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impact of colonization on africans
impact of colonization on africans
what are the economic impacts of colonialism
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Many different tribal communities inhabited Kenya, during its pre-colonial period. Today there are about 42 different tribes in Kenya who are all different from each other ("Safari in Africa”). The Agikuyu and the Miji Kenda were farmers, the Maasai and the Samburu lived off of livestock, and the majority like the Luo and the Abagusii practiced a mixture of crop cultivation and pastoral work. Subsistence production was the norm and manual labor came from the family. Classes were mostly non-existent and poverty was not much of an issue either as reciprocity was largely practiced. Relations between other tribal communities were for the most part were good as they traded, married with each other, and had limited and sporadic conflicts (Ndege). Foreigners first appeared in Kenya with the constant visits by Arab traders who eventually created Arab and Persian colonies. (“A Brief History”) The Portuguese who later held their own colonies in what is now Kenya were defeated by the Ottoman Arabs, who ultimately were overpowered by the growth of the British and Germans. This constant change of power in the area was due to competition in slave trade. However, like in the rest of Africa, the official start of colonialism in Kenya began with the 1884/85 Berlin Conference.
With the 1886 Anglo-German Agreement and agreements through the Berlin Conference, Britain established protectorate over Kenya. Kenya’s boundaries were delineated without the consultation the tribal groups and communities that inhabited the area. With the new boundaries Britain brought together over forty formerly autonomous communities into one territorial country (Ndege). These boundaries were responsible for separating tribes and communities, such as the Maas...
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...ortunately cannot really be answered since we cannot see what these countries would be like if colonialism never was a part of their history.
Works Cited
"A Brief History on Kenya | Republic of Kenya | The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya." A Brief History on Kenya | Republic of Kenya | The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Harris, Richard L. The Political Economy of Africa. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Pub., 1975. Print.
"Kenya Constitution." Early Kenya History. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
"Kenya Profile." BBC News. BBC, 09 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Ndege, Peter O. "Colonialism and Its Legacies in Kenya." Lecture. Fulbright – Hays Group Project Abroad Program. Web.
"New Histories." New Histories. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
"Safari in Africa with Shadows Of Africa." Shadows Of Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
A true saying is “Colonization often does more damage than contribution.” Colonialism encouraged Africa’s development in some areas, but in many others it severely damaged the natural progress of the continent. If colonialism was never imposed on Africa, Africa’s developments would be significantly different and many of the problems that the continent faces now would not exist today. In conclusion, at first it seems that colonialism has both positive and negative effects, but the truth is it only damages the colonized nation.
Britain, which became the colonizer, controlled Kenya with physical violence at first, making Kenyans inferior. In 1952, the state of emer...
For this assignment I chose to write about Jomo Kenyatta. After reading chapters three and four of Khapoya’s book, it was hard to imagine an Africa that wasn’t under colonial rule. I can only comprehend on a very basic level the impact colonialism had on the Africans economically, physically, and mentally. It is inspiring to read further and discover the immense, calculated, and passionate efforts that many Pan African leaders played in the years that followed. I found Jomo Kenyatta to be particularly interesting. For many reasons, Kenyatta is considered one of the most significant leaders of the Pan African movement in the twentieth century. Kenyatta had a clear vision of what he wanted for Kenya (or Africa as a whole), he was prepared for the path he would have to take, and he accomplished much for the country and continent as a whole.
In terms of political changes, European imperialism negatively affected Africa. Firstly, European colonization created enormous conflict between colonists and the African people. African resistance to “The Scramble for Africa” lead to the instability of Africa’s political structure. There was ineffective resistance of the African people against the Europeans. In an attempt to regain their independence, Africans took up arms against their colonial masters as soon as they perceived them to be at a disadvantage. In southern Africa, in The Republic of Namibia, the Herero people rose against German rule in 1904, killing over 100 German settlers and traders. German commander, General von Trotha, retaliated with a war aimed simply at extermination. This resulted in the decline of 70% of the Herero population.1 Nowhere else was colonialism quite so brutal, but almost everywhere it tended towards unrestrained brutality as soon as it was challenged.2 Warfare created considerable unrest among African people. Afterwards, the people of Africa came to the realization that the consequences of resistance against European colonists could be devastating. As well, the Europeans demonstrated that they had the technology and resources to gain control. Secondly, colonial expansion changed the face of Africa’s political structure. The Berlin Conference of 1884-85, attended by 13 European nations and the USA, set the ground rules for partition of Africa. When the conferenc...
As the Europeans started to invade Africa and split up the land, they paid no attention to the already existing natural boundaries. Over time, villages with different cultures had set these boundaries. The Europeans ignored these invisible borders as they invaded. This caused soci...
The roots of the colonial history of Kenya travels back to the Berlin Conference in 1885, whe...
“The sun never sets on the British Empire,” Great Britain often bragged. By 1914, about 85% of the earth’s surface was colonized by Europe. Between 1884 and 1885, The Berlin Conference took place to carve up the African continent (Background Essay). Europeans saw high potential in Africa and thought the continent was empty, even though it was not. It was roughly “untouched” and they thought they could do anything they wanted (Doc.1). Great Britain’s colonization in Kenya affected the country’s religion and culture, education, and government.
The Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) which was derived from the Young Kikuyu Association which was formed in 1921 by Harry Thuku, played a great role in Kenyatta’s political career. Its leader at the time, James Beuttah made a decision that would act as the be...
10. Spear, Thomas Kenya’s Past: An Introduction to Historical Method in Africa Longman Group Limited London 1981
Kenya is a very important country in the world basically due to its strategic location in the East African region. It is a country that has had an interesting political walk that despite the challenges it has faced, it has managed to pull through though with an interesting history to tell. There have been different regimes in the country since it acquired its independence. Worth noting is that these regimes have come into power through different ideologies and they have guided the country in different directions. The country was colonized by the British and acquired its independence in the year 1963. Notably, Kenya is considered to have been a colonial invention which had to contend with the colonialists.
The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914. Jeff Taylor, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
A number of policy interventions have been originated since independence to address the growing employment problem in Kenya, and with that, make an attempt at bettering the lot of the Kenyan youth. The earliest among these were the Kenyanization policies adopted at independence in which it was envisaged that young Kenyans would quickly take over duties and responsibilities from departing colonial staffers. Other policy measures included promotion of growth and development of the informal and jua kali sector in the 1990’s.
On the eastern coast of Africa lies a land full of sunny blue skies and large plains in which zebras and elephants roam. This land is the country of Kenya. Outside of Kenya’s cities and towns lies many samples of natures beauty. Unfortunately, the people living in this land are troubled by their struggle with the government and trying to form a democracy. Matthew Carotenuto stated, “Much of the world had historically viewed Kenya as an island of peace and economic potential in a roiling sea of stateless chaos.” What he means is that people have long seen Kenya as a peaceful place that is surrounded by countries suffering from all sorts of violence and unfortunate circumstances. What many people do not know is that Kenya has a long history for political violence going way back to when the country was colonized. Understanding that Kenya’s past violence was due to their struggle for social and political authority helps us understand some of their violence issues today. According to Maina Kiai, violence broke out after Kenya’s 2007 election. Many people had thought that Kenya was a more peaceful country compared to others in Africa because they were working towards a democracy. Currently Kenya is a republic (“Kenya” The World...). Another thing Kiai mentioned is that one of Kenya’s major political problems is that Kenya's constitution gives the president full power to elect anyone he wants into a political position for any salary he chooses. Scott Baldauf and Robert Crilly also explain how Kenya is trying to become a democracy but its political system is weak and allows the president too much power, making the nation a dictatorship in disguise. This leads to many ethical issues within the governments systems. We should care about Ken...
An overwhelming majority of African nations has reclaimed their independence from their European mother countries. This did not stop the Europeans from leaving a permanent mark on the continent however. European colonialism has shaped modern-day Africa, a considerable amount for the worse, but also some for the better. Including these positive and negative effects, colonialism has also touched much of Africa’s history and culture especially in recent years.
Marxists.org , The mechanisms of neo-colonialism , (quoting Nkrumah, Kwame ; “Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialism” , 1965) ; http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/neo-colonialism/ch01.htm