To what extend was the colonisation and decolonisation of Britain’s Africa driven by individuals within Africa? Before the 1870’s Africa was largely unknown to the outside world but, in the 1880’s the scramble of Africa began, where European counties, especially Britain all wanted to colonise Africa. Was the whole reason for British colonising Africa economically or strategically driven or was it led by individuals in Africa (men on the spot) or was it more of a top down process led by the government in Britain? And even though Britain fought so hard to control large parts of Africa it is clear that after World II Britain’s empire was declining especially after India gain independence in 1947. However, the British did try to revive their African empire in the late 40’s and early 50’s but their sudden fall into a steep imperial decline with the Suez crises saw individuals like Macmillan to acknowledge that decolonisation was the only way forward, as it would be more beneficial for Britain to decolonise than to resist the rise of nationalism.
One factor that helped economical expansion was industrialization. During colonialism, Africa experienced a rise in its economical power due to new means of exploring natural resources, such as railways and new mining technology, brought in by the Europeans. Even though the colonists took away a large amount of the resources, it still had a massive impact on Africa’s economy as Leander Heldring and James A Robinson stated in their article “Colonialism and development in Africa”. Another factor that helped Africa to expand its economy was the introducing of the African goods on the international market. Education was another good effect of colonialism.
When the desiccation of the Sahara began in 5000 B.C.E., the peoples of the Sahara were forced to move somewhere habitable, and they migrated eastward toward the Nile valley. “Guns, Germs, and Steel” shows also how the changing climate affected development. The peoples in the region of the Black Sea had land they used to farm, but it eventually became unserviceable. They gradually moved into central Europe or Asia. Interaction and exchange in Africa also played a major role in development.
Access to commodities such as fabrics, spices, and gold motivated a European quest for a faster means to reach South Asia. It was this search that led the Portuguese down the coast of West Africa to Sierra Leone in 1460. Due to several technological and cultural advantages, Portugal dominated world trade for nearly 200 years, from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries. While, in the fifteenth century, the rest of Europe was decimated by the Black Plague, Portugal was protected by its physical isolation. Additionally, Portugal had an unusually strong national identity, due to its natural geographic borders, allowing the pooling of the considerable economic resources necessary to fund these ambitious explorations.
West Africans looked to the Americas as a source of trade, commerce, a place to settle and a place to build new civilizations. The History of African civilization and Africans in Latin America is an important beginning to African American’s because; in world history these two regions were the first areas of the Americas to be populated by African immigrants and we’re also the first people to become African Americans. Africa has been portrayed in popular culture and academic discourse as a continent without history. Africa has history that was once overlooked but, as historians went back to reanalyze African history, they have represented the fact that Africa has changed over time, and that it has been a place of diverse groups of people throughout a long and rich history. Africa, in all of its regions, has a rich, diverse, and dynamic history.
For more than three centuries the European nations had extended their influence and imperialism into other continents such as Asia, Latin America, the West Indies, and Africa. This was possible because these European nations were relatively economically and militarily stronger than the people of other continents. The Scramble and Partition of Africa The scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the rush or hurry for African territories by European powers. These European powers rushed for African territories due to several reasons. These causes can be categorized into economic,
The countries involved in the ‘Scramble for Africa’ were Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Italy. A key economic feature of colonialism was producing and exporting raw materials either agricultural or mineral, precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. Tropical products for luxury consumption such as coffee, sugar, spices, timber and fabrics like cotton. Later when Britain, France and Germany were competing against each other for colonies in Africa in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the international market had changed rapidly with a huge demand for raw materials for manufacturing such as jute, cotton, rubber and sisal (Bernstein, 1992:48). Mass consumption demand such as tea, sugar and vegetable oils (Bernstein, 1992:48).
In their colonial conquest, the British followed a policy of divide and conquer, allying with some African groups against others (“History, British Colonization”). One of the African groups were the Masai, who had lost a series of civil wars and much of their livestock to disease and drought.
The message of Islam appeared for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula in the early seventh century, and soon the faith expanded across North Africa, the entire Middle East and extended to the borders of China. A new and dynamic civilization was founded. In fact, while most of Europe was in the dark ages, the Arab/Islamic civilization was at its most glorious moment, making significant contributions to science, arts and the humanities that are still very alive in the world. Today, most of the ancient cities, such as Marrakech and Baghdad with its great flavors and customs, still exist and modern cities have been developed beside them. Unfortunately, they carry with them the common problem!
This dissertation focuses on the reaction to colonialism from 1900 to 1964 in Northern Rhodesia. It will begin by giving a brief general historical review of colonialism in Africa, details of the racial attitudes of the British, then proceeds to discuss their respective political administration and finally the reaction of the natives to colonialism. Between the 1870s and 1900s, Africa faced heavy European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasions, and eventual conquest and colonization. At the same time, African societies put up various forms of resistance against the attempt to colonize their countries and impose foreign domination. By the early twentieth century, however, much of Africa, except Ethiopia and Liberia, had been colonized by European powers.