imperialism in africa definition essay

From Imperialism to Postcolonialism: Key Concepts

An introduction to the histories of imperialism and the writings of those who grappled with its oppressions and legacies in the twentieth century.

Imperialism, the domination of one country over another country’s political, economic, and cultural systems, remains one of the most significant global phenomena of the last six centuries. Amongst historical topics, Western imperialism is unique because it spans two different broadly conceived temporal frames: “Old Imperialism,” dated between 1450 and 1650, and “New Imperialism,” dated between 1870 and 1919, although both periods were known for Western exploitation of Indigenous cultures and the extraction of natural resources to benefit imperial economies. Apart from India, which came under British influence through the rapacious actions of the East India Company , European conquest between 1650 and the 1870s remained (mostly) dormant. However, following the 1884–85 Berlin Conference, European powers began the “ Scramble for Africa ,” dividing the continent into new colonial territories. Thus, the age of New Imperialism is demarcated by establishment of vast colonies throughout Africa, as well as parts of Asia, by European nations.

These European colonizing efforts often came at the expense of other older, non-European imperial powers, such as the so-called gunpowder empires—the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires that flourished across South Asia and the Middle East. In the case of the Ottomans , their rise coincided with that of the Old Imperialism(s) of the West and lasted until after World War I. These were not the only imperial powers, however; Japan signaled its interest in creating a pan-Asian empire with the establishment of a colony in Korea in 1910 and expanded its colonial holdings rapidly during the interwar years. The United States, too, engaged in various forms of imperialism, from the conquest of the tribes of the First Nation Peoples, through filibustering in Central America during the mid-1800s, to accepting the imperialist call of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden,” which the poet wrote for President Theodore Roosevelt on the occasion of Philippine-American War. While claiming to reject naked imperialism, Roosevelt still embraced expansionism, promoting the creation of a strong US Navy and advocating for expansion into Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and the Philippines to exert American influence .

The Great War is often considered the end of the new age of imperialism, marked by the rise of decolonization movements throughout the various colonial holdings. The writings of these emergent Indigenous elites, and the often-violent repression they would face from the colonial elite, would not only profoundly shape the independence struggles on the ground but would contribute to new forms of political and philosophical thought. Scholarship from this period forces us to reckon not only with colonial legacies and the Eurocentric categories created by imperialism but also with the continuing exploitation of the former colonies via neo-colonial controls imposed on post-independence countries.

The non-exhaustive reading list below aims to provide readers with both histories of imperialism and introduces readers to the writings of those who grappled with colonialism in real time to show how their thinking created tools we still use to understand our world.

Eduardo Galeano, “ Introduction: 120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane ,” Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (NYU Press, 1997): 1 –8.

Taken from the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this classic text, Eduardo Galeano’s introduction argues that pillaging of Latin America continued for centuries past the Old Imperialism of the Spanish Crown. This work is highly readable and informative, with equal parts of impassioned activism and historical scholarship.

Nancy Rose Hunt, “ ‘Le Bebe En Brousse’: European Women, African Birth Spacing and Colonial Intervention in Breast Feeding in the Belgian Congo ,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies  21, no. 3 (1988): 401–32.

Colonialism affected every aspect of life for colonized peoples. This intrusion into the intimate lives of indigenous peoples is most evident in Nancy Rose Hunt’s examination of Belgian efforts to modify birthing processes in the Belgian Congo. To increase birth rates in the colony, Belgian officials initiated a mass network of health programs focused on both infant and maternal health. Hunt provides clear examples of the underlying scientific racism that underpinned these efforts and acknowledges the effects they had on European women’s conception of motherhood.

Chima J. Korieh, “ The Invisible Farmer? Women, Gender, and Colonial Agricultural Policy in the Igbo Region of Nigeria, c. 1913–1954 ,” African Economic History No. 29 (2001): 117– 62

In this consideration of Colonial Nigeria, Chima Korieh explains how British Colonial officials imposed British conceptions of gender norms on traditional Igbo society; in particular, a rigid notion of farming as a male occupation, an idea that clashed with the fluidity of agricultural production roles of the Igbo. This paper also shows how colonial officials encouraged palm oil production, an export product, at the expense of sustainable farming practices—leading to changes in the economy that further stressed gender relations.

Colin Walter Newbury & Alexander Sydney Kanya-Forstner, “ French Policy and the Origins of the Scramble for West Africa ,” The Journal of African History  10, no. 2 (1969): 253–76.

Newbury and Kanya-Foster explain why the French decided to engage in imperialism in Africa at the end of the nineteenth century. First, they point to mid-century French engagement with Africa—limited political commitment on the African coast between Senegal and Congo, with a plan for the creation of plantations within the Senegalese interior. This plan was emboldened by their military success in Algeria, which laid the foundation of a new conception of Empire that, despite complications (Britain’s expansion of their empire and revolt in Algeria, for instance) that forced the French to abandon their initial plans, would take hold later in the century.

Mark D. Van Ells, “ Assuming the White Man’s Burden: The Seizure of the Philippines, 1898–1902 ,” Philippine Studies 43, no. 4 (1995): 607–22.

Mark D. Van Ells’s work acts as an “exploratory and interpretive” rendering of American racial attitudes toward their colonial endeavors in the Philippines. Of particular use to those wishing to understand imperialism is Van Ells’s explication of American attempts to fit Filipinos into an already-constructed racist thought system regarding formerly enslaved individuals, Latinos, and First Nation Peoples. He also shows how these racial attitudes fueled the debate between American imperialists and anti-imperialists.

Aditya Mukherjee, “ Empire: How Colonial India Made Modern Britain,” Economic and Political Weekly  45, no. 50 (2010): 73–82. 

Aditya Mukherjee first provides an overview of early Indian intellectuals and Karl Marx’s thoughts on the subject to answer the question of how colonialism impacted the colonizer and the colonized. From there, he uses economic data to show the structural advantages that led to Great Britain’s ride through the “age of capitalism” through its relative decline after World War II.

Frederick Cooper, “ French Africa, 1947–48: Reform, Violence, and Uncertainty in a Colonial Situation ,” Critical Inquiry  40, no. 4 (2014): 466–78. 

It can be tempting to write the history of decolonization as a given. However, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the colonial powers would not easily give up their territories. Nor is it safe to assume that every colonized person, especially those who had invested in the colonial bureaucratic systems, necessarily wanted complete independence from the colonial metropole. In this article, Frederick Cooper shows how conflicting interests navigated revolution and citizenship questions during this moment.

Hồ Chí Minh & Kareem James Abu-Zeid, “ Unpublished Letter by Hồ Chí Minh to a French Pastor ,” Journal of Vietnamese Studies  7, no. 2 (2012): 1–7.

Written by Nguyễn Ái Quốc (the future Hồ Chí Minh) while living in Paris, this letter to a pastor planning a pioneering mission to Vietnam not only shows the young revolutionary’s commitment to the struggle against colonialism, but also his willingness to work with colonial elites to solve the system’s inherent contradictions.

Aimé Césaire, “ Discurso sobre el Colonialismo ,” Guaraguao 9, no. 20, La negritud en America Latina (Summer 2005): 157–93; Available in English as “From Discourse on Colonialism (1955),” in  I Am Because We Are: Readings in Africana Philosophy , ed. by Fred Lee Hord, Mzee Lasana Okpara, and Jonathan Scott Lee, 2nd ed. (University of Massachusetts Press, 2016), 196–205.

This excerpt from Aimé Césaire’s essay directly challenges European claims of moral superiority and the concept of imperialism’s civilizing mission. He uses examples from the Spanish conquest of Latin America and ties them together with the horrors of Nazism within Europe. Césaire claims that through pursuing imperialism, Europeans had embraced the very savagery of which they accused their colonial subjects.

Frantz Fanon, “ The Wretched of the Earth ,” in Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts since Plato , ed. Mitchell Cohen, 2nd ed. (Princeton University Press, 2018), 614–20.

Having served as a psychiatrist in a French hospital in Algeria, Frantz Fanon experienced firsthand the violence of the Algerian War. As a result, he would ultimately resign and join the Algerian National Liberation Front. In this excerpt from his longer work, Fanon writes on the need for personal liberation as a precursor to the political awaking of oppressed peoples and advocates for worldwide revolution.

Quỳnh N. Phạm & María José Méndez, “ Decolonial Designs: José Martí, Hồ Chí Minh, and Global Entanglements ,” Alternatives: Global, Local, Political  40, no. 2 (2015): 156–73.

Phạm and Méndez examine the writing of José Martí and Hồ Chí Minh to show that both spoke of anticolonialism in their local contexts (Cuba and Vietnam, respectively). However, their language also reflected an awareness of a more significant global anticolonial movement. This is important as it shows that the connections were intellectual and practical.

Edward Said, “ Orientalism ,” The Georgia Review 31, no. 1 (Spring 1977): 162–206; and “ Orientalism Reconsidered ,” Cultural Critique no. 1 (Autumn 1985): 89–107.

As a Palestinian-born academic trained in British-run schools in Egypt and Jerusalem, Edward Said created a cultural theory that named the discourse nineteenth-century Europeans had about the peoples and places of the Greater Islamic World: Orientalism. The work of academics, colonial officials, and writers of various stripes contributed to a literary corpus that came to represent the “truth” of the Orient, a truth that Said argues reflects the imagination of the “West” more than it does the realities of the “Orient.” Said’s framework applies to many geographic and temporal lenses, often dispelling the false truths that centuries of Western interactions with the global South have encoded in popular culture.

Sara Danius, Stefan Jonsson, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “ An Interview with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ,” boundary 20, No. 2 (Summer 1993), 24–50.

Gayatri Spivak’s 1988 essay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” shifted the postcolonial discussion to a focus on agency and “the other.” Explicating Western discourse surrounding the practice of sati in India, Spivak asks if the oppressed and the marginalized can make themselves heard from within a colonial system. Can the subordinated, dispossessed indigenous subject be retrieved from the silence spaces of imperial history, or would that be yet another act of epistemological violence? Spivak argues that Western historians (i.e., white men speaking to white men about the colonized), in trying to squeeze out the subaltern voice, reproduce the hegemonic structures of colonialism and imperialism.

Antoinette Burton, “ Thinking beyond the Boundaries: Empire, Feminism and the Domains of History ,” Social History 26, no. 1 (January 2001): 60–71.

In this article, Antoinette Burton considers the controversies around using the social and cultural theory as a site of analysis within the field of imperial history; specifically, concerns of those who saw political and economic history as “outside the realm” of culture. Burton deftly merges the historiographies of anthropology and gender studies to argue for a more nuanced understanding of New Imperial history.

Michelle Moyd, “ Making the Household, Making the State: Colonial Military Communities and Labor in German East Africa ,” International Labor and Working-Class History , no. 80 (2011): 53–76.

Michelle Moyd’s work focuses on an often-overlooked part of the imperial machine, the indigenous soldiers who served the colonial powers. Using German East Africa as her case study, she discusses how these “violent intermediaries” negotiated new household and community structures within the context of colonialism.

Caroline Elkins, “ The Struggle for Mau Mau Rehabilitation in Late Colonial Kenya ,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies  33, no. 1 (2000): 25–57.

Caroline Elkins looks at the both the official rehabilitation policy enacted toward Mau Mau rebels and the realities of what took place “behind the wire.” She argues that in this late colonial period, the colonial government in Nairobi was never truly able to recover from the brutality it used to suppress the Mau Mau movement and maintain colonial control.

Jan C. Jansen and Jürgen Osterhammel, “Decolonization as Moment and Process,” in  Decolonization: A Short History , trans. Jeremiah Riemer (Princeton University Press, 2017): 1–34.

In this opening chapter of their book, Decolonization: A Short History , Jansen and Osterhammel lay out an ambitious plan for merging multiple perspectives on the phenomena of decolonization to explain how European colonial rule became de-legitimized. Their discussion of decolonization as both a structural and a normative process is of particular interest.

Cheikh Anta Babou, “ Decolonization or National Liberation: Debating the End of British Colonial Rule in Africa ,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science  632 (2010): 41–54.

Cheikh Anta Babou challenges decolonization narratives that focus on colonial policy-makers or Cold War competition, especially in Africa, where the consensus of colonial elites was that African colonial holdings would remain under dominion for the foreseeable future even if the empire might be rolled back in South Asia or the Middle East. Babou emphasizes the liberation efforts of colonized people in winning their independence while also noting the difficulties faced by newly independent countries due to years of imperialism that had depleted the economic and political viability of the new nation. This view supports Babou’s claim that continued study of imperialism and colonialism is essential.

Mahmood Mamdani, “ Settler Colonialism: Then and Now ,” Critical Inquiry  41, no. 3 (2015): 596–614.

Mahmood Mamdani begins with the premise that “Africa is the continent where settler colonialism has been defeated; America is where settler colonialism triumphed.” Then, he seeks to turn this paradigm on its head by looking at America from an African perspective. What emerges is an evaluation of American history as a settler colonial state—further placing the United States rightfully in the discourse on imperialism.

Antoinette Burton, “S Is for SCORPION,” in  Animalia: An Anti-Imperial Bestiary for Our Times , ed. Antoinette Burton and Renisa Mawani (Duke University Press, 2020): 163–70.

In their edited volume, Animalia, Antoinette Burton and Renisa Mawani use the form of a bestiary to critically examine British constructions of imperial knowledge that sought to classify animals in addition to their colonial human subjects. As they rightly point out, animals often “interrupted” imperial projects, thus impacting the physical and psychological realities of those living in the colonies. The selected chapter focuses on the scorpion, a “recurrent figure in the modern British imperial imagination” and the various ways it was used as a “biopolitical symbol,” especially in Afghanistan.

Editor’s Note: The details of Edward Said’s education have been corrected.

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AP World History: Imperialism and The Scramble for Africa

3 min read • december 21, 2021

Dylan Black

During the period 1750 to 1900, industrialization and the growth of capitalism brought with it new methods of obtaining economic prosperity and growth. During the 1800s, land outside of Europe was dominated by European imperialism The term imperialism is defined as the policy of extending a country's power and influence by exploiting another country through diplomacy or military force for economic gain. Essentially, when a country imperializes another territory, it takes over either economically or by force and acquires land. Imperialism was most rampant in Africa, where European countries were running left and right to grab any land they could.

🎥 Live Stream Replay: Imperialism Review

A well known political comic displaying European powers (and Japan) splitting up China for imperialism

Motives for Imperialism

Imperialism was spurred by six key motives that can be remembered with the acronym,  EMPIRE .

🎥 Live Stream Replay: Causes of Imperialism

Exploratory

Imperialists were motivated to:

• Map new territory. 🗺️
• Explore new lands for science and adventure. 🧭
• Locate indigenous people.
• Identify available resources (plants, animals, etc.). 🌾

Exploring new lands was a glorious achievement for imperialists and their country.

Quick Read: Economic Development from 1750-1900

• Keep other imperialists from taking resources from other imperialized people. ⚔️

It is important to note that the (M) of  EMPIRE   is often simply used as a placeholder since militaristic motives align with (P).

• Assert themselves as powerful and prestigious. 💪
• Make sure their country had the most resources. 💎
• Control another country's government. ⚖️
• Claim land for the "mother country." 🇬🇧

Political motives correlated heavily with Europe's growing sense of nationalism, pride, and identity.

Ideological

• "Improve" life for non-Europeans
• "Civilize" the "primitive cultures" of other countries. 🏹
• Spread westernization/make others more like Europeans.
• Have people adopt a European perspective. 👀
• Prove their culture and race were superior. (See The White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling) 👊

Social Darwinism was a driving force behind the imperialist movement. Europeans thought it was their duty to spread what they thought was superior culture and thinking.

• Convert natives to the Christian religion. ✝️
• Convince native people that their religion was wrong and "evil." ☠️
• Change the beliefs of the next generation. 👪

They wanted to " Christianize all the kingdoms " so to speak.

• Make money! 🤑
• Increase the factors of production (land, workers, capital, etc.). 💸
• Obtain raw materials to manufacture goods. ( supply)  🧵
• Expand new markets by getting natives to buy European goods and services.  (demand)  🛍️

Remember that imperialism starts up in conjunction with the Industrial Revolution.

Quick Read: Economic Imperialism

The Scramble for Africa

The Scramble for Africa refers to the epic land grabs of European nations throughout Africa (imperialism at its finest, or at its worst). In the minds of European countries, Africa was fair game and it was FULL of resources, raw materials, and luxury goods such as diamonds, that were all heavily sought after due to the rise in industrial production and increasing global trade. 💎

🎥 Live Stream Replay: Indigenous Responses to Imperialism

The Berlin Conference 1884-1885

Competition among European nations had grown so severe something had to be done, rules had to be made, resulting in the Berlin Conference:

• Conference held in Berlin to determine the future of Africa. 🇩🇪
• Established rules for colonization.
• Drew borders for the European countries to follow, but were not adhered to by the local Africans. 🗺️
• No African representatives were invited.

Read more: Expansion of Imperialism

• Imperialism only continued to grow.
• By 1900, there were only 2 unclaimed territories in Africa: Ethiopia and Liberia.
• The borders established by Europeans ripped apart local tribes and led to many conflicts, setting the stage for future civil wars. ⚔️
• Hundreds of thousands of people became refugees.

🎥 Live Stream Replay: Modern Imperialism Review

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Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa

Please note: This topic's content was written in 2003 and is part of the old curriculum content, we have modified it slightly to fit the new curriculum but we will be further updating the content in the coming months.

Many countries in the world experienced imperialism when they were taken over and ruled by a more powerful country. The main motive for imperialism was to obtain and control a supply of raw materials for industries. This meant that a weaker country with abundant natural resources would be colonised. Imperialists were often brutal in the way they treated the indigenous population. Sometimes they chose a less aggressive approach, obtaining the co-operation of the local people and working with their traditional rulers and social and political structures and practices.

This section is quite long so we have broken it into two pages: Defining Imperialism

In the late 18th century, life in Europe and America changed dramatically. Revolutions in America and France ushered in a new political order. The Industrial Revolution in Britain modernised farming, the processing of raw materials and manufacturing of goods. Later industrialisation spread to Europe and to the USA. Economic progress came at the cost of rapid urbanisation and social problems. Industrialisation also influenced political change. Britain developed into a democracy as a result. Industrialisation created a huge demand for raw materials and led to the colonisation of Africa and Asia for these resources. Industrialisation and technological progress boosted European and American confidence, and national pride. They became convinced that they were superior. Their lust for power climaxed in the two World Wars of the 20th century.

The word imperialism comes from the term empire. Imperialism refers to the practice of domination of one country by another in order to expand territory, power and influence. It usually carries with it the idea of cultural superiority on the part of the imperialist, judging the way of life, traditions and beliefs of those colonised as inferior and worthy of replacement:

"Imperialism, as distinct from colonialism, refers to political/cultural/economic rule over indigenous people transforming their ideas, institutions, and material culture (i.e., goods)." - Source: www.bu.edu

Imperialism takes the form of political control and creating economic dependence. In Europe, the period of imperialism coincided with growing nationalism and unification when previously divided political units were united under a single monarchy. Unification allowed for empire building because people were gathered under a monarchy that claimed the right to rule them. Examples are German and Italian unification. Towards the end of the 19th century, imperialism became a policy of colonial expansion pursued by different European powers. The Prime Minister of France, Jules Ferry in his justification of this policy told his parliament that:

"I repeat that the superior races [European] have a right because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilize the inferior races [non Europeans]...." Source: www.fordham.edu

France and Britain saw imperialism as a way of carrying out their responsibility to civilise non-European societies. Other imperialists believed imperialism was necessary for their country's economic growth. They argued that Europe's high import tariffs (government fees allowing foreign traders to bring in goods for sale) made it difficult to access customers and markets there. They had no choice but to look for other markets outside Europe. Lord Lugard of Britain said that:

"It is sufficient to reiterate here that, as long as our policy is one of free trade, we are compelled to seek new markets; for old ones are being closed to us by hostile tariffs, and our great dependencies, which formerly were the consumers of our goods, are now becoming our commercial rivals." Source: www.fordham.edu

Lugard further justified the policy of colonial expansion by saying that the benefits were not limited to Britain. Colonies would gain access to superior European goods and influence. The Scramble for Africa in the 1880s to 1900 was motivated by these ideas.

Imperialist ambitions in Africa were boosted by the expansion of competitive trade in Europe. The main aim was to secure commercial and trade links with African societies and protect those links from other European competitors. Europe established trade relations with African rulers and encouraged them to trade with them exclusively. European traders were at first not interested in expanding into the interior of Africa. As long as African rulers assured them of a supply of slaves from the interior, they felt no need to expand into the interior. The rapid expansion of industries made European countries look to African for a supply of cheap raw materials and (slave) labour. West Africa was particularly important for the development of industries in Europe. The production of African palm oil used as industrial oil was in high demand for European industries. Greed for ever-greater profits meant intensifying and expanding industrial production. European countries realised that by taking control of African territories they could secure a very cheap supply of raw materials that would ensure industrial success and overall economic prosperity. Colonial governments organised agricultural production in the colonies to match the demand for raw materials in Europe.

Imperial expansion of Europe into the African interior saw many African farmers forced off their land and turned into farm labourers on white-owned plantations, where they were usually subject to cruel exploitative practices. European governments encouraged their citizens to become permanent settlers in their African colonies, providing them with farming land. The loss of land caused much resentment among African people. Those who remained on their land and plantations found themselves forced to farm cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, coffee and sugar that were important for European industries instead of their traditional staple foods in order to survive. The price they were paid for these harvests was also very low especially when compared with the selling price of it after processing in Europe. It is not surprising then that early resistance to colonial rule in Africa revolved around the use of land and its restoration to its traditional owners.

Not all European countries had imperial ambitions for Africa. It was only the major powers in Europe that competed for the control of Africa. These were Britain, France, and Germany and the weaker powers of Spain, Portugal and Italy who had very small possessions in Africa. Britain and France were at the forefront of imperialism in Africa. These two countries were in competition with each other to dominate European politics and economics. They each aimed to beat the other through vying for greater control of Africa and thus her natural resources and labour supply. They also claimed exclusive trading rights with their colonies. These practices guaranteed them markets outside Europe for the sales of surplus goods and led to the practice of dumping. Dumping refers to the practice of offloading goods at very low prices to crush local competition for customers. African producers could not match these prices especially in the absence of similar government support and so they were unable to withstand European competition. This undermined the development of African industries and wealth and locked the continent into an unfair economic relationship with Europe in which African producers were barely able to survive by supplying cheap cash crops and primary goods. Moreover, African countries became dependent on European aid and loans, a state of affairs that remains today. Many African countries have been crippled by the burden of repayment of these loans.

The map shows how major imperialists, England and France used Africa to extend their competition for dominance in Europe. As the map shows, England came to be a dominant power in southern Africa, with only two Portuguese and French colonies in the region. France took control of most parts of West Africa.

Colonial Rule

Colonial rule was the result of competition among European countries for control of African resources. In the beginning, control was limited to colonial authorities securing the loyalty of African chiefs and kings. This meant that African chiefs would trade only with their colonial government. Towards the end of the 19th century colonial governments began to play a more active role in the affairs of African societies. Different colonial governments adopted different methods of rule.

Towards the end of the 19th Century and during the early 20th Century most African countries were under colonial rule except for Liberia and Ethiopia. Colonial rule refers to the conquest and capture of foreign territories in order to expand power. Colonisation of African countries by European powers, like Britain and France was used to protect their trade ambitions and led to exploitation of Africa. European countries used colonies to supply their industries with raw materials. Britain charged other European countries taxes for trading in their colonies as part of its economic competition. Colonial rule also ensured that European manufactured goods would have a ready market in Africa. Countries that had colonies in Africa were:

In terms of governing their colonies, these countries developed different systems of rule. The British government was famous for its indirect rule system that it introduced in many of its colonies. The French and other European governments like Portugal and Belgium practised direct colonial rule. The two systems were very different and as a result had different effects on African societies.

British Colonial Rule

The British system of indirect rule simply meant that power over colonies would be exercised through indigenous political structures. These structures which is related to a customary law were preserved and allowed to continue. In the early years of colonial rule, local rulers were still powerful and they were able to maintain the integrity of their political structures and system of government. To a large extent ordinary people did not suffer or feel the impact of colonial rule, and for many there was a little change.

This did not mean that African rulers were free to behave as if nothing had changed with colonisation. The British government introduced policies to limit local rulers power to govern their societies. For example, chiefs lost their authority to sentence anyone to death. Crimes requiring a death penalty were given to the magistrate who applied British law to judge the merits of the case. Chiefs were also forced to give up their support by a military unit made up of volunteers.

Chiefs were only allowed to rule in accordance with customary laws. However, in some cases the British government introduced new laws and forced chiefs to pass them as customary laws. For example, they introduced a Hut Tax to increase revenues to colonial governments. This tax was charged on every one who owned a hut, poor or rich. The tax was not a customary law, but it was portrayed as a customary practice by the British colonial governments.

French Colonial Rule

French and Portuguese colonies were ruled differently. Unlike the British system, the French and Portuguese gave a role to local African leaders preferring to adopt a system of direct rule. Colonies were treated as if they were extensions of the two European states. For example, French colonies were treated as French departments. The French government did not include any African rulers. They were stripped of all their powers and the people were ruled directly by French colonial officers often with a military background. These colonial officers replaced African rulers because most areas were divided into districts and departments. The division of French colonies into districts and departments did not take into consideration existing boundaries of different ethnic groups.

Whereas the British policy was based on the separation of races and preserving the culture or identities of African societies, the French policy was based on inclusion. Their policy was to encourage Africans to become French in every sense of the word. This policy was part of expanding French civilization to African people. However, this policy did not mean that African people in French colonies were treated with equality. Their inclusion into French societies was based on inequality between the French people and colonised Africans.

Portuguese Colonial Rule

The Portuguese introduced the prazo system. The prazo is a Portuguese system of land grants that was introduced in the colonies. It was a mixture of local political structures and a Portuguese political system. It was not an indirect rule system because land was taken from African rulers and given to Portuguese settlers. The control of land gave Portuguese the power to control African people. Because Portuguese rule was very weak, Portuguese holders of these land grants (prazo) legitimised their control of land by marrying into African royal families. These Portuguese rulers called themselves chiefs (like African chiefs) and ruled like African chiefs.

The prazo system was adopted largely because the Portuguese government was a weak colonial power as compared to other colonial powers. The Portuguese did not have the wealth required to administer their colonies. As a result, Portuguese colonies were the least developed colonies in Africa. They had to adapt their colonial rule to the African context.

Belgian Colonial Rule

In Rwanda, the Belgians used an indirect rule system. Instead of accommodating all traditional authorities within their colonial system, they favoured one group, the Tutsis. They used the Tutsis to control other groups in Rwanda. The Congo was ruled as the personal property of King Leopold II. Belgian colonial rule was characterised by the most cruel and exploitative treatment of the local people. People were forced to work and those who refused to carry out their duties had their hands chopped off.

German Colonial Rule

German colonial rule was also based on direct rule. However, there was no attempt to turn Africans into Germans. German colonial rule lasted for a brief period as Germany lost her colonial possessions after the First World War. Her colonies were mandated to British and French colonies.

Italian Colonial Rule

Italy was the latecomer in the colonisation of Africa, becoming involved only after the Italian unification of 1870. By this time other European countries had already claimed most parts of Africa. The Italian government developed a centralised administration with the aim of sending Italians to live in the colonies. The other reason for Italian colonialism was to show old European countries that Italy was also a strong nation. In an attempt to prove this, Italy attempted to colonise Ethiopia. The Ethiopians defeated and humiliated the Italians in the Battle of Adowa.

Spanish Colonial Rule

Spain had only two colonies in Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara. These colonies were underdeveloped as compared to those of the European powers.

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Anti-apartheid, Anti-capitalism, and Anti-imperialism: Liberation in South Africa

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The first Mandela was Jesus Christ. The Second was Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. The third Nelson Mandela are the poor people of the world. (S’bu Zikode, a leader of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the South African shack dwellers movement, quoted in Gibson 2006 , p. 12)

African nationalism ; Emancipation ; Imperialism ; National democratic revolution ; National liberation ; Racial capitalism ; Settler colonialism ; White supremacy

“Anti-Apartheid, Anti-Capitalism, and Anti-Imperialism: Liberation in South Africa?”

The entry analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of three movement strategies to achieve liberation in South Africa. The core of anti-apartheid strategy was to unite forces to overcome the racist white domination of the Nationalist Party regime in power since 1948. The anti-capitalist strategy stressed the connection between apartheid’s political and social discrimination with an underpinning capitalist exploitation, promoting independent working class organization and...

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Higginbottom, A. (2021). Anti-apartheid, Anti-capitalism, and Anti-imperialism: Liberation in South Africa. In: Ness, I., Cope, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29901-9_159

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Imperialism in Africa

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Essay title: Imperialism in Africa

Imperialism is defined as one country's domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. In Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, imperialism was present and growing. The main countries involved in the imperialism in Africa were the French, German, and Great Britain. The French's empire was mainly in North and West Africa while Britain's colonies were scattered throughout the continent. Germany ruled over such countries as Tanganyika, Togoland, and Cameroon, until their defeat in World War I.

There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons may be that Europeans believed that the more territory a country was able to control, the more powerful and important they were believed to be. Other reasons for countries to be competing include the many natural resources that could only be found in Africa and a need for markets in surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for a large profit.

When the European manufacturing plants were built, the raw materials from Africa were extracted and the company owners developed and indigenous labor force, which was managed by foreigners. This all lead to the Africans being taken over by the foreigners. A poem by David Diop explains what it was like once the foreigners had taken over Africa.

"The White Man killed my father,

My father was proud.

The White Man seduced my mother,

My mother was beautiful.

The White Man burnt my brother

Beneath the noonday sun,

My brother was strong.

His hands red with black blood

The White Man turned to me;

And in the Conqueror's voice said,

"Boy! A chair, a napkin, a drink."

In Southern

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Imperialism in Africa

Updated 26 July 2023

Subject HR Management

Downloads 29

Category History ,  World

Topic Imperialism ,  Colonialism ,  Developing Country

The act of a country that is more powerful than another seizing it and attempting to increase its territory is known as "imperialism." Because European nations were more strong than the countries they conquered and expanded their territories, European imperialism developed. Africa experienced European imperialist animosity, political pressure, military forces incursion, action-packed takeover and colonization between the late 1860s and the early 1900s. (Shaw 150). Various African communities attempted to resist efforts by their states to colonize them at the same time that they were opposed to foreign hegemony. But by late nineteenth century, most African countries, with the exclusion of Ethiopia and Liberia, had already been colonized by European rulers.

The establishment of imperialism in Africa was motivated by economic, political, and social factors (Shaw 159). It did develop in the nineteenth century following the end and abolishment of the slave trade as well as the spreading out of the European capitalist “Industrial Revolution.” The imperatives of capitalist industrialization- inclusive of the demands for certain sources of raw materials, the hunt for fail-safe markets and lucrative investment channels- prompted the European scramble and the partition and ultimate take-over of African nations. Hence, the primary drive for European invasion was economic.

However, other factors also played vital roles in the process like the “political impetus” that resulted from the impacts of various European-based power struggles and competition for prominence. Nations like Spain, France, Germany, and Britain were contending for supremacy within European power political affairs. The one way to show prominence was through getting hold of foreign colonies like Africa. The social aspect was the last key element. In consequence of industrialization, critical social problems grew in most of the European states; joblessness, poverty, communal displacements and much more. These social issues came about somewhat because the newly-created capitalist industries could not absorb every individual. A suitable way to solve this was to obtain colonies and send this “surplus population” overseas. This resulted in the creation of settler-lands in some African nations such as Tunisia, Namibia, and Angola. At the long run, the superseding economic dynamics are what led to the colonization of other African states.

Hence, the interplay of the socio-political and economical factors showed the way for the scramble for Africa and the frantic endeavors by European military and political representatives to proclaim and set up stakes in various sections of Africa by deploying inter-imperialist commercial competitions and declaring restricted claims to exacting trade territories. So severe was the scramble that most people started fearing that it was going to lead to war. With the intention of stopping this, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck organized a political meeting involving European authorities where a treaty, the Berlin Act, was signed. The Berlin Act had provisions that were to offer guidance on how imperialist competitions in Africa were to be conducted.

There are quite many Europeans leaders, who in various capacities, contributed to the establishment of imperialism in various parts of Africa, for instance, Henry Morton Stanley, King Leopold of the Belgians, and Cecil Rhodes.

Contributions of Henry Morton Stanley on Imperialism in Congo

Henry Morton was born John Rowlands on 28th January 1841. His entire family abandoned him, and as a youth, he set for New Orleans after he was able to escape a harsh working site in his original hometown. Henry Morton was taken up by a family that he used to work for, and this is where he was named Stanley up to when he was sent away. Following his escape to Arkansas, Henry Morton participated in the Civil War from the year 1862. Henry Morton then turned to be an exquisite journalist, and sometime in 1870 was given the role of searching for one David Livingstone in Africa. David Livingstone was amongst the most thriving missionaries of his time as he was relatively compassionate to the people of Africa and because of this was loved by many. He was openhandedly administering prayers and medicine and was more concerned with the beliefs and traditions of the people. He had, however, gone missing in Africa several years before, and Henry Morton was sent to find him. With his crew of over 150 men, Henry Morton followed Livingstone’s route over to the African continent. Stanley did manage to survive the disease plagues and harsh conditions in the course of their journey, but his system was far from acceptable; Henry Morton chose to flog his sick caretakers and interpreters and did not allow anyone, apart from himself, to touch the sugar that was being delivered. Even though sugar usually helped in alleviating the pains of smallpox, Henry Morton is well known for beating his interpreters suffering from this disease who opted to consume some small amount of his sugar supply. Through these techniques, Henry was able to complete a half of his journey quickly. By beating his interpreters and those who failed to follow his rules, Henry somehow paved the way for the use of excessive force to suppress stubborn Africans who were against European domination. In so doing, Stanley contributed in the imperialism of the African continent as other European nations then preferred to use military force to threaten the few Africans who were resisting white’s invasion.

After finding Livingstone, Stanley was asked to go together with him on his journey of searching for the source of River Nile. The two traveled to the northern regions of Lake Tanganyika and other parts of the continent for the next couple of months after which they went their separate ways, and David Livingstone remained behind in Africa until his demise in 1873. Henry Morton can then be regarded the person who helped in finding Dr. Livingstone David in the heart of Africa that leader led to increased reliability for future explorations and ultimately to his participation in the progress of Belgian Congo.

Upon returning to his homeland, Henry Morton was praised for being amongst the first people to resolve one of the utmost exploration mysteries, found Dr. David Livingstone, and in the end turned to be the catalyst to what would be an outstanding illustration of the influence of imperialism on Europe’s subject populaces. Industrial units could now make use of material goods obtained from Congo, manipulate the African people, and boost incomes from trade on immeasurable amounts (Rogers 35). Stanley was welcomed as a hero in every part of the world that he went to and every piece of his work was made available far and wide and circulated to Europe and America. Motivated by positive response and admirations from the USA and other top explorers, he tried to propose a structure that he believed would bring about much success in imperialistic Europe. Henry Stanly had the desire of exploiting the profit-making potential that Africa presented, at some point advising imperialist leaders to “pour the civilization of Europe into the barbarism of Africa” (Rogers 40). Despite his argument that “there are 40 million naked people in Africa and the cotton-spinners of Manchester are waiting to clothe them” an immense mainstream of the European-based countries failed to find this idea alluring, as a true imperialistic growth of the African continent by European nations had not yet commenced at this time.

Contributions of King Leopold of the Belgians to the Establishment of Imperialism in Africa

King Leopold or Leopold II of the Belgians was born in on 9th April 1835. He rose to the throne in 1865 and ruled until his demise on December 17th, 1909. King Leopold had for a long time wanted to have an overseas colony so as add to his personal affluence and spotted Congo as an ideal prospect. He had previously not succeeded in acquiring such a territory mainly because Belgium was a relatively smaller, had no navy, and was secluded in the heart of Europe; it had diminutive imperialistic strength on its own. Recognizing that would have to take actions himself, he was forced to employ a renowned explorer whom he thought could acquire some colonies in African continent on his behalf.

King Leopold, not like other European nations, argued that Stanley’s goal to commercially make the most of Africa had some stronger economic prospective. He then did initiate a colonization scheme with relatively no budget limits named as the “African International Association for Development” in central Africa. The aim of this project was asserted to be “abolishing Arab slave trade, making peace amongst chiefs, and securing them just and objective negotiation.” Contrast to this, King Leopold put Henry Stanley in control of creating local links, and exploiting them, on his subsequent expeditions to Congo. Henry Morton brought reliability to the cause because of his earlier encounters with Livingstone; this made Leopold’s plan more credible. To add on, Stanley’s strategies for moving forward his forces, and King Leopold’s cause, proved to be effective than any person could have imagined.

Upon arriving in Congo, Stanley started constructing various means of transport and eliminated any obstruction at an increasing speed. He was able to achieve this by wiping out anything in his way and demolishing local ethnic groups in violent conflicts that ended up destroying the nation’s social infrastructure. Stanley then forced local leaders to give in their lands at gunpoint and to put up with terrible conditions imposed on their people; he did establish stations all over the regions and was able to persuade close to 500 local rulers to hand over their independence. He did not hesitate to use armed force to kill African people who chose not to cooperate and quickly managed to conquer the nation by using this technique.

By coming up with the plan of setting up “African International Association for Development,” King Leopold took imperialism to a new level. This is because by recruiting Henry Stanley, King Leopold’s main aim was only to exploit Congo instead of simply exploiting both the land and its populaces while at the same time controlling imperial policies and introducing certain measures aimed at protecting the rights of its overseas subjects.

At the long run, King Leopold gained absolute power over of the “Congo Free State,” a huge area owned by the King himself that did fit in free trading into its guidelines, but its people were not really free. The certainty of the situation was that King Leopold acted brutally to the African subjects as he took several hostages and forced people to work through being tortured, killing, and starvation just to make it clear that he was the supreme ruler of Congo.

Contributions of Cecil Rhodes to the Establishment of Imperialism in Africa

British imperialism in Africa resulted in some changes all over Africa. Some changes had positive impacts on the continent whereas others had negative effects. Imperialists like Cecil Rhodes argued that the “scramble for Africa” was a way through which other European nations could obtain wealth and fame. Even though British imperialism to some extent had some positive effects, it as well had some undesirable effects as it also meant poverty, slavery and poor living conditions to the African people. As Europeans grew to gain increased control over the continent, the state of affairs grew worse as the Africans were treated inferiorly to the whites. Cecil Rhodes advocated for his belief that the whites were the supreme race in the world and that they were allowed to do anything they felt like doing, even if it meant grabbing the lands belonging to Africans. He once stated, “We are the finest race in the world and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race” (Woolf 32). With this sense of superiority over the African people, the European nations did not see anything wrong as far as abusing, persecution, and grabbing African lands unlawfully was concerned. Such beliefs of thinking to be superior to other races, as claimed by other European leaders like Cecil Rhodes, are what prompted imperialism of African continent. This is true since other European nations were compelled to look for overseas colonies, particularly in Africa, so as to exercise their superiority rule over others (Woolf 35). In so doing, lead to African colonization.

In conclusion, it is true to say that before the era of exploration of African continent had come to an end, the “scramble” for the same continent had started, with the aid of the very explorers. Most European nations took their expeditions as money-making, just reasons for the colonization of Africa. Certainly, quite many of the explorers stoutly recommended the rapid colonization of the African continent to their European leaders as they made known features of prospective interests.

Rogers, Harold S. "Imperialism in Africa." The Black Scholar 3.5 (2002): 36-48.

Shaw, Timothy M. "International Stratification in Africa: Sub-Imperialism in Southern and Eastern Africa." Journal of Southern African Affairs 2.2 (2007): 145-165.

Woolf, Leonard. Imperialism and Civilization. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 2008.

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