Colonialism and its
impacts
Economics of colonialism
Economic impacts
• Imperialism and colonialism displaced people who would have led to
development of their areas. This was done through land alienation
• Europeans introduced new agricultural practices in tropical Africa
which proved to be a failure due to differences in climatic conditions
with Europe.
• Colonialism also concentrated on transportation and infrastructure
development which only benefited themselves. Railways and roads
were constructed to enable extraction of resources from the interior
to the coast. These resources included cash crops and minerals. Such
resources were for export and not local use in the colonies.
Conti.
• They aimed at gaining control of rich African resources.
• They also did not want to spend European money to maintain the
colonies in Africa. as such, they made sure that each colony met its
administrative costs.
Political impacts
• Colonial political systems were undemocratic because they did not
allow popular participation. Decisions were passed with little or no
consultation with Africans even when such decisions directly affected
Africans.
• They placed law and order as a primary objective. Since they governed
without consent from Africans, they made sure that Africans were
forced into submission through maintenance of police force and armies.
• The colonial government lacked capacity to govern. They did not have
the funds to administer the colonies. This made the colonial
government to be unable to provide basic infrastructure such as roads,
communication networks, social services such as hospitals and schools.
Conti.
• The colonial state practiced divide and rule when implementing
policies. It deliberately supported one ethnic group against another.
This policy is the origin of most ethnic hostilities Africa is facing today.
Such a policy is also responsible for some civil wars prevalent in
Africa.
Education and social aspects of
colonial rule
• Very little was done by the colonial government to promote social change
although some Africans benefited but the majority did not.
• There was migration of people due to land alienation and a need to secure
wage labor. People could move from rural areas to urban centers or from
one colony to another for these reasons.
• Dislocation of families. Migration separated families due to working
conditions on mines and plantations. In the mines migrant laborers were
not allowed to carry their families along. This made women and children to
assume new roles for survival so as to cope with the absence of the men.
• Those who migrated to urban centers also faced challenges in payment of
tax.
Conti.
• In most cases the colonial state did not provide adequate education
to Africans. Missionaries the in most cases providers of education
which was aimed at providing the three Rs. i.e. Reading, Writing and
arithmetic.
• Since education was provided by Christian missionaries, it also worked
as a tool of evangelism which discouraged Muslim parents to send
their children from attending the schools for fear of being converted
to Christianity.
