The Impact of Colonialism in Africa

Introduction 

By definition, colonialism entails the establishment of settlements in foreign lands that are geographically far from the motherland. African Colonialism involved the scrambling of Africa by European countries, particularly after the Berlin Conference. Most of these nations regarded colonies as an important attribute to have (Tomek et al., 2017). The ideology of colonialism was fueled by Europeans quest to have oversea positions that would benefit them diplomatically, economically and politically. In a quest to satisfy their material necessities, the Europe envisioned an African empire where they could invest their surplus capital as well as lift their national prestige. Consequently, the Berlin Conference played a crucial role in the scramble for Africa colonies (Tomek et al., 2017). Before the conference, most of the European countries rushed to secure lands that were reached in minerals. These brought frictions among them due to conflict of interest in certain territories (Tomek et al., 2017). To address this conflict, the Berlin conference laid down structures that minimized the European colonial powers competition over Africa. The African colonization had both positive and negative impacts, on the social, economic and political lives of the colonized as well as the colonizers. 

Political Impact 

Before the colonization, Africa was comprised of many independent states, some of which were vast and powerful while others were weak. However, during the Berlin Conference, the entire Africa was partitioned into fifty states that were divided among the European powers (Tomek et al., 2017). The systematic partitioning was done without a well-defined regional formula in regards to African ethnic culture, ecological as well as geographical realities. As a result, the scramble condensed the many independent states that existed before the colonialization (Tomek et al., 2017). Diverse tribes with differing historical traditions, language, and culture, were brought under the control of one or more European power. As a result, the political development of the affected groups was severely disrupted. Moreover, numerous ethnic groups were split into small fragments. In addition, the new partition lines cut across pre-colonization ethnicities, states, nations, empires, and kingdoms. For instance, the Ewes were divided by the Ghana-Togo boundary while the Ghana-Ivory Coast boundary divided the Akan. Today, the Senufo are found in both Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast (Tomek et al., 2017). On top of border disputes, colonization resulted in uneven distribution of natural resources among the different states. As a result, some states such as Nigeria with an approximate area of 358000 square miles emerged as giants while other such as Gambia with roughly 4000 square miles emerged as midgets (Tomek et al., 2017). The scrambling also created a challenge of border control. A country such as Mali has seven borders as compared to Gambia which as one border. This made almost impossible to secure all the borders and to check illegal activities such as smuggling. Colonialism also resulted in the loss of Sovereignty in many states (Tomek et al., 2017). Through settlerism, thousands of settlers grabbed vast chunks of land. Consequently, they exacted political control over the indigenous people. The settler communities also opposed and ignored the call of African education, political freedom, as well as economic freedom. Colonialism also created ethnic conflicts by bringing together diverse people without considering the established boundaries. On paper, a number of these nation-states were extremely small to be viable. 

On the other side, colonialism had some positive political impacts on Africa. Firstly, it formed the boundaries that were used to define the different countries to this date. These boundaries have been maintained since independence with little changes in areas were secession occurred such as in the case of Sudan (Tomek et al., 2017). Secondly, colonialization introduced democracy in Africa. Before, aristocratic rulers ruled most of the states. However, the colonialization modern democracy in Africa and people started electing their representatives to the government (Tomek et al., 2017). Finally, colonialization brought Africa to the global arena. The international community became interested in African Political developments more than before. 

Socio-Cultural Impact  

One of the major social impacts of colonization was the introduction of Urbanization in Africa. The pre-existing towns had developed due to trade and did not expand fast. On the contrary, colonization introduced new urban centers as well as expanded the existing one. For instance, port Enugu and Harcourt in Nigeria, Abidjan in Cote Devour and Takoradi in Ghana (Tomek et al., 2017). The new urban centers were established as either administration centers, mining centers, trading centers as well as ports or harbors. As a result, many people left their rural homes and moved to the urban centers were they could get better social amenities. Consequently, urban population grew rapidly and soon most of the urban centers were overpopulated. For instance, the population Accra increased from 17,892 to 135,926 between 1901 and 1948 (Tomek et al., 2017). 

The colonizers introduced western religion in Africa. Most of the European missionaries and different dominions rushed to establish themselves in the new colonies. Christianity was among the first religions to be introduced to Africa (Tomek et al., 2017). Later, other religions such as Islam entered the continent and spread to remote areas particularly in West Africa. The introduction of religion to Africa came along with numerous benefits. The missionaries established small urban centers in areas where they settled. They then introduced social amenities such as schools and hospitals. By building schools, the colonizers introduced formal education in African colonies (Tomek et al., 2017). Previously, the African practiced informal education where knowledge was passed from one generation to the other. With education, The Africans learned how to read and write in both their languages and the colonial language, which broke communication barriers between the Africans and the colonizers and amongst different African tribes. This formal education broadened African Outlook both in the colonies and globally. The missionaries also introduced western medicine to Africa (Tomek et al., 2017). When the Missionaries and settlers came to Africa, they were exposed to numerous diseases that killed a substantial number. As a result, they established hospital centers where they used their motherland medicine to treat themselves. Some of the illnesses they treated had puzzled the Africans for long, but with their medicine, Africans started to go to the hospitals for treatment. 

On the other hand, African colonization had a severe social impact on the colonized. Most of the colonial governments grabbed the indigenous inhabitants land for either settlement or commercial purposes (Tomek et al., 2017). The land was and still is a crucial possession of African to date. Most of the land was inherited from the ancestors of the Africans. They had buried their people in this land for centuries. When the colonial governments displaced them, they broke their connection to their ancestors. Most of the firms the Europeans established in Africa needed a lot of workforces (Tomek et al., 2017). The displaced Africans had no option but to work under very low wages in these plantations. The working conditions were abusive and most cases involved corporal punishment. Colonization also completely undermined and eroded African social structures and culture. For instance, they did not bother to look into and advance African spirituality, and knowledge in community leadership, education, and medicine (Tomek et al., 2017). Forced labor separated the men from their families, which left the families unprotected. This led to vices such as male homosexuality and prostitution amongst women who struggled to perform the duties of their husbands such as the provision of food. 

Economic Impact 

One outstanding contribution of colonialism in Africa was the introduction of infrastructures. In areas where they settled, the colonizers constructed roads, railways, ports, and harbors. Moreover, they introduced telegraph and telephone services which eased communication. This infrastructure increased economic activities such as trading. Most of the basic infrastructures in modern African to this date were laid down in the colonial era (Tomek et al., 2017). The colonizers also revolutionized economic structure of African societies. Before colonization, most Africans engaged in barter trade where they traded one commodity for another. However, the Europeans introduced cash economy in Africa. They also introduced cash or commercial crops to provide raw materials to homeland industries. Cash crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa, and cotton were produced in large scale than ever before (Tomek et al., 2017). New technologies such as farm mechanization and postharvest processing were introduced in the Agricultural sector which increased production. 

However, the negative economic impacts affected Africans severely. The introduction of cash crops neglected the production of food crops. As a result, there were widespread famine amongst African colonies. Some of the colonizers prohibited Africans from growing cash crops to avoid competition. The world wars resulted in huge loss of workforce. Overwhelmed by a labor shortage, the colonizers introduced forced labor in Africa. They forced Africans to work in mines, farms, and towns (Tomek et al., 2017). To fund colonial governments, the European powers levied heavy taxes on Africans. They introduced in every aspect of African lives including, wife, livestock, and hut taxes. Moreover, they collected taxes only on European currencies, which forced most Africans to work for the Europeans to acquire the cash. Infrastructural development was very uneven. The Europeans only developed the areas they settled and areas where crop production was viable. This left a large part of Africa infrastructure-wise undeveloped to this day (Tomek et al., 2017). One of the worst economic impacts of colonialism was the introduction of the slave trade. The high labor demand in American plantation saw millions of slaves from Africa sold to the white slave owners through the transatlantic slave trade. The methods through which the slaves were captured and transported to America were ruthless, and thousands of them lost their lives. 

Conclusion 

The introduction of Christianity and formal education, technological advancement in agriculture and communication, infrastructural development, the vibrant cultural exchange between the colonizers and the Africans, and new democracy are some of the positive impacts colonization brought to Africa (Tomek et al., 2017). However, colonization had long-term adverse effects on the African continent such trade imbalances in international trade that prevail to date. Forced labor, heavy taxation and slavery adversely affected Africans from social, political and economic aspects. Colonization also led scramble and overexploitation of African resources (Tomek et al., 2017). Therefore, colonialism resulted in both positive and adverse social, economic and political impacts. The effects on international trade, economic and political systems as well as in the development of Africa as a third world continent are evident decades later. 

Reference 

Tomek, B. C., Hetrick, M. J., Harrold, S., & Miller, R. M. (2017). New directions in the study of African American recolonization Gainesville: University Press of Florida.