Essay on Colonial Rule in Africa - 2149 Words

The African continent is one of the biggest land masses on the planet. With its massive population, tremendous natural resources, and rich cultural history, one has to wonder why any country in the continent holds a third world status. The amount of corruption and poverty within many states in Africa is astounding, and in order to unearth the reasons for the state of many African nations today one must go back to the late nineteenth century to when Africa was partitioned by the major European powers of the time. By drawing arbitrary lines on a map of Africa, the western powers effectively changed the course of African history and set the stage for intense exploitation and domination of the African people. One could argue that the western†¦show more content†¦With the transition being made from human trafficking to natural products, the wars and raids fought to gain slaves had ceased, thus ushering a new era of peace and stability. Consequently, the switch to natural product s connected them to the world market, bringing in capitalism and spreading the wealth throughout some of the rural areas. With their newfound peace and economic wealth, many African states were in a position to set up legitimate governments and write their own constitution. For instance, the Fante Confederation in Ghana in 1868 had written a constitution stating how the upper offices were to be run, established legislative, executive and judicial branches, and even wrote provisions for the development for roads, education, and their natural resources. There was also the Egba Board of Management in Nigeria in 1865, and the Kingdom of Grebo in Liberia, all of them experimenting with constitution and self rule. The advancements the African population had made was done in vain, becuase in November 1884, every single Western nation met in Berlin except for Switzerland and the United States for a conference under the leadership of the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Not a single Afri can ruler was present, and it was here that various European nations staked their claim on the dark continent, and did soShow MoreRelatedEssay on Resistance to Colonial Rule in Africa1041 Words   |  5 PagesBy the start of the 20th century, Colonial rule by both the French and the British in Southern Africa had rising expenditure costs. The British method of indirect rule in their colonies, created by Frederick Lugard to leave existing government as it is, had far lower costs than the French method of direct rule. Nonetheless taxation stood as the universal method of keeping all colonies cheap and straightforwardly ran. 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