To control people
To control people, you must first control what they think about themselves and how they regard their history and culture. And when you conguero makes you ashamed of your culture and your history he needs no prison walls and no chains to hold you. Colonization of Africa by European countries way a monumental milestone in the development of Africa. The African consider the impact of colonization on them to be maybe the most important factors in understanding the present condition of the African continent and the African society. Therefore, the examination of colonialism is necessary to appreciate the way in which it influenced not only the economic and political development of Africa but also the African people’s perception of themselves. This essay will focus on the major colonial powers in Africa, it will begin by looking at how colonialism influenced Africa Influenced African and how they view African society. And the racial attitudes of the British, French, Portuguese and Belgium. This essay will again look at the political administrative style of colonialism and their economic policies and practices. (Penguin 1969:37)
The Europeans justified its colonization of Africa claiming it was its moral duty to uplift their primitive state. Some evidence suggests that all European powers did not think much of the African or African culture and history. The European who visited Africa before the actual colonisation shows views of the individual determined to look at Africa through their cultural prism and concluded that African were backward and uncivilized. The European therefore felt that colonization was right, and they had a mission to civilize African.
In most of the British colonies, African and the British were isolated, social establishment like college, recreational facilities and hospitals were maintained by various racial groups. In place like geographical areas, in the main African country, wherever important Asian, Arabic and European communities settled, there have been separated facilities for every groups, the most effective facilities received by European. They were different facilities for every groups like Asian college, European college and African college. And, the transport was broken down into first class, second category and third category. The separated colleges were usually racially selected as were hospitals and loos publicly building.
Transportation like buses and trains was not racially selected, however the utilization of upper fares and local custom created certain that African keep their place in the third class. Residence were isolated with Africans within the cities confined in African location with prominently jammed and inferior house. As is acknowledge s makes and attempt were created to systematize into law of segregation in areas with substantial British settlers comparable to in African countries. (Crowder 1962:2)
British would enable a rich African to get a house in white people’s space during colonization. However normally, they did not create a mentally state affairs during which associate African could be uplifted to the extent that he/she could thought about the social equal of a British. It is often conceded that general style of means, British tried to convert African into British girls and gentlemen. Indeed, the British were very happy to purpose associate uplifted African United Agency to British manners. However, they did not think about such associates African a social equal within the same means French did. It was obvious that African United Agency may use mechanical tools that was lot of productive than one United Nation Agency could not. However, it was impossible that associate African can be educated to a level of social equality with a British person. Governors in British colonies usually spoke of African eventually exercise political powers in their countries. (Berkeley 1978:4)
Similarly, the French looked down on the African culture. They developed a policy to buttress their colonial rule on the continent called the assimilation policy. This policy supported the terribly worthy of human equality, however solely underneath French suzerainty. Thus, the French once confronted with folks they thought of barbarians and believed that its their mission to convert them into Frenchmen. This implicit a basic acceptance of their potential human equality, however a complete dismissal of African culture as of any worth. African were thought of to be land with none history, with none civilization warrant the names, perpetually at war with each other and lucky to own been a place with the fruits of French civilization. (Crowder 1962:2)
Obviously, the French were in continent to civilize and to remake the African in their own image. The policy of assimilation needed associate degree instructional system that will remodel Africans into French people. A lieutenant governor of Senegal in 1902 was quoted as telling African students at an area faculty that, the French language is that language of the complete world and your race.
The Portuguese were partiality, some would say racist towards African. The also had an idea of civilizing mission in the continent of Africa. However, their idea of what deep seated a Portuguese was a mix of idea of each the French and therefore English. It enclosed each ancestry and culture, a key component was of the Portuguese policy in the continent, was the promoting of the combining cultures and races through wedding and habitation. This method was largely operating involving Portuguese men and African ladies. There was a huge abuse during this system, particularly as way as African ladies were involved. Most of the unions were never created legal, while not the force of law, most of the Portuguese fathers refused to simply accept the responsibility for his or her racial kids. The outcomes were that these kids of interracial connection failed to have the rebuts recognition with the Portuguese society that this observe was speculated to instil. The Portuguese policy over time, an amount of time was enjoyed by the full-blooded Portuguese at the highest enjoying all the privilege and right of being a Portuguese citizen. (Knopf 1962:127)
The king of a little European country, Leopold11 managed to best Portugal, France, and European nation into acknowledging his claim to a large chunk of African nearly ninety times the dimensions of his own kingdom, like other European countries his mission was to civilize African people. Patrice Lumumba, the primary prime minister of the D.R.C, summarize that Belgium’s colonial code variety twenty-nine as Belgium’s mission within the Congo was basically a civilizing one. On the ethical plane, it was to make sure that the well-being of the native population and their development by the broadening of individual liberty. Support on the undertaking in promoting native education and appreciation of the benefits of civilization. On the economic plane, Belgians mission was to realise the event of the colony for the advantages of the native and the current finish, to figure towards a connected level and more and more positive operation of the country, which can become stronger and bring peace and guarantee the protection and growth of the assorted branches of economic activity like agriculture, commerce and business. (Hills 1968:50)
To compare and distinction the types of administration used by colonial authorities in Africa makes it attainable to discover, however European powers tried to tailor their vogue to their overall objectives within the colony. As we have already mentioned, broadly the political, cultural and economic reason for the formation. We have a propensity to currently apprehend that the French meant to show African into land once the method was completed. The civilize African would then become a part of the large French Community. British wished to civilize the African, however that was not the purpose wherever the African may claim equality with the British it was impossible to get equality. The Portuguese visualized a replacement society that might embody assimilated African U.N agency ideally had Portuguese ancestry. Therefore, it might seem that tip product of those colonial experience would be that Africans below French associated degreed Portuguese rule would become an integral a part of the European communities. The Africans within the British areas would ultimately be left alone to run their own government exploitation idea learned from British. Indirect rule, long related to the British, direct rule related to France, Germany and Portugal, company ruled closely coupled the Belgian. (Hyman 1990:406)
Indeed, from the reference above it clearly shows that the nationality of coloniser made a negative and positive impact of the experience of African society. Firstly, they change the way African society view themselves and how the view their history and tradition. The was a massive exploitation of African in terms of resources depletion, labour exploitation and lack of industrialization. The segregation that African society experience when it comes to facilities. And, the way they tried to convert African into their culture and abuse them along the way. The was a huge destruction on the African culture and tradition. Secondly, the coloniser introduces the western medicine which contributed to the African society when it comes to survive. The introduction of formal education and health care which were provided by the missionaries and it enable African leaders to challenge the Europeans. (Shillington 2012:367)
