
judicial systems. This means that the systems ignored the traditional
institutions and laws made by them.
The difference between the assimilation and indirect rule
1.
The French used the centralized rule in her colonies.
All French colonies had their headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, and the
Governor-General was the one who administered all the colonies. The entire
system of administration was appointed by leaders from their home country,
while the British administration used governors to administer colonies. The
governor received the order from the secretary of the colony.
2.
The attitude they had toward their colonies was
different. The British regarded their colonies as distinct entities from
their mother colonies while the French regarded their colonies as their
overseas provinces. The provinces could even provide representative to French
parliament. In 1914, Blaise Diagne became the first African representative in
the French parliament.
3.
The French assimilation policy designed Africans who
were French citizens. These were granted all civil rights and favor given to
the French citizens. On the other hand, the British policy never gave any
privilege of that nature to Africans in their colonies.
4.
The British policy preserved traditional method of
selecting chiefs and local leaders. The French on other hand destroyed and
never respected local governments, hence they directly chose and appointed
their own African officials who were mostly not popular to the people they
were ruling.
5.
In the indirect system, the British allowed African
chiefs to collect taxes and supervise the expenditure of some funds they
collected while the French collected taxes and spent at their own discretion.
6.
The revenue management of the two systems was quite
different; while the French West
Africa collected all the tax and spent it to its
headquarter in Dakar, Senegal, and was managed by Governor-general for equal
distribution and development of all its colonies, for the British each colony
was given the freedom to spend the revenue collected for the benefit of that
colony.
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7. The
indirect rule that was imposed by the British in their colonies did not disrupt
the
traditional African culture. On the other hand, the French
assimilation policy ignored and destroyed the African culture in the
colonies.
Similarities between the assimilation and the association policies
1.
|
Both were metropolitan
administration systems introduced in French colonies.
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2.
|
Both systems of
administration aimed at plundering the natural resources of Africans.
|
The differences between the assimilation and association policies
1.
The association policy was a colonial administrative
system in which France had to respect the culture of her colonial people.
Assimilation policy on other hand was the system of administration used by
French in which the Africans were taught how to think and act as French
citizens, aiming at colonizing Africans by transforming them into French
citizens.
2.
The assimilation policy was economically expensive
compared to association system which did not demand more French funds.
3.
In the association policy, colonies were regarded as
other colonies in Africa and thus they were not close to the colonial master,
while the assimilation policy the colonies were regarded as their overseas
provinces. Thus, the colonies were closely attached to the colonial master.
4.
The association policy made the Africans to be regarded
as second-class citizens, while the assimilation policy Africans enjoyed the
privilege and rights that governed any French citizen in the metropolis.
The similarities between the association policy and direct rule
1.
Both were metropolitan administrative systems with one
major interest of exploiting African resources and labor force.
2.
The two systems were characterized by the use of force
and racial superiority. For instance, Germans who practiced direct rule felt
superior to other races.
3.
In both systems the authoritarian approach was used.
For instance, African press, trade union and economic activities were
suppressed by colonial governments.
4.
In both systems, colonial imperialists took control of
their colonies for a long time, for
example, the white settlers in Zimbabwe under direct rule and the
French colonies in West Africa.
5.
Both colonial administrative systems aimed at
plundering the natural resources of Africa.
The differences between the association policy and direct rule
1.
The association policy did not experience great enmity
as it respected African culture, while direct rule experienced great enmity
from Africans due to their harsh and brutal rule.
2.
The association system has less cost of administration
unlike direct rule which required many Europeans to perform administrative
tasks which led to higher costs of administration.
3.
The association system of administration was used by
French government after the failure of assimilation while direct rule was used
by German colonial power and British in area where they thought indirect system
could not work.
4.
In direct rule the European settlers‟ population was
big in colonies, while in association policy Africans were also allowed to live
in their colonial master‟s country.
The similarities between association policy and indirect rule
1.
Both colonial administrative systems used in African
colonies.
2.
Both systems used African intermediaries in their
administration and preserved traditional methods of choosing leaders.
3.
In both policies whites occupied higher administrative
posts, while the Africans occupied the lower positions in the administration.
All offices from district officers, commissioners and governors were occupied
by the British and the French.
4.
Both systems used crude ways of ruling: exploiting,
taxation and forced labor.
5.
Both systems were introduced after observing the shortcomings
of other systems used previously. For example, association was used after the
weaknesses of assimilation policy while indirect rule was introduced after
observing the shortcomings of direct rule.
The differences between the
association and indirect rule
1. The
association policy encouraged the French colonial administrators to respect the
African culture, while the
indirect rule system of administration disregarded the African traditional
culture but only used traditional chiefs for their interests.
2.
The French emphasized on the use of French language
on her colonies, while the British on the other hand considered and allow the
use of local and native languages together with English.
3.
The French association policy still maintained aim of
transforming Africans into French by making the laws whereby non-citizens
faced arbitrary arrest, serving the army for a long time, while the British
made no attempt to transform the Africans.
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The Strengths, Weaknesses and Impact of the
Colonial Administrative
Systems on Africa
|
Evaluate the strengths, weaknesses and
impact of the colonial administrative systems on Africa
Strength and weaknesses of indirect rule
1.
It avoided African resistance by appointing traditional
rulers to rule on their behalf. Hence, all complaints were directed to
traditional African rulers.
2.
It was cheap, as local chiefs were used to mobilize
their people to pay taxes and work as forced laborers.
3.
Indirect rule created imbalance of development among
African states. Areas which had local chiefs assisting the colonial government
had development on social services like schools, hospitals and roads while
those which had no chiefs in their areas had no or inadequate social services.
Such situations had led to many conflicts among Africans after independence.
4.
It had created social differences among Africans. The
chiefs‟ families and loyal families got privilege of getting social services
such as education, hospitals and many more while the rest of the community were
not getting such facilities.
5.
Tribalism developed as an impact of indirect rule.
African chiefs who were entrusted to rule on behalf of colonialists considered
themselves superior to other in their land. For example, Kabaka Mwanga of
Buganda created disunity among Ugandan when he declared the Buganda kingdom
independent in 1960.
6.
African chiefs became puppets of the administrators and
did not serve their people.
7.
The indirect rule cemented centralized bureaucracy
through the use of the district commissioners.
The strengths and weaknesses of direct rule
1.
The system solved the shortage of employment among
the European population. For example, Germany offered employment to her
people in the colonies she occupied. Hence, she managed to reduce the rate of
unemployment of her people.
2.
The system managed to suppress resistance, since it
ensured that the colonies had enough white military officials to safeguard
their interests. For instance, the Abushiri war of resistance of 1888 was
suppressed by the German colonial administration. Some weaknesses of direct rule were:
3.
The use of harsh and brutal means to make Africans
meet colonial demands such as production of raw materials and paying taxes.
Their approach led to many sufferings of the Africans that included death or
imprisonment.
4.
It undermined the pre-existing African traditional
rulers. For instance, the German administration in Tanganyika removed the
African traditional rulers, replacing them with Arab Akidas and Liwalis from
the coastal areas.
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Weaknesses and impact of assimilation policy
Due to constraints they encountered, the French were forced
to loosen their ties by initiating another system of ruling known asassociation.
•
The major reason that made the French to drop
the assimilation policy of administration was that, the policy proved quite
impractical because it could not make an African a French citizen. It managed
to change the person mentally and morally but the person remained inferior
because he remained a black man who could not even be accepted by fellow
Africans who were not assimilated and would neither be accepted in the European
world. On other hand, association gave freedoms to Africans in the colonies to
develop in their chiefdoms using their own culture.
•
The assimilation system proved to be too
expensive. As the French kept on expanding their territory in Africa, it was a
burden to assimilate more of the Africans inhabitants since the French
government could incur more costs for building more social facilities such as
schools, hospitals, churches and many more. Thus the assimilation system found
itself in a dilemma.
•
It arose fears among Frenchmen in France that
the assimilated Africans could bring economic challenge to them, since they
would get equal rights as other Frenchmen, particularly in trade activities.
Thus, they thought of discrediting the assimilation policy in order to
safeguard their own interests. Many African traditional authorities were
replaced with eroded assimilated rulers who had been brainwashed with the
French culture.
•
There was a great gap among Africans as an
effect of assimilation policy, as the assimilees were favored by the colonial
government while the other people from other community were exploited a great
deal. The assimilees were exempted from taxpaying and forced labor because they
were considered French citizens, while the unassimilated were forced to pay tax
and were subjected to forced labor.
•
The African colonies were regarded as part and
parcel of France, since the assimilation system of administration considered
their colonies as their overseas provinces.
•
French became an official language in most of
African countries that were colonized by French (Francophone countries). The
reason behind such decision was the impact of assimilation whereby many
Africans were influenced by the French language.
Factors that led to
assimilation policy to fail in West Africa
1.
Some African communities with strong cultural ties
refused to accept the French assimilation policy and abandon their traditional
way of living.
2.
African traditional chiefs discredited the assimilation
system because it threatened their authority and assimilees did not accept
being under the African chiefs, as they regarded themselves to be superior to
them.
3.
Muslim disapproved the assimilation policy for it
wanted them to become Christian, while they wished to maintain their Islamic
faith.
4.
The spread of Islamic religion in West African communes
became an obstacle for the
spread of assimilation system, since the system encouraged people to
be converted to Christianity.
5.
Africans were not motivated to participate in political
affairs of France.
Strengths of association policy
1.
|
It did not interfere with African cultural practices such
as religion, custom and traditions.
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2.
|
The association policy
considered the assimilated Africans as French citizens.
|
3.
|
It did not apply French
civil and criminal law to Africans in the colonies.
|
Weaknesses of the association policy
1.
The association policy was more authoritarian and
withheld Africans rights to freedom of expression, trade union activities and
the press freedom.
2.
It forced Africans who were not assimilated to serve
French colonial army for longer period than the assimilated ones.
3.
It regarded the non-assimilated Africans as second
class citizens.
Colonial Military and
Colonial Legal Institutions
The
Meaning Of Colonial Military And Colonial Legal Institutions
Explain the meaning of colonial military and
colonial legal institutions
Colonial military legal institution some time refers to
colonial state apparatus that were responsible to protect colonial interests,
colonial military force included:
•
The army force
•
Police force
•
Prison/judiciary
These institutions were concerned with the maintenance of
law, order and the security of the colonial state to ensure that colonialists
achieve their ultimate goals. The British established their military
institutions in East Africa and central Africa. In East Africa it was referred
to as a East Africa Rifles it has the duty of protecting Uganda and Kenya.
In central Africa it was known as central Africa Rifles of
Nyasaland (Malawi). The two military institution were joined in 1902 and formed
the king‟s African Rifles (KAR) the KAR had battalions in every British
territory. KAR was established in Tabora Tanganyika in 1919. The KAR recruited
soldiers from Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Malawi.
Another part of the colonial military institution was the
police force. This recruited cadets in the colonies or externally. The police
recruited from outside the colonies were from India, Europe and some were
Nubians from Sudan.
The colonialist always recruited their force to foreign land
which would make it easy for these workers to be fierce ruthless and harsh to
the people of the foreign land.
On the other hand the French had thier army which was very
popular among the French West African colonies such as Senegal, Guinea and
Mali. Germany never had a stable recognised army; they preferred hired
mercenaries from other parts of the world and Africa.
The major reason for establishing the colonial military
force was to defend the White colonial administrators in the colonies and
safeguard colonial interests against internal and external threats.
In addition, the colonial army had a duty of suppressing and
exploiting Africans with the help of other established colonial organs such as
the police, the prison and the judiciary without forgetting the colonial
administration, since colonialism was very much resented and resisted by the
Africans.
The top and
middle positions of the army were dominated by the European officials and the
lowest levels consisted of Africans. The Africans were included in the colonial
army in the period of world wars I and II. For instance the KAR had all white
soldiers in its army during the word wars.
Africans were later recruited in this army in order to
suppress the Germans in East Africa. Many of the East Africa KAR soldiers
offered their services in Burma, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
The police force
The colonial police force was
created in order to ensure that peace and order weremaintained in their
colonies. In addition it made sure that Africans paid taxes, produced raw
materials such as cash crops production in the colonial plantations and
performed public works such as building railways, and roads when required by
the colonial government.
The other
role of the police was to suppress the unacceptable African practices in the
eyes of
Europeans such as human
sacrifice, slavery and the buying of the dead bodies. Police caught African
people who committed crimes and brought them before the court of the law for
European justice to take its course. In Tanganyika the first police force
initiated in 1919, under the command of Dutch officers from South Africa
The prison
Prisons were created in the
African colonies in order to discipline and guard African prisoners who were
convicted and sentenced by the colonial judicial system. Many African prisoners
during colonial rule were those who failed to pay taxes or refused to work in
the colonial plantations and for public services.
The
Functions of each Colonial Military and Colonial Legal Institutions
Analyse critically the functions of each
colonial military and colonial legal institutions
Major functions of the colonial military institutions
To defend of colonial boundaries:The colonial administration
ordered their army to fight against their enemies. For instance in 1919, 6 th
KAR battalion of the British in Tanganyika fought in World War I in Kalito
(Ethiopia) and another part of it fought in Burma and Sudan.
Implemented land alienation for colonial
settlers: To establish colonial plantation they enforced the land
alienation policy throughout the colonies.
Suppression of African resistance: SomeAfricans reacted very
strongly to colonial rulership so it was the duty of colonial military to
suppress the opposition. This was used as the only way for colonialists to
maintain their administration.
They had a task of maintaining peace and order through maintaining
colonial laws and orders: They also prevented crimes in the colonies. Not
only that but they also protected the colonial properties such as buildings,
infrastructure etc.
Tax collection and information: They were responsible for
collecting information and supervising the tax collected in the colony. The information
collected was to be communicated to the colonial masters.
Supervision of public works was among the functions of the colonial
military institutions:Public works included the construction of
infrastructures such as railway, ports, prisons, hospitals, schools, churches
etc. all these had to be supervised by the colonial military.
Implement colonial conquest: To
effect colonial invasion and domination in Africa during the colonial
penetration and occupation the colonial military had to penetrate to the
interior for the purpose of establishing the colonisation process.
Characteristics of the colonial military
Provided low wages: Exploited
African soldiers through low payment of salaries although they performed the
tough work in the army, while the Whites were paidhighly.
Poor working condition:African soldiers were subjected to poor
social services. They lived in low standards and small houses with shared
bathrooms and toilets while white soldiers and their officers lived in big
well-ventilated, well furnished houses; other social services such as health
and education were also offered on discriminatory bases.
Practiced
racism:Africans was restricted from interacting with white soldiers apart
from official meetings. For instance African entertained themselves in their
social halls that were of low standards and had minimum facilities and White
had their clubs where they interacted among themselves
Poor education: Most
colonial forces were more or less illiterate because it was believed that an
uneducated force was better for the colonialists.
Applied force not
brains: Most colonial forces used strict command with less reasoning.
Colonial legal institutions
The colonial legal institutions
were the colonial organisations that dealt with legal issues. It had the duty
of advising colonial government, receiving people's claims, educating the
society and guiding on the procedures to be followed, and providing legal aid.
It included the legislative councils of elders, the prisons and the courts.
They adapted the colonial administrative system such as the
councils of elders which were common in British colonies.
The legal systems during the
colonial period in many African colonies were led by European judges and
magistrates. It sued and sentenced those who were not affecting the oppressive
colonial laws.
The nature of punishment administered in the colonial
judicial system ranged from fines, caning, imprisonment and execution. The
colonial judiciary system was governed by the help of
•
The Criminal Investigation Department: This
department performed the task of investigating all criminal reports.
•
The motorised companies: Those performed the
task of suppressing strikes formed by trade unionists. The motorised companies
were established in 1947.
•
The militia: This took charge of collecting
taxes and arrested Africans who failed to pay tax or evaded paying taxes.
Duties of the legal institutions
The major duties of the legal
institutions were vast. Some of them were to amend laws, acts and ordinances as
they were amended time after time in order to suit the colonial situation.
Legal institutions had to do so to ensure that Africans performed various
colonial activities.
Among the laws and ordinances
made was the crown land ordinance of 1915 in Kenya. This offered white settlers
the right to own Kenyan highlands for a 99 years lease. Another instance was
that of masters and servants ordinance of 1924 which was established in
Tanganyika.
The handling of various claims of
the people was done through councils of elders and the legislative council
(LEGCO) the councils of elders dealt with African cases while the LEGCO handled
both European and African claims.
PICTURES SHOWING COLONIAL ARMY
BASIC ASSIGNMENT/ACTIVITY TO DO
1.
|
Explain the meaning of
colonial military and colonial legal institutions.
|
2.
|
What were the functions of
colonial military and colonial legal institutions?
|
3.
|
Explain the features of
colonial military.
|
4.
|
Describe the duties of the
colonial legal institutions.
|
COLONIAL ECONOMY
Establishment of Colonial
Economy
The
Meaning and Objectives of Colonial Economy
Explain the meaning and objectives of
colonial economy
Colonial economy was introduced in order to increase
production distribution and consumption of material wealth.
Why colonial economy was introduced to Africa
Colonial economy in Africa was
introduced due to the industrial revolution in Europe which led to a need for
raw materials, markets, areas of investment and labourers. In order to solve
those problems, Europeans established five economic activities such as
agriculture, mining, industry, trade and infrastructure.
Features of colonial economy
Colonial economy had several features which differ from the
pre-colonial economy in the following ways:
1.
Colonial economy was export oriented (e.g. production
of cash crops, mineral.
2.
It was exploitative in nature,that is Africans were
highly exploited.
3.
It went hand in hand with alienation of Africans
(Africans were alienated from their land which was used by the Europeans).
4.
Colonial economy used forced labour (in areas where
colonial rulers opened projects).
5.
Colonial economy was a cash economy that is, exchange
was done on monetary terms.
6.
It went together with the use of high capital in
opening of economic activities like agriculture, mining etc.
7.
Colonial economy involved small scale and large-scale
production.
8. It went together with introduction of tax. This tax
went to the colonial government.
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The Tactics used to
Establish Colonial Economy
|
Analyse critically the tactics used to
establish colonial economy
Establishment of colonial economy in Africa
In establishing colonial economy Europeans used different
methods: Creative, destructive and preservation.
a. Creative
Colonial rulers introduced new
modes of production in Africa such as:
1.
|
The introduction of a cash
economy, exchange took place through cash.
|
2.
|
Introduction of land
alienation where European took fertile belonging to Africans.
|
3.
|
Colonialists introduced
large-scale farms e.g. tea plantations and settler farms in Africa.
|
4.
|
Africans were forced to pay
tax in cash to the colonial government.
|
5.
|
It went together with the construction of infrastructure
for the benefit of colonial powers.
|
6.
|
Africans were forced to
work in colonial projects.
|
b. Destructive
Colonial power tended to be destructive to Africa:
1.
Colonialism destroyed African local industries in order
to gain market and labourers.
2.
Colonial governments tended to destroy African culture
e.g. initiation ceremony. This was done to obtain cheap labour.
c. Preservative
1.
Colonial governments preserved peasant economy in some
areas e.g. in Uganda, West Africa etc.
2.
African mode of production was allowed to continue e.g.
Feudalism in Uganda and primitive communal mode of production in other areas.
Activity 1
|
1.
Colonial economy was destructive, creative and
preservative, discus.
2.
Discuss the methods that were used by Europeans to
establish colonial economy in Africa.
|
Sectors of Colonial Economy
The
Various Sectors of Colonial Economy
Identify the various sectors of colonial
economy
In order to fulfill their needs
colonial masters introduced several projects/sectors such as:
a.
Agriculture
b.
Trading
c.
Mining
d.
Industrial
e.
Infrastructure
|
The Features of each
Sector of the Colonial Economy
|
Explain the features of each sector of the
colonial economy
Agriculture
Agriculture at this time was
basically one crop production. In this it was of small scale and largescale
production.Crop production was divided into three forms as follows:
1.
|
Peasant economy
|
2.
|
Plantation economy
|
3.
|
Settler economy
|
Peasant
economy
Africans were left to continue
with production of cash crops on a small scale in some areas.Peasant economy
was introduced in Uganda, cottonand coffee in Tanganyika‟s Sukuma
Land, and Cocoa and palm oil
production in West Africa
Activity 2
|
1.
In some of the areas colonial rulers introduced
peasant economy and plantation economy.
Discuss why.
2.
Explain why colonial governments used peasant economy
in West Africa and Uganda.
|
Why peasant economy was reliable in some areas
Colonial governments continued production using the peasant
economy on a small scale. This was due to the following factors:
1.
Africans had experience growing cash crops such as palm
oil, cotton while Europeans did not. Hence they allowed Africans to continue
producing.
2.
The system was cheap and the cost of production was
covered by the peasants.
3.
It was due to negative response from the Africans while
some societies resisted the introduction of plantation farming e.g. in West
Africa.
4.
It was simple to force Africans on production e.g.
basing on quality of productions for instance in Sukuma Land each family was
required to produce two acres of cotton.
5.
Europeans were unable to live in some areas with
tropical climates as they feared tropical diseases. Therefore, Africans were
left to continue with production in these areas.
6.
The system helped colonial governments at large with
selling cash crops. Africans were required to contribute on the construction of
roads and others social services.
7.
Some areas had high populations e.g. in West Africa,
hence it was not possible to alienate all of them from their land.
Plantation economy
These were large-scale farms under the colonial government;
they were mainly based on cash crops production e.g. Sisal in Tanganyika
(Morogoro and Tanga).
Settlers economy
This system involved the
production of cash crops at a larger scale.European and some Asiansettlers
owned these large-scale farms. Examples of these areas where settlers
introduced this type of economy are Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Algeria.
How Colonial
Government favoured settlers in Africa:
At large it is said that settlers
were highly favoured by their respective colonial Governments e.g. in Kenya and
Zimbabwe settlers were favoured to a large extent.
Activity 3
|
1.
Show how settlers were favoured in Kenya and Southern
Rhodesia. OR
2.
Show how settlers were helped by the colonial
Government in Kenya
|
Settlers in Africa were favoured through on of the following methods:
1.
Settlers were given capital by the colonial government
through loans.
2.
Colonial governments built social services in areas
with settlers such as hospital, roads, schools to attract more settlers to
Africa.
3.
Settlers were favoured in the pricing of cash crops
compared to peasants (crops from the settlers were bought at a higher price).
4.
Colonial governments tended to force Africans to work
on settlers‟ farms, it helped increase production due to availability of
labour.
5.
Colonial governments favoured settlers through the use
of the Land Act. In 1919 the Crown Lands Act helped settlers obtain land in
Kenya.
6.
Africans were restricted from growing the same type of
cash crops produced by settlers e.g. in Kenya. Africans were restricted from
growing coffee, this benefited settlers in marketing their product.
INDUSTRY
The colonial government introduced
processing industries in some of the areas. These processing industries were
established in areas with cash crop production. Colonial governments tended to
destroy local industries in Africa in order to introduce these processing
industries.
Roles of industries at
the time
Industries were meant to reduce the bulkiness of raw
materials e.g. Sisal, raw materials were processed to simplify carriage of raw
materials from Africa to their mother countries.
Mining
White settlers formulated large
numbers of mining centers in Africa to fulfill their demands e.g, in South
Africa diamond and gold mines were opened.Colonial governments tended to use
migrant labour due to the location of mining centers.
Role of mining: Toobtain
raw materials e.g. minerals like gold, diamonds for their industries.
Trade and Commerce
European colonialists introduced
trading activities while importing several items such as clothes and simple
machines from Europe. On the other hand, colonial governments also exported raw
materials from Africa to their home countries.
Role of trade and
commerce
It helped European colonial governments to gain raw
materials from Africa like crops and minerals. Europeans obtained market for
their manufactured goods from Europe.
Infrastructure
In order to develop economic
activities in Africa, colonial governments built infrastructure like roads,
railway houses. Roads and railways were built from the interior all the way to
the coast to make exportation and importation of goods easy.
Role of infrastructure
a.
Roads and railways were used to carry raw materials
from the interior ready for export.
b.
They carried immigrant labours to areas of production
e.g. Kigoma – Dar es Salaam railway was built for that purpose.
c.
To carry administrators and military troops from one
area to another.
d.
To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to
the another
e.
To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to
the interior.
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Activity 4
|
Discuss the role of colonial economies introduced by the
Europeans in Africa and how precolonial economy differed to the colonial
economy.
The Impact of the Establishment of Various Sectors of
Colonial Economy on Africa
Assess the impact of the establishment of
various sectors of colonial economy on Africa Colonial economy in Africa
had both positive and negative effects for Africans.
1.
Africans inherited infrastructure from the colonial
governments e.g. roads, railways, that were used for carrying goods and
labourers.
2.
After the independence of African countries
nationalisation of plantations, buildings under the colonial governments
started. Buildings, plantations and harbours were now under the African states.
3.
It led to the introduction of new varieties of crops
from outside e.g. varieties of cotton from America, and coffee.
4.
Africans inherited European economic plans which
continued to be used after independence e.g, the treatment of labourers.
5.
Africans were impoverished due to exploitation by the
colonial governments.
6.
African technology declined due to the destruction of
local industries.
7.
Some areas that were known for producing labour were
under developed due to rationalisation, e.g Kigoma in Tanganyika.
8.
Africans inherited capitalist elements from their
colonial masters in some areas like Kenya and Zimbabwe.
9.
It led to Europeans taking natural resources from
Africa e.g. minerals, raw materials through an unequal exchange.
Colonial Labour
The
Concept of Colonial Labour
Explain the concept of colonial labour
Starting from the early 20th
century, colonial governments in Africa established colonial economies such as
agriculture, industry, trade, mining etc. Due to those economic activities they
needed more labour.
Why labour questions came up?
The following factors led to
colonial labour questions in Africa:
1.
Size of economic activities e.g. plantations demanded
large supply of labour.
2.
Locations of some economic activities e.g. mining
centers were located in interior and remote parts hence had shortage of
labour.
3.
Some of the African societies had negative response
to the colonial powers thus it was not easier to obtain labour.
4.
Population size in some areas was less hence labour
problem came up.
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The Tactics Used to Create
Colonial Labour
|
Analyse the tactics
used to create colonial labour
In order to solve the problem of
labour shortage in Africa colonial governments took the following measures:
1.
Introduction of forced labour: Colonial governments
used coercive force like army and police to force Africans to work in
colonial economies. In Tanganyika 1944 about 12,00 labourers were forced to
work on sisal plantations.
2.
Europeans imported manufactured goods in Africa such
as clothes, bicycles that were sold for cash, Africans were required to work
to buy such products.
3.
Colonial governments introduced tax in the form of cash
thus Africans were required to work in colonial economies to earn money to
pay tax.
4.
Colonial governments registered Trade Unions with the
aim of finding labourers e.g. SILABU (Sisal Labour Bureau) in Tanganyika and
W.N.L.A. (Witwatersrand Native labour Association) in South Africa.
5.
They introduced laws and ordinance e.g. the “Kipande”
system in Kenya where Africans were required to have an identity card showing
their place of occupation. In Tanganyika there was a Masters and Native
Servants Act of 1906
6.
Introduction of land alienation. In Kenya and
Zimbabwe Africans were removed from fertile areas and had to work to earn
money.
7.
Colonial governments introduced rationalisation so
some areas were special for labour production e.g. Kigoma, Rukwa and other
areas were special for crop production.
8.
They introduced colonial education to gain
administrators for lower posts in Africa e.g.
clerks and messengers which
were used on colonial economies and other colonial offices.
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The Types of Colonial
Labour
|
analyse the types of colonial labour
Colonial labour force was
divided into different types, namely migrant labour, forced labour, communal
labour, family labour, contract labour, resident labour, indentured labour and
feudal relation labour
The Impact of the Establishment of Colonial Labour
to African Societies
Assess the impact of the establishment of
colonial labour to African societies
Introduction of indigenous/ natural economy
•
Pre- colonial economy - this economy was
established in Africa before the coming of the colonialist (this economy
involved Agriculture or crop production). During the 19th century
Europeans came to establish economic activities in Africa, activities such as
mining, trade, agriculture, infrastructure to mentioned a few.
•
In order to introduce these activities the
colonialists used different mechanisms to break up natural economic activities
in East Africa.
•
Colonialists started with the destruction of
African local industries, Africans were not allowed to work in their industries.
Therefore, the local textile, iron-smelting industries in East Africa were
destroyed. Examples of destroyed industries are the textile industries of
Sukuma land, Buganda and Congo.
•
In addition, the colonialists introduced cash
crop production which disrupted food crop production. Colonialists aimed to
gain raw materials from the indigenous people. Colonialism introduced land
alienation, which led to the decline of indigenous natural economies like crop
production.
•
Colonialists also introduced forced labour to
provide manpower for their economic activities, this resulted in the
destruction of African economies like agriculture and industry.
They introduced the following:
1.
Introduction of cash tax.
2.
Introduction of cash (money) economy.
3.
Introduction of laws and ordinance e.g. “Kipande”
system in (Kenya) and Masters and Native Act 1906 (Tanganyika). Construction of
infrastructure in East Africa (helped colonialists to obtain markets, labourers
and raw materials while affecting Africans.
Effects of colonial economy to the Africans:
Colonial economy in Africa had both positive and negative effects on the
African people.
1.
Africans inherited infrastructure from the colonial
governments e.g. roads, railways, that were used for carrying goods and
labourers.
2.
After the independence of African countries
nationalisation of plantations, buildings under the colonial governments
started. Buildings, plantations and harbours were now under the African
states.
3.
It led to the introduction of new varieties of crops
from outside e.g. varieties of cotton from America, and coffee.
4.
Africans inherited European economic plans which
continued to be used after independence e.g, the treatment of labourers.
5.
Africans were impoverished due to exploitation by the
colonial governments.
6.
African technology declined due to the destruction of
local industries.
7.
Some areas that were known for producing labour were
under developed due to rationalisation, e.g Kigoma in Tanganyika.
8.
Africans inherited capitalist elements from their
colonial masters in some areas like Kenya and Zimbabwe.
9.
It led to Europeans taking natural resources from
Africa e.g. minerals, raw materials through an unequal exchange.
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Activity 5
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NECTA 1998;
1. Discuss the mechanism, used by
colonialists to break up the natural indigenous (wenyeji/ wazawa) economy of
East African people.
2. Using concrete examples of any East African society
show the pattern of the physical and social infrastructures were determined
by the system of the colonial economy.
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3. How did the colonial Government ensure constant supply of
labour in their colonies in East Africa?
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COLONIAL SOCIAL SERVICES
Colonial Education
The
Objectives of Colonial Education
Analyse the objectives of colonial education
The aim of establishing these social services was to
consolidate and facilitate colonisation of Africa. That means they were built
to favour the colonial government in power.
Starting from the 20th
century,colonial governments established a number of social services in Africa.
Colonial economy. Examples of these colonial social services were:
1.
Colonial education
2.
Transport and communication
3.
Recreational services
4.
Water and electricity
5.
Health services
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The Features of Colonial
Education
|
Analyse the features of colonial education
This was a type of formal
education that was introduced by Europeans in Africa. This education was
introduced to benefit the colonial government and not Africans. It went
together with the establishment of schools high economic gain areas such as
crop production areas.
Features of colonial education
1.
Colonial education has a pyramid shape quality. The
number of students who started at lower levels reduced as they went to higher
levels.
2.
Schools were built in areas with economic importance,
such as the Kenyan highlands which were a prime are for coffee production.
3.
Colonial education was discriminative in nature e.g.
there were Asian schools, European schools and others for Africans.
4.
Colonial education was provided to the sons of African
chiefs e.g. sons of Jumbes and few daughters obtained this type of education.
5.
Schools were built in urban areas and not rural one
because that is where most settlers were.
6.
Education was basically about European culture e.g.
training involved the use of foreign languages such as English and French.
Role of colonial education
The role of colonial education are
as follows:
1.
To train Africans so they may be used as
administrators for lowest posts e.g. messengers and clerks.
2.
Colonial education was introduced to train the sons
and daughters of European colonial masters together with Asians.
3.
To produce African puppets who were brainwashed to
favour the colonial government.
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The Impact of Colonial
Education on African Societies
|
Assess the impact of colonial education on
African societies
Effects of colonial education
1.
It produced educated elites who organised their fellow
Africans to fight for independence e.g. J.K Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah.
2.
Colonial education killed Africans' skills at large,
these skills remained in theory.
3.
It produced classes between the educated and those who
were not educated
4.
Colonial education led to the destruction of the
African culture e.g. on dressing and eating.
5.
Africans began to desire 'White' jobs, education was
aimed to make one employable.
Colonial Health Services
The
Objectives of Colonial Health Services
Analyse the objectives of colonial health
services
The aim of establishing these social services was to
consolidate and facilitate colonization of Africa. That means they were built
to favour the colonial government in power).
Colonial health services were
established in the colonial state, to serve colonial administrators,
missionaries and traders as their primary aim. Also some Africans were served
by the colonial healthy service as to maint ain the minimum healthy standard of
Africa, to continue providing the highly needed labor force to the colonial productions.
Provision of Water and
Housing Services during the Colonial Era
The
Motive for the Provision of Colonial Water and Housing Services
Explain the motive for the provision of
colonial water and housing services
Colonial government started to introduce these services to
those areas with settlers or colonial officials.
The major role of introducing these services was to attract
the coming Europeans in Africa.
During the colonialism, the
Europeans gave priority to their comfort in terms of provision of water and
housing services. The provision of water and housing during that era was guided
by the various rationale, for instance, it was meant to encourage the European
settlement in the colonies, it was distributed depending on the economic
importance of an area, also it provided based on racial bases.
The
Distribution Pattern of Water and Housing Services
Analyse the distribution pattern of water
and housing services
Characteristics of water and housing services
•
Offered on the basis of race,
•
unevenly distributed (depended on the economic
value of an area),
•
areas for labourers had no housing of water
services which were established by colonialists,
•
based on religious grounds (missionary areas had
better water)
The
Impact of the Provision of Colonial Water and Housing Services on
African
Societies
Assess the impact of the provision of
colonial water and housing services on African societies Impact of water
and housing services included:
•
Reinforced racial classes in colonies,
•
areas without raw materials or colonialists were
marginalized and denied services, created regional imbalances
COPYRIGHT 2020
BY IZOW G