EBS 403D Colonisation and Nationalism in Africa Edited

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
COURSE TITLE
EBS 403D Colonisation and

Nationalism in Africa edited
© COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

CODE PUBLICATIONS, 2019
EBS 403D COLONIZATION AND
NATIONALISM IN AFRICA
Dr. Vincent Mensah Minadzi

Mr. Kwame Nkrumah
First publication in 2023 by UCC Press, Cape Coast
© COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE

COAST (CoDE UCC), 2023
CoDE PUBLICATIONS, 2023
All right reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system or transmitted by any form or means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright holder.
Cover page illustrated by William Jacobs

THIS MODULE FORMS PART OF CoDEUCC PACKAGE FOR THE
BACHELOR IN PRIMARY AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMME
FOR FURTHER DETAILS YOU MAY CONTACT
THE PROVOST
(CoDEUCC)
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
CAPE COAST
TEL/FAX O3321-35203, 36947
COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST (CoDEUCC)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced,

Stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any form or means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the
copyright holder.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
This Course Book “EBS 403D Colonization and Nationalism in Africa” has
been exclusively written by experts in the discipline to up-date your general
knowledge of Education in order to equip you with the basic tool you will
require for your professional training as a teacher.
This three-credit course book of thirty-six (36) sessions has been structured to
reflect the weekly three-hour lecture for this course in the University. Thus,
each session is equivalent to a one-hour lecture on campus. As a distance
learner, however, you are expected to spend a minimum of three hours and a
maximum of five hours on each session.
To help you do this effectively, a Study Guide has been particularly designed
to show you how this book can be used. In this study guide, your weekly
schedules are clearly spelt out as well as dates for quizzes, assignments and
examinations.
Also included in this book is a list of all symbols and their meanings. They are
meant to draw your attention to vital issues of concern and activities you are
expected to perform.
Blank sheets have been also inserted for your comments on topics that you
may find difficult. Remember to bring these to the attention of your course
tutor during your face-to-face meetings.
We wish you a happy and successful study.
Dr. Vincent Mensah Minadzi

Mr. Kwame Nkrumah
CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It has become a tradition in academic circles to acknowledge the assistance one

received from colleagues in the writing of an academic document. Those who
contributed in diverse ways toward the production of this particular course
book merit more than mere acknowledgement for two main reasons. First, they
worked beyond their normal limits in writing, editing and providing constant
support and encouragement without which the likelihood of giving up the task
was very high. Second, the time span for the writing and editing of this
particular course book was so short that their exceptional commitment and
dedication were the major factors that contributed to its accomplishment.
It is in the foregoing context that the names of Dr. Vincent Mensah Minadzi
and Mr. Kwame Nkrumah of the University of Cape Coast, who wrote and
edited the content of this course book for CoDEUCC, will ever remain in the
annals of the College. This special remembrance also applies to those who
assisted me in the final editing of the document.
I wish to thank the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, the

Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Mrs.) Rosemond Boohene and all the staff of the
University’s Administration without whose diverse support this course book
would not have been completed.
Finally, I am greatly indebted to the entire staff of CoDEUCC, especially

Mrs. Christina Hesse for formatting the scripts.
Any limitations in this course book, however, are exclusively mine. But the
good comments must be shared among those named above.
Prof. Anokye Mohammed Adam

(Provost)
ii CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content Page
About this Book ... ... ... ... ... ... i
Acknowledgement ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ii
Table of Contents ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iii
Symbols and their Meanings ... ... … ... ... viii
UNIT 1: THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS … … 1
Session 1: The Meaning of Imperialism and Colonialism … 3

1.1 The Concept of Imperialism and Colonialism 3
1.2 Differences between Colonialism and Imperialism 4
Session 2: Meaning and Types of Nationalism … … 7
2.1 Nationalism Defined … … … 7
2.2 Types of Nationalism … … … … 8
Session 3: Merits and Demerits of Nationalism … … 11
3.1 Advantages of Nationalism … … … 11
3.2 Demerits of Nationalism … … … 12
Session 4: Social and Religious Reasons for the Coming of the
Europeans … … … … … … 15
4.1 Social Reasons for the Coming of the Europeans
to Africa … … … … … 15
4.2 Religious Reasons for the Coming of the Europeans 16
Session 5: Political Motives for the Coming of Europeans … 19
5.1 Political Reason of Europeans Coming to Africa 19
Session 6: Economic Reason for the Coming of Europeans … 21
6.1 Economic Reasons for the Colonisation of Africa 21
iv CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 2: REASONS FOR THE EUROPEAN SCRAMBLE

FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA … … 23
Session 1: The Scramble for Africa … … … … 25

2.1 The Scramble for Africa … … … 25
2.2 The New Scramble for Africa … … 26
2.3 Effects of the New Scramble for Africa … 27
Session 2: Economic Reasons of the Scramble for Africa … 31

2.1 Economic Reasons for the Scramble … 31
Session 3: Political and Social Reasons of the Scramble for Africa 35
3.1 Political reasons of Scramble for Africa … 35
3.2 Political effects of Scramble for Africa … 36
3.3 Social reasons of the European Scramble for Africa 37
Session 4: Indirect Rule … … … … … 39
4.1 The concept of Indirect Rule … … … 39
4.2 Forms of Indirect Rule … … … 40
4.3 Features of Indirect Rule … … … 41
4.4 Reasons for the introduction of Indirect Rule 42
4.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Indirect Rule 44
Session 5: Direct Rule … … … … … … 47
5.1 The concept of Direct Rule … … … 47
5.2 Features of Direct Rule … … … 47
5.3 Reasons for the introduction of Direct Rule … 48
5.4 The impacts of Direct Rule … … … 48
5.5 The concept of Assimilation … … … 49
5.6 Types of Assimilation … … … 49
5.7 Advantages of Direct Rule … … … 50
5.8 Disadvantages of Direct Rule … … 51
Session 6: Differences between Direct and Indirect Rule … 53
6.1 Differences between Direct and Indirect rule 53
CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education v

TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 3: IMPACTS OF THE COLONIAL RULE ON AFRICA 57
Session 1: Positive Social Impacts of Colonialism on Africa … 59

1.1 Social Impacts of Colonial Rule in Africa … 59
Session 2: Negative Social Impacts of Colonialism on Africa 63
Session 3: Positive Economic Impacts of Colonialism on Africa 67
3.1 Positive Economic Impacts of Colonialism in
Africa … … … … … 67
Session 4: Negative Economic Impacts of Colonialism on Africa 71
4.1 Negative Economic Impacts … … … 71
Session 5: Positive Political Effects of Colonialism on Africa 77
5.1 Positive Political Impacts … … … 77
Session 6: Negative Political Influence of Colonialism on Africa 79
6.1 Negative Political Effects … … … 79
UNIT 4: AFRICAN’S REACTION TO THE COLONIAL RULE:

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY … … … 83
Session 1: The Phases/Stages of Resistance … … … 85

1.1 Phases of African Resistances to Colonial Rule 85
Session 2: Primary Resistance to Colonial Rule … … 87
2.1 Primary Resistance to Colonial Rule … 87
Session 3: Secondary Resistance … … … … 99
Session 4: Reasons for African’s Resistance to Colonial Rule 103
Session 5: The Impacts of The Resistance … … … 107
Session 6: Reasons for the Failure of African Resistance to
Colonial Rule … … … … … 109
UNIT 5: PROTO-NATIONALISM IN AFRICA … … 113
Session 1: The Concept of Proto-Nationalism … … … 115

1.1 Meaning of Proto-Nationalism … … 115
Session 2: Features of Proto-Nationalist Movement … … 119
2.1 Features of Proto-Nationalism 119
Session 3: Factors that Promoted Proto-Nationalist Activities in
Africa … … … … … … 123
3.1 Factors that Promoted Proto-nationalist Activities 123
vi CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Session 4: The National Congress of British West Africa

(NCBWA) … … … … … … 127
4.1 The Meaning of NCBWA … … … 127
4.2 Factors that led to the Formation of the NCBWA 127
4.3 Petitions Presented by the Congress to the
Colonial Government … … … 129
Session 5: Achievements of National Congress of British West
Africa (NCBWA) … … … … 131
Session 6: Challenges that Militated against the NCBWA … 135
6.1 Challenges that Militated against the NCBWA 135
UNIT 6: MASS OR RADICAL OR POST-WW II

NATIONALISM IN AFRICA … … … 139
Session 1: African Nationalism prior to Post WW II … 149

1.1 Nationalism Prior to Colonial Rule … 149
Session 2: The Rise of Mass or Radical Post-WW II African
Nationalism … … … … … … 145
2.1 Factors that Led to the Rise of Post WW II
Nationalism in Africa … … … … 145
Session 3: The rise of mass or Radical Post-WW II African
Nationalism … … … … … … 151
3.1 External Factors … … .. …. 151
Session 4: Elements of African Nationalism … … … 155
4.1 Elements of African Nationalism … … 155
Session 5: Failures of African Nationalism … … … 159
5.1 Factors that Led to the Failure of Nationalism in
Africa … … … … … 159
Session 6: Effects of Nationalism in Africa … … … 163
6.1 Effects of Nationalism … … … 163
Reference … … … … … … … … 167
CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education vii

SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS
INTRODUCTION
OVERVIEW
UNIT OBJECTIVES
SESSION OBJECTIVES
DO AN ACTIVITY
NOTE AN IMPORTANT POINT
TIME TO THINK AND ANSWER QUESTION(S)
REFER TO
READ OR LOOK AT
SUMMARY
SELF- ASSESSMENT QUESTION(S)
ASSIGNMENT
viii CoDEUCC/ Bachelor of Education (JHS)

THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS
UNIT 1
UNIT 1: THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS
Unit Outline
Session 1: The Meaning of Imperialism and Colonialism
Session 2: Meaning and Types of Nationalism
Session 3: Merits and Demerits of Nationalism
Session 4: Social and Religious Reasons for the Coming of the Europeans
Session 5: Political Motives for the Coming of the Europeans
Session 6: Economic Reasons for the Coming of Europeans
Dear Learner, you are warmly welcome to the first Unit of Commented [R1]: Unit
this course module titled Colonization and Nationalism in
Africa. We assure you that this preceding Unit like the Commented [R2]: Unit
subsequent ones is so much interesting that it will agitate your inquisitiveness
to have the urge to read the remaining five Units with the enthusiasm they
deserve. In this Unit however, we will look at the meaning of Imperialism,
Colonialism and Nationalism. We will further discuss the various reasons that
accounted for the coming of the Europeans to Africa in the 15th Century
Unit Objectives
By the end of the session, you should be able to:
i. explain the concepts “Imperialism’ and ‘colonialism’ and Commented [H3]:
indicate their relationship. Commented [H4R3]:
ii. explain the Concept of Nationalism Commented [H5R3]:
iii. state at least three social reasons for the Coming of the Europeans Commented [H6R3]:
iv. at least three Religious Reasons for the Coming of the Europeans
v. state at least three economic Reasons for the Coming of the
Europeans
vi. state at least three political Reasons for the Coming of the
Europeans
CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education 1

UNIT 1
This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

• difficult topics if any; and
• issues that are not clear.
2
CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education
UNIT 1
SESSION 1
SESSION 1: MEANING OF IMPERIALISM AND

COLONIALISM
Dear student, welcome to the first session of the module for
Colonization and Nationalism in Africa. We hope that this
session will be very exciting and educative. Therefore, we encourage you to
fully partake as we conceptualize Imperialism and Colonialism. It is our hope
that you will understand the two concepts and be able to explain them in your
own words.
Objectives
By the end of the session, you should be able to;
i. Define the concept of Imperialism and colonialism.
ii. State at least 2 differences between Imperialism and Colonialism.
Now read on…
1.1 The Concept of Imperialism and Colonialism

We hope the terms imperialism and colonialism are not new to you. Take a
sheet of paper and write their meanings in your own words. Are you done?
Compare your definitions with what we have provided below.
Imperialism refers to the process of capitalist development which leads them to
conquer and dominate under-developed countries of the world. More narrowly,
the term imperialism is used to denote or describe the relations of political and
economic domination between metropolis and the country it subjugates or
dominates. The country which is so subjugated by a metropolitan capitalist
country is described as a colony, and what happens in a colony is colonialism.
In simple terms, imperialism can be conceptualized as the idea of expanding
one's territory by taking over another country. This is done by creating
colonies, or areas that have been taken over. We hope you now have an idea
about what imperialism means. Can you provide your own definition of
imperialism now? Share your definition with your classmates and course
facilitator.

UNIT 1
MEANING OF IMPERIALISM AND
SESSION 1 COLONIALISM
Dear cherished learner, before we guide you to explain the concept

‘colonialism,’ we want you to tell us why nations all over the world celebrate
independence and republic days. Did we hear you say nations observe these
days because the days mark the period when they liberated themselves from
their colonial leaders and became sovereign states? Yes, you are right.
According to Amadi (2022), colonialism is the process by which a foreign
power annexes or creates dependencies whose economic, political and cultural
systems are restructured or made to serve the foreign power’s interest, thereby
creating unequal power between the colonial power and the colonized people.
in other words, colonialism is a phenomenon where a powerful nation
physically exerts its domination, either through a combination of war and
diplomacy, over another country with a view to exploiting its resources. The
arrival of the Europeans on the African continent and their subsequent exercise
of political authority and power over African countries is a good example of
colonialism. We hope you understand the concept of colonialism? Well done!
1.2 Differences between Colonialism and Imperialism

Now that you have understood the terms imperialism and colonialism, we want
you to jot down one difference between the two. We hope you did not find it
difficult to do so. Compare your answer with ours.
S/N Colonialism Imperialism

1 Colonialism is when one country Imperialism is when one country is
physically exerts its domination, involved in creating an empire and
either through a combination of expanding the borders in order to project
war and diplomacy, over another its power.
country with a view to exploiting
its resources
2 In colonialism, there will be a Imperialism is just about exerting
movement of people to the new control over the conquered regions either
territory, becoming permanent through direct governance or through
settlers in the process indirect control mechanisms
3 Colonialism in the modern sense
Imperialism is far older than colonialism
dates back to the 15th century
dating back to ancient empires in history
when Europeans began to
but is more commonly associated with
colonize large swathes of Asia
the Roman Empire
and Africa
4 Colony comes from the Latin Imperialism comes from the Latin word
word colonus which means ‘to ‘imperium’ which means to ‘command’
4 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

UNIT 1
SESSION 1
farm’
5 Examples of colonialism are to be
The Scramble for Africa in the 19th
found in the takeover of India,
Century and the Chinese domination of
Australia, Southern, and Central
Vietnam from 111 BC to 983 A.D are
Africa by the British and Western
examples of Imperialism
and North Africa by the French
We discussed in this session the meaning of imperialism and

colonialism. We also talked about the differences between
imperialism and colonialism. We believe you did not find the two concepts we
discussed difficult at all. If you did, do not worry since your colleagues and
course facilitator will help you in that direction. Take a rest and answer the
following self-assessment questions.
Self-Assessment Questions
Exercise 1.1
1. Explain the term imperialism.
2. Explain the term colonialism.
3. state two differences between imperialism and colonialism

UNIT 1
MEANING OF IMPERIALISM AND
SESSION 1 COLONIALISM


UNIT 1
SESSION 2
SESSION 2: MEANING AND TYPES OF NATIONALISM

In the previous session of this Unit, we examined the
definitions of imperialism and colonialism. We went further to
discussed the differences between the two terms. In this session, we are going
to discuss Nationalism and proceed to talk about its types
Objectives
By the end of this session, you should be able to:
i. explain nationalism
ii. state key factors that promoted nationalism in colonial Africa.
iii. explain at least three types of nationalism
Now read on…
2.1 Nationalism Defined

Dear student, the term nationalism is derived from the concept of nation. A
nation is a collection of people who share, or are perceived to share, some
common characteristics. These characteristics include, among others, language,
ethnicity, religion, and customs. On the basis of these shared values, people are
seen as belonging to a ‘community. Scholars of nations and nationalism think
of nations as ‘imagined communities. Nations are said to be imagined
communities because the sense of belonging exists only in the imagination of
‘community members,’ since it is impossible for a member of a nation to
personally interact with every other member.
Nationalism can be defined as philosophies or beliefs that are intended to

promote the interest of one’s nation. Nationalism has many forms and
expressions; such as being a sentiment or a political organization. As a
sentiment, it involves a feeling of strong allegiance to one’s national group,
and a desire to further the progress and wellbeing of its members. Sometimes,
it involves the sense that one’s nation is better socially, morally, economically,
or otherwise than other nations, and/or a desire to make one’s nation better
than others.
Nationalism is expressed politically when members feel that the nation is
threatened. This often happens during the time of economic or political crises.
In Africa during the 19th and 20th century, nationalism movements emerged in

MEANING AND TYPES OF
UNIT 1
SESSION 2 NATIONALISM
response to European colonial rule. So, the term “colonial rule”, resonated
everywhere in the world resulting in perception of the colonized that their
rights and dignity have been violated by the so-called colonizers.
Resentment against foreign rule fed into the growth of nationalist sentiments.
In many instances, these sentiments were generated or intensified by
charismatic young leaders like Patrice Lumumba (Congo, now DRC), Jomo
Kenyatta (Kenya), and Julius Nyerere (Tanganyika, now Tanzania). These
sentiments were channeled into nationalist movements that sought to initially
challenge some unfair or oppressive colonial policies, and eventually became
the main vehicles for demanding political independence across the African
continent. We hope you can now explain the term nationalism.
2.2 Types of Nationalism

Dear student, we shall discuss the various types of nationalism. Before that, we
want you to write down one type of nationalism. You have done well! Now
compare your answer with what we have:
Cultural nationalism
Cultural nationalism defines the nation by shared culture. Membership (the
state of being members) in the nation is neither entirely voluntary (you cannot
instantly acquire a culture), nor hereditary (children of members may be
considered foreigners if they grew up in another culture). Yet, a traditional
culture can be more easily incorporated into an individual's life, especially if
the individual is allowed to acquire its skills at an early stage of his/her own
life. Cultural nationalism has been described as a variety of nationalism that is
neither purely civic nor ethnic. The nationalisms of Catalonia, Quebec, and
Flanders have been described as cultural nations because these nations are
defined by a shared culture and a common language, rather than on the
concepts of common ancestry or race.
Cultural nationalism does not tend to manifest itself in independent
movements, but is usually a moderate position within a larger spectrum of
nationalist ideology.
As indicated early on, in cultural nationalism, membership in the nation is

neither entirely voluntary nor hereditary. Therefore, if a person is from a nation
but their children grew up in another culture, their children are considered to
be from the nationality of the culture they grew up in. It means that they must

UNIT 1
SESSION 2
now learn their parent's culture in order to be a member of their parent's

nationality (even though that parent's child is a citizen of their nation). Thus,
cultural nationality is not achieved through citizenship as in civic nationalism.
Religious nationalism
Religious nationalism is the relationship of nationals to a particular religious
belief, church, Hindu temple or affiliation. This relationship can be broken
down into two aspects; the politicization of religion and the converse influence
of religion on politics. In the former aspect, a shared religion can be seen to
contribute to a sense of national unity, by the citizens of the nation. Another
political aspect of religion is the support of a national identity, similar to a
shared ethnicity, language or culture. The influence of religion on politics is
more ideological, where the current interpretations of religious ideas inspire
political activism and action. For example, laws are passed to foster stricter
religious adherence. Hindu nationalism is common in many states and union
territories in India which joined the union of India solely on the basis of
religion and post-colonial nationalism.
Liberal nationalism
Liberal nationalism is a kind of nationalism defended recently by political
philosophers who believe that there can be a non-xenophobic form of
nationalism compatible with liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and
individual rights. Ernest Renan, and John Stuart Mill are often thought to be
early liberal nationalists. Liberal nationalists often defend the value of national
identity by saying that individuals need a national identity in order to lead
meaningful, autonomous live and that liberal democratic polities need national
identity in order to function properly.
Diaspora nationalism
Diaspora nationalism generally refers to nationalist feeling among diasporas
such as Ghanaians in United States, an Ivorian in Ghana, Lebanese in the
Americas and Africa, or Armenians in Europe and the United States. Anderson
(2004) states that this sort of nationalism acts as a "phantom bedrock" for
people who want to experience a national connection, but who do not actually
want to leave their diaspora community. In some instances, 'Diaspora' refers to
a dispersal of a people from a (real or imagined) 'homeland' due to a
cataclysmic disruption, such as war, famine, etc. New networks - new 'roots' -
form along the 'routes' travelled by diasporic people, who are connected by a
shared desire to return 'home'. In reality, the desire to return may be life after
death or may not occur in any foreseeable future, but the longing for the lost

MEANING AND TYPES OF
UNIT 1
SESSION 2 NATIONALISM
homeland and the sense of difference from surrounding cultures in which

Diasporic people live becomes an identity unto itself.
In this session, we have looked at the meaning of Nationalism.

We have also discussed the types of nationalism. Specifically,
we mentioned cultural, liberal, religious and diaspora as some of the types of
nationalism. We hope you have enjoyed the discussion in this session. Great!
Exercise 1.2
1. Define nationalism in your own words.
2. State any three types of nationalism.
3. What is liberal nationalism?
4. Explain the meaning of Diaspora nationalism.

UNIT 1
SESSION 3
SESSION 3: MERITS AND DEMERITS OF NATIONALISM

Dear reader, you are once again welcome to another session of
the course. In the previous session, we discussed the meaning
of nationalism and proceeded to state and explain various types. We hope you
enjoyed reading the session. In this session however, we are going to discuss
the advantages and disadvantages of nationalism. We hope you will enjoy this
session just like the previous ones.
Objectives
i. state and explain at least three merits of nationalism.
ii. state and explain at least three demerits of nationalism.
Read on….
3.1 Advantages of Nationalism

Inspiration of patriotism
Nationalism is the state of mind that merges the self of individual in the self or
nation. It instils the spirit of sacrifice for the cause of nation and that is why
modern state creates national armies and not mercenary forces. These
nationalistic feelings create a vigor in unarmed people that makes them stand
against the most powerful armies of world e.g., Vietnam and Afghanistan. It is
the increasing strength of nationalism that enables nations to dominate and
even to rule others.
Nationalism has a unifying force
Nationalism is the powerful feelings that people have among themselves which
binds them together as citizens of the same nation. This makes them forget
their religious, linguistic and racial differences at the call of nationalism e.g., in
Afghanistan there were several differences but when USSR invaded the
country, the people of Afghanistan answered with combined and united force
regardless of their secondary feelings, so we can say that nationalism plays
very important role in this connection.
Promote culture and literature
Nationalism has also given great stimulus to art and literature, as it helped to
develop group languages, traditions, history and culture etc. A culture is the
history of the development of nationalism and literature is its only image. It

UNIT 1
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF NATIONALISM
SESSION 3
teaches the people to love their feelings and sufferings of their heroes and
heroines.
Preservation of self-determination
Due to the collapse of nationalism on global scene, various nations and states
and their people with common sentiments, common objectives of life and
common culture and civilization, became impelled and instigated to preserve
their right of self-determination without the encroachment of foreign
domination. If it were not so, then the world society might not have presented a
variety of societies.
Supporting the ideas of democracy
Nationalism supports the idea of democracy in that sovereignty, liberty, self-
government equality, justice and peace are the main symbols of democracy.
One nation having common interest and common aim tries to develop the idea
of’ democracy among its people through its political institutions, powers and
functions of governmental organs, basic rights of the people and their duties in
various fields as being mentioned in the constitution that is a sacred document.
In this regard we have the example of USA, Germany, India and Pakistan that
have respective nature of ideals of democracy owing national interest and
national feelings.
3.2 Demerits of Nationalism

Dear student, although nationalism has some merits, yet it also has demerits.
Write down four demerits of nationalism and compare your answers with those
that we have given below. We hope your answers includes the following:
Nationalism breeds contempt and hostility among sovereign nations
Nationalism can actuate some nations to conquer and subjugate other nations
to satisfy their ego and to show that the culture, literature and institution of
their nation are superior. Nationalism naturally resorts to imperialism through
expansionism. For example, the Japanese nationalism adopted a policy of
expansionism to prove that she was superior to others.
Nationalism leads to selfishness
Nationalism is the ideology that teaches to be selfish. Machiavelli in his book
says, “whenever there is a matter of state or nations, no concept of good or
bad, fair or foul, justice or injustice, morals or immoral should be considered.”
All other consideration is secondary when there is national interest.

UNIT 1
SESSION 3
Negligence of human rights

Human rights are ignored all over the world in the name of nationalism.
Sometimes precious and countless number of lives are lost through
nationalism. For instance, before the former South African president Nelson
Mandela came to power, a lot of people sacrificed their lives against the racial
nationalism.
Exercise of supreme power
In the beginning of the 20th century, Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of
Italy and Emperors of Japan greatly used the supreme powers against the
whole world just to satisfy the nationalistic feelings.
We have come to the end of the session. We discussed merits

and demerits of nationalism. Among the merits of nationalism,
we talked about inspiration of patriotism, unifying force, promotion of culture
and literature and supporting the ideas of democracy. On the other hand,
nationalism breeds contempt and hostility among sovereign countries, leads to
selfishness and negligence of human rights.
Exercise 1.3
1. State and explain any two advantages of nationalism.
2. How can nationalism lead to exercise of supreme power.

UNIT 1
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF NATIONALISM
SESSION 3


UNIT 1
SESSION 4
SESSION 4: SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS REASONS FOR

So far, so good. We have come to another session of the
course Colonization and Nationalism in Africa. We hope you
are going to enjoy the discussion. This session highlights social and religious
factors that motivated the Europeans to colonize Africa.
Objectives
i. state and explain three social factors that motivated the Europeans to
colonize Africans.
ii. state and explain three religious factors that motivated the Europeans to
colonize Africans
Now read on…
Dear student, try to think about some of the factors that might have motivated
the Europeans to colonize Africans. Are you done? Compare your answer with
the following:
4.1 Social Reasons for the Coming of the Europeans to Africa

Abolition of Slave trade
After abolition of slavery in most of the European countries, profit earning
was reduced and this led to large unemployment which in turn led to poverty,
homelessness and social displacements. So, there was the need to utilize
surplus human resources and increase their living standard and they saw
colonization as a solution for generating employments.
Civilization mission
Europeans felt they had a responsibility of civilizing Africans, who they
perceived as backward and uncivilized. The civilization mission was embarked
upon to facilitate the modernization and Westernization of Africans. It was
used as a justification for colonial exploitation of Africa.
National prestige
Acquisition of colonies in Africa was a source of social recognition and
national glory for European countries. This made European states to fight
amongst themselves for territories in Africa. European states such as Britain,
UNIT 1 SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS REASONS FOR
SESSION 4 THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS
France, Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Germany, engaged

in the acquisition of colonies in Africa.
4.2 Religious Reasons for the Coming of the Europeans

The desire to reduce the Muslims’ influence
As a strong Christian country, the Europeans wanted to reduce the Muslim
influence which was spreading in West Africa. The desire to cut down the
influence of the Muslims of North Africa resulted in the capture of the
Moroccan city of Ceuta in 1415. Ceuta was a rich Muslim trading city.
To establish a link with Prester John
The next course of action after the capture of Ceuta was that, Prince Henry the
Navigator decided to discover a new sea route which would enable Portuguese
Christian to link up with the legendary priest-king Prester John. John’s
Christian Coptic Kingdom was located between the River Nile and the Red Sea
south of Egypt. Prester John was a Christian king in Africa and for that matter
the Portuguese believed that he could be of help to them to drive away the
Muslim powers such as the Turks, Egyptians and Arabs. King John of Portugal
therefore sent out two explorers, namely, Peter de Covilham and Afonso
d’Pavia to reach the land of Prester John and gain his support for the Christian
crusade against Islam. According to the records, Prester John’s kingdom had
great wonders that included a river whose bed consisted entirely a gemstone,
ants that dug gold, pebbles that gave light or could make a man invisible, and a
mirror that enabled Prester John to see what was happening in one of his seven
– nine kingdoms.
The spread of Christianity
Another religious factor was that Europeans were concerned about converting
Africans to Christianity. To make this happened, they started building churches
in Africa. The Portuguese, for example built a church at Elmina for that
purpose. With this, they believed that they would be able to propagate the
Christian faith in Africa.

UNIT 1
SESSION 4
We have looked at the social and religious factors that

influenced the coming of the Europeans. The social factors
discussed include abolishing of slave trade and its negative impact on the
social wellbeing of the Europeans, civilization mission and national prestige.
The religious motive for the coming of the Europeans includes desire to reduce
the Muslims’ influence, to establish a link with Prester John and to spread
Christianity.
Self -Assessment Questions

Exercise 1.4
1. State two social factors that motivated the Europeans to colonize
Africa.
2. State two religious factors that accounted for the coming of the Europeans.

UNIT 1 SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS REASONS FOR
SESSION 4 THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS


UNIT 1
SESSION 5
SESSION 5: POLITICAL MOTIVES FOR THE COMING OF

EUROPEANS
Dear student, you are warmly welcome to session 5 of Unit 1.
In the previous session, we discussed the social and religious
factors that accounted for the coming of Europeans to Africa. We made
mentioned of factors such as abolition of the slave trade, civilization mission,
national prestige, to check the spread of Islam, establishment of contact with
Prester John and propagation of the Christian faith. Meanwhile, this session
will focus on the political reasons that motivated the Europeans to colonize
Africa.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
i. state three political reasons for the coming of the Europeans.
ii. explain three political reasons for the coming of the Europeans
Now read on…
5.1 Political Reason of Europeans Coming to Africa

Imperialistic ambitions
Imperialistic ambitions also accounted for the coming of the Europeans. The
Portuguese hoped to establish their rule and the authority over the newly
discovered lands, including the Gold Coast (Ghana). From the very beginning,
the Portuguese considered the areas on the Guinea Coast where they had
settlements as their territories. Also, they claimed ownership of the vast
stretches of the West African Coastline such as the Cape Verde and other
islands in the Gulf of Guinea. Consequently, the king of Portugal – King John
III assumed the title, ‘Lord of Guinea’, and exercised great control over all
Guinea where he expected tribute and obedience from the native kings and
princes.
Inter-Europeans power-struggles
European powers, namely United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy,
Portugal and Spain competing for power within European power politics. One
way of demonstrating national superiority is through acquisition of territories

POLITICAL MOTIVES FOR THE COMING
UNIT 1
SESSION 5 OF EUROPEANS
outsides of Europe. Therefore, the power struggle provided an incentive for

European states to embark on colonization of Africa
Political exploitation
Many European countries expanded their empires by aggressively establishing
colonies in Africa so that they could exploit and export Africa’s resources.
They found the interest in wielding influence and turning Africa into their
lapdog and a reservoir for their own wealth.
In this session, we have discussed the political reasons for the

coming of the Europeans. Specifically, we mentioned
Imperialistic Ambitions, Inter-Europeans Power-Struggles and Political
Power/Exploitation as the major political reasons for their coming.
Exercise 1.5
1. State and explain the three main political reasons that motivated the
Europeans to colonize Africa.
2. Why did King John III assume the title ‘Lord of Guinea’?

UNIT 1
SESSION 6
SESSION 6: ECONOMIC REASON FOR THE COMING OF

EUROPEANS
In this session, we will look at factors that motivated the
Europeans to colonize Africa but our focus will be on the
economic factors that influenced the colonization. We hope you will enjoy this
session as it provides insightful information about European colonisation of the
continent.
Objectives
i. state at least three economic motives for the coming of the Europeans
ii. explain why the Portuguese wanted to search for a sea rout to India
and the far East
Now read on…
6.1 Economic Reasons for the Colonisation of Africa

The desire for trade
The most important reason for the coming of the Europeans was economic
motives. They wanted to take part in the trade which had developed between
Western Sudan and the Berbers of North Africa. This was the trans-Saharan
trade which involved items like gold, ivory and salves. These important items
were in high demand in Western Europe. As a matter of fact, Portugal’s
discovery of the coasts of Africa by the fifteenth century stemmed from their
unsated desire to capture the Trans – Saharan gold from North African
middlemen.
The search for a Sea route to India and the Far East
Again, the search for a sea route to the Far East for commodities was another
factor that motivated the coming of the Europeans. For example, the
Portuguese wanted to find a new sea route to India and Far East (China) to
trade in spices and other exotic goods. They also wanted to divert the gold
trade from the caravans of Western Sudan and the middleman of North Africa.
The trade in gold was so profitable to the extent that by the beginning of the
16th century the value of gold exported from Gold Coast was valued at

ECONOMIC REASON FOR THE COMING OF
UNIT 1
SESSION 6
EUROPEANS
£100,000 per year. The African goods were exchanged with European goods
like gin, gun powder and cloths.
The needs for larger markets

The desire to control larger markets was another reason of the Europeans
coming to the African continent. The Portuguese for instance, explored the
coast of Gold Coast in order to find bigger markets for their manufactured
goods. They had manufactured goods such as textile, copper brass, mirror,
among others. They therefore sought to explore the coast of Gold Coast so that
more markets could be found for these goods.
The desire for slave labour

The need for slave labor also influenced the desire on the part of the Europeans
to explore the coast of Gold Coast. The Portuguese who controlled the
equatorial islands of Principe and SAO Tome in those days needed slave labor
to work in the thriving sugar plantations there. They therefore explored the
coast of Gold Coast in order to secure Negro for the sugar plantation.
Search for guaranteed market

European states wanted new markets to sell their finished products. The
African market was a very attractive market for them. At the height of the
industrial revolution, European states produced far more than they could
consume locally. Therefore, they relied on overseas markets to sell their excess
products and made more profits.
In this session, we have mentioned some economic motives for

the coming of the Europeans. These include the desire for
trade, the search for a sea route to India and the far East, the need for larger
markets, the desire for slave labor, and search for guaranteed markets.
Exercise 1.6
1. Mention the economic factors that motivated the Europeans to colonize
Africa.
2. Why did the Portuguese want to search for a sea rout to India and the Far
East?

REASONS FOR THE EUROPEAN SCRAMBLE
FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA UNIT 2
UNIT 2: REASONS FOR THE EUROPEAN SCRAMBLE

FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA
Unit Outline
Session 1: The Scramble for Africa
Session 2: Economic Reasons of the Scramble for Africa
Session 3: Political and Social Reasons of the Scramble for Africa.
Session 4: Indirect Rule
Session 5: Direct Rule
Session 6: Differences between Direct and Indirect Rule
Dear student, you are warmly welcome to the Unit 2 of

this course. It is our hope that you will enjoy this Unit just
as the previous one. In particular, we will discuss the
European Scramble for Africa. Africans initially lived as separate states and
kingdoms until their encounter with the Europeans and subsequent partition of
the continent during the Berlin Conference in 1884-85. During this
Conference, no African country was involved, implying that Europeans did not
factor the needs of Africans in the partition. We will also discuss a number of
reasons why Europeans invaded Africa. Some of these reasons have to do with
economic, political and social. In addition, we will look at both indirect and
direct system of government as practiced by Europeans. Finally, indirect and
direct rule have a number of differences. It is our expectation that this Unit will
provide you with all the information you need to know about the Scramble for
Africa.
Unit Objectives
By the end of the Unit, you should be able to:
i. Explain factors leading to European Scramble for Africa.
ii. State at least 2 economic reasons of European the Scramble for Africa.
iii. State at least 2 political and social reasons of European Scramble for
Africa.
iv. Explain Indirect Rule.
v. State at least 2 features of Direct Rule.
vi. List at least 2 differences between Indirect and Direct Rule.

UNIT 2 FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA


UNIT 2
FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA SESSION 1
SESSION 1: THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA

Dear student, you are warmly welcome to the first session of
Unit 2. We will discuss the European Scramble for Africa.
The Europeans Scramble for Africa has been reported in literature and that
several reasons have been assigned. The Scramble for the resources in Africa
did not end at the time countries on the continent eventually attained their
independence. There is a new form of Scramble for Africa. This session will
mainly highlight both the old and the new form of Scramble for the African
continent. We hope you will enjoy this session.
Objectives
After studying this session, you should be able to:
1. explain the concept and events leading to the European Scramble for
Africa.
2. state at least 2 new forms of Scramble for Africa.
3. State at least 2 examples of powerful nations involved in the new
Scramble for Africa.
4. write down at least 2 effects of the new Scramble for Africa.
Now read on…
2.1 The Scramble for Africa

Dear student, what do you understand by the phrase ‘Scramble for Africa? Let
us help you with an explanation. The Scramble for Africa was a period of rapid
colonization of the African countries by more powerful European countries
from 1880 to 1900. The event that stands out for the partitioning of Africa is
the Berlin conference (Congo Conference or the West Africa Conference
[Harlow & Carter, 2003]) that Otto von Bismarck organized from November
1884 until February 1885. The objective of the Conference was to determine
the political spheres of influence of each of the European colonial powers on
the African territories. It was also to avoid possible clashes to break out among
European countries who had interests in Africa. Within this context, Asiwaju
(1985, p. 1) points out that “the Berlin conference, despite its importance for
the subsequent history of Africa, was essentially a European affair: there was
no African representation, and African concerns were, if they mattered at all,

UNIT 2 THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
SESSION 1
completely marginal to the basic economic, strategic, and political interests of

the negotiating European powers.”
It is worth noting that only a small part of Africa was under European rule at
the beginning of 1880s. According to Adu-Boahen (1987a, b), only
approximately 20 per cent of Africa was occupied at the period. Their rule was
mainly confined within the coast and a short distance inland along major rivers
such as the Niger and the Congo. During the Scramble, Africans put up
different forms of resistances against the attempt to colonize their states and
impose foreign cultures on them. By the early twentieth century, however,
much of the continent, except Ethiopia (under emperor Menelik II, who
resisted colonial rule) and Liberia, had been colonized by European powers.
Dear student, are you aware that the Scramble for Africa resources was not
limited to the West alone? Which other nationals were involved in the
Scramble? Did your answer include the East? Bravo! The Arab’s involvement
in the Scramble for Africa’s resources was minimal because their states nor
empires did not sponsor the phenomenon compared to that of the West. It
means that, the Arab’s business men and women organized their operations at
the individual levels.
2.2 The New Scramble for Africa

Dear student, are you aware of the new form of Scramble for Africa? Can you
cite one example of such new forms? If your answer includes the following,
then kudos! If it does not, do not be discouraged.
It is worthy to note that the countries responsible for the new Scramble for
Africa are still from the West and the East. However, the new addition from the
East are China, South Korea, India, Malaysia and Brazil from South America
also joined the race (Kimenyi & Lewis, 2011). This does not imply that the old
Arab countries were out of the new Scramble for Africa and her resources.
According to Biyyaa (2009), there is now a growing interest where Euro-Arab-
Asia countries acquire lands in Africa for the food security of their home
population. He indicated for example, that there is presence of rich Arab
countries which are heavily involved in land grab ventures in the
underdeveloped African nations such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. Most of
these countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,

UNIT 2
Qatar and Bahrain were lured by the fertile nature of Africa’s lands, a situation
that led them to buy large track of agriculture lands to feed their home
countries.
Dear student, what do you think would be the next target for the new Scramble
for Africa resources? Another resources triggering the new scramble for Africa
are crude oil from Nigeria, Sudan, Angola, Algeria, Ghana etc; copper from
Zambia; tobacco from Zimbabwe; and coal and gold in South Africa. There are
huge investments by powerful economic countries in these resources while the
profits from the investments are sent to their home countries. What do you
think would be the effects on the African continent if the profits are sent away?
Discuss your answer with your colleagues in class during face-to-face.
The new Scramble for Africa can also be seen in the area of so-called
investments and agreements by the West, the Arabs and the East amount to an
intense appropriation of the natural resources of the African nations for the
ultimate benefits of their nationals. You would agree with us that many of the
transaction deals are designed to affect Africans negatively to the extent that,
the continent does not get much from most of the deals.
2.3 Effects of the New Scramble for Africa

We are now going to discuss the effects of the new Scramble for Africa. What
do you think are some of the effects of the new Scramble for Africa? Let us
look at some of them briefly.
There is no doubt that the new Scramble for Africa has effects on the continent
in many aspects. The new Scramble for Africa’s resources has made the
present economies of the continent to rely heavily on export and this
systematically destroys local small and medium-size producers in a great
proportion. Unfortunately, however, the raw materials the continent exported
do not have competitive prices which affect the income level of the continent
as a whole.
In addition, the new Scramble has also polarised and antagonised the economic
and social class stratifications on the continent. Apart from the high number of
less privileged in the continent, there is marked division of the citizens to the
extreme and rebellious have-nots and the callous super-rich. For instance, in

SESSION 1
Nigeria, 80 percent of the crude oil wealth is controlled by just one percent of
the population (Weintstein, 2008). Dear student, it can be observed from this
example that the proceeds from the resources are not evenly distributed but
rather control by very few people.
Furthermore, the new Scramble is also affecting Africa’s human resources.

Most of the companies deliberately ignored indigenous experts and this has
helped in no small measure to under-develop the human resource base of the
continent. Most multi-national companies refused to employ qualified Africans
leading to the unemployment and discontent rates in the continent.
On the other hand, the new Scramble can be witnessed in situation where
companies and firms have made the continent a dumping ground for cheap and
substandard goods. Consequently, it has affected the manufacturing base of the
indigenous companies and industries thus, making them unviable and
unproductive.
Dear learner, do you think the new scramble for Africa has some
positive effective?
It is important to note that the continent has benefitted in a number of ways
regarding relationship with powerful advanced countries. For instance, Chinese
pledges during one of the last China-Africa summits to do assist the continent
in a number of instances including doubling aid to Africa to about $1 billion
and cancelling all debts stemming from Chinese interest-free government
loans.
The new Scramble has also seen improved agricultural production through
advanced fertilization and farming techniques. On-farm activities improved
while post-harvest processing became more effective through their help.
Moreso, crops become viable and healthy for instant consumption or further
processing.
In the area of health and social amenities, multi-national companies have

undertaken development projects such as roads, educational facilities or
buildings, electrifications etc. as part of their corporate social responsibilities
in areas they operate. Tullow Ghana for instance, has sponsored provision of
educational facilities, health centers, construction of boreholes, sports, among
others.

UNIT 2
Again, the new Scramble for Africa has helped positively within the context of
human capital developments. For example, PwC Ghana, a leading MNC in
Ghana’s services industry indicated in their 2015 CSR report that the
company’s CSR strategy is mainly driven by issues such as responsible
business, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, employee safety,
and environmental stewardship (Abugre & Anlesinya, 2019).
Dear learner, despite the abundance of natural resources on the African

continent, it would have been expected that it leads to developments across.
This leads to the assertion on the part of some experts that the resources
are curse rather than a blessing. Do you agree with these experts?
Discuss your views with your colleagues and course tutor.
For more information on the European Scramble for Africa, you can watch the
video by typing the link (https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/2010/9/5/the-
scramble-for-africa-a-history-of-independence).
In this section, we discussed both old and the new Scramble

for Africa resources. We went on to discuss both positive and
negative effects of the new Scramble for Africa. We hope you enjoyed the
discussion in this session. Well done!
Exercise 2.1
1. List two modes of the new Scramble for Africa by powerful
economic countries.
2. Write down 3 effects of the new Scramble for Africa.
3. What is the other names for the Berlin Conference that saw the partitioning
of the African continent?

SESSION 1


UNIT 2
SESSION 2: ECONOMIC REASONS OF THE SCRAMBLE

FOR AFRICA
Dear student, welcome to this session of the module on
Colonisation and Nationalism in Africa. We will discuss
economic reasons of the Scramble for Africa within the period 1880 – 1900. It
is our expectation that this Unit will also provide interesting and fascinating
insights on the happening about Europeans activities in Africa.
Objectives
By the end of this session, you should be able to;
i. State at least 2 economic reasons of European Scramble for Africa.
ii. Explain with examples, two economic reasons of which Europe
invaded the African continent.
Now read on…
2.1 Economic Reasons for the Scramble

Dear student, welcome to this session which is on the economic reasons of the
European Scramble for Africa. What do you think are some of the economic
reasons powerful European countries Scrambled for Africa at the time?
Compare your answer with ours.
Be informed that the European countries Scrambled for Africa and in most
cases have to do with events in Europe rather than in Africa.
In the first place, the end of slave trade created the need for commerce between
Europe and Africa. The “legitimate” trade would help expand the economy of
the European nations and the surplus goods also would have a ready market in
Africa. This therefore necessitated the need to acquire territories outside
Europe to serve as a market for their surplus goods and Africa was their target
since it was a newly found continent. For instance, the Europeans supplied
manufactured products such as gin, tobacco, hardware, gun, gun powder, iron,
glassware, European blankets and cotton and silk products to Gold Coast.
These goods found a ready market since they were new and comfortable for
the large African population. The new “legitimate” business boosted the
economy of Britain and therefore were ready to do whatever was possible to

UNIT 2 ECONOMIC REASONS OF THE SCRAMBLE
SESSION 2 FOR AFRICA
prevent any other European country from benefiting from this trade in the Gold
Coast.
Secondly, European territories in Africa were seen as a place where raw
materials could be easily obtained at relatively cheaper prices to feed European
firms and industries. The profits from the new “legitimate” trade were enticing
thus, creating a colony would give European nations a monopoly. Apart from
the raw materials, there was also cheap labour force to produce the raw
materials including gold, ivory, timber, cotton, coffee, sugar, palm oil etc.
These products were in high demand in Europe which were to be converted
into finished goods. There was ready market for the finished products in both
European and African nations. As a matter of fact, this had helped in the
accumulation of more capital to establish other industries in Europe. As a
result, Africa was very valuable at the time and no European country would
allow another European country to establish trade routes in the “occupied”
territories for trade.
Dear student, can you mention the third economic reason why there
was Scramble for Africa? Did your answer include the following?
Congratulations!
Thirdly, there was unemployment issue in Europe, a phenomenon which

played a key role in motivating the partition of the continent by the Europeans.
During the industrial revolution, machines had taken over human efforts
resulting in unemployment because the amount of people required in industries
had reduced. This phenomenon laid off a lot of people in cities thereby creating
high rate of unemployment in Europe. This necessitated the need for European
powers to look for territories where they can establish industries and employ
their citizens to reduce high unemployment rate in their countries. This explain
the reasons why for example, in Gold Coast and other colonies, all the
European industries employed mostly Europeans while the local people were
few in these industries.
In the fourth place, the manufacture of steam engines and iron-hulled boats
gave European countries competitive urge to explore the other continents. For
instance, in 1840, the first British ocean-going iron warship called Nemesis
arrived at Macao, south of China. The manufacture of this ship changed the
face of international relations between Europe and the rest of the world. The
Nemesis had a shallow draft measuring five feet, a hull of iron, and two
powerful steam engines. It could navigate the non-tidal sections of rivers,
32 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary& JHS Education

UNIT 2
allowing inland access, with a lot of ammunition to combat aggressors. This

steamer enabled Livingstone to travel up the Zambezi River in 1858 and had
the parts transported overland to Lake Nyassa. This could explain the reasons
why the first point of contact by European countries was the coasts of Africa.
Last but not the least, as the economy of various European countries
particularly Britain expanded and more accumulation of capital resulting from
the profit from trade with the Africans, there was the need to invest the surplus
capital. Africa therefore, served as the ideal environment to invest in the
exploitation of natural resources of the continent. In the Gold Coast for
instance, European mining companies and timber firms were put up by the
Europeans to exploit the natural resources of the continent to serve European
interest.
So far, we have come to the end of economic reasons for the Scramble for
Africa by Europeans. We hope you have enjoyed this session. If not, do not
worry since your colleagues and Course Tutors would help you to understand.
We have discussed the concept of European Scramble for

Africa. We proceeded to look at the various economic reasons
of European Scramble for Africa including expansion of European economy,
availability labour and raw materials, unemployment, manufacture of steam
engines and iron-hulled boats and investment of the surplus capital.
Exercise 2.2
1. What do you understand by the Scramble for Africa?
2. Identify and explain 3 economic factors that led to the European
Scramble for Africa.
3. The iron-hulled boat manufactured by the British was called…….

UNIT 2 ECONOMIC REASONS OF THE SCRAMBLE
SESSION 2 FOR AFRICA


UNIT 2
SESSION 3: POLITICAL AND SOCIAL REASONS OF

THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
You are warmly welcome again to another session which will
focus on political reasons for the invasion of Africa by
Europeans. Apart from economic reasons, politics and social were also the
reasons of European Scramble for Africa. This session details the political and
social reasons of the European Scramble for Africa. The session will also focus
on the political effects of the Scramble for Africa. Stay with us while we
unpack the political and social reasons and its effects on the continent.
Objectives
At the end of the session, you should be able to;
1. Mention at least 2 political reasons Europeans Scramble for Africa.
2. Write down 2 social reasons of the Scramble for Africa.
3. State 2 political effects of the Scramble for Africa.
Now read on…
3.1 Political reasons of Scramble for Africa

Dear student, we hope you are aware that there are political factors that pushed
European countries to Scramble for Africa. Can you think about one political
factor that motivated European countries to Scramble for Africa? Let us look at
some of these factors.
Be informed that around nineteenth century in Europe, a country was

considered powerful and great when that country had a lot of territories within
and outside Europe. As a result of this, powerful European countries Scramble
for territories in Africa due to the honour and prestige that come with it.
Furthermore, acquisition of more territories also served as a form of national
pride and superiority over others. In Gold Coast for example, where the British
had already established their “control” over the Southern States, they felt
threatened when the French also annexed the territory of Lome in 1883.
Consequently, The British hurriedly went to annexed Asante and the northern
territories of the Gold Coast to be part of her colonies. These acts by powerful
European countries created tensions among them over territories in Africa
resulting in the organization of Berlin Conference.
UNIT 2
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL REASONS OF
SESSION 3 THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
The next political reason for the Scramble and the partition of Africa was that
some African ethnic groups were hostile to the early European explorers,
merchants and traders. In order to protect their natives in the African
territories, the European therefore realized the need to annex those territories
where they have their explorers and merchants. This resulted in the military
invasion of the African countries by Europeans.
Dear student, are you also aware that nationalism was one of the political
reasons for the Scramble for Africa? We discussed nationalism as a concept in
the previous Unit. It means that the powerful European countries place the
interest of their nations first above any other. The tendency to show superiority
led the European colonial masters to invade the African continent.
The efforts of some highly influential political figures including Bismarck

Otto, Leopold, and Rhodes made it possible for Africa to be partitioned. For
example, in 1884, Bismarck organized the Berlin conference that effectively
led to the division of the continent.
3.2 Political effects of Scramble for Africa

Dear student, be told that the European Scramble for Africa had political
effects on the entire continent. We shall discuss few of the effects.
The first effect was that the Scramble and partition of Africa laid a strong
foundation for the Europeans to finally colonize the continent. After the
partition of the continent among the various European countries, any territory
where a European country had influence “legally” became a colony for that
European country. Consequently, they started to send their officials as
governors and administrative staffs to govern “their” new colonies in Africa. It
therefore implies that any other European country could not trade in that
colony unless the permission of the governor of that colony was sought.
Africans as a result of this lost their independence and sovereignty in their own
land and had to fight for their freedom.
Another political effect of the European Scramble for Africa is that it affected
the indigenous political institutions of the people. It means for example that
chiefs were no longer directly involved in the administration of their territories.
After the partition the European countries used subtle means and sometimes
force to establish their political control over their newly “acquired” territories.

UNIT 2
In some cases, the Africans resisted. As part of the subtle move, the Europeans
persuaded and deceived some states to accept European protection and support
against their neighboring “aggressive” states. In that regard, the Asantes for
instance, had to fight and resist the British for about 50 years until their final
defeat in the famous “Yaa Asantewaa war” in 1900-1901.
We hope you are getting on very well. Don’t worry if you have difficulty in
understanding the points being discussed. The next political effect on Scramble
for Africa is that the poor demarcation of the territories by Europeans which
some experts say was ‘geographical madness’, is a contributory factor to the
various border disputes between African states. Some of these disputes
degenerate into full blown wars. For example, the conflict between Mali and
Burkina Faso over the Agacher strip, illustrates the problems caused by the
poor demarcation of boarders. In another instance, the conflict between Nigeria
and Cameroon over the Bakassi peninsular was a testimony of the effect of the
Scramble.
The last political effect of the Scramble for Africa can be seen where different
ethnic groups were brought together to form countries with no sense of
national unity. This has brought a number of inter-ethnic wars in many African
countries over the years. Incidents of inter-ethnic wars among African
countries of the same nation including the war between the Hutus and the
Tutsis in Rwanda resulting in the death of thousands of people and the conflict
between the Kokomba’s and the Nanumba’s in Ghana serve typical example.
We can also mention the conflict between the Alavanyo and the Nkonya of the
Volta region of Ghana over lands. These and many other inter-ethnic wars
could have been prevented if Africans had the chance to develop their social
and political institutions and form nation-states on their own without any
external influence particularly from Europe.
3.3 Social reasons of the European Scramble for Africa

Apart from the economic and political reasons of the Scramble for Africa, we
can also identify other reasons. Can you mention it? Did your answer include
social reason? Beautiful!
Europeans were not happy about the spread of Islam especially in the North
Africa and some parts of West Africa which they believed would negatively
hinder Christianisation of the continent. Europeans believed that the Africans

UNIT 2
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL REASONS OF
SESSION 3 THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
were pagans and therefore must be introduced to Christianity, so the spread of

Islam was seen as a threat to that agenda (Mensah, 2015). For instance, his led
to an establishment of Salem for Africans who were converted to the new form
of worship in the Gold Coast.
The next reason of the Scramble for Africa by the Europeans was that they
wanted to spread civilization, culture and education to Africa. European
thought that Africans were backward and that illiteracy was very high thus,
they feel they owed it a duty to educate and civilize Africans they referred to as
backwards. King Leopold II of Belgium public declaration that his main aim of
invading the Congo Basin was to spread the good news of European culture
into Africa was a testimony to it. That was why European established schools
in their colonies to bring their culture and education to “barbaric” Africans.
In the last place, Europeans invade Africa in order to reduce overpopulation in
their countries. They saw Africa as a place to resettle the excess population.
This gave credence to a situation where the Britain populated South Africa and
Kenya with British nationals because the weather was more favourable
compared to other parts of Africa.
So far, we have discussed the political reasons of European

Scramble for Africa. We also talked about the political
effects of the Scramble for Africa such as strong foundation for colonization,
change in indigenous institutions and inter-ethnic wars. We hope you
understood the issues we have discussed so far.
Exercise 2.3
1. State 2 political reasons of the European Scramble for Africa.
2. Write down 2 political effects of the European Scramble for Africa.
3. Write down 2 social factors responsible for the European Scramble for
Africa.

REASONS FOR THE EUROPEAN SCRAMBLE UNIT 2
SESSION 4: INDIRECT RULE

We warmly welcome you to the fourth session of the course
Colonization and Nationalism in Africa. The powerful
European countries used different approaches to rule their colonies. In this
session, we shall focus our discussion on the indirect rule adopted by Britain in
her colonies. We hope that this session will be insightful and as such we
implore you to fully participate.
Objectives
1. Explain the concept of indirect rule
2. Explain the 3 forms of indirect rule
3. Explain factors that led to the introduction of indirect rule by Britain in
her colonies.
4. State at least two features of indirect rule.
Now read on…
4.1 The concept of Indirect Rule

Have you ever heard about indirect rule? So, what comes to your mind when
you hear this phrase? Indirect rule was practiced by British in her colonies.
What then, is indirect rule? According to Furnival (2014), indirect rule is a
form of political control of the areas where state authority cannot reach and
where agents of the state delegate day-to-day governance to local power
holders. On the other hand, indirect rule is a political system where the British
governed through indigenous political institutions and traditional tribal chiefs.
The system does not mean the British abandoned her colonies but instead,
played an active role in enhancing the traditional powers of the chiefs and, in
doing so, modified certain local governance structures (Palagashvili, 2018). So,
unlike the direct rule, this system allowed the African traditional rulers some
level of involvement in the administration of government. The introduction of
indirect rule has altered the African structures and institutions of governance.
The alteration can be seen in the area of;
i. paying salaries to the chiefs because they were seen to be working
for the British government.

UNIT 2
INDIRECT RULE
SESSION 4
ii. consolidating smaller chiefdoms into larger areas where one chief
was chosen to be in charge of the administration on behalf of the
British authorities.
iii. removing the opportunity of citizens to ‘‘de-stool’’ bad chiefs
because political competition was reduced.
These actions were the beginning of the breakdown of the existing traditional
African system prior to the coming of Europeans because they softened the
chief’s budget constraint and reduced political competition between chiefdoms
and chiefs. It further means that chiefs were no longer accountable to their
people since their people cannot depose them.
Dear student, do you know the main architect behind indirect rule? Indirect
rule was the brain child of Frederick Lugard (Perham, 2016). He presented the
principles behind the system in his book titled, The Dual Mandate in Tropical
Africa. The first principle was decentralization whereby there was recognition
and ruling people through their indigenous authorities. Lugard further stressed
that the role of the British officers, apart from critical areas such as taxation,
military forces and the alienation of land, was to advise, not demand. The
second principle has to do with continuity. Lugard stated that the British should
make use of indigenous institutions and authorities, thereby preserving
“continuity” with the past, while laying foundations for what he saw as the
progressive improvement of indigenous society.
4.2 Forms of Indirect Rule

The indirect system of governance can be categorized into 3 different forms.
Dear student, we want you to give one example of the forms. Did your answer
include Suzerain, De Jure and Hybrid? Congratulations!
With respect to Suzerain rule, the powerful African state controls the foreign
relations of a vassal state (a state that is subordinate to more powerful African
one) but allowing its sovereign authority in its internal affairs (Naseemullah &
Staniland, 2014). The local people or tribal groups are independent in name
only and constitutionally free to order and maintain their internal affairs,
however, they have obedience and devotion to the widespread extensive
imperial power being administered through the powerful Africa states.
Individuals under the Suzerain rule are accountable to either the explicit laws
or the customary norms of the powerful state or social group, as well as the

government upholding them, without any recourse to the laws of the colonial
masters.
In terms of De jure structure, it is a system of governance where the state (the
more powerful colonized state) maintains direct rule over a territory, the real
power of administration is held by the intermediate political elites. The legal
system works as the same as Weberian governance (the government claims the
monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory),
however, its actual implementation does not resemble direct rule (Naseemullah
& Staniland, 2014). In this system, the disciplinary norms and practices are
carried out by the local power holders or leaders. Taxes were collected and sent
by feudal landowners who were absolute rulers to the British administration.
Certain territories were strategically important for the imperial powers, but
they were not able to fully occupy and control those regions or territories. In
instances where a monopoly of force could not be established, the colonizing
power established a Hybrid form of governance structure (Khan, Salim,
Baluch, Mehreen & Kaleem, 2021). In such type of governance structure, the
state shares authority with social actors. The hybrid is different from the other
two forms because the colonizing power’s intervention is legally codified in
legal frameworks which differ from both the laws and customary practices of
the vassal states or tribal groups. Moreso, the instruments of coercive force are
kept by the state in the form of special levies, militia, and police forces in
addition to those controlled by the traditional elites.
4.3 Features of Indirect Rule

Dear student, are you aware that indirect rule has some features that
differentiate it from direct rule? Can you mention one of the features?
Compare your answer with ours:
1. The traditional rulers were respected and given exalted positions in
the administration and this elicited their cooperation.
2. Traditional rulers and chiefs were used in governing their own
people.
3. The traditional political system of government in place was not
thrown away.
4. The customs and traditions of the people played a major role in the
administration of the local people.
5. The British officials were to guide and where need be, enforce
colonial regulation.

UNIT 2
INDIRECT RULE
SESSION 4
6. The cost of administration was not high because those involved

were paid peanuts.
7. The colonial masters made use of natural agricultural produce in the
collection of taxes.
8. Native courts were used for administration of justice.
9. Native police and prisons were utilized in the system;
10. Areas where there no chiefs or rulers, the colonial masters appointed
them.
4.4 Reasons for the introduction of Indirect Rule

What do you think are the reasons that necessitated the introduction of
indirect rule? This part of the session deals with some of the reasons.
We hope you would enjoy it.
Lack of human resource since the system had few Europeans to control
effectively areas under their power. They colonial masters would need a lot of
British personnel such as governors, administrators, security agencies to
control the colonies. This required that Britain deployed quite a number of
personnel to work and be paid salaries.
Another reason the indirect rule was introduced was insufficient funds to cater
for the working class in the colonies. The British did not have sufficient
resources to create new socio-economic and political institutions (Vail, 1989;
Berman, 1974). There was no sufficient fund from the British government to
engage British officials for direct administration of the colonies. Paying staff at
home and outside of Britain would be a huge budget on the British
government. As a result, they employed the local leaders who were paid little
to work on behalf of Britain.
As a result of poor climatic weather condition in Africa, many British

personnel were unwilling to come down to be involved in the administration.
For example, due to poor climate and the presence of mosquitoes, Africa was
nicknamed the Whiteman’s grave since many of them suffered malaria attacks
resulting in their deaths.
So far, we hope you are enjoying the discussion on the reasons for the
introduction of indirect rule by the Britain. Let us continue!
Moreover, the unique role and position of traditional rulers prior to the
introduction of indirect rule was admired by the British. They recognized the

traditional rulers as divine and should be respected. For example, in Gold

Coast (Ghana) the British generally allowed indigenous courts to exist and
indigenous law to continue to be dispensed in order to stabilize European rule
because imposing English law at the behest of a small group of Europeans
would have risked resistance and unrest (Jörg, n.d). The colonial master
realized that if they did not use them would mean that there would be chaos
and instability in the system. This would definitely affect the administration of
the colonies.
Again, to satisfy the economic needs of the colonialists who wanted to make
markets for their goods and to encourage West Africans to produce those raw
materials, they have to control the Africans through the indirect rule system.
They used the local rulers to get their people worked hard to get raw materials
which the Europeans bought at lower prices. The exported raw materials were
processed and chipped back into the colonies at higher prices.
Dear student, do you know that language barrier was one of the reasons for the
introduction of indirect rule? Indirect rule succeeded in eliminating the
language barrier that would have posed serious problem to the British colonial
administration if direct rule was adopted. English language which was the
medium of communication by Britain was quite different from indigenous
languages of most of her colonies, such as Nigeria and Ghana. So, few
individuals served as interpreters which was quite easy to manage as compared
to dealing with entire population who spoke indigenous language.
Relatively stable political system did not require direct military involvement of
the European countries. Obedience to constituted authority is a must for a
stable political system. For instance, the people in the Northern Nigeria were
so obedient to their rulers and the institutions and the result was stability in the
system. Britain, therefore had to allow the system to stay. Any interference,
would have incurred the displeasure of the people would be as an obstacle to
smooth administration of the system.
Last but not the least, the vast nature of the territories to be administered by
Britain made indirect administration a better option. For example, Northern
Nigeria is a large area to be ruled by the few whites. The situation was
aggravated by the fact that a number of the European personnel were unwilling
to come to the continent due to the bad weather. The British could not assign
staff to the vast areas they controlled.
UNIT 2
INDIRECT RULE
SESSION 4
4.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Indirect Rule

Advantages
Indirect rule has a number of advantages. Let us quickly discuss some of them.
In the first place, there was recognition of traditional chiefs. The Ordinances
that were passed by the Legislative Councils over the period of indirect rule
acknowledged the significant role native or traditional rulers and the
institutions they held.
On the other hand, there was preservation of established native institutions.

Indirect rule basically relied on native institutions to flourish. The native
tribunal and the traditional leaders and chiefs were key in the implementation
of colonial policies. Effectively, it was to ensure that these native institutions
were preserved.
Again, indirect rule was cheaper to run. The employment of locals who were
paid peanuts for working on behalf of the Europeans was a cheap way of
running the colonies. Bringing nationals from Europe to come and work in the
colonies would have been more expensive. This was because they needed to be
paid accordingly. They had to be given accommodation and other fringe
benefits. In the case of using the natives, no extra cost was incurred. This made
it cheaper compared to the use of Europeans.
Meanwhile, indirect rule eliminated bad traditional practices. The practice

ensured that some of the practices that the colonialists found to be inhuman
and obnoxious were all stopped. In particular, slavery was banned in Northern
Nigeria. Also, human sacrifice was abolished.
Again, the various colonies saw rapid social and economic development since
part of the revenue collected from taxes and rates was used in constructing
school buildings, markets, hospitals, roads, bridges among others. Can you
mention some of these colonial monuments in your area? Share with your
colleagues in class.
Additionally, modernization of traditional institutions was an advantage. Some

of the traditional institutions used to administer the local people saw face lift
for instance, elements that were inhuman were replaced by more modern
methods. This led to improvements in the traditional ways of administering
law and order of justice.

Lastly, the indirect system developed trust between the traditional authorities
and their subjects on one hand and colonial counterparts on the other hand. The
fact that the Africans now saw themselves being ruled by their own very kind,
encouraged them to trust the system and by extension the white European.
Hitherto, there was so much mistrust because Africans viewed the British with
suspicion. The practice of indirect rule eventually ended the suspicion.
Disadvantages of Indirect Rule

One of the disadvantages of indirect rule is that some of the African chiefs
became authoritarian in their approach to local governance. This was because
the colonial masters had bestowed on them more powers than would otherwise
have been accorded them under their tradition practices.
Moreso, the educated elite were sideline. It means that they were not involved
in the administration and operations of the institutions of indirect rule. In
particular, the elite citizens were not involved in the collection of taxes,
administration of justice as well as in the maintenance of law and order in the
colony.
The British used native chiefs who were traditionally qualified and were
enstooled by the people, therefore, the people expected the chiefs to act in their
interest. On the other hand, the British expected that since they were giving the
orders, the chiefs have to tow their line. So, this fits into the saying that “it is
difficult to serve two masters”. In actual fact the chiefs sometimes found it
difficult to please both the British and the local people at the same time.
The chiefs were used to do all the menial work on the ground for the colonial
powers. Put it differently, the traditional rulers were used to carry out the
programmes of the colonialists under indirect rule. The local people, on the
other hand saw the chiefs as puppets, dancing to the tunes of the European
authorities, and as a result lost their respect for them.
Under this system, the British were able to break the unity that supposed to
exist between the chiefs and the educated elite buy giving more powers to the
chiefs, much to the detriment of the educated elite. This, in effect created
unhealthy and bitter rivalry between the chiefs and elite.

UNIT 2
INDIRECT RULE
SESSION 4
The idea of indirect rule was that the local chiefs should be used for local
administration. However, the British often than not imposed unqualified chiefs
on the people. These unqualified chiefs never commanded the absolute respect
of the natives.
In summary, we had discussed the concept of indirect rule and

their features. Finally, we talked about the reasons for the
introduction of indirect rule by the British.
Exercise 2.4
1. What is indirect rule?

2. State 4 features of indirect rule.
3. Explain 4 reasons why Britain introduced indirect rule in Africa.

SESSION 5: DIRECT RULE

You are warmly welcome to yet another interesting session.
This session will focus on the direct rule of African countries
by one of the European countries – France. Apart from Britain, France also had
her fair share of Africa and her resources. This session discusses conditions
that led to adoption of direct rule by the French nationals.
Objectives
1. Define the concept of direct rule.
2. Conditions that led to the adoption of direct rule by the French.
3. The impacts of direct rule on the colonies in Africa.
Now read on…
5.1 The concept of Direct Rule

We believe you heard about the direct rule of governance? Which of the
European countries adopted this type of system? Now compare your responses
to what we have provided. Direct rule is a system in which the state maintains
and administers a monopoly of law, policy, and administration to the
population without intermediaries, through bureaucrats without independent
means of coercion (Weber, 1991). Relatedly, direct rule of government is a
system whereby the colonies were governed by European officials at the top
position, while the natives were at the bottom. This implies that even though
the European governments were far away, yet they were directly involved in
day-to-day administration of the territories they occupied in Africa. This
system of government was mostly adopted by the Germans and French in the
administration of their colonies. We hope now you have understood the
concept of direct rule. Congratulations!
5.2 Features of Direct Rule

Direct rule just like indirect rule, has some features that distinguish it from the
latter. Let us briefly go through them.
i. In direct rule, African traditional rulers were not local government
officials. They were also not permitted to carry out any judicial
functions. They did not have a police force or maintain prisons.

UNIT 2 DIRECT RULE
SESSION 5
ii. Moreso, African chiefs were not leaders of their own people.
Rather, they were only figureheads, under the supervision of French
political officers.
iii. Again, African chiefs were appointed, not by lineage or birth, but
rather by education, and familiarity with the metropolitan
administrative duties.
iv. Lastly, African chiefs could be transferred from one state to another.
Effectively, the French policy actually ensured that traditional
paramountcies intentionally were destroyed.
5.3 Reasons for the introduction of Direct Rule

What do you think were some of the reasons the Europeans countries
especially French introduced the direct rule in her colonies? Here are some of
the reasons;
1. The direct rule was practiced in order to enable the Europeans to be
harsh and use force to control Africans without any compromise. The
direct rule was applied so that they could force Africans to produce raw
materials and provide cheap labour. This was the time Europe needed
human resource and raw materials for their industries.
2. In contrast to British, French and Germans did not want to use the
African chiefs because they saw them to be backward and that African
people could not even know how to lead themselves in order to meet
the colonial interests. So, as a result the colonies must be directly ruled
in order for the colonial masters to achieve their goals.
3. The direct rule was adopted by French in particular so as to provide
employment to the to their citizens thereby reducing unemployment
rates in the home countries. A number of Europeans officials such as
the governors, administrators, judges and clerks were deployed to work
in the colonies. This definitely increased the employment rate in those
countries that practiced this system.
5.4 The impacts of Direct Rule

Dear learner, we hope that you are enjoying the discussions so far. Fantastic!
Let us look at some impacts the direct rule had on the African countries. In the
first place, the implementation of direct rule undermined the pre-existing
African chiefs. This is because, the African rulers were replaced with the
colonial masters who now gave orders and instructions to the African indigens.

Secondly, the implementation of this kind of system enabled the colonial

masters suppress African resistances since these colonies had enough white
military forces to safeguard their interests. So, in effect the hands of African
chiefs were tied and they became toothless dog in their own land. And finally,
the direct rule system used harsh and brutal methods to force Africans meet the
demands of colonial masters.
5.5 The concept of Assimilation

Dear learner, what comes to your mind when you hear the concept
assimilation? The French Assimilation concept was an ideology premised on
spreading and implanting French cultures and civilization to the colonies
outside France with the intention of suffocating the culture of the Africans. In
essence, African natives were considered French citizens so far as the culture
and customs were adopted. The implication therefore is that the Africans
would have the rights, privileges and duties of French citizens. The
overarching purpose of the theory of assimilation was to turn African natives
into "French" men by educating them in the language and culture of French
thus, become French citizens. However, this system was opposed by people in
the conservative, catholic and monarchist tradition in France.
Why do you think these people opposed the assimilation system? Discuss your
reasons with your course tutor and colleagues.
5.6 Types of Assimilation

Be informed that assimilation policy can be categorized into three. They are as
follows;
1. Political assimilation.
- The laws for the colonies were deliberately made in France. Having
this system in place, the French government was ever more
stubborn to "loot-all-natural-resources" given to Africans by nature
and make them wallow in the abject poverty and agonies.
2. Economic Assimilation.
- The colonies were made to produce raw materials specifically to
supply French industries making sure that French interest was
paramount. The natural resources were exploited to enable France
compete favorable in the league of industrial competition taking
place in Europe.

UNIT 2 DIRECT RULE
SESSION 5
- French Colonial Pact, made it possible for France to determine

economic and financial decisions of the colonies to serve the
interest of France and her citizens at the expense of the African
countries. Moreso, the pact prevented French colonies to engage in
any foreign trade with the exception of France. It means that France
became the 'god' of trade for their colonies which even till date
works like a generational 'curse.'
3. Cultural and Social Assimilation.

- The sole purpose of the assimilation was to implant French culture
on the local people hence distorting the cultural heritage of the
African society.
- French civilization meant that, everything African was barbaric and
ungodly, and that it beholds on the local people to accept and
uphold their claim of their culture being divinely ordained.
- The social assimilation took on the harshest of all trend, thus
dehumanizing the Africans into the notorious system of indigent
and presentation.
- The worrying thing was that, the African indigens were subjected to
forced labour without any monetary payment.
- The local people did all the difficult works especially those
conscripted or forced into the army to work as auxiliaries.
- They were popularly known as deuxieme (second) contingent, who
did all the dreadful work. In fact, they were regarded as "Slaves" in
their own homelands.
5.7 Advantages of Direct Rule

- One advantage of direct rule is that it served as potential for rapid
economic development since there would be consistency in
government policies and laws. Because there would not be
disagreement between the local people and colonial masters, it
afforded the latter to implement any development project without
delay.
- Moreso, in direct rule, decisions could be made quickly and
efficiently by colonial masters, rather than through a complex
system of representation or negotiation which potentially could
delay decision-making process.

- Again, direct government system ensures that laws and policies by

the colonial powers are consistent across their colonies. This
ensures that there are no variations in the policies and laws from
colony to colony or region to region.
- Lastly, the direct rule enables colonial masters respond to
emergencies in times protests, unrests and natural disasters. It
means that the centralized authority could take immediate action to
deal with such emergencies as at when they happened.
5.8 Disadvantages of Direct Rule

i. It requires a lot of time on the part of colonial administration.
ii. It requires full participation in all spheres of life
iii. It requires self-discipline.
iv. It requires a large budgetary allocation thereby making it
expensive to run this type of administration.
v. It requires honesty on the part of colonial administrators. This is
because if those who were in charge of affairs did not do the
right thing as expected, it could be problematic.
vi. It requires huge capital investment. You need to train a lot of
people to be able to administer the colonies.
So far so good. We hope your expectations for this session have been met.
Wonderful!
In this session, we have discussed direct rule as practiced by

the French and German colonial masters. We also discussed
the effects and the impacts of direct rule on the African continent. Finally, we
looked at the concept of assimilation and the various types including political,
economic and socio-cultural.
Exercise 2.5
1. Define direct rule.
2. Write down 2 conditions that led to the adoption of direct rule by the
French.
3. State 2 types of assimilation.
4. List 2 advantages and disadvantages each of direct rule.

UNIT 2 DIRECT RULE
SESSION 5


SESSION 6: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECT AND

INDIRECT RULE
So far so good! Warm welcome to the last session of Unit 2.
This session discusses the differences between indirect and
direct rule as practiced by Britain and France respectively. We hope that you
will enjoy this session too.
Objectives
1. differentiate between indirect and direct rule by Britain and France
2. State 2 disadvantages of indirect rule.
Now read on…
6.1 Differences between Direct and Indirect rule

Dear student, what do you think are some of the differences between indirect
and direct rule of administration. Compare your answer with the following:
In the first place, indirect rule made use of the traditional chiefs and elders in
the administration of the colonies. This indicates that traditional authorities
served as the pivot of the indirect system. Mamdani (1996) however, disputed
this assertion saying that the system did not preserve pre-colonial authority but
was instead just as disruptive, if not more so, than direct rule. While in the case
of direct rule, the French assimilation policy did not make use of African
traditional chiefs. The French military and administrative staff were directly
involved in the day-to-day running of the colonies.
Relatedly, indirect rule thrived on the existing traditional laws and customs in
the administration of the colonies. The colonial masters did not discard these
laws and introduce their own knowing very well that would create a daunting
task which could lead to chaos. On the other hand, the French policy
assimilation did not recognize the traditional laws and customs. However, the
French assimilation system was meant to substitute the culture, religion and
language of the people. In other words, they wanted to eradicate everything
about the people in their colony thus, taking on a new culture altogether.

UNIT 2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECT AND
SESSION 6 INDIRECT RULE
In addition, indirect rule was designed to help in the development of the

traditional political institutions for effective administration. This connotes that
prior to the arrival of colonial masters, Africans were governed through
political structures in the communities and empires. On the contrary, the
French assimilation policy was not meant to recognize the local political
structures. They implemented their own political structures in the
administration of the colonies.
Another difference between indirect rule system and direct system was that the
former was comparatively cheaper system of administration while the latter
(French assimilation), system was expensive in nature. In the indirect rule, the
local leaders running the colonies on behalf of officials were paid peanuts
thereby reducing the overall budgets. The French government employed their
own people and paid them for the administration of the colonies across the
world and this demanded huge budgetary allocation.
The next difference between direct and indirect rule has to do with ideological
one. French believe in fundamental premise of actual or potential equality of
all people, with the aim to assimilating their colonial subjects into a body of
“100 million Frenchmen (Lewis, 1962). Conversely, Britain emphasised on the
need for preservation of cultural differences between conquerors and colonial
subjects.
Another common difference between indirect and direct rule is the system of
law. In direct rule, a single system of law set by the conquering country was
applied to the conquered subjects. This system did not imply fairness or rights;
it often established unjust laws for local people, but it was a centralized legal
arrangement. However, legal pluralism characterizes indirect rule. The
colonies under this system of rule were governed by customary laws, which
may differ from region to region, or even tribe to tribe; the legal code of the
colonial masters is reserved for Europeans and select others (Mamdani, 1996).
Last but not the least, indirect rule was not based on the arrogant belief in the
superiority of British civilization but this was the case in French assimilation
policy. Britain recognizes the power and authority of the locals thinking that if
they belittle them, it would be difficult to manage the vast colonies compared
to the French who had less colonies to control.

In this session, we have talked about the differences between

indirect and direct rule. finally come to Unit 2 of this module.
We have discussed
Exercise 2.6
1. State 4 differences between direct and indirect rule.
2. Explain two of the differences you stated in question 1.

UNIT 2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECT AND
SESSION 6 INDIRECT RULE


IMPACTS OF THE COLONIAL RULE
ON AFRICA UNIT 3
UNIT 3: IMPACTS OF THE COLONIAL RULE ON AFRICA
Unit Outline
Session 1: Positive Social Impacts of Colonialism on Africa
Session 2: Negative Social Impacts of Colonialism on Africa
Session 3: Positive Economic Impacts of Colonialism on Africa
Session 4: Negative Economic Impacts of Colonialism on Africa
Session 5: Positive Political Effects of Colonialism on Africa
Session 6: Negative Political Influence of Colonialism on Africa
We have come to another Unit titled, Impacts of the

Colonial Rule in Africa. This part of the course will expose
you to both positive and negative impacts of colonial
activities in Africa. Specifically, we would look at social, economic and
political impacts of colonial domination in Africa.
Unit Objectives
i. state and at least three positive social effects of colonialism
on Africa
ii. explain at least three positive social effects of colonialism on Africa

UNIT 3 ON AFRICA


UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 1
SESSION 1: POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF

COLONIALISM ON AFRICA
You are warmly welcome to session 1. In the last session of
unit 2, we discussed the political and economic reasons for the
European Scramble for and partition of Africa. We further discussed the
indirect rule and eventually ended our discussion on French policy of
assimilation. In this session, we are focusing on positive social impacts of
colonialization on Africa. We hope you will enjoy this session as well.
Objectives
i. State at least 2 positive impacts of colonial rule on Africa.
ii. Explain at least 2 positive impacts of colonial domination on the African
continent.
Read on…
1.1 Social Impacts of Colonial Rule in Africa

Dear student, before we start the discussion, we want you to state in your jotter
any social benefits that Africa has derived from the coming of the Europeans.
Are you done? Compare your answers with those that we have provided below.
Introduction of education
What do you think are some benefits Africa derived from colonisation? Did
your response include the following?
Dear student, an important point to note is that before the Scramble for Africa
took place, almost all countries across the African continent lacked formal
education. Fortunately, however, through colonization our colonizers were able
to introduce formal education in many African countries (Routberg, 2015). For
instance, the British were responsible for the introduction of education in
Ghana and Kenya. Notably, the education allowed the citizenry of African
nations to acquire knowledge and skills which later enabled them to develop
their countries. More importantly, it helped them to have a better understanding
of how they can use the acquired education in solving their problems. For
example, after Kwame Nkrumah attained his higher education at the University
of Pennsylvania, he returned to Ghana and embarked on the mission of

UNIT 3
POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF
SESSION 1 COLONIALISM ON AFRICA
liberating his nation from the British colonization. Some of the educated
leaders believed that Africa had matured and could solve her problems without
the assistance from colonizers. Above all, the acquired education imparted
Africans with various skills that enabled them to create jobs for themselves and
to compete favourably in the global market.
Enhancement of unity
Another point is that the adoption of language spoken by the colonial masters
played a crucial role in fostering unity in the Africa nations that were depicted
by multilingual tribal languages. For instance, Nigeria is a country that has
over five hundred different languages, and each tribe considered its language
superior to other tribes, thereby leading to disunity. However, through
colonization, colonized country adopted the English language which played an
essential role in enabling different tribes to speak and understand each other
within a framework of one language (Filppula, Klemola & Sharma, 2017).
Research has shown that, the development of any nation begins with its ability
to unite citizen and allowing them to join hands in the building of their country.
Therefore, the introduction of the language of the colonial masters assisted
African nations to understand each other. Also, through the learning of the
foreign languages, African nations were able to participate and benefit from the
international trade.
Introduction of civilization
Moreso, the arrival of the Christian missionaries did not only lead to the spread
of Christianity but also played a pivotal role in bringing civilization to most of
the African nations. It is important to note that before the coming of the
colonizers, a substantial percentage of the African countries had backward and
uncivilized cultures that limited their development (Takács, 2015). In Southern
Nigeria for example, there were massive killings of twins because they
believed that such kids were bad omen. However, through the advent of
Christianity such killings were stopped and these kids were now treated as a
blessing to the society. Also, the spread of religion helped in empowering the
girl-child and eliminating the discrimination in the treatment of different
genders. For instance, most African nations despised female gender making
them face sexual violence and denial of their human rights (Takács, 2015).
Fortunately, the colonizers of Africa initiated equality in the treatment of all
genders making African women such as Wangari Mathaai from Kenya to win
the Noble Peace Prize of 2004 in her contribution in the sustainable

UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 1
development, democracy, and peace. So far, we hope you are enjoying this
session.
We-feeling and socialization

Another effect was the missionary impact. The spread of Christianity created a
feeling of solidarity and brotherhood among converts. Some converts were
taken abroad and given western education. These groups of educated Gold
Coasters came back home to make considerable contribution to their societies.
Mention can be made of Philip Kweku and William Amo as well as others.
Besides, most of the towns and cities in the Gold Coast, particularly those
along the coast owed their names to the Europeans. Names like Cape Coast,
Elmina, Winneba, Saltpond etc. were given to those towns by Europeans.
Dear student, we hope you are familiar with the term socialization. Can you
give some examples of socializing agents? Did your answer include school and
church? Socialization is the process through which an individual's standards,
skills, motives, attitudes, and behaviors change to conform to those regarded as
desirable and appropriate for his or her present and future role in any particular
society. Dear learner, you will agree with us that through direct and indirect
teaching, the school and the church inculcate the above-mentioned societal
values in individuals.
Source of personal identity for some Africans

Be informed that most individuals on the African continent bear European
names. We want you to tell us your first name. You see, most of you have
European names as your first, middle and last names. They are all as a result of
colonialism. We hope you can identify a friend or family member who
possesses no African name. It is interesting to note that some Africans even
bear European names without themselves having knowledge of the meaning of
those names. Given another chance, would you change your European name, if
you have one? Discuss with your colleagues.
In this session, we have discussed in detail the positive social

effects of colonialism on the European colonies in Africa.
Specifically, we discussed introduction of formal education into the African
continent, enhancement of unity through the unifying force of the official
languages bequeathed to colonies by the colonizers, civilization, establishment
of school and churches as socializing agents and the adoption of European

UNIT 3
POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF
names by some Africans. We are certain that you enjoyed studying this session
so much. Answer the following self-assessment questions.
Exercise 3.1
1. Mention any four positive social effects of colonialism on Africa.

2. Explain three positive social effects of colonialism on Africa

UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 2
SESSION 2: NEGATIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF

In our previous session, we highlighted the positive political
effects of colonialism in Africa. The discussion focused on
introduction of education, civilization, source of identity, enhancement of unity
and religion. In this session however, we will pay attention to negative social
effects of colonialism on Africa.
Objectives
1. state at least two negative social influence of colonialism on Africa.
2. explain at least two negative social influence of colonialism on Africa
Now read on…
Weakened African culture, art and social values

One of the negative social effects of colonialism on Africa is that it weakened
African culture, art, social values and destroyed African traditional social
order. People who committed crimes were sold instead of being punished in
accordance with African customs and traditions. The trade has led to the
creation of a large Negro population in the Diaspora. This in turn has created
racial problems in the communities in which they find themselves. There is a
considerable Negro population in the West Indies, Brazil, Cuba etc. Some of
these Negroes have retained their African customs and traditions. Vodoo, an
African traditional religion, practiced among the people of Dahomay (now
Benin) is common in Haiti. The Negro population in the U.S. alone is
overwhelming.
Centralization of social amenities

Colonialism also brought about inequality in the provision of social amenities
and the urbanization pattern in Africa. Most of the social amenities provided
during the colonial period were concentrated at one place. This made most
people to migrate from the rural areas where these amenities were virtually
non-existent to colonial urban centers where they could be found. The
consequence of this was the struggle and over-use of these amenities and the
attendant overcrowding of the areas (cities) and the problems of urbanization.

UNIT 3 NEGATIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF
SESSION 2 COLONIALISM IN AFRICA
The consequent problems of disjointed provision of amenities and urbanization

include rural urban migration, overcrowding, filthy and slump environment,
poor hygienic condition, spread of epidemic diseases, social vices, tribal and
ethnic problems etc. The management of the above problems created by
colonial distortion and disarticulation of amenities and urbanization on Africa
has remained a single most important problem confronting African states
today.
Class struggle in the socio-economic and political life of the people

Another negative impact of colonialism in Africa was the emergence and
institutionalization of classes and class struggle in the socio-economic and
political life of the people. Colonialism aided a clear emergence and
development of classes in Africa. These classes include comprador
bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie, proletariat and the peasant. The African petty
bourgeoisie serve as the conveyor belt through which the colonialists exploited
and siphoned the economy of African countries. There is a great harmony of
interest between the African petty bourgeoisie and the European comprador
bourgeois. This was why during the period of political independence; it was
the African petty bourgeois that got the mantle of leadership. The African petty
bourgeois maintained the same relationship with the erstwhile colonial masters
and this is why they run the economy and political administration of their
states in the same manner as the colonialists did.
Proselytization
Again, proselytization is another negative social effect of colonialism in
Africa. Are you familiar with the word proselytization? What is the meaning of
this word? Compare your answer with our explanation given below.
Proselytization means to induce someone to convert to one’s faith. In the
context of our discussion, proselytization implies the way the Europeans
succeeded in propagating Christianity in African colonies and converting the
people to the Christian faith sometimes against their will. You will agree with
us that the transplanting of Christianity on the African soils had and continue to
have a devastating effect on the African Traditional Religion, family
bonds/solidarity, social bonds and marriage institutions.
Be informed that the missionaries preached the gospel in a manner that put the
African Traditional Religion under negative public light. Additionally, the new
converts having been thoroughly indoctrinated, saw their non-converts
counterparts as “unclean” entities and hardly associated themselves with them.

UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 2
This unfortunate attitude has led to the disintegration of some African

societies, communities, social bonds and family institutions.
Colonialism caused loss of identity

In the previous session, we indicated the positive social impact of colonialism
on Africa and we did say that some Africans acquired their names from
colonialism. Dear student, what effect does this practice have on the personal
identity and cultural heritage of Africans? Did we hear you say it subordinates
Africa and its colorful cultural heritage to their erstwhile colonial masters. Yes,
through this we lost our true identity as Africans.
In this session, we have discussed negative social impacts of

colonialism on Africa. We stated that colonialism has
weakened African culture, art, social values and destroyed African traditional
social order. We further indicated that colonialism is responsible for the
disarticulation in the provision of social amenities and emergence and
institutionalization of classes and class struggle in the socio-economic and
political life of Africans. Moreso, we mentioned that the Europeans converted
Africans to the Christians faith at the expense of the African Traditional
Religion. We ended the session by discussing how colonialism has torn the
African cultural heritage and social bond apart.
Exercise 3.2
1. State three negative social effects of colonialism on Africa.
2. Explain any two negative social impacts of colonialism on Africa.

UNIT 3 NEGATIVE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF
SESSION 2 COLONIALISM IN AFRICA


UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 3
SESSION 3: POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF

In the previous session, we discussed the negative social
effects of colonialism on Africa. In this session, we are going
to discuss the positive economic effects of colonialism on Africa. We hope this
session will be insightful as it provides you details of economic benefits to the
continent.
Objectives
i. state and at least three positive economic effects of colonialism on
Africa
ii. explain at least three positive economic effects of colonialism on Africa
Read on…
3.1 Positive Economic Impacts of Colonialism in Africa

Modernization and technology
The colonization of African nations played a significant role in bringing
modernization to areas that were initially underdeveloped. For example, some
of the African countries used traditional methods of farming which were
ineffective and hindered their development (Allison, 2012). In this regard, the
British colonizers, for instance, introduced modern way of farming and at the
same time introduced cash crops such as coffee, pyrethrum, and tea in Kenya.
Apart from this, most of the African nations experienced a high mortality rate
and many children and their mothers suffered infant and maternal deaths
respectively. However, the technological advancement brought by the
colonizers in the field of healthcare, helped in coming up with improved health
facilities and services leading to a reduction in the death cases (Taiwo, 2010).
Besides, through colonization, there was an improvement in the African
infrastructures. For example, the older railroads in Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria etc.
were constructed by the British colonizers. Indeed, Ferguson (2011) argues that
if Europeans had not colonized the tropical world there would not have been
the stimulus required to develop cures and vaccines for tropical diseases. Many
have also argued that Europeans improved institutions, (eventually) ending

POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF
UNIT 3 COLONIALISM ON AFRICA
SESSION 3
slavery, introducing modern legal systems and methods of administration

leading to construction of modern democratic institutions. They argue that
economic institutions improved, not just because slavery was abolished but
also because Europeans made property rights, secure and brought to an end
conflict within African society.
Castles and forts as legacies

Dear student, we hope you can name some of the castles and forts in Ghana
which were built by the Europeans. Be informed that these castles and forts
now form an integral part of Ghana’s tourism industry thereby generating
income as they attract both international and intranational tourists to their
locations for excursions/field trips. In some parts of Africa such as Ghana, the
Osu Castle used to serve as the official seat and residence of the President of
the Republic of Ghana. By reliance on their history, the castles and forts are of
tourist interest and Ghana derives some economic benefits by promoting them
as tourist attractions. Secondly, the castles and forts constitute huge museum
elements useful to students of history and researchers. Furthermore, the castles
and forts have been designated world heritage sites by UNESCO making them
potential tourists’ sites.
Introduction of money
Prior to colonization, African economy was essentially based on barter systems
and Africans were isolated from the world market and international trade. It
was therefore necessary for the colonialists to introduce money into the African
economy in order to integrate it into the world market and international trade
(Ocheni, Basil & Nwankwo, 2012). We hope you are following the discussion.
Mechanization of agriculture
Europeans brought new technologies to modernize Africa’s agricultural
landscape. They provided the continent with tools to help with agriculture and
presented crops such as guava, sweet potato, tobacco, sugar cane, maize and
pawpaw. They also introduced new varieties of maize and cassava which they
had brought from the Americas. From the colonial period to date, most African
farmers have been relying on the agricultural tools introduced to them by the
Europeans to produce some of the above- mentioned food crops in commercial
quantities and earn a living out of that. Dear student, we trust you are
following the discussion. What other positive economic effects do you think

UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 3
colonialism had on Africa? Write them down and compare them with the
following:
Employment opportunities
You will agree with us that the most densely populated sector of the African
economies is the education sector. In this sector of African economies, huge
number of teaching and non-teaching staff work to earn a living. On the other
hand, the introduction of Christianity into Africa has helped to reduce
unemployment situation to some extent. Church leaders are appointed as
overseers of church branches in particular geographical areas and this
appointment goes with allowances or salaries. Which other areas do people
earn their living as a result of employment?
Trading opportunities
One of the economic effects of European activities on the African continent
especially Gold Coast was the business opportunities that were created for the
coastal states. The coastal states exploited their position as middlemen in the
trade and made some fortunes. The trade with the Europeans diverted the flow
of trade from across the Sahara to North Africa to the Atlantic Coast. Several
people migrated from the interior of the Gold Coast to the coastal towns to take
advantage of the European trade. Towns like Elmina, Cape Coast, Accra etc
owed their growth to the activities of the Europeans on the coast.
In this session, we have discussed positive economic impacts

of colonialism on Africa. Among them included introduction
of modernization and technology, castles and forts that the Europeans
bequeathed to Africans which serve as tourists’ sites, mechanization of
agriculture and introduction of new food crops and the establishment of
schools, the Christian faith which provides employment opportunities and the
lucrative trading opportunities created for the coastal states.
Exercise 3.3
1. Sate 2 positive economic impacts of colonialism in Africa.
2. Explain any 2 positive economic impacts on colonialism.

POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF
UNIT 3 COLONIALISM ON AFRICA
SESSION 3


UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 4
SESSION 4: NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF

Hello, welcome to session 4 of this book. We hope all the
concepts that we discussed so far in the previous sessions were
understood. In this session, we are going to discuss negative economic impacts
of colonialism on Africa. Colonisation affected several aspects of economic
life of African people including under-development, disjointed market and
trade, disjointed production of African goods, disjointed African economy. It is
our hope that this session will provide useful insights.
Objectives
i. state at least two negative economic effects of colonialism on
Africa.
ii. explain at least two negative economic effects of colonialism on
Africa.
Now read on...
4.1 Negative Economic Impacts

Dear student, we want you to state in your jotter any three ways in which
colonialism has negatively impacted on the African economy and compare
your answers to those that we have outlined below.
Under-development of African territories
One of the major negative economic impacts of colonialism on Africa is that it
brought about the under-development of African territories in many different
ways. It is usually argued in favour of colonialism that it brought western
education and hence western civilization to the shores of Africa which by
implication is a positive contribution towards African development. This
argument will appear to be true on the surface but if it is subjected to critical
analysis, it will reveal the emptiness of colonial education which is partially
responsible for the present African underdevelopment. The colonial education
was not rooted in African culture and therefore could not foster any meaningful
development within the African environment because it had no organic
linkage.

NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF
UNIT 3
Furthermore, colonial education was essentially literary; it had no

technological base and therefore antithetical to real development.
The poor technological base of most of the present-day African states, which
has been responsible for their underdevelopment stems from the poor
foundation of education laid by the colonialists. Colonial education essentially
aimed at training clerks, interpreters, produce inspectors, artisans, etc., which
would help them in the exploitation of the Africa’s rich resources. Colonial
education did not aim at industrialization of African territories or at stimulating
technological development within the African environment. Colonial education
brought about distortion and disarticulation in African indigenous pattern of
education which was rooted in African technology.
Before fully embracing colonial education, Africans were good technologists,
advancing at their own rates with the resources within their environment. For
example, Africans were good sculptors, carvers, cloth weavers, miners,
blacksmiths, etc. They were able to provide and satisfy the technological need
of the various African societies. The introduction of colonial education made
Africans to abandon their indigenous technological skills and education in
preference to one which mainly emphasizes reading and writing. This was the
foundation for the present poor technological base of African states which has
perpetuated their underdevelopment. It is often said that education that is not
deeply rooted in a people’s culture and environment cannot bring about any
meaningful technological advancement.
Disjointed African economy

Another negative economic impact of colonialism on Africa is the disjointed
African economy. By disjointed African economy, we mean the colonialist
disorganized or distorted the economy of Africa. Colonialism distorted African
pattern of economic development in many different ways. There was disjointed
production of goods, markets, traders, transport, provision of social amenities
and pattern of urbanization. The colonialists introduced a pattern of
international division of labor which was to the disadvantage of Africans. They
assigned to Africa the role of production of raw materials and primary products
for use by their industries at home. Africans were not allowed nor encouraged
to go into manufacturing. The only industries Africans were encouraged to
build were those that would facilitate in the processing of the raw materials for
export. The African raw materials were bought at a guaranteed minimum price

UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 4
while manufactured goods from abroad were sold at expensive price. This
situation accounted for the impoverishment of most Africans.
Disjointed production of goods

There was also mismatch regarding the type of goods produced by Africans
farmers and producers. The colonialists compelled Africans to concentrate in
the production of goods meant for export. Africans were not encouraged to
produce those goods required by the local population. This made many
Africans to abandon the production of food items required to feed the teeming
and growing population. The effect of this was food shortage and escalation in
food prices. The present-day situation where Africans now import their food is
a carry-over from colonialism. The point being stressed here is that colonialism
distorted the satisfaction of local needs in terms of food production and other
requirements in preference to production and satisfaction of foreign needs
especially the industries.
Disjointed African markets and trade

Colonialism also disjointed African markets and trades. The traditional or
original African market centres were distorted by colonialism. Most of the
traditional African market centres or routes were formed based on local needs.
When colonialism came and introduced a different need, this changed the
original or traditional market centers to new ones because it rendered them
irrelevant. Colonialists created new market centres and routes where their
required raw materials could be easily bought and evacuated back home. This
led to the gradual decay of most of the original market centres thereby
distorting African pattern of development and urbanization. As we know, most
of these traditional African market centres constituted the traditional African
centres. Colonialism also made African trade to be mainly export-import
oriented
Premature integration of African trade
Colonialism integrated African trade and economy prematurely into the world
market and international trade. It is a known fact that before a local economy
fully integrates itself into the world economy, it must have developed
adequately its internal dynamics and forces of production. The consequences
of premature integration are that such economy will be hijacked by the more
advanced ones; and the vagaries in international trade will make the country
concerned a perpetual debtor. Furthermore, premature integration cannot

UNIT 3
absorb shock from the international market and will never enjoy trade balance
or comparative advantage. The export-import orientation pattern of African
economy introduced by colonialism does not allow for acceleration and
multiplier effects necessary for economic advancement and development. The
raw materials produced by Africans were not used by industries located in
Africa but abroad. Therefore, there was no organic linkage between the
agricultural sector and the industrial sector in Africa.
Consequently, the African economy could not move forward because the
surplus profit appropriated from the economy by the colonialists are not
ploughed back within the economy. This is where the accelerator and
multiplier effects necessary for economic advancement and development come
in. As we know, goods and services are sold for profit and income generation.
If for example, Japan, an industrialized nation sells Sanyo television to an
African state which could be Nigeria, the money paid for the product serves as
profit and income for the television company located in Japan. If the company
uses the money paid to it to buy something in Japan, it helps to accelerate the
economy of Japan. This accelerator effect was totally absent in African
territories during the period of colonialism. The absence of the accelerator
factor/effect, created the propensity for Africans to keep importing
continuously from outside without depending on their own goods.
Furthermore, the multiplier effect concerns the re-investment of profit

appropriated from an economy. For example, under a normal economy and
circumstance, when a profit is made from an economy, it is re-invested to
stimulate and generate new profit. The profit can be re-invested into new
enterprises within the economy. The re-investment of accumulated profit into
an economy helps the economy to move very fast and to generate new profits.
The ability of re-invested profit to bring out new profit is referred to as
multiplier effect. This was absent in the African economy during colonialism.
This is because the colonialists did not re-invest profits appropriated from the
African economy, rather they transferred the profits abroad for the
development of their home economy. This greatly accounted for the present
underdevelopment of most African economies.

UNIT 3
ON AFRICA
SESSION 4
In this session we have looked at the negative economic

effects of colonialism on Africa. We discussed colonialism is
responsible for the under-development of the African territories, premature
integration of African trade and economy into the world market and
international trade. We also discussed colonialism as responsible for the
mismatch in the type of goods produced by Africans and African markets and
trade. We finally discussed that colonialism integrated African trade and
economy prematurely into the world market and international trade.
Exercise 3.4
1. State any four negatives economic effect of colonialism on Africa.
2 Explain four negatives economic effects of colonialism on Africa

UNIT 3


ON AFRICA UNIT 3
SESSION 5
SESSION 5: POSITIVE POLITICAL EFFECTS OF

Once again, you are welcome to another session of the course.
This session is dedicated to discussing positive political
impacts of colonialism on Africa. Colonialism have had positive implications
on our current political architecture or system. This session will expose you to
positive effects including modern idea of government, development of political
parties, introduction of civil service, etc. We hope that you will find the
discussion very interesting.
Objectives
i. state at least two positive political effects of colonialism on Africa.
ii. explain two positive political impact of colonialism on Africa.
Read on…
5.1 Positive Political Impacts

Introduction of modern ideas of government
Dear student, let us discuss the positive political effects of the coming of the
Europeans to Africa. Before we proceed, list two positive political effects that
Europeans encounter had on the Africans. Compare your answer with ours.
One of the positive political effects of colonialism on Africa is the introduction

of modern ideas of government. The political culture of liberal democracy was
bequeathed to Africans by the Europeans who colonized them. Africans now
have opportunities to write their own constitution to regulate the behaviors of
the people. Additionally, multi-party democracy and the election of national
leaders through the ballot box and the changes from monarchy to
republicanism is as a result of colonialism. This modern idea of government
has suppressed the incidence of coup d’ tats in the political spheres of Africa.
Development of civil service
The civil services of the Europeans colonies were developed and made
uniformed with those of the colonial masters. The evolution of civil/public
service in Africa cannot be traced without taking a historical journey back to
the colonial era and its administrative instruments. The public or civil service
UNIT 3 POSITIVE POLITICAL EFFECTS OF
in Africa began as a British instrument and machinery for the consolidation

and administration of its colonies. Okoli and Onah (2010) observed that it all
began as a tool employed by the colonial masters to conquer the indigenous
people.
However, this further developed as a task force which was used to pacify
native rulers and make treaties with native chiefs. In addition, they had the
responsibility to coercively but peacefully bring together all the competing
tribes and ensure that places where peace was disturbed due to tribal disputes
were subdued and calmed. Dear student, even though colonial masters may
establish civil service to suit their interest, today the civil service is the key tool
adopted by African governments to organize their public workers in relation to
the country's manpower needs.
Development of political parties

Many political parties were also established as a result of the introduction of
elective principle. We hope you understand what we mean by elective
principles. Compare your explanation with ours. Be informed that elective
principle refers to the process of electing representatives to political offices.
Colonial Africa refers to the period when European powers colonized African
countries. At some point in colonia Africa, legislative councils were
established to allow the locals to participate in government. In 1922, Sir
Clifford introduced the first formal constitution for Nigeria. The main feature
of the constitution was the introduction of the first elective principle in Nigeria
and in West Africa. This principle encouraged the formation of many political
parties by Africans which later championed the struggle for independence.
Dear student, we have had discussion on the positive political

effects of colonialism on Africa. We mentioned introduction of
modern ideas of government, development of civil service and development of
political parties as some of the political legacies of colonialism.
Exercise 3.5
1 State two positive political effects of colonialism on the African
continent.
2 Explain in details, two positive political impacts of colonialism in
Africa.

ON AFRICA UNIT 3
SESSION 6
SESSION 6: NEGATIVE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF

We have come to the end of the last session in Unit 3. In this
session, we will focus on negative political effects of colonial
domination by Europe on the African continent. Specifically, we will focus on
authoritarian leadership, source of corruption, imposition of rules, and others.
We implore your full participation during class discussion and we believe that
at the end, you will understand the concepts and ideas therein.
Objectives
i. state at least three negative political influence of colonialism on Africa
ii. explain at least three negative political influence of colonialism on
Africa.
Now read on…
6.1 Negative Political Effects

Responsible for evils of corruption and authoritarianism
Now, we want you to write down two negative political effects of colonialism
on the African continent and compare with what we have provided as follows
below:
Colonialism has far-reaching influence in the political aspect of the continent.
The present political system of the continent is the direct reflection of the
colonial system. Colonialism greatly influenced the politics of the continent by
replacing indigenous institutions with the foreign administration (Farah &
Mazongo, 2011). Africans have had democratic cultures during the pre-
colonial era which were later dismantled through the influence of slavery,
colonialism, and neo-colonialism. Wyk (2007) interestingly noted that the
“contemporary state in Africa is a remnant of a colonially imposed system.
African states adopted the colonialists’ centralized state system which
produced ethnic and authoritarian based political culture. The inherited system
by the post-independence African leaders is responsible for, among other
things, evils of corruption and authoritarianism.

NEGATIVE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF
UNIT 3
Hence, what African states inherited from their colonizers is their

undemocratic and authoritarian rule. Since the very purpose of Europeans was
to exploit the resources of Africa, they employed undemocratic system of
administration which is something forcefully imposed from the above. Putting
it differently, they failed to take into account the interest as well as realities of
African people. The colonial experience of post-independence African leaders
greatly impacted their way of administration, which is highly autocratic.
Exclusion and marginalization in politics
Moreover, the notion of ethnicity left behind by the colonial powers posed
adverse impact on the overall political system of African states. Ethnic division
which was heightened by colonial system left persistent rivalry and conflict in
the continent and thereby resulted in exclusion and marginalization in African
political societies (Alemazung, 2010). Kidane (2011) also asserted that the
fragmentation of ethnic identities into several states and the uneven socio-
economic development among several ethnic groups become an obstacle to
manage diversity. Instead of being rectified, this unholy colonial legacy has
been exacerbated in the postcolonial period. It is common practice to favor one
ethnic group over the other and blurred inter-ethnic relations in the post-
independence era. By so doing, post-independence leaders exacerbated inter-
ethnic conflicts.
Imposition of decisions by leaders
Colonialism has also its own contribution in the present Africa’s political party
system. The colonial administrators and political elites made decisions on
behalf of the indigenous population without taking into account their ideas.
Inheriting from this monopolized system, African political parties become a
top-down organizational structure and therefore tend to be autocratic. Salih et
al (2007) argued that “African political parties originated in the non-
democratic setting of colonial rule which was neither democratic nor
legitimate”. This shows that African political party system has inherited the
undemocratic colonial tradition. Even though multi-party system was
introduced in Africa it is not genuinely exercised. Though parties are allowed
to emerge, the environment has not been conducive to compete and hold the
power of the government. Even it is common to see many oppositions political
parties in Africa banned, criminalized their activities or undermined their
contribution to national policy. Most post-independent governments perverted
into one-party states or military dictatorships characterized by corruption and
inefficiency (Gordon, 2013; Mazrui, 1994). Any form of opposition to the state

ON AFRICA UNIT 3
SESSION 6
faces ruthless oppression and imprisonment (Gordon, 2013). Hence,

democratizing Africa becomes very challenging in this contemporary era.
Seeds of Corruption in Africa
The African rulers are also known to be highly corrupt, which could be traced
back to the legacy of colonialism. Colonial powers’ evil socio-political culture
produced the habit of corruption in public service of the contemporary Africa
(Njoku, 2005). From this, therefore, one can deduce that the existing corrupt
behavior of the contemporary leaders of Africa is the continuation of the
policies and administration of imperialists. It is obvious that corruption is one
of the most attributing factors for poverty and poverty in turn leads to
corruption creating vicious cycle. This situation is true in Africa and it is
attributed to the far-reaching effect of colonialism. In many of African
countries leaders enjoy political power as a means of accumulating wealth
(Wyk, 2007). Thus, state has got its instrumental value for the wealth of the
few leaders. Thus, the greedy, selfish, and rent-seeking nature of contemporary
African rulers is also traced back to the deed of colonizers.
We have discussed some negative political impacts of

colonialism on Africa. We also outlined that colonialism is
responsible for the imposition of decisions by African leaders
and parties on the indigenous population. We further stated that colonialism is
to blame for the exclusion and marginalization in African political societies
and top-down organizational structure of African political parties. Finally, we
discussed colonialism as sowing seeds of corruption on the African continent.
How did you find this session? Interesting, right? Good.
Exercise 3.6
1. State three negative political effects of colonialism on Africa.
2. Explain three negative political effects of colonialism on Africa.

NEGATIVE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF
UNIT 3


AFRICAN’S REACTION TO THE COLONIAL
UNIT 4
RULE: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SESSION 4
SESSION 4: REASONS FOR AFRICAN’S RESISTANCE

TO COLONIAL RULE
Dear learner, a very hearty welcome to the current session
which is on reasons for which Africans resist European
masters. It will be interesting to discuss the reasons including loss of land,
imposition of taxes, racism, and restoration of African political structures. We
wish you fruitful discussion in the session.
Objectives
i. state at least 2 reasons for Africans opposition to European rule.
ii. explain at least one reason for the resistance by Africans to colonial
rule.
Now read…
Take your pen and paper. Write down one reason for African’s resistance to
colonial movement by Europeans. You have done well. Now, compare your
answer to the ones we provided.
We learnt in the previous sessions that Africa has one of the fertile lands in the
world. No wonder when the Europeans came, they took some of the fertile
lands from Africans. So, the loss of land was one of the reasons Africans
resisted Europeans. More land was taken from African people and given to
Europeans for settlement. In response to these developments, some chiefs
organised rebellions against colonial authorities. Do you know how the lands
were taken away from Africans? The acquisition of land was achieved mostly
by signing treaties with the local chiefs who often did not understand the
implications of what they were signing. In particular, King Lobengula of
Matabeleland and a leader of the Ndebele was one of such chiefs. The Ndebele
(now Southern Zimbabwe) were an influential warrior tribe who presided over
a large portion of fertile land.

UNIT 4 REASONS FOR AFRICAN’S RESISTANCE
SESSION 4 TO COLONIAL RULE
When was the first time you heard about the poll tax? Yes, introduction of such
policy was one of the reasons for the resistance. African local people
vehemently opposed the policy of one pound that they were forced to pay.
There were oppositions in the colonies when such policy was introduced. Adu-
Boahen for instance, reported that resistance to the tax began towards the end
of 1853 and developed into open rebellion first in eastern districts in January
1854 where the kings and people organised protest meetings in Accra and
refused to pay the tax. Another protest in the form of armed rebellion against
British authority was organised by Zulu Chief Bambatha.
The next reason has to do with the fact that Africans were forced to work
against their will. This resulted in oppositions across the continent. In
particular, Maji Maji revolt was organised by Kinjigitile Ngwale in 1905
against forced labour. The forced labour was as a result of scheme by
Europeans to feed their industries with raw materials from Africa. The
unfortunate thing was that Africans were most at times forced to plant non-
traditional staple crops such as cotton. In all, we can say that exploitation of
African labourers by European employers added to the growing opposition
among the local people.
Restoration of African traditions and political structures preoccupied Africans

during the invasion of Europeans. Attempts were made by Europeans to wipe
out anything African including their political institutions. To the extent that,
European could de-stool and install a new chief. As we already discussed, the
colonial masters taught that Africans were inward looking and barbaric people
and they need to be oriented in the culture of Europe.
Dear student, be informed that some of the anti-colonial struggles were not in
the interest of the generality of Africans. Some of the resistances were aimed at
achieving individual interests. For example, Cooper (1994) points out that the
anti-colonial struggles were to protect the power of certain African elites to
exploit the people and the privileges of the ruling class. It means that some of
the elite Africans had hidden agenda of manipulating their own people and the
resources of the continent. Some of the elites did not understand why the chiefs
were give more recognition and power over them.

UNIT 4
Last, Africans felt they were discriminated against in their own backyard.
There were a number of instances where racism manifested. Africans who
colonial masters employed to work were paid less compared to their European
counterparts. Top positions were reserved for Europeans against the
local people who also qualified to hold the positions. Do you think
discrimination is still practiced against the Africans?
So far, we discussed reasons why Africans resisted

colonization. We mentioned the following as some of the
reasons; loss of arable land, imposition of taxes, racism and restoration of
African political traditions and structures. We hope you enjoyed this session.
Exercise 4.4
1. Explain 2 reasons why European domination was resisted by
Africans.
2. The Maji Maji revolt of 1905 was organised by one of the following.
a. Kinjigitile Ngwale
b. Samory Toure
c. Yaa Asantewaa
d. Zulu Chief Bambatha

UNIT 4 REASONS FOR AFRICAN’S RESISTANCE
SESSION 4 TO COLONIAL RULE


RULE: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY UNIT 4
UNIT 4: AFRICAN’S REACTION TO THE COLONIAL

RULE: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
Unit Outline
Session 1: The Phases/Stages of Resistance
Session 2: Primary Resistance to Colonial Rule
Session 3: Secondary Resistance
Session 4: Reasons for African’s Resistance to Colonial Rule
Session 5: The Impacts of the Resistance
Session 6: Reasons for the Failure of Africans Resistance to Colonial Rule
Dear student, you are warmly welcome to the Unit 4 of this

course. We hope that you will enjoy this Unit just as the
previous units. In this Unit, we will discuss the phases of
African resistances. Africans initially opposed the colonization movement by
Europeans. The oppositions were categorized into phases. In addition, we will
look at the primary resistance in the form of African society trying to restore
their independence. Why do you think Africans resisted the initial attempts by
Europeans to dominate them? Again, the secondary resistance mounted by
Africans will be discussed. Secondary resistance largely took place during and
after the independence of the continent. We will also delve into the reasons
why Africans mounted resistances to colonial rule. What would you have done
if you were one of our forefathers during the colonial rule? Are you aware that
the resistances mounted by Africans had some negative impacts on the
continent? We will do justice to impacts of the resistances on the continent in
this Unit. Finally, we will discuss the reasons why Africans resistances failed
in the end. Africans themselves had some challenges resulting in their failure to
effectively resist colonial rule. For instance, there was lack of unity and
technological prowess. What an interesting Unit it will be!
Unit Objectives
i. State at least 2 phases of African resistance to colonial rule.
ii. Identify at least 2 primary resistances by Africans over European
domination.
iii. Write down at least 2 secondary resistances by Africans against
colonial rule.

UNIT 4 RULE: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
iv. State 2 reasons why Africans resisted European domination.

v. List at least 2 negative impacts of the resistances by Africans on the
continent.
vi. Explain at least 2 reasons why Africans failed in their opposition
against the colonial rule.


SESSION 1
SESSION 1: THE PHASES/STAGES OF RESISTANCE

Welcome to session 1 of Unit 4. We hope you would enjoy this
session. This session would give you insights into African’s
resistances to the colonial administration. These resistances were in different
forms ranging from armed to non-violent movements. The non-violent anti-
colonialism movements were in the form of the indigenous press, trade
unionism, organized religion, associations, literary and art forms, and mass
migrations. Africans used some of these tools to register their displeasure
towards European invasion of the continent. However, it is instructive to note
that to a very large extent armed resistance was predominantly used.
Objectives
By the end of the session, the student should be able to;
1. state at least 2 examples of the phases of resistances to the colonial
rule.
2. explain in details, one phase of resistance by Africans to colonial rule.
Now read on…
1.1 Phases of African Resistances to Colonial Rule

Dear student, be informed that the resistances to colonial rule can be
categorized into four phases. Can you mention one of the phases? Very
brilliant! You have done well. You can now compare your answer with ours.
The first phase has to do with African response to the colonial conquest itself.
This movement took place between 1880 to 1910. Then, in the second phase
was a period of the consolidation of colonial rule starting from 1914 to 1939.
This was also the period of first world war. The third phase occurred at the end
of World War II which ranged between 1939 to 1945 till the attainment of
independence of the continent between the early 1950s and the 1980s. The last
phase however, has to do with post-independence movement against a new
form of approach called neocolonialism – the West and the East attempt to
redefine not only their relationships with the former colonizers, but also their
efforts to deconstruct negative perceptions linked to the continent in general.
It must be noted that, the anticolonialism movement differed from place to
place at the various phases. For example, the coastal states such as the Fantes
THE PHASES/STAGES OF RESISTANCE
UNIT 4
SESSION 1
of Gold Coast (Ghana) who have had relatively long experiences with the
Europeans tended to initially accommodate the colonial rule. Invariably, the
states that were in the interior mostly non-Christians whose encounter with
Europeans was comparatively short, resisted the colonial invasion by
deploying vigorously militant forms of anticolonialism.
So far, we believe you have enjoyed the discussion. Jot down issues you did
not understand well and discuss it further with your colleagues and facilitator.
In this session, we discuss the four phases of colonial

resistance by Africans. It was further indicated that the
resistance to the colonial rule was not the same in the colonies. Stay with us
and let us enjoy the next session.
Exercise 4.1
1. Write down 2 phases of resistance by Africans to the colonial invasion.

2. The resistances to the colonial domination was uniform throughout the
colonies in Africa. True or false.

UNIT 4
SESSION 2: PRIMARY RESISTANCE TO COLONIAL RULE

We are going to discuss another interesting topic which is on
primary resistance to colonial rule. Once more, you are
warmly welcome to session 2. In this session, the various primary resistance
staged by Africans will be our focus. It must be noted that Africans initially
opposed the invasion and subsequent control by Europeans. The initial efforts
largely protests and military attacks were aimed to oppose introduction of
foreign control thereby adulterating African culture.
Objectives
By the end of the session, the student should be able to;
1. state at least 2 primary resistances by Africans to the colonial rule.
2. enumerate 2 examples of primary resistances to colonial rule.
Now read on…
2.1 Primary Resistance to Colonial Rule

Dear student, we shall focus on the primary resistance by Africans to their
colonial powers. When we say primary resistance, it means a resistance from
the point of view of a traditional society or attempting to restore the pre-
conquest status and arrangements. A number of events took place and they are
seen as the initial efforts on the part of Africans to oppose domination by their
European counterparts. We shall look them now.
Some cases of primary resistance as a matter of fact involved very significant

innovations. For example, there was a rebellion in Rhodesia in 1896 which
involved a large amount of cooperation and coordination between the
traditional enemies, the Ndebele and the Shona. It emerged that a traditional
religious sect was used to bring the two together.
In the second place, one of the early (primary) resistance was religious in
character. Religion was used as an early anti-colonial up-risings where
religious leaders led the charge. For instance, the Maji-Maji rebellion against
the Germans in East Africa (Tanganyika) in 1905-06 and Chimurenga
(Zimbabwe) uprisings were led by African religious leaders who vehemently
opposed the colonial domination in the African continent. Another instance

PRIMARY RESISTANCE TO
UNIT 4
SESSION 2
COLONIAL RULE
where religion was pronounced was in Nyasaland, now Malawi, where the
Christian church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church under the leadership
of Priest John Chilembwe, played an important role organizing and carrying
out an early uprising against colonial authority. It can be inferred that religious
opposition against colonial rule was a commonplace throughout the 20th
century.
In Gold Coast (Ghana) for instance, there was fierce resistance between the
British and Asantes over the failure of the latter to pay the fines of 50 000
ounces of gold levied on the Asantahene at the Treaty of Fomena.
Can you cite other instances of primary resistance on the part of

Africans? Share this with your facilitator and colleagues. Did your
answer also include the battle of Adowa in Ethiopia (Ethiopia won a decisive
victory over Italy in 1895), the battle of Isandhlawana in 1879 (under King
Cetshwayo of Zulu people) and the resistance by Samori Toure against the
French. Samori governed an area currently occupied by Guinea, Mali, and
Cote D’Ivoire. Well done and congratulations!
So far, we have discussed some of the primary resistances

against the colonial powers. We indicated that rebellion,
religion and protests were used to oppose colonial administration at the initial
stage.
Exercise 4.2
1. Write down two primary resistances by Africans against colonial rule.
2. The Maji-Maji religious protest was against which of the European
countries?
a. Britain
b. French
c. Germans
d. Portugal

UNIT 4
SESSION 3: SECONDARY RESISTANCE

Dear student, welcome to session 3 of Unit 4. This session
discusses secondary resistance to colonial rule. A number of
events took place which largely fell within the domain of post-independence
struggle. Despite the fact that colonialism effectively ended on the continent,
Africans are still struggling to find their feat in the global space due to the
hegemony of the East and West. We hope you would enjoy this session.
Objectives
By the end of this session, the student should be able to;
1. write down at least three secondary resistances by Africans against
European rule.
2. explain at least two secondary resistances by Africans towards the West
over their invasion.
Now read…
Dear student, let us begin by jotting down some of the secondary actions taken
by Africans to show their disapproval. Now compare your answer with the
following.
In the first place, we can talk about religious resistance. One of the secondary
resistances was the emergence of African Initiated Churches (AICs). This
movement started in South Africa in the 1890s then gradually spread to other
parts of Africa with the establishment of missions. The initial reaction was
against the control and domination by whites over money and higher offices in
the churches thereby stamping their authority of independence and establishing
African control. In the end, some of these churches began to be more
independent in their doctrines. One example of those churches was the
Kimbaguist Christian Church established by Simon Kimbangu of Congo in the
1920s. In spite of Kimbangu’s imprisonment for many years by the Belgians,
the Kimbanguist church grew rapidly. Moreso, African Islamic rulers such as
Cheikh Ahmadu Bamba and Samory Toure who saw European culture as
danger to their social order also resisted the incursion of colonial masters.

UNIT 4 SECONDARY RESISTANCE
SESSION 3
Nationalist movement was another secondary resistance which came in the

form of revolt by educated elite and their requests to have more say in politics
and decision-making as far as administration of the colonies was concerned.
This, in effect ushers in the African nationalism movement however, at that
moment it was within the confine of the few middle-class and intellectual
elites. The demands of the middle-class and the elites (semi-resistors) was not
to take over the affairs of the colonial masters, but to have opportunities as
well as inclusion regarding the administration of the colonies. Their activities
pave the way for the organisation and communications leading to true African
nationalism. Some of the elite organisations were the South African National
Congress and the West African National Congress championed by Nigeria and
Gold Coast (Ghana).
The next resistance was economic in nature. More working class joined the
trail a little bit later, where their responses and resistance began to emerge with
the elites. Even though workers at the time were not well organized, there were
pockets of protests in the 1920s and 1930s by mine workers in southern Africa
and port workers in West and East Africa. In Gold Coast, there was “positive
action” where combination of strikes, demonstrations, and rallies held all over
the country that were designed to put pressure on the colonial government
(Howard, 1999). For example, in 1941, 1944 and 1947, there were strikes in
the town of Sekondi, the headquarters of both the harbour and the railways
workers. The purpose of their strike was to demand better working conditions
from the colonial masters. Some of these activities saw the birth of trade
unions in British colonies.
Finally, mass protests were used as effective strategy by Africans to register

their opposition to the colonial rule. There was emergence of mass nationalist
movement aimed at attaining independence in the colonies. The elite leaders of
the proto-nationalist movements began to go out to the masses; the working-
class organisations (unions, friendly societies, even AICs formed the
organising vehicles for mass political organisations. One of such notable
protests was the Aba Women’s Movement that took place in southeastern
Nigeria in 1929 where Ibo market women protested against a number of
colonial policies that threatened their economic and social activities.

UNIT 4
We have learnt that there were secondary resistances on the

part of Africans against European rule. Some of these anti-
colonial struggles were in the form of religious, economic revolt by educated
elite and protests.
Exercise 4.3
1. State and explain 2 secondary resistances by Africans against colonial
rule.
2. The African Initiated Churches was one of the secondary resistances to
colonial domination. True or False.
3. Aba Women’s Movement was used as a strategy by Europeans to
colonize Africa. True or False.

UNIT 4 SECONDARY RESISTANCE
SESSION 3


AFRICAN’S REACTION TO THE COLONIAL UNIT 4
SESSION 5: THE IMPACTS OF THE RESISTANCE

You are warmly welcome to session 4 of the Unit. This session
will expose you to the effects of African resistance to the
colonial domination. We learnt in the previous sessions that there were various
forms of resistances. The resistance according to empirical evidence, affected
the continent negatively. So, our focus will be on these negative effects.
Objectives
i. state at least 3 negative effects of African resistance to colonialism.
ii. explain two negative effects of resistance by Africans against European
invasion.
Now read on…
What do you think were some of the negative consequences of African

resistance to the European domination? If your answer includes the following,
then you have done very well.
The first negative effect of resistance against colonialism has to do with the
fact that, sufficient financial resources were not mobilized by government
machinery so as to offset the administering costs engendered by various
colonies, essentially because native resistance augmented with progress of
colonial administrators and implicit taxation (Kodila-Tedika & Asongu, 2018).
A typical example is where in 1898, Mende chiefs in Sierra Leon revolted and
unanimously took the decision not to pay any tax. Because of weak
mobilization of income through taxes, it did not provide African nations with
sufficient financial resources that would support development agenda at the
time.
Another effect of the long resistance of Africans to colonial rule was the
reduction in the accumulation of human capital. It has been established that
there is negative relationship between human capital accumulation and
resistance by African locals (Frankema, 2012). Most of the energetic youths
who were at the forefront of the resistance were forcefully taken away to go
and work on plantations in far-away lands. Even those who were employed by

UNIT 4 THE IMPACTS OF THE RESISTANCE
SESSION 5
the colonial masters were paid peanuts which could not be accumulated for
substantial investments.
In the third place, countries which experienced high levels of native resistance
are those that have developed institutions that are not consistent with
contemporary levels of development, especially with regard to inclusive
development. In effect, resistance is social conflict which reduces possibilities
of social harmony.
So far, we have discussed the negative impacts of resistance

on the part of Africans regarding the continent. We indicated
that the resistance affected the continent in the area of lack capital
accumulation for development, reduction in human capital and weak
institutions.
Exercise 4.5
1. Discuss 2 reasons why reduction in the accumulation of human capital

resulting from resistance negatively impacted the African continent.

SESSION 6: REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF AFRICAN

RESISTANCE TO COLONIAL RULE
Dear student, you are welcome to the last session of Unit 4.
How have you fared so far? We hope that you are getting on
well as far as the issues we discussed in the sessions are concerned. In this
session, we will discuss the reasons for the failure of African’s opposition to
European rule failed. The reasons for the failure will be our preoccupation in
this session.
Objectives
i. state 2 reasons why Africans resistance to colonial rule failed.
ii. explain at least 2 reasons why African’s opposition to colonial rule
failed.
Now read on…
Dear student, can you guess the reasons why resistances by Africans against
colonial rule did not work. The ease at which Europeans were able to
successfully overcome resistance from Africans was amazing. Several factors
worked against Africans in their bid to oppose colonial administration.
Military wise, it can be observed that the nature of resistance adopted by each
community was hollow, uncoordinated and not frontal enough besides other
factors (Egbefo, 2015). Do not forget that even before the coming of
Europeans, there were pockets of conflicts and rivalry among communities in
Africa. At the time, the more powerful states and kingdoms in Africa were also
expanding their sovereignty over smaller and less powerful communities. So,
the deep -rooted rivalries worked against African in presenting a united front
against their European counterparts who were purposeful, focused and well-
coordinated.

UNIT 4 REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF AFRICAN
SESSION 6 RESISTANCE TO COLONIAL RULE
Relatedly, the traditional tactics and strategies including massed attack, hiding
in trees and in shallow trenches as well as employment of magic powers did
not help Africans to resist colonial rule. The old tactics for example, magic
powers demand long incantation before potency were unbale to match the new
kind of enemy with modern weapons. Be informed that, these old -tactics or
military organization were not designed to combat enemies with modern
weapons.
Another factor that aided successful European invasion of Africa was

advancement in technology. The final ease and most important reason with
which the British was able to conquer African people was the superior
weapons available to them. The Industrial Revolution had produced great
advance in weapon technology resulting in the invention of machine guns with
several barrels on rotating frames in the 1860s. Therefore, the British armies
were supplied with this up-to date weapons to launch an onslaught on the
African continent. Unfortunately, on the part of African warriors, they relied on
machetes, spears and old traditional Dane guns against these weapons. This
was captured in the British maxim, “Whatever happens, we have got the
Maxim gun, and they have not”. Thus, the decisive factor was the military
superiority of the British colonial army due to the over whelming power of the
gun.
Related to technology, Europeans had access to ships to move large quantities

of men across the oceans and seas to gain stronger control in Africa.
Unfortunately, Africans had no such access to such great warships.
Consequently, unlike the African military contingent, European forces could
move easily to enemies’ targets.
Additionally, some African tribes were promised assistance by Europeans in

the form of military aide to help destroy tribes they were at war with. In the
Gold Coast for example, the Fante people lost confidence in the British ability
to protect them, and thus, adopted the motto ‘force lies in unity’, and founded
the Fanti Confederacy gathering about thirty-three states from the southern
region. This was trickery on behalf of the Europeans as they had no intention
of providing prolonged aide to the Africans. Then afterwards the Europeans
would attack or use the tribe they had helped.

So far, we discussed reasons for which African resistance to

colonial rule failed. We indicated that the uncoordinated
tactics by Africans, lack of modern weapons, lack of unity, and reliance on
traditional methods were some of the reasons resistances to colonial rule
backfired.
Exercise 4.6
1. List and explain 2 reasons for the failure of resistances by Africans to
colonial rule.

UNIT 4 REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF AFRICAN
SESSION 6 RESISTANCE TO COLONIAL RULE


PROTO-NATIONALISM IN AFRICA
UNIT 5
UNIT 5: PROTO-NATIONALISM IN AFRICA
Unit Outline
Session 1: The Concept of Proto-Nationalism
Session 2: Features of Proto-Nationalism Movement
Session 3: Factors that Promoted Proto-nationalism Activities in Africa
Session 4: The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA)
Session 5: Achievements of National Congress of British West Africa
(NCBWA)
Session 6: Challenges that Militated against the NCBWA
You are welcome to Unit 5 of Colonization and

Nationalism in Africa. This Unit exposes you to the
concept of proto-nationalism, features of proto-
nationalism, factors that promoted proto-nationalist activities in Africa,
achievement of proto-nationalists in Africa, some proto-nationalist movement
in Africa and challenges faced by proto-nationalist in Africa.
Objectives
i. explain the meaning of proto-nationalism
ii. state at least three features of proto-nationalism
iii. state at least three factors that promoted proto-nationalist activities
in Africa.
iv. examine the achievement of proto-nationalism in Africa.
v. discuss some proto-nationalist movements in Africa
vi. identify challenges associated with proto-nationalism in Africa

UNIT 5
This is a blank sheet for short notes on:

• Issues that are not clear; and
• Difficult topics, if any

UNIT 5

UNIT 5
SESSION 1
SESSION 1: THE CONCEPT OF PROTO-NATIONALISM

You are welcome to Unit 5 of Colonization and Nationalism in
Africa. In this session, we will discuss the meaning of the term
Proto-Nationalism in the context of colonialism in Africa. We hope you will
find this session very insightful and educative and as a consequence, we
encourage you to fully participate in the class discussion.
Objectives
i. explain the term Proto-nationalism as used in the context of
colonialism in Africa.
ii. state two examples of proto-nationalism
Now read on…
1.1 Meaning of Proto-Nationalism

Before we examine the meaning of proto-nationalism, let us revisit our lesson
on the concept of nationalism. We hope you will not struggle to explain what
nationalism is. In Session One of Unit 2, we defined nationalism as the belief
that your own country is better than all others. We hope you can recall this.
Good! Proto-nationalism, with suffix "proto" literally meaning "first." It refers Commented [H1]:
to the philosophy that one owes patriotism not to the government of the state
he physically resides in, but rather to the ethnic group, tribe, race with which
he shares an ancestral origin. Dear student, be informed that Proto-nationalism
refers to the activities geared toward inclusiveness in the administration of the
colonies before the commencement of the Second World War.
The concept of proto-nationalism has a historical relevance in political science

discourse. Scholars in the field have described it as the kind of nationalism
expressed in the face of political oppressions. For instance, scholars argue that
the 1789 French Revolution is simply proto nationalism in action (Jacobson,
2004; Ubaku, Emeh & Anyikwa, 2014). Similarly, Rotimi and Ogen (2008)
have described the series of resistance movements against colonial penetration
and domination by pre-colonial Africans as proto-nationalism. Also, Dreyfus
(2005) refers to the “pre-modern sense of collective identity” that Tibetans

UNIT 5
THE CONCEPT OF PROTO-NATIONALISM
SESSION 1
expressed in their reaction against Chinese occupation in the early 1950s as an

act of proto-nationalism.
Dear student, you will agree with us that, proto-nationalism as described
above, has different meanings to different people. However, for the purpose of
this module, the definitions by Rotimi and Ogen (2008); Dreyfus (2005), will
be appropriate. It means that Africans in their quest to maintain their collective
identity, resisted the occupation of their lands and resources by the European
countries. In recent times, there have been some rethinking of the concept by
scholars. Prominent among them is Eric Hobsbawm who wrote an insightful
piece on the creation of an ‘imagined community’. He has a strong believe that
proto-nationalism has to do with having a sense of attachment to an affiliation.
This might not necessary be a product of any blood tie but other bonding
forces such as an accepted vernacular, similarly shared history, religious
believes, shared symbols like a flag, an anthem, monument and celebration
(Hobsbawm, 1990). When these forces are shrouded around a particular myth
or a significant historic event, its reminder generates emotions that awaken a
peoples’ consciousness. Therefore, proto-nationalism can be described as the
reawakening of pre-modern sentiments and attachment to a common imagined
community (Hobsbawm, 1990; Dreyfus, 2005; Olanrewaju, Omotoso, Alabi &
Keshiro, 2019).
Scholars such as Calhoun (1993) and Kaldor (2004) indicated that in political
elites ’desperation for power, especially in heterogeneous societies, proto-
nationalism could be used to invoke loyalty and support for their personal
political ambition. Politicians fall back to their imagined communities for
required support so as to gain political leverage against opposition. Therefore,
proto-nationalism is the reawakening and inciting of nationalistic identities and
sentiments by political elites for the actualization of self-serving political
agenda. That is, politicians constantly remind the people with whom they share
affinity with of their genealogical or ethno-religious fraternity for the purpose
of provoking their loyalty towards the fulfilment of personal political
ambitions.
116 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education)

UNIT 5
SESSION 1
In this session, we discussed the meaning of proto-nationalism

as the activities geared toward inclusiveness in the
administration of the colonies by Africans before the commencement of the
Second World War. The French Revolution and series of resistance movements
against colonial penetration and domination by pre-colonial Africans were
instances of proto-nationalism.
Exercise 5.1
1. What is the meaning of proto-nationalism?
2. Give two instances that could be described as proto-nationalism
movement.

UNIT 5
THE CONCEPT OF PROTO-NATIONALISM
SESSION 1

118 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education)

UNIT 5
SESSION 2
SESSION 2: FEATURES OF PROTO-NATIONALIST

MOVEMENT
Proto-nationalism has a number of features. Our duty in this
session therefore, is to focus on these features. Specifically,
our discussion will emphasis features such as unlimited leadership, non-violent
approach, urban-based membership, no demand for independence, and
exclusion of chiefs. We hope you will find this session interesting.
Objectives
i. state at least two features of proto-nationalism.
ii. explain two features of proto-nationalism.
iii. explain why chiefs were excluded from the membership of proto-
nationalist movement.
Now read on…
2.1 Features of Proto-Nationalism

Dear student, having being introduced to the concept of proto-nationalism, let
us look at some key features of proto-nationalism in Africa. Before that, we
want you to state one feature of proto-nationalism and compare your answer to
those that we have provided below:
Unlimited leadership
One of the features of the proto-nationalist movement was that its leadership
was not limited to any one political party. It was led by a host of parties. For
example, leaders were selected from both the National Congress of British
West Africa and the Aborigines Rights Protection Society.
Non-violent approach
Another feature of the proto-nationalist movement was that it adopted non-
violent approach to its agitation. It used the structures and channels that were
available at the time to push for its demands. For example, they sent petitions
to the Secretary of State for the Colonies who resided in London to press home
for the withdrawal of the Land Bill of 1897.

UNIT 5
FEATURES OF PROTO-NATIONALIST
SESSION 2 MOVEMENT
No demand for independence

The Proto-nationalists did not demand for the independence of their respective
countries, rather they were interested in the improvement of their lives under
colonial administration. For example, they demanded for the representation of
Africans in the executive Council since there were none. They also demanded
that there should be an increment in the number of Africans in the legislative
Council. Why do you think they were demanding more Africans in the
Legislative Council? Discuss your views with your colleagues and facilitator.
Membership was urban based

The membership of the proto-nationalist movement was limited to the urban
areas of the various colonies. They did not extend to the rural areas. For
example, in the Gold Coast, the activities of the proto-nationalists were limited
to Accra, Cape Coast and Sekondi-Takoradi. In Nigeria, it was mainly in Lagos
and a few cities. Why do you think the activities of proto-nationalists were
limited to urban centres and coastal areas?
Educated elite membership

The membership of the proto-nationalists was mainly the educated
professionals like lawyers, teachers and journalists. There were also some
business men who joined them in pushing for their goals. One can conclude
that the nature of proto-nationalist movement was elitist.
Exclusion of chiefs
Another feature of proto-nationalism was that the traditional chiefs did not play
any role in the movement. They were conspicuously absent. Can you guess the
reason? This was so because the chiefs were also engaged in the
implementation of Indirect Rule and therefore did not see the need to join in
the fight against their own masters. We hope you now understand the reason
for their conspicuous absence in the fight for the rights of Africans.

UNIT 5
SESSION 2
We have come to the end of the session. We have basically

looked at the features/characteristics of proto-nationalism. We
learnt that key features of proto-nationalism included unlimited leadership,
non-violent approach to its agitation, no demand for independence, urban-
biased membership, educated elite membership and exclusion of chiefs owing
to the Indirect Rule. We encourage you to answer the following self-
assessment questions:
Exercise 5.2
1. State three features of proto-nationalism
2. Explain three features of proto-nationalism
3. Why were the chiefs excluded from the membership of the proto-
nationalist movement

UNIT 5
FEATURES OF PROTO-NATIONALIST
SESSION 2 MOVEMENT


UNIT 5
SESSION 3
SESSION 3: FACTORS THAT PROMOTED PROTO-

NATIONALIST ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA
Hello, you are warmly welcome to yet another interesting

session of this course. In the last session we discussed features
of the proto-nationalists movement. However, in this session, we will discuss
factors that provided fertile grounds for the proto-nationalist movement
activities. For instance, we will discuss factors such as exclusion of Africans
from economic activities, the role of ex-slaves, the role of educated elite and
others. We are hoping that it will be interesting and very easy to understand.
Objectives
i. identify at least three factors that promoted proto-nationalist
activities in Africa
ii. explain three factors that promoted proto-nationalist activities in
Africa
Now read on…
3.1 Factors that Promoted Proto-nationalist Activities

Dear student, be informed that formation of the proto-nationalist movements in
Africa was triggered by certain factors. Jot down one of the such factors. Now
compare your answer to the ones we provided below:
Exclusion of Africans from economic activities

One of the factors that promoted proto-nationalist activities before the Second
World War was that Africans were excluded from the economic activities at the
time. For example, the import and export business were controlled by the
Europeans, Syrian and the Lebanese. The retail sector, which should have been
left for the Africans, was also taken over by the same foreign elements. As a
result, the Africans felt that they were sidelined on their own soil. If you were
among at the time, what would be your reaction? Discuss with your course
mates and facilitator.

FACTORS THAT PROMOTED PROTO-
UNIT 5
SESSION 3
The role of ex-slaves

After the end of the slave trade, some of the slaves returned to West Africa to
settle. These slaves who came from Britain saw how those places were
governed and they felt that there was the need for the Africans to be involved
in the way they are governed on their own land and in their own
country. Do you think these ex-slaves were wrong in their demands?
Would you have behaved differently if you were in their shoes?
The role of the educated elite

The educated elite felt that with their level of education, they should have been
given some roles to play in the governance of their country but this was not so.
They were excluded from governance both at the central government and the
local level. One of the ways of solving this was the formation of the nationalist
movements in order to drive home their demands for the recognition of their
roles in the administration of people. Having acquired knowledge through
formal education, they must be part of the system managed by those they
equaled.
Unemployment
The Western system of education brought in its wake a large team of school
graduates who did not have any form of employment. This category of people
thought they should have been given some form of employment in the Civil
and Public Service but this was not the case. This group also had to join the
nationalist movement to push pressure on the colonialists to create
opportunities for them to become useful to their country.
Discrimination in the Public service

The few Africans who found employment in the Public Service realized that
they were being discriminated against. The Africans realized that they were
being employed in the lower strata of the service though they may have the
same qualifications as their European counterparts. This also contributed to the
rise of nationalism. We hope you would have done same if you were in their
shoes?

UNIT 5
SESSION 3
Opposition to Ordinances
The introduction of the 1897 land Bills which sort to deny the indigenes of
their fertile lands elicited a strong opposition from the local people. The locals
also opposed the waterworks Bill of 1934 because it was seen as an obnoxious
law. The opposition to these laws and others also formed the bases of proto-
nationalism.
What do you think was the reaction of colonial masters when all these
were going on? Discuss with your colleagues and facilitator.
We have so far discussed factors that promoted proto-

nationalism in Africa. These factors are exclusion of Africans
from economic activities, the role of ex-slaves, the role of the educated elite,
unemployment, discrimination in the public service and opposition to
Ordinances. You would agree with us that the issues we discussed are
not difficult to understand?
Exercise 5.3
1. Identify three factors that promoted proto-nationalist activities in
Africa
2. Explain any three factors that promoted proto-nationalist activities in Africa

FACTORS THAT PROMOTED PROTO-
UNIT 5
SESSION 3


UNIT 5
SESSION 4
SESSION 4: THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF BRITISH

WEST AFRICA (NCBWA)
Dear student, you are once again welcome to session 4 of Unit
5. We hope you understood what you read in the previous
session. Meanwhile, in this session, we are going to discuss proto-nationalist
movement known as the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA).
We shall also look at the factors that promoted its formation and the petitions it
presented to the colonial masters.
Objectives
i. explain the meaning of NCBWA
ii. state at least three factors that led to the formation of the NCBWA
iii. state at least three petitions presented by the congress to the colonial
Government.
Now read on…
4.1 The Meaning of NCBWA

The NCBWA which was founded in 1917 happened to be one of the earliest
proto-nationalist organizations in West Africa. Again, it was one of the earliest
formal organizations working toward African emancipation. It was a political
organization made up of representatives from the British West African
colonies of Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. Mr. J. E. Casely
Hayford of Gold Coast and Dr. Akindawade of Nigeria were the founding
fathers. The aims of this movement were one, to call for the establishment of a
federation of all the British colonial territories in West Africa and two, that the
colonial system within the West Africa territories must be reformed.
4.2 Factors that led to the Formation of the NCBWA

Inspiration
The idea of creating the NCBWA was first conceived in 1914 during a
conversation between J. E. Casly Hayford, a barrister from the Gold Coast and
Dr. Akinwande Savage, a Nigerian. Part of the inspiration for the creation of
the NCBWA in the 1920s was growing concern that larger pan-African

UNIT 5 THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF BRITISH
SESSION 4 WEST AFRICA (NCBWA)
movements of the era were too broad in their scope and did not adequately
address the concerns of West Africans. It was this desire to have a more
consolidated scope for the development of nationalist aims that, in part,
sparked the creation of the NCBWA in 1920.
Regional influences
The founding of the NCBWA was based on the existing legacy of resistance
and nationalist movements throughout the colonies in British West Africa.
Some of the resistance movements that influenced the development of the
NCBWA were those by King Aggrey of Cape Coast in the Gold Coast in the
1860s and King Kosoko of Lagos & Jaja of Opobo (Nigeria) in the nineteenth
century. The previous nationalist movements that sparked the creation of the
NCBWA included the Gold Coast Aborigines' Rights Protection Society
(ARPS) and the Fante Confederation. The NCBWA was influenced not only
by nationalist movements in the region but also by the works of key African
nationalist scholars in the region, such as Dr. Africanus Beale Horton, Dr.
Edward Wilmot Blyden, and John Payne Jackson.
International influences
The emergence of the NCBWA can also be contextualized within the larger,
international nationalist movements of the early twentieth century that
occurred on behalf of Africans and people of African descent specifically, and
on behalf of subjugated peoples around the globe more broadly. Some of the
international events that paved the way for the development of the NCBWA
were the First Universal Races Congress of 1911, the International Conference
on the Negro in 1911, the creation of the African Progress Union and Union of
Students of African Descent in the United Kingdom in 1917, and the end of
World War I.
Internal motivations
Throughout the nineteenth century, educated West African elite were permitted
to serve as government officials throughout British West Africa, because the
British colonial leaders saw the educated elite as necessary allies. However, by
1902, the favor British colonial leaders had previously given to the educated
African elite began to diminish. This came as a result of instituting
discriminatory policies, such as one issued by the West African Medical
Service that educated Africans could only participate in the service if they
were of European parentage. In addition to the use of discriminatory policies,

UNIT 5
SESSION 4
the British colonial government began to exclude educated West Africans from
local government positions, in favor of preserving traditional authority. This
shift in favor occurred in an effort to “protect” the indigenous populations from
what the British colonial government perceived to be the tyranny of "a small
minority of educated Europeanized natives who have nothing in common with
native peoples, and whose interests are often opposed to theirs. The growing
alienation of the educated African elite from the British colonial leaders and
the growing irritation of the educated elite in response to this alienation
provided the backbone for the formation of the NCBWA.
Dear student, we hope you have had a smooth session. Good. Let us now
discuss the petitions presented by the Congress to the Governors General for
Nigeria and Gold Coast.
4.3 Petitions Presented by the Congress to the Colonial

Government
Self-government
One of the demands of the NCBWA was that they wanted to be given the
opportunity to take charge of their own affairs. In other words, they wanted to
be participants in the political process of their respective countries.
Independent judiciary
The Congress also demanded for the judicial system to be independent of the
Executive Council. They also wanted African judges and magistrates to be
appointed and a West African Court of Appeal be created as the highest court
of appeal in the British West African sub-region.
Only African kingmakers to appoint chiefs

Another demand of the Congress was that the selection, enstoolment and
deposition of African chiefs must the sole preserve of the African kingmakers
and not be interfered with by the governor or his assigns.

UNIT 5 THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF BRITISH
SESSION 4 WEST AFRICA (NCBWA)
Elective principle
The Congress demanded that in the selection of representatives into the
Legislative and Executive councils, the elective principle must be used. They
felt that this could give the Africans the opportunity to elect the people who
should rule over them.
Provision of social amenities

It was the demand of the Congress that improved social facilities must be
provided for the people of West Africa. This included educational and medical
facilities in the four British colonies. This, they demanded, must include the
establishment of a West African University.
Equal economic opportunities

The Congress demanded that the Africans must also be allowed to participate
in the economic activities in the colonies which by that time was dominated by
the Europeans, Syrians, Indians and the Lebanese.
Dear learner, this brings us to the end of session four of Unit Five.
In this session, we have discussed National Congress of

British West Africa. Again, we also talked about factors that
led to the formation of the National Congress of British West Africa
(NCBWA). We learnt factors such as inspiration, regional influences,
international influences and internal motivations. We further examined the
resolutions presented by the Congress to the Governors General for Nigeria
and Gold Coast. These petitions include self-government, independent
judiciary, only African kingmakers to appoint chiefs, elective principle,
provision of social amenities and equal economic opportunities. Review what
you have studied by answering the following questions.
Exercise 5.4
1. What proto-nationalist movement is the National Congress of British
West Africa (NCBWA)?
2. State three factors that promoted the formation of the National
Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA).
3. State four demands of the National Congress of British West Africa
(NCBWA).

UNIT 5
SESSION 5
SESSION 5: ACHIEVEMENTS OF NATIONAL

CONGRESS OF BRITISH WEST AFRICA
(NCBWA)
Dear student, in session 4 of this Unit, we discussed the
factors that led to the formation of the NCBWA and discussed
the petitions presented by the National Congress of British West Africa to the
Colonial Government. In this Unit, we are going to discuss the achievements
of the NCBWA including introduction of elective principle, education, Court of
Appeal, and so on. We hope that this session will not be too difficult to
understand. However, do not hesitate to raise any issue if you find any portion
of this session unclear.
Objectives
i. state at least two achievements of NCBWA
ii. explain at least two achievements of NCBWA
Now read on…
Achievements of NCBWA
Introduction of the elective principle
One of the achievements of the National Congress of British West Africa was
that through its agitation, the elective principle was introduced into the body
politic of the British West African colonies. The first to enjoy the elective
principle was Nigeria in 1922 under the Clifford constitution, followed by
Sierra Leone in 1924 under the Slater constitution, then The Gold Coast in
1925 under the Guggisberg constitution.
Contribution to education
Another achievement of the National Congress of British West Africa was that
its call for improvement in the provision of educational facilities and the
establishment of a West African University for the four colonies culminated in
the established of the Achimota College in Ghana, the Fourah Bay College in
Sierra Leone and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

UNIT 5 ACHIEVEMENTS OF NATIONAL CONGRESS
SESSION 5 OF BRITISH WEST AFRICA - NCBWA
Political and national consciousness

The National Congress of British West Africa was able to raise the national
consciousness of the West Africans. This was mainly achieved through
activities such as the writing and presentation of petitions to the Secretary of
State for the colonies and the following of other constitutionally laid down
processes.
Unity among educated elite in West Africa

The National Congress of British West Africa was able to forge a certain sense
of unity among the educated elite in the West African British colonies. This
was possible as they worked together in the interest of all the colonies involved
and tried to speak with one voice for the entire British West African territory.
West African Court of Appeal

The call of the National Congress of British West Africa for the establishment
of a West African Court of Appeal saw the light day. The West African
Appeals Court was duly created to serve as the final arbiter in cases of
protracted disputes. That was not all, some Africans were also called the
bench.
Delegation to London
The Congress successfully sent a delegation to the Secretary of State for the
colonies to present petitions for consideration by British colonial officials in
London. It is argued that even though the British government did not recognize
the delegation that went to London in 1930 the mere attempt of the National
Congress of British West Africa may have contributed to the changes
witnessed in colonial administration during the period.
We have discussed the achievements of National Congress

of British West Africa. We learnt that through the agitations
of the organization, the elective principle was introduced into the body politic
of the British West African colonies. Other achievements include contribution
to education and awakening of political and national consciousness of the West
Africans. We also learnt that it brought unity to the educated elite in West
Africa. Furthermore, we learnt that their activities led to the establishment of
West African Court of Appeal. The last but not least achievement we discussed
is that the National Congress of British West Africa successfully sent a

UNIT 5
SESSION 5
delegation to the Secretary of State for the colonies to present petitions for
consideration by British colonial officials in London.
Exercise 5.5
1. State two achievements of NCBWA.
2. Explain two achievements of NCBWA.

UNIT 5 ACHIEVEMENTS OF NATIONAL CONGRESS
SESSION 5 OF BRITISH WEST AFRICA - NCBWA


UNIT 5
SESSION 6
SESSION 6: CHALLENGES THAT MILITATED

AGAINST THE NCBWA
Hello, you are warmly welcome to the last session of Unit 5.
In the last session, efforts were made to discuss challenges
that confronted National Congress of British West Africa. We are going to
discuss the challenges that militated against the activities National Congress of
British West Africa.
Objectives
i. state at least three challenges that confronted the National Congress of
British West Africa.
ii. explain at least three challenges that confronted the National Congress
of British West Africa
Read on…
6.1 Challenges that Militated against the NCBWA

Dear student, be informed that even though the National Congress of British
West Africa was able to achieve some of their aims as discussed in the
previous session, the following challenges militated against the organization:
Lack of funds
One of the major problems the NCBWA faced was finance. Since the financial
base was not too strong to shoulder their expenses, the Congress could not be
as effective as it should have been. For example, the administrative set up
needed to be funded, to send a delegation to London needed money to execute.
Since the financial base was not too strong to shoulder these expenses, the
Congress could not be as effective as it should have been.
The existence of rival groups

The Congress was faced with rivalry from similar groups in the colony, one of
which was the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society which aimed at forming a
federal council, uniting existing state bodies to press for greater
Commonwealth involvement in Aboriginal affairs and to work for the removal

UNIT 5
CHALLENGES THAT MILITATED
SESSION 6 AGAINST THE NCBWA
of discriminatory state legislation. This society worked tirelessly against the

success of the NCBWA. For example, the Society indicated in a telephone
conversation with a Secretary of State for the colonies that the Congress had
not been given the mandate of the Gold Coasters to represent them in London.
Another pan-African movement that arose during the same time as the
NCBWA and posed some threats to its influence on the people was the United
Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), a pan-African movement led by
Marcus Garvey that aimed at creating an independent black republic over the
entire continent of Africa. Similar to the NCBWA, the United Negro
Improvement Association (UNIA), established branches throughout West
Africa in order to promulgate its message throughout the region and in the
process gained the support of West African elites who would have otherwise
joined the NCBWA.
Absence of radicalism
The methods adopted by the Congress to pursue their goals did not help them
much. The Congress did not adopt the radical approach in their dealings with
the British. They tried to solve their problems by using the constitutional and
legal means which were available to them under colonial rule. This did not
help them much.
Ineffective communication and co-ordination

Another problem was that there were no effective means of communicating
among themselves at the time. In those days, it was not possible to
communicate in real time among the leaders as is the case today. For this
reason, they resorted to the use of the snail mail available to them. This did not
allow for effective co-ordination of the activities of the congress and therefore
affected effectiveness.
Activities of the colonial governors

The activities of the National Congress of British West Africa were a threat to
the smooth administration of the colonial territories. Therefore, the governors
in the respective colonies in West Africa did everything they could to frustrate
them. This included the non-recognition of the delegation that the Congress
sent to London in 1930 to present a petition to the then Secretary of State for
the colonies.

UNIT 5
SESSION 6
Jostling for positions

The leadership of the Congress in the various colonies was so busy jostling for
positions in the Legislative and Executive Councils in their respective colonies.
This took their minds a little off the main reason for the formation of the
Congress and affected the unity of purpose that was needed to execute their
aims and objectives.
Isolation of the leaders

The leadership of the Congress was isolated. One of the reasons was that the
chiefs did not support them and their activities. Can you assign a reason for the
apathy on the part of the chiefs? If no, go back to Unit Two and read more
about the Indirect Rule again. Another reason was that the ordinary man in the
street could not be convinced that their activities could inure to their benefit.
Dear learner, we have come to the end of session six of Unit Five. We hope
you enjoyed reading this session too. Thank you.
In this unit, we have discussed the factors that militated

against the NCBWA. The factors identified in this lesson
include lack of funds, the existence of rival groups, absence of radicalism,
ineffective communication and co-ordination, activities of the colonial
governors, jostling for positions and isolation of leaders.
Exercise 5.6
1. State three challenges of NCBWA.
2. Explain three challenges of the National Congress of British West Africa.

UNIT 5
CHALLENGES THAT MILITATED
SESSION 6 AGAINST THE NCBWA


MASS OR RADICAL OR POST-WW II
NATIONALISM IN AFRICA UNIT 6
UNIT 6: MASS OR RADICAL OR POST-WW II

Unit Outline
Session 1: African Nationalism Prior to Post WW II
Session 2: The Rise of Mass or Radical Post-WW II African Nationalism
Session 3: The Rise of Mass or Radical Post-WW II African Nationalism
Session 4: The Elements of African Nationalism
Session 5: Failures of African Nationalism
Session 6: Effects of Nationalism in Africa
Dear student, you are welcome to the last Unit of the

course Colonisation and Nationalism in Africa. We
believe that you have understood all that we discussed in the previous Units. In
this Unit, we will discuss topics such as nationalism in Africa prior to radical
post WW II, the rise of nationalism, elements of African nationalism, factors
that led to the failure of African nationalism and effects of nationalism in
Africa. There is evidence to suggest that nationalism was not linked to
colonialism. In other words, Africans demonstrated nationalistic characteristics
long before the arrival of Europeans and the subsequent colonisation of the
continent. Again, we will discuss internal and external factors that gave rise to
nationalism on the African continent. Moreso, African nationalism during
radical post-World War II was unique since it focused on some elements such
as unity, independence, and equality. African nationalism suffered some
setbacks since the outcome of the nationalism movement did not seem to be
satisfactory because eventually, many of the nationalists were accused by their
own people of backtracking. Finally, we will look at the effects of mass
African nationalism during post World War II.
Objectives
By the end of the Unit, you should be able to;
i. Provide at least one evidence that, nationalism existed
before colonialism.
ii. State at least two internal and external factors each that promoted
African mass nationalism during post World War II.
iii. Identify at least 2 elements of African nationalism.
CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary Education 139

UNIT 6 NATIONALISM IN AFRICA
iv. State and discuss one factor that led to the failure of African
nationalism movement during post World War II.
v. List at least two effects of mass African nationalism during post
World War II.
140 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary Education

UNIT 6
SESSION 1
SESSION 1: AFRICAN NATIONALISM PRIOR TO POST

WW II
Dear student, welcome to the first session of Unit 6. In this
session, we will talk about African nationalism before the
arrival of Europeans. There is plethora of evidence to prove that indeed,
nationalism existed among Africans prior to the invasion of Africa by
Europeans. This session therefore, will provide interesting insights as a basis
for the subsequent discussion on nationalism in Africa. We encourage you to
fully participate in the discussion for maximum understanding.
Objectives
i. state at least one evidence to show that indeed nationalism
existed prior to the arrival of Europeans.
ii. cite at least one prominent African who could be described as a
nationalist.
Now read…
1.1 Nationalism Prior to Colonial Rule

Dear student, do you think colonialism birthed nationalism in Africa? Share
your views with your facilitator and colleagues.
It should be indicated that nationalism predates colonialism contrary to what
Africans were made to believe. In other words, African exhibit nationalistic
behaviours in many forms before Europeans forcefully took their lands from
them. We can say therefore that, nationalism was the process, a process of
struggle, in the formation of nations. Indeed, Africans were struggling among
themselves to form their own nations before the Europeans came. That is why
history shows that there was cohesion among communities with a very strong
sense of oneness which enabled them to defend their territorial and cultural
integrity against those who would want to destroy them (Adu-Boahen, 1987).
For example, when Mansa Musa pilgrimed to Mecca in 1324–1325, the Wolof
people who were captives under the Mali kingdom seized the opportunity to
rebel against their captivity. This was an indication that the Wolof people

UNIT 6 AFRICAN NATIONALISM PRIOR TO
SESSION 1 POST WW II
demonstrated nationalism, a separate national identity and a desire rule

themselves in their own territory.
Dear student, there was also proof that Europeans invasion was resisted by
Africans through various ways. For example, the Ashanti people of Ghana, the
Hehe of Tanzania, and in South Africa the Zulus put up effective resistance
which indicated a very strong sense of national identity that already existed.
The king of the Yao people in Tanzania had a confrontation with a German
commander who had been sent to establish German colonial authority on his
lad in 1890:
I have listened to your words but can find no reason why I
should obey you—I would rather die first. . . If it should be
friendship that you desire, then I am ready for it, today and
always; but to be your subject, that I cannot be. . . If it should
be war you desire, then I am ready, but never to be your
subject. . . I do not fall at your feet, for you are God’s
creature just as I am . . . I am Sultan here in my land. You are
Sultan there in yours. Yet listen, I do not say to you that you
should obey me; for I know that you are a free man. . . As for
me, I will not come to you, and if you are strong enough, then
come and fetch me.
In the Gold Coast, Prempeh I of Asante also in the same fashion, declined the
British demand for protection, a strategy he saw as colonial rule. There are
other examples such as the king of the Mossi in Burkina Faso who told a
French captain he knew the whites wished him killed in order to take his
country but pretended that they will help him to organize his people. These
evidences showed that these traditional leaders and their people were nations
occupying specific territories that they were willing to defend and protect.
Again, in Eastern Europe, there were expression of sentiments after the

collapse of communism, evidence showing nationalism as against what one
would have seen in Africa on the eve of the European Scramble for the
continent. Upon the collapse of Soviet Union, its former republics split off,
some of them facing internal conflicts as various groups sought to retreat into
their linguistic or cultural domains. Yugoslavia disintegrated, throwing its
people into a nasty civil war. Czechoslovakia ended in 1992 with agreement to
split into two countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. What binds all these
groups is a common heritage, based on religion, language, and historical
UNIT 6
SESSION 1
experience. The historical experience of living under foreign hegemony or

being governed by political parties thought to be manipulated by an outside
power has been a potent driving force behind national secessionist attempts in
Eastern Europe as well as in modern Africa.
We have discussed in this session few instances where African

traditional leaders demonstrated nationalistic spirits in
protecting their territories prior to forceful colonialism. Specifically, we looked
at how Ashanti people of Ghana, the Hehe of Tanzania, and in South Africa the
Zulus resisted initial attempts by Europeans to seize their lands.
Exercise 6.1
1. Provide brief evidence to show that African people were
nationalistic in character before the arrival of Europeans.
2. Which of the following African traditional ruler declined the
British demand for protection?
a. Prempeh I
b. Osaberimah Kwesi Atta II
c. Yaa Asantewaa
d. Yana Yakubu Andani

UNIT 6 AFRICAN NATIONALISM PRIOR TO
SESSION 1 POST WW II


SESSION 2
SESSION 2: THE RISE OF MASS OR RADICAL POST-

WW II AFRICAN NATIONALISM
You are warmly welcome to this session which is on the Rise
of Nationalism in Africa. Our discussion will centre on
factors that gave birth to African nationalism during post World War II.
Specifically, these factors can be put into two categories namely internal and
external factors. However, in this session, we will discuss the internal factors
sch as religion, education, bad economy, good communication network, media,
the role of women and inspiration from Liberia and Ethiopia. We hope you will
be excited with the information in this session.
Objectives
i. state at least 2 internal factors that influence the rise of
nationalism in Africa.
ii. explain two internal factors that gave birth to the rise of mass
Now read on…
2.1 Factors that Led to the Rise of Post WW II Nationalism

in Africa
2.1.1. Internal Factors
Dear student, be informed that some internal factors led to the rise of
nationalism in Africa. We will discuss them briefly in this part of the session.
We hope you will enjoy the discussion.
Religion
Christianity dates back colonialism. In fact, it was introduced into Africa
during Roman times, when the Gospel writer Mark founded the Coptic
Christian Church in Alexandria. The church had played key role in developing
African nationalism in a number of ways. First of all, there arose from the
education that the church schools provided in colonial Africa. Interestingly, in
many African colonies, mission schools were the main educational institutions,

UNIT 6
THE RISE OF MASS OR RADICAL POST-
SESSION 2 WW II AFRICAN NATIONALISM
and these churches catered for the expenditure of Africans school children. The
goals of educating African child at the time was one, to provide the basic
literacy that would enable Africans to absorb religious education and training
and help in propagating the Gospel; the second was to impart the values of
Western society because they believed that Africa could not develop without
these values and lastly, to increase productivity level of the African workers –
for administrative and clerical which was not to empower them to challenge
colonial authorities.
Again, the church positively impacted the growth of African nationalism

through its doctrines and messages propagated through teachings. For instance,
the church through its doctrine laid much emphasis on the spiritual kinship of
people, the believe that all human beings, irrespective of color and nationality,
were God’s creation and were equal in the eyes of God. Thus, humans were
endowed with right to treat each other, and to be regarded, with kindness and
consideration.
Do you believe the church at the time actually lived by this doctrine?
How come the whites regarded blacks as second-class citizens even in
the church? Discuss these issues with your facilitator and colleagues in the
class.
Education
What are the consequences of the kind of education provided by missionaries
to African children? The first result was that, it gave African children skills
which enabled them to strongly articulate their demands and question the
legitimacy of colonial powers and second, it turned out to be a powerful
medium of African acculturation of Western Christian values.
Another way the missionary education helped in the nationalism effort was that
majority of the first generation of African elites including Kwame Nkrumah of
Gold Coast (Ghana), Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Augustino Netto of Angola,
Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Léopold Senghor of
Senegal, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, and
Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, were protege of missionary education in
their own countries. These were individuals who later in their life were at the
forefront of nationalism movement in Africa.

SESSION 2
Deteriorating economic conditions

Internally, economic conditions deteriorated considerably in the colonies
during and between the two world wars leading to high unemployment,
accelerated rural-urban migration culminating in overcrowded cities,
inadequate schools, and health facilities. Why do you think the economic at the
time was very bad? The bad economic conditions were as a result of the fact
that, there was diversion of all African resources to the war in Europe. So,
Africans were forced to produce more to feed Europe even as they were unable
to produce enough to feed themselves. That was how come they imposed taxes
on Africans and as if that was not enough, Africans were forced to work in
dehumanizing conditions. Therefore, the colonial powers were unwilling
militarily to suppress nationalist movements fueled by economic conditions.
European countries were exhausted physically and economically as a result of
the two world wars.
The role of women

Again, within the African continent, the role played by women constituted a
potent force in the African national movement against colonial administration.
For example, Yaa Asantewaa, an Asante queen-mother led the Asante in a
battle against the British in 1900 (Yaa Asantewaa War or the War of the Golden
Stool) to resist demands of the British Governor, Sir Frederick Hodgson to be
handed the Golden Stool on which the King of Asante sits. In many other
colonies, women activism was witnessed as part of the anti-colonial
movement. Market women provided needed support for the national
movements in the area of financial assistance. In colonies such as Kenya and
Algeria, protest took a violent form, women took active part in the armed
struggle.
Media
Print media was one of the powerful sources through which nationalist
movements manifested. Newspapers and pamphlets carried messages
sometimes in images lashing out at colonial governments. For example, The
Gold Coast Times was typical example of such newspapers. Being a major
means of communication, these newspapers and pamphlets served as
mouthpiece of the nationalist movements. They were effectively used to serve
two purposes; one, to carry out messages of racial and national pride, second,
to voice resistance to unfavourable colonial policies. Admittedly, this medium

UNIT 6
was successful to the extent that they became targets for suppression. In order
to crack down on free media, the colonial masters introduced laws on sedition
and criminal libel in an attempt to shut the expression of divergent views in the
colonies. As a result, a number of media activists such as Nnamdi Azikiwe and
I.T.A. Wallace Johnson were arrested and convicted for publishing
unwarranted views about the happenings.
Improved transportation and communications networks

Prior to the coming of the Europeans, Africans lived mostly in isolated states
and villages. Improvement in transportation and communication enabled the
spread of information, including resentment against, and resistance to, colonial
authorities. The growth of African towns and cities as a result of urbanization
also played a significant role in the nationalism movement. Urbanization
brought Africans of different origin together thereby generating communal
spirits as against tribal or state fight when Africans first had contact with the
Europeans. Also, the urban towns and cities served as the hub of youth
enthusiasm, arts, activism, and experimentation of ideologies. The associated
problems (unemployment, poor sanitation, inadequate housing, and other
hardship) with sprawling towns and cities put the colonial masters under
pressure. This coupled with the rise of African political leaders resulted in
demands being framed in nationalist domains.
Inspiration from Liberia and Ethiopia

Lastly, the presence of independent existing countries in Africa namely Liberia
and Ethiopia served as an encouragement to African nationalists. They
believed that since these countries were able to be on their own, the rest could
also manage their affairs without interferences from Europeans. So, the two
countries served as an inspiration to the nationalists.
We have discussed internal factors that influenced

nationalism in Africa. We stated that, religion, education,
hard economic conditions, women, media, and political parties were internal
factors that affected nationalism on the continent.

SESSION 2
Exercise 6.2
1. State two internal factors that gave rise to nationalism in
Africa.
2. Explain one internal factor which encouraged nationalist activities in
Africa.
3. All African countries were colonized by Europeans except Liberia and
Ethiopia. True or False

UNIT 6


UNIT 6
NATIONALISM IN AFRICA SESSION 3
SESSION 3: THE RISE OF MASS OR RADICAL POST-

WW II AFRICAN NATIONALISM
You are most welcome to the third session of Unit 6. Just like
the previous session, we will continue with the discussion on
factors that influenced the rise of nationalism in Africa. However, the
discussion will centre on the external factors that led to the growth of
nationalism on the African continent during radical post-WW II. There were
numerous factors that influenced activities of African nationalists including
Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Leopold Senghor, Julius Nyerere to fight
for freedom and independence of the continent. We hope you will enjoy this
session.
Objectives
i. state at least 2 external factors that influence the rise of nationalism
in Africa.
ii. explain at least one external factor that gave birth to the rise in
Now read on…
3.1 External Factors

World War II
Dear student, are you aware that a lot of Africans (2 million) were recruited to
fight in both World War I and II? The British alone were able to enlist about
700,000 Africans to fight on their side during World War II. The “unfree”
Africans who were drafted to fight against German powers and died for the
freedom of the allied countries were surprised about the military action they
witnessed in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa itself. They were astonished
at the site of Whites who were portrayed in Africa as superhumans. African
soldiers learned modern military skills in battle and demonstrated leadership
abilities by exhibiting acts of bravery and endurance that should have banished
once and for all any racist ideas that Africans, given the opportunity, could not
match Europeans. This in a way energized the soldiers to come back home and
faced off with the colonial masters since they were not after all, superhuman as

UNIT 6 THE RISE OF MASS OR RADICAL
SESSION 3 POST-WW II AFRICAN NATIONALISM
they were made to believe. Basil Davidson quotes a Nigerian soldier who
wrote home from India during the war:
We all overseas soldiers are coming home with new ideas. We have been told
what we fought for. That is ‘freedom.’ We want freedom, nothing but freedom.
At the end of the war, African veterans taught that they had earned at least the
right to be treated with respect. But unfortunately, the soldiers were only parted
at the back while their European counterparts were honored appropriately.
In another vein, the war had psychological effects on Africans making them to
resist European imperialism. How was this possible?
Military and leadership skills

Dear student, be informed the military and leadership skills acquired, and the
sharpening of contradictions within the context of colonized Africans fighting
in wars to save their colonial masters from fellow Hitler, had taught them many
things. It has been a kind of myth regarding the conquest of Africa because of
how thoroughly and effectively it was done pointing white man’s superiority
and invincibility. The Europeans were able to entrenched this myth through
their policy of racial segregation as well as harsh treatment of the “natives in
the colonies. They carried out their administrative duties in Africa with
impunity, as though there was nothing the African could do about it. So, the
Africans encounter with the war changed all that, particularly African soldiers
who had fought side by side with the white man. Indeed, Africans came to
realization that in war, the white man bled, cried, was scared, and, when shot,
died just like anyone else. Again, they saw that a white man displayed a range
of emotions and abilities that Africans also knew they had. These experiences
taught Africans that beneath the skin, there was no difference between him and
the European. Ndabaningi Sithole, a Zimbabwean nationalist, could not have
put it right when he stated that:
This discovery, for indeed it was an eye-opening discovery, had a
revolutionizing psychological impact on the African. From that point on, it
would be impossible to convince the African that the European was some kind
of “superman.

UNIT 6
NATIONALISM IN AFRICA SESSION 3
Independence of Asian countries

On the other hand, Africans were inspired by successful opposition to colonial
rule in Asia. Again, African nationalists drew inspiration from India and
Pakistan who obtained their independence in 1947. Of particular significance
was the Mahatma Ghandi’s programme of non-violent resistance to colonial
administration inspired Kwame Nkrumah to adapt more radical programme of
positive action campaigns, namely strikes and boycotts in Gold Coast, now
Ghana. However, places such as Kenya and South Africa, where colonial
domination took more ruthless approach, non-violence was not an alternative
means.
Constitutional rights movement in US

Another external factor that encouraged nationalism in Africa was the
intensification of constitutional rights by blacks in the US in the 1950s and
1960s. By coincidence, African nationalist movements and the Civil Rights
Movement in the United States of America had influence on each other. In
particular, at the behest of Kwame, Martin Luther King Jr, invited Ghana to
observe the official replacement of the Union Jack with the new Ghana flag in
1957. On the other hand, Malcolm X, a Civil Rights leader, visited a number of
Africa countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia,
Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Tanganyika. His meeting with
nationalist leaders including Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria, Gamal Abdel Nasser
of Egypt, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana had great influence on them.
Formation of United Nations Organisation (UNO)

The formation of UNO after WW II in 1945 played a role in nationalism
movement in Africa. When the UNO was formed, one of the characters was
that the “colonization violated human rights”. Hence, the UNO’s role was to
support decolonization of countries in the world including Africa. UNO
purpose was to maintain international security and peace among nations in the
world. As a result of its objectives therefore, UNO opposed all forms of
oppression and exploitation agenda by Europeans in Africa. This actually
helped the efforts of African nationalists in their movement towards the
independence of the entire continent.

UNIT 6 THE RISE OF MASS OR RADICAL
SESSION 3 POST-WW II AFRICAN NATIONALISM
We discussed some external factors that positively

influenced the growth of African nationalism. In connection
with this, it was indicated that, World War II, psychology, successful
opposition in Asia, intensification of constitutional rights in US and formation
of United Nations Organisation.
Exercise 6.3
1. Write down 2 external factors which influenced the rise of nationalism

in Africa.
2. Discuss in details with examples 2 external factors that influenced the
rise of nationalism in Africa.
3. The purpose of UNO is to maintain international security and peace
among nations in the world. True or False.
4. India attained her independence in 1957. True or False.

UNIT 6
SESSION 4
SESSION 4: ELEMENTS OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM

Dera student, we welcome you yet to another insightful
session which is on the elements of African nationalism.
Nationalism movement in Africa at the time focused on key issues that plagued
the continent. Thus, the element of unity, independence and equality will be
discussed. It is said that ‘unity lies in strength’. It was realized that the only
way Africans could finally set themselves free was through unity. Moreso,
Africans were marginalized and discriminated against, the need to be treated as
humans was significant to the nationalists in Africa. Do enjoy the session.
Objectives
i. Identify at least 2 elements that dominated African nationalism after
WW II.
ii. Explain at least 2 of the elements regarding African nationalism.
Now read …
4.1 Elements of African Nationalism

Dear student, be informed that some elements preoccupy the narrative as far as
nationalism in Africa was concerned. Our discussion will centre of these
elements. Can you mention one of such elements? Compare your answer to
ours.
The three elements that dominated African nationalist thought and

consciousness were Pan-Africanism, Independence or Freedom, and Racial
Equality (Shivji, 2003). All the three elements which summed up to unity,
independence, and equality were attempts to register African displeasure to
colonial rule.
Most nationalists such as Nkrumah was influenced by African-American

philosophy giants as George Padmore, Henry Sylvester-Williams (whose
efforts birthed Pan-Africanism in 1900), W. E. B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey
and C.L.R. James whose ideology of Pan-Africanism meant an emphasis on
African unity including those in the Diaspora. To others like Nyerere, as he
himself later admitted unequivocally, Pan-Africanism essentially meant

ELEMENTS OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM
UNIT 6
SESSION 4
African unity. Pan-Africanism which finds expression in unity was to achieve

two purposes; to unite Africans (which resulted in the formation of
Organisation of African Unity), and to ensure that the remaining colonies
including South Africa attain their independence.
The independence or freedom was the best goal attained as far as African
nationalism was concerned. This goal of nationalism was basically in
opposition to colonial domination. Dear student, do you believe Africans were
truly independent? Yes, they attained independence in principle but in practice
there were external forces masterminded by colonial masters making African
nationalists their target at the time. For instance, Patrice Lumumba was
assassinated while Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown. Thomas Sankara was
killed and Julius Nyerere survived attacks by making tactical
compromises. These and many other examples beg the question, is the
sovereignty of African continent a reality?
Moreover, equality within the context of African nationalism has several

interrelated levels. It indicates that there must be equal treatment of states, big
or small, weak or strong, at the international circles. Is this goal realistic? Are
some countries not regarded as powerful than others? Share your views with
your colleagues.
Equality has another layer which is internal. After dislodging colonial masters
and military dictatorship, formal equality was installed since there was no
supposed racial discrimination in the colonies. Equality however, was short
lived because for various reasons, even civilian African leaders became
authoritarian by applying draconian policies and laws. Why do you think
leaders who were championing equality suddenly abandoned that path? Share
your opinion on this with your colleagues in class.
We have discussed three element of Post-World War II African

nationalism. We indicated that African nationalism focused on
Pan-Africanism, independence, and equality of Africans. We hope you enjoyed
this session just like the previous ones in the Unit.

UNIT 6
SESSION 4
Exercise 6.4
1. Write down two elements of African nationalism after World
War II.
2. Explain one element of African nationalism.
3. State two of the goals of Pan-African movement.
4. Which of the following nationalist’s effort gave birth to Pan-
Africanism?
a. George Padmore
b. Henry Sylvester-Williams
c. Kwame Nkrumah
d. Marcus Garvey

ELEMENTS OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM
UNIT 6
SESSION 4


SESSION 5
SESSION 5: FAILURES OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM

You are warmly welcome to session 5 of Unit 6. In this
session, our focus will mainly be on factors that led to the
failure of African nationalism during post World War II. Some of the factors
have to do with disagreement over the kind of government, bureaucracies,
major economic problems, neocolonialism, and disappointment. We implore
your full participation in the discussion.
Objectives
i. State at least two factors that led to the failure of nationalism in Africa.
ii. Explain two of the factors that brought about failures regarding
Now read…
5.1 Factors that Led to the Failure of Nationalism in Africa

Dear student, are you aware that the spirit of nationalism in Africa failed after
colonisation ended? We want you to list one factor you think contributed to the
failure of such movement. Fantastic, you have done well.
After most African countries gained their independence, leaders who were
championing nationalism began to talk about ruling in different ways. Some of
the African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and DRC were in
favour of federal system while others including Ghana, Mali and Guinea
(Omotoso & Oladeji, 2017) opted for unitary government. Eventually, the
African nationalists found themselves entangled in colonial habits, structures
as well as institutions. Unfortunately, the African nationalists failed to offer
long-term agenda to develop democratic government.
On the other hand, the nationalist governments adopted bureaucratic

tendencies whereby power was concentrated at the top. To entrench their grip
on power, they used the media and the security agencies to silence opposition
figures. It is interesting to indicate that some of the African countries such as
Angola and Mozambique employed Soviet Union model where the central
government owned and controlled the economy. What do you think will be the

UNIT 6 FAILURES OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM
SESSION 5
effect if everybody is not allowed to debate ideas and have a say about how
they are governed? Discuss your views with the class.
Another point worth mentioning is the fact that the nationalist governments
faced major economic problems. Apart from mismanagement by African
government in the middle of 1970s, there were also fuel shortages, high rate of
poverty and other combined factors brought the economies on the continent on
its knees. This brought untold hardships upon citizens leading to social unrests.
Ethnicity heightened as a result of struggle over fewer resources on the
continent. This phenomenon led to take over of governments by small but
powerful groups such as businessmen or military officers. Some of the African
countries till now are experiencing fighting among rebels, warlords, religious
clashes and ethnic rivalries. Therefore, one can conclude that the dreams of
early nationalist figures seem dimmer than ever.
Dear student what do you think will be the next factor leading to the
failure of nationalist movement in Africa?
There is another way the colonial administration control and profit from their
former colonies. This is what others referred to as neocolonialism. These
powerful countries supported with money or weaponry African governments or
rebel groups they perceived as allies. Many of the African countries had to take
loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank as the
economic woes deepened on the continent. The conditionalities of these loans
were such that African resources have to be sold to foreign institutions with
serious consequences on the part of African populations. Apart from the
resources, policies with social and economic consequences were put in place.
Be informed that the conditionalities and policies did not affect the ruling class
compared to ordinary Africans who sank further into poverty leading to general
protests and call for democracy. Dear student, do you think the situation has
changed from the current position Africans find themselves? Discuss this with
your facilitator and colleagues in the class.
There was widespread disappointment in the 1990s with regard to the promises
of nationalism in Africa. The disappointment has to do with the fact even
though Africa gained her independence through nationalism, the proponent did
live up to the tenets of true nationalism. Some of these leaders were accused of
abusing power, amassing wealth, and disregard for rule of law.

SESSION 5
So far so good. We have discussed factors that contributed to

the failure of post- World War II mass African nationalism.
We indicated that disagreement over the kind of government, bureaucracies,
major economic problems, neocolonialism, and disappointment played roles in
the failure of African nationalism.
Exercise 6.5
1. State 2 factors that led to the failure of African nationalism.
2. Which of the following countries did not approve federal type of
government after post World War II?
a. Kenya
b. Mali
c. Nigeria
d. Uganda

UNIT 6 FAILURES OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM
SESSION 5


SESSION 6
SESSION 6: EFFECTS OF NATIONALISM IN AFRICA

Dear student, you are warmly welcome to session 6 of the last
Unit in this course. So far, so good. It has been a long journey
and we believe that the exposure notwithstanding, is refreshing and educative.
In this session, our preoccupation will be on the effects of nationalism on the
African continent. We will discuss positive effects of nationalism including
unity, overall well-being of the country, source of inspiration and a sense of
identity.
Objectives
i. State at least 2 positive effects of Africa nationalism.
ii. State at least 2 negative effects of nationalism in Africa.
Now read on…
6.1 Effects of Nationalism

6.1.1 Positive Effects
Nationalism brings unity
Nationalism brings about unity among citizens. When citizens of a country
depict nationalism, it directly strengthens the country and its economy to make
it capable of moving further. People uniting as a result of nationalism and pride
adds up to the strengths of a country. It means that when their position is
strengthened, they can negotiate globally and with greater power and
confidence.
Nationalism seeks overall well-being of the country

True nationalists seek the well fare of their people in terms of advocating for
their liberation and freedom. They mobilize their people to fight a common
cause. Such people love their country and do everything possible within their
power to make it a better place. True nationalism in such a case has a very
positive effect by adding to the country’s development drive. They care for
what is theirs. They own it and they want to make it better.

UNIT 6 EFFECTS OF NATIONALISM IN AFRICA
SESSION 6
Source of inspiration
Dear student, are you aware that nationalism can serve as inspiration to
citizens? Nationalism served as great source of inspiration for the African
people at the time. Africans were highly motivated through a sense of
nationalism to achieve their independence and freedom to manage their own
affairs. That was why after WWII, Africans rallied behind their leaders to
attained independence. With a wish to be independent, people are inspired and
motivated driven by the feelings of nationalism.
Sense of identity
Nationalism promotes sense of identity among citizenry. When people with
similar destiny fight for a common cause, there is high possibility that they will
identify with each other. The goal to achieve the common cause is what drives
them together to achieve the goal.
6.1.2 Negative Effects

Dear student, be informed that nationalism has dark sides too. Can you
mention one negative part of nationalism? Compare your answer to our own.
Evil force
Originally, the main goal of nationalism was to advocate for the people’s rights
to rule themselves. However, the struggle for freedom has been transformed
into evil force. Some of the nationalists in Africa after taking over their
respective country from colonialism adopted brute forces to suppress divergent
views. For example, in a book titled, At Fever Pitch, Kwame Nkrumah was
alleged to be engaged in an internal political conflict with the federalist
National Liberation Movement (NLM), formed largely by tribal leaders of the
Ashanti region (Whittle, 2015).
Unhealthy competition
Nationalism has the power to create competition between different nations,
which can easily result in conflicts. Nationalism is known to be a significant
cause of World War I. Prior to the beginning of World War I, Europeans had a
lot of pride in their nation, and honestly were in disillusion that they were the
best. This thought process created the belief that other nations were threatened
by them, and were plotting to attack them. This effectively resulted in a large-
scale world war where millions of innocent civilians and several security
personnel were killed.

SESSION 6
Nationalism leads to extreme movement

Can you guess the next negative effect of nationalism? Good. One negative
consequence of nationalism is that it can lead to extreme movements. One of
the well-known instances of how nationalism can lead nationalists to do
extreme things is the creation of Nazism. Hitler’s love and pride for Germany
triggered feelings in people that made them identify themselves completely
with Germany, rather than as individuals. In a bid to convince German citizens
to conform to his strong beliefs, Hitler asserted:
Our future is Germany. Our today is Germany. And our past is
Germany. Let us take a vow this evening, at every hour, in
each day, to think of Germany, of the nation, of our German
people. You cannot be unfaithful to something that has given
sense and meaning to your whole existence.
What do you make of Hitler’s statement? You would agree with us that this
statement means that German citizens should concentrate on their country first
and foremost. It tended to make citizens put the interest of their country above
any other country. The citizens may care less about other nationals since they
place value on their fellow nationals than others.
It breeds discrimination
In a related development, most commonly seen effect excessive nationalism
has is the discrimination to members of other nations. Nationalism often causes
other nations to believe they are better than the nations that surround them.
This believe could be as a result of advancement in technology, military power
and economic influence. Countries that have these features may tend to
marginalize other countries which do not have the opportunity to possess the
aforementioned characteristics.
Source of conflict
Dear student, it is often argued that nationalism is a potential force for conflict.
It is important to point out that nationalism is directly linked with the legacy of
internal wars, revolution, and rebellion. When nationalists put their ethnic or
tribal groups above other members of the same territory or country, it can
generate conflicts and genocides. Genocide and ethnic cleansing all came from
the fact that some people think that they are more important or superior to
others. In Ghana, some of the post- independence military takeovers could be

UNIT 6 EFFECTS OF NATIONALISM IN AFRICA
SESSION 6
attributed to nationalism. We can remind ourselves of what happened in

Rwanda, Chechnya, and Yugoslavia as some examples of the negative effects
of nationalism.
So far, we have discussed both positive and negative effects of

nationalism. We indicated that nationalism fosters unity
among citizens, seek for overall interest of the country, and it serves as
inspiration. On the negative aspect, we learnt that nationalism serves as a force
for evil, source of conflict, breeds discrimination and leads to extreme
movement.
Exercise 6.6
1. Write down 2 positive effects of post-World War II nationalism in

Africa.
2. Explain in details, 2 negative effects of post-World War II nationalism
in Africa.
3. The World War I could be attributed to extreme nationalistic
tendencies.
True or False

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UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

EBS 403D Colonisation and

© COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

Dr. Vincent Mensah Minadzi

© COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE

CoDE PUBLICATIONS, 2023

All right reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced, stored in a

Cover page illustrated by William Jacobs

FOR FURTHER DETAILS YOU MAY CONTACT

COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION OF THE

All rights reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced,

We wish you a happy and successful study.

Dr. Vincent Mensah Minadzi

CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education i

It has become a tradition in academic circles to acknowledge the assistance one

I wish to thank the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, the

Finally, I am greatly indebted to the entire staff of CoDEUCC, especially

Prof. Anokye Mohammed Adam

ii CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

About this Book ... ... ... ... ... ... i

Acknowledgement ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ii

Symbols and their Meanings ... ... … ... ... viii

UNIT 1: THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS … … 1

Session 1: The Meaning of Imperialism and Colonialism … 3

iv CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

UNIT 2: REASONS FOR THE EUROPEAN SCRAMBLE

Session 1: The Scramble for Africa … … … … 25

Session 2: Economic Reasons of the Scramble for Africa … 31

CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education v

UNIT 3: IMPACTS OF THE COLONIAL RULE ON AFRICA 57

Session 1: Positive Social Impacts of Colonialism on Africa … 59

UNIT 4: AFRICAN’S REACTION TO THE COLONIAL RULE:

Session 1: The Phases/Stages of Resistance … … … 85

UNIT 5: PROTO-NATIONALISM IN AFRICA … … 113

Session 1: The Concept of Proto-Nationalism … … … 115

vi CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

Session 4: The National Congress of British West Africa

UNIT 6: MASS OR RADICAL OR POST-WW II

Session 1: African Nationalism prior to Post WW II … 149

CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education vii

NOTE AN IMPORTANT POINT

TIME TO THINK AND ANSWER QUESTION(S)

SELF- ASSESSMENT QUESTION(S)

viii CoDEUCC/ Bachelor of Education (JHS)

UNIT 1: THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS

CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education 1

This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

SESSION 1: MEANING OF IMPERIALISM AND

Now read on…

1.1 The Concept of Imperialism and Colonialism

CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education 3

Dear cherished learner, before we guide you to explain the concept

1.2 Differences between Colonialism and Imperialism

S/N Colonialism Imperialism

4 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education

We discussed in this session the meaning of imperialism and

CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education 5

This is a blank sheet for your short notes on:

6 CoDEUCC/Bachelor in Primary & JHS Education