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.
Europe wanted to set up and colonize in Africa, mainly because of Africa's raw materials it was purely economic. . (Iweriebor, 2011) The African's did not take kind to this, and it provoked not only African political responses but also diplomatic responses and military resistance. A lot of treaties of protection for the leaders of African societies, states, and empires went out. There was a lot of controversy about these treaties and eventually the military had to step in.
Some of the first civilizations started in Africa, and forever after other civilizations wanted to conquer Africa as a means of showing their global superiority. Africa's worst domination, however, came from the Europeans. European colonization set the stage for imperialism that Africa deals with to this day. Before the resurgence of imperialism Africa was a resourceful continent. During imperialism, Europeans went into Africa and stripped its land of its resources and this also changed the climate negatively.
Michael Podlogar History 2670 US, Africa and the Cold War 9/6/2010 Response Paper #1: Fanon, Nkrumah, and African Independence At first glance, Kwame Nkrumah and Frantz Fanon seem to be promoting very similar methods of decolonization in Africa. They both recognize that Western capitalists are continuing Africa’s dependence and oppressing the continent in order to extract maximum profits. However, upon further investigation, it becomes obvious that these two men endorsed separate schools of thought when it came to Africa’s future. Nkrumah foresaw Africa as an economic force equal to the West with the help of unity. Fanon studied the Western capitalists and came to the conclusion that their entire society was inherently non-African in nature.
Historical perspective (European supremacy), Afrikaans culture and ownership, established policies, (perceived success) growth of black opposition, control of majority, and growth of the national party; these 6 points help in discovering why there was a growing desire for the policies of the apartheid within the white south African population by the 1930s. When the first Europeans (Dutch) arrived in Cape Town, there was a key feeling of superiority present. They thought their European culture was more superior to the native Africans who lived there originally. To prove this, the Boers started forcing the black people to become laborers for them, and even started importing slaves from West Africa. During the domination of the British and the Dutch descendant Afrikaners the native black South Africans were seen as secondary.
To him, art and society are indivisible, which is the African tradition. Unlike writers in European communities, the African artist is accountable to the community. Achebe is further influenced by the fact that African writers believe it is their mission to change their society through education. 37 Chapter 2: Things Fall Apart and Colonialism 1. Okonkwo’s Actions Foreshadow Colonialism’s Impact on Traditional Values Christopher Heywood 47 Even before the colonial rule directly impacts Okonkwo’s world, he betrays African and Igbo tradition in beliefs such as the hatred of his father’s way of life.
World Cultures Imperialism Outline I) Introduction A) In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the European imperialism resulted in colonial empires that swept across Africa and Asia. 1) The colonization was viewed in many ways- both the colonizer and the colony saw positive and negative effects of imperialism 2) The documents provided are sources that deeply explore and dissect the effects that the Europeans had on Africa B) Thesis- Imperialism by the Europeans in Africa had a negative effect on both the colony and the colonizer due to invasion, oppression, and other negative aspects that will be discussed. II) Positive Effects C) There were few positive effects that imperialism had on the colonizer and the colony. 3) European imperialism introduced new technologies to the colonized Africans. 4) They also provided “security of person and property in lands that had known little or either.” (Document 4) D) For the colonizers, there were multiple positive effects Lachman 2 1) African colonies provided raw materials that boosted supply in Europe, improving the economy 2) Colonizers benefited through trade because foreign trade routes were introduced through the colonies III) Negative Effects E) The African peoples who were colonized were economically exploited by the invading Europeans.
It may be this delusion of great superiority that causes the colonizers to believe that it is nothing wrong with them forcing their ways upon the natives. Upon interpreting Heart of Darkness, it gives off the message that colonizers in general genuinely believe the civilizations that they colonize are inferior compared to their own society. In the story, a European trade company, referred to throughout the story as “the Company”, pushes their enterprise into Africa creating an imperialistic relationship with the natives. They leave practically no barrier between their business and the society of the native, leading to the inevitable abuse of the inhabitants. However, the excuse of civilizing the natives is used.
The reason for the first layer of narration is that “Heart of Darkness” is not so much about what happened in Africa as it is about the psychological, moral and spiritual impressions those events left on someone with completely different ideals and values and unconnected to what happened. The reason to the second layer of narration is less obvious to me at first. I think the role of “I” is of a witness and listener; “I”, like readers, learned that our ideas about “civilization” can be founded on lies, corruptions and unspeakable horrors. By the end of the story, Marlow’s tale significantly changes the narrator’s attitude towards the ships and men of the past. It leaves a profound psychological effects on “I” and readers; it prompts us to ponder the dark side of our nature.
History Grade 12B October 31, 2012 Topic: African Presence in the Americas before Columbus in 1492 Question: Assess the credibility of the evidence for West African presence in the Americas before the Arrival of Columbus. The West African presence in the Americas in the Pre-Columbian period was often argued by other Historians as false information. Well- known Historians such as Cheikh Amto Diop, Peter ReBoo and Ivan Van Sertima have collected credible and viable information which dates to the African presence in the Americas in this era. Ivan Van Sertima is one such Historian. He has critique and formulated historical theories and methodologies on the African contact.