Anthropology of Africa

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Anthropology of Africa

• SY26C
• Week 5

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Colonialism

• While often depicted as a progressive and
  modernising force, colonialism in fact was based
  on autocratic and frequently oppressive foreign
  rule.

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Colonialism

• Definition
• A system of political, economic, and cultural
  domination forcibly imposed by a technologically
  advanced foreign minority on an indigenous
  majority justifying itself through ideologies
  proclaiming the superiority of coloniser and the
  inferiority of colonised.

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Colonialism

• Why colonialism?
• Requirements of an expanding world capitalist
  system
• Political reasons nationalist rivalries and
  balance of power politics
• Economic reasons need to acquire and control new
  markets and sources of raw materials

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Colonialism the conquest

• Effective occupation armies
• Ethiopia no conquest
• Resistance e.g. Samori Toure Hehe
• Cooperation
• Advantages in alliances with Europeans
• Superior strength
• Divide and conquer

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Colonialism

• Colonial polices determined by
• Previous colonial experience
• Nature of the African society
• Assessment of pre-existing African trade and
  political administrations

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Colonialism

• Heavy reliance on local rulers
• Ideal ruler
• loyal
• maintained law and order
• collected taxes
• encouraged labour
• provided cheap labour pool
• Legacy of colonial rule in current conflicts

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Colonialism French rule

• Very centralised, bureaucratic
• Assimilation political representation,
  education
• Political structure
• Lieutenant Governor
• Appointed advisory council
• Accommodation to local situations
• Algeria destroyed local systems BUT Morocco,
  kept structures sultan remained prominent
  political figure
• Other parts of Africa (e.g. Mauritania, Upper
  Volta, Chad, Niger) where French had little
  presence, governed through pre-existing political
  structures

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Colonialism French rule

• Mariage à la mode du pays cement relations
• Indigenat (1887) summary punishment for, e.g.
  refusal to pay taxes, disrespect for French
  authority
• Enlistment of African soldiers e.g. tirailleurs
  (1857) Senegalese, Sudan

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Colonialism British rule

• Decentralised, no assimilation policy
• Flexible, great variation
• More liberal in W. Africa limited African
  political participation
• W. African colony
• Colony British law
• Protectorate native administration
• E. and C. Africa white settler population led to
  harsher administration

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Colonialism British Indirect Rule

• Buganda
• Weakened state, authority of kabaka
• 1894 protectorate
• kabaka to collect taxes in exchange for
  continuation of ruling hierarchy (under British
  authority)
• Division of land
• British established general policy
• Buganda made day-to-day regulations

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Colonialism British Indirect Rule

• Northern Nigeria
• Emir at Sokoto continued Muslim courts and
  bureaucracy
• British resident as advisor on fulfilling
  colonial regulations
• British ensured the emirs cooperation
• British non-interference with Muslim culture

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Colonial state

• Small number of administrators
• Aims
• law and order
• obedience and loyalty
• defend and promote political and economic
  interests of metropole
• Autocratic
• before 1945, less than 1 had full political,
  civil rights
• Some areas outside of colonial control
• e.g. Tuareg in Mauritania, Algeria, Mali

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Colonialism Economics

• International trade oriented towards metropole
• Europeans controlled most important sectors of
  colonial export economy
• Colonial development policies reflected interests
  of metropolitan banks, import-export houses,
  shipping firms, mining companies, white settler
  population
• Colonial system ensured metropole had outlet for
  its manufactured goods, raw materials for its
  industries, tropical products for metropolitan
  consumers on advantageous terms

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Colonialism Economics

• Regional differences in economic policies
• Africa of the colonial trade economy (French and
  British W. Africa)
• Cash cropping
• Traditional subsistence farmers ? export crops
  (palm oil, cocoa, cotton, rubber)
• Africa of the labour reserves (Malawi,
  Mozambique, Upper Volta)
• Less easily accessible resources less potential
  for peasant production of exports
• Pool of labour migrants esp. for mines in
  Belgian Congo, SA, Northern Rhodesia

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Colonialism Economics

• Africa of the concession-owning companies (Gabon,
  Congo, CAR, Belgian Congo)
• Environmental constraints, low population
  density, thus cash cropping not profitable
• Controlled by companies
• Brutal
• White settler Africa (parts of Kenya, Tanganyika,
  Sn Nn Rhodesia)
• Export crops
• European settlers expropriated most of fertile
  land, displaced traditional African farmer groups

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Colonialism Economics

• Expropriation of traditional communal lands
• Prevented competition with European farmers
• e.g. withholding credit in Senegal
• prohibition of coffee (etc) production in Kenya
• used non-Africans as middlemen (Lebanese/Asians)
• Most economic exploitation in settler societies
• Economic exploitation most systematic in SA
• took best land
• established Native Reserve system and colour bar

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Colonialism Economics

• Mining, plantation agriculture ? great demand for
  labour
• sourced from areas where people forced to work
  elsewhere to pay taxes - e.g. Mozambiqueans had
  to go to SA mines/farms in Rhodesia
• But large parts of Africa untouched by these
  changes
• esp. deserts and forest zones
• traditional modes of production, merchants and
  artisans, trade continued

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Colonialism Impact

• End of political, economic, cultural autonomy
• Colonial subjects with few political, civil
  rights
• Foreign economic domination
• Decline and denigration of traditional values and
  authority
• New ethnic, gender, class relationships

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Colonialism Impact

• Ethnic identity
• Previously dispersed autonomous communities
  adopting a common ethnic identity for political,
  economic reasons
• Bangala of Léopoldville in Belgian Congo
• Explorer Henry Morton Stanley called Bangala the
  people who lived in villages between Congo and
  Ubangi rivers
• Used to distinguish themselves in the eyes of
  whites (industrious and reliable)
• Larger group called themselves Bangala with
  Lingala language

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Colonialism Impact

• Ethnic conflict
• Colonial favouritism ? ethnic conflict and
  competition, into post-colonial period
• e.g. Guinea
• French favoured Fula
• Mandinka leader Sekou Toure led an anti-Fula
  alliance that brought him to power
• After independence, Fula fled Guinea

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Colonialism Impact

• Decline in womens status
• e.g. Igbo female counterparts of male chiefs
  (obi) not made a salaried official (unlike the
  male chief)
• Less access to land and labour and share of
  household income
• Many women moved to towns ? market women/petty
  traders/ domestics
• Some ? property owners, others ? illegal
  activities like prostitution/beer brewing

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Colonialism Impact

• Social relationships disrupted
• e.g. Wolofs warrior caste destroyed
• Loss of land
• Decline in economic power
• e.g. artisans (blacksmiths, jewellers, weavers)
  migrated to towns/farming
• in towns took on jobs that resembled their
  previous one (eg blacksmiths became mechanics)
• uprooted, badly paid urban and rural proletariat
• Very limited opportunities for social mobility
  cos economic development slow

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Colonialism Impact

• Beneficiaries
• chiefs, religious leaders opportunity to produce
  cash crops (cocoa, coffee, cotton) where
  Europeans not allowed large tracts of land (W.
  Africa, Uganda)
• urban areas educated Africans (civil servants,
  clerks, bookkeepers, etc) female property owners

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Colonialism Impact

• Underdevelopment of Africa
• Modern underdevelopment expresses a particular
  relationship of exploitation.All of the
  countries named as underdeveloped in the world
  are exploited by others and the underdevelopment
  with which the world is now pre-occupied is a
  product of capitalist, imperialist and
  colonialist exploitation. (Walter Rodney)

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Colonialism Responses

• Political participation
• N. Africa mass nationalist politics
• W. Africa small educated African elite trying
  for full rights for educated Africans, decreasing
  power of appointed chiefs
• Rebellions often due to repressive land, labour,
  tax policies
• e.g. Zulus in SA 1906 anti-poll tax
• Tanganyika, Maji-Maji insurrection against German
  rule 1905
• Resistance through religious movements
• where few formal political outlets

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Colonialism Responses

• Womens resistance
• market women in Dahomey rioted against high taxes
  and colonial authorities harassment
• Urban associations
• Based on ethnicity, place of origin, economic
  activities, class
• e.g. savings associations, burial societies,
  craft guilds, market womens groups

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Colonialism

• But some African support for European governance
• grateful for release from slavery
• privileges from association with Europeans
• Europeans considered civilising force that
  provided opportunities for social mobility
  regardless of previous status

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Christianity

• Allies of colonialists vs. allies of Africans
• Teaching of white superiority vs. providing
  nationalists with tools for confronting system
• Established hospitals, medicines, refugee camps
  vs. destruction of African customs
• Independent African churches