Economic policies were adopted by Europeans who destroyed the colonies, rather than help them. Africa was damaged economically, politically, and culturally. Africa's traditional lifestyles and culture were destroyed. The Europeans had no interest in traditional African culture and had no concern for the Africans.
Explanation:
Colonialism had a huge impact on the lives of Africans. Economic policies were adopted by Europeans who
destroyed the colonies, rather than help them. Africa was damaged economically, politically, and culturally. Africa’s
traditional lifestyles and culture were destroyed. The Europeans had no interest in traditional African culture and had
no concern for the Africans. There were several negative effects of colonialism that became evident after many African
nations became independent.
First of all, colonial governments took over much of Africa’s land for their own personal or commercial use, like
mining or commercial farms. They were selective in choosing land and took only the best and called it their own.
Belgium and Britain were mostly responsible for taking the land. The Belgians took land in the Congo and the British
conquered land in Kenya and South Africa. Central, East, and South Africa had nice climates and fertile soil, encouraging
the British and Belgians to settle these areas.
Once European nations began creating farms and mining companies in Africa, they needed people to work on
them so they started using Africans as cheap labor. Africans who lived in this area either lost their land to Europeans or
were unable to live off their land. They moved to the towns, farms, or mines started by Europeans. Working conditions
were terrible, with corporal punishment and low wages. They were paid in cash and food rations.
Europeans needed money to run their overseas governments and services for settler communities. “Mother”
countries usually provided little to their colony, so colonial governments began taxing local Africans. This especially
became a problem after World War II when European countries were financially devastated. Europeans began taking
advantage of Africans, forcing them to work to pay their taxes, without giving them any other compensation.
Forced labor increased and many African men were separated from their families, since only men were used to
work on farms and mines. African villages lost their manpower for food production, leading to famine. Traditional
African villages started to decline and Europeans started employing Asian immigrants, creating tension between the
Asians and Africans.
The economic structure of African society was changed by Europeans. Cash crops were introduced to meet
industrial needs of European countries. Cocoa, coffee, tea, and cotton were the main cash crops produced on a large
scale. Several minerals were mined extensively. The problem with this was cash crops were focused on instead of food
for basic needs, leading to famine among many Africans. Europeans changed the economy from a model of producing
foods for need to mainly the production of cash crops. All crops produced by Africans were exported and prices were
set by the colonies. Africans were not allowed to grow these cash crops to benefit themselves. Trade was prohibited
between Africans, so they were forced to export all cash crops produced and minerals mined.
European colonial powers did not plan to industrialize or modernize Africa. Africans were used to solely
produce raw materials, export them to Europe, and then re -export them Africa as final products, sold at high prices.
Africans could not afford to pay for these products. There were several negatives of colonialism for the Africans like
resource depletion, labor exploitation, unfair taxation, lack of industrialization, dependence on cash crop economy,
prohibition of trade, the breaking up of traditional African society and values, lack of political development, and ethnic
rivals inside countries.
Africa would most likely still be behind the rest of the world without colonialism though. Some positives
historians have pointed out are medicine, education, improved infrastructure, Christianity, and boundaries. The growth
of the African population was aided by the Western medicine introduced by Europeans. Africans were introduced to
formal education by Europeans. They also improved the African infrastructure with the addition of road systems,
railroads, water, electricity, and communication systems. Christian missions promoted literacy and health care in Africa.
The Christian religion made African spirituality simpler and took away the need for sacrifices and rituals. Europeans
established boundaries, making the process of independence easier with predetermined state formation. Overall, there
were many negatives, but some positives to colonialism in Africa.
