UNIT ONE

DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM AND NATIONALISM, 1815 TO 1914

1.1. Features of Capitalism
 Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of
means of production and their operation for profit.
 Capitalism in its modern form emerged out of agrarianism in the 16 th c
England and Mercantilist practices by European states in the 16 th to 18th
centuries.
 It had been the dominant economic system in western world since the
collapse of feudalism.
 It spread across the world in the 19 th and 20th centuries especially before
WWI and after the end of Cold war.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century established Capitalism as the
dominant mode of production characterized by factory work and complex
division of labour.
 The industrial revolution broke out in England in the mid-18th century.
 It was responsible for the tremendous economic transformation of
Western Europe and USA in the 19th c.
 It had 2 phases;
 The first phase covers the period from 1750-1850/70 and
 The Second phase covers the period from 1850/70-1914.
Some technological and organizational changes
1. Factory system
2. Machinery
3. Inanimate power
4. Radical changes in transport and communication

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The distinguishing features of the 1st and 2nd stage of Ind. Rev.

First Phase, 1750- Second Phase, 1850/70-

1850/70 WWI
1 Method of Hand to machine Increased automation
production
2 Power source Coal and steel Petroleum and electricity
3 New engine Steam engine Internal combustion
4 Mass Textile, use of Iron Steel
production

During the early modern period Europeans built a transatlantic economy in

which the slave trade and slavery played key role.
Modern Industrial Capitalism arose from 18 th c transatlantic commerce. As a
result, the transatlantic slave trade and plantation riches were important
factors in the development of capitalism in Europe.
Basic features of Capitalism
1. Private ownership of means of production.
2. Capitalism accumulation.
3. Commodity production.
4. High levels of wage labour.
5. Profit motive.
6. Market competition.
7. No/Less government interference.

Effects of Industrial Revolution

1. Social effects
Two basic social classes emerged:
 Industrial bourgeoisie/Capitalists- which made up of factory owners and rich
merchants
 Industrial Proletariat- composed of wage workers

2. Economic Effects;- It changed peoples way of life

 increased production

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  expansion of trade

 Industrial capitalism emerged

 led to faster urbanization

3. Political Effects;
 It increased national wealth and power.

 Development of new political thoughts such as nationalism,

liberalism (John Stuart Mills), Utilitarianism (Jeremy Bentham) ,
pluralism, democracy etc.
In countries like Germany and Italy, industrialization was linked to the mass
militarization and nationalism which ultimately led to WWI.
1.2. Features of Nationalism and Formation of Nation States
Several great movements that occurred before the 19 th c helped the growth of
national sentiment. These include the Renaissance, Reformation and
expansion of commerce.
The Renaissance with the development of vernacular language and its
literature helped to bring about a national self-consciousness.
The Reformation broke out religious unity of Europe and ended the
supremacy of the pope.
Trade and colonies brought in wealth and helped to build a strong state.
Nationalism is the feeling of belonging and loyalty that causes people to think
of themselves as a nation.
The first few years after Napoleonic era were called a time of “reaction”,
when those in power wanted to return to old orders. These were conservatives
who opposed change. The rulers were very nervous about the legacy of French
revolution.
Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria drew the treaty of Vienna in 1815 with
the objective to stop the changes initiated by Napoleon and restore the
Monarchy. On the other hand there were revolutionaries who spread the
ideas of nationalism and opposed conservatism.

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Weakness of the Congress

It was bitterly criticized for many years because it ignored the strong
democratic and nationalistic sentiments of many Europeans.
Its long term consequences

It led to democratic revolutions in numerous European countries in 1830

and 1848.
It also contributed to nationalistic movements in Germany and Italy.
Factors contributing to nationalist sentiment
1. Economic-concern for standard of living.
2. Historical-attachment to long standing conditions and practices.
3. Geographic-affiliation with particular territory.
4. Social-concern for group values, culture, customs, language and tradition.
5. Political-desire for political power or autonomy.
1.2.1 Unification of Italy
Italy was left completely fragmented by the settlements reached at the Congress
of Vienna in 1815. Italy in 1815 faced three obstacles to unity.
1. The first was the Austrian occupation of Lombardy and Venice in the north
and northeast of the Italian peninsula.
2. The Papal States including Rome were governed by the Pope, safeguarded by
France.
3. The third obstacle was formed by the existence of several independent
states.
 On the French border was the Kingdom of Sardinia, also called Piedmont-
Sardinia, which had slowly expanded since the middle Ages and was the
most advanced state in Italy.
 The Kingdom of the two Sicily’s occupied the southern half of the peninsula
and the island of Sicily.
 Other small states were the duchies of Tuscany (Toscana), Parma, and
Modena, all governed by relatives of the Habsburgs, the family that ruled
Austria. In each of these states, the monarch exercised absolute powers of
government.

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Leaders and the process of the unification movement of Italy
1. Giuseppe Mazzini: He had a vision for a united Italy.
 He viewed “Nation States” to be a necessary and opposed monarchy. He was a
member of the Carbonari.
 In 1831, Mazzini founded a movement called “Young Italy” which attracted
tens of thousands of Italians.
 He wanted a liberal democratic republic to govern a united Italy.
 Mazzini played a leading role in the 1848 Revolution. For a short period, he was
a leader of a Roman republic proclaimed in the Papal States. But the French
forces overthrew the republic established by Mazzini.
2. Count Camillo di Cavour: In 1852, Cavour became prime minister of the
independent Kingdom of Sardinia.
 He was an aristocrat and well-educated. He took part in the 1848 revolutions.
 He strengthened Piedmont by promoting industry, encouraging railroad
building, improving agriculture, fostering education and enlarging the army.
 Cavour disliked absolutism and favoured the British type of parliamentary
government.
 He tried to reduce the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in politics.
Since Austria was the greatest obstacle to Italian unity, Cavour searched for
allies against Austria. In 1858, Cavour and Napoleon III made a secret
agreement. Napoleon agreed to send troops to drive the Austrians out of
Lombardy and Venetia if Austria declared war on Sardinia. For this favour,
Cavour promised to give the regions of Nice and Savoy to France.
 Cavour manoeuvred Austria into declaring war on Piedmont. The combined
Sardinia-French forces defeated the Austrians. Sardinia got Lombardy and
Austria held Venetia. France was to keep Nice and Savoy.
 Parma, Modena and Tuscany drove out their pro-Austrian rulers, and by
plebiscites, they voted to be annexed to Sardinia.
3. Giuseppe Garibaldi: led a military campaign against Francis II, the ruler of the
Kingdom of the two Sicily’s in 1860.

 Garibaldi`s force were known as the “Red Shirts” or the “Thousands”.

 His successful campaign crushed every resistance to unification in the south.

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  He agreed to hand over power to Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia.
 Naples and Sicily were joined with Piedmont-Sardinia and the kingdom of Italy
was proclaimed in Turin in 1861. King Victor Emmanuel II became its king.
The new kingdom included every part of Italy except Venetia and the Papal
States. The Unification of Italy was completed when these two regions became
part of Italy.
 In 1866, following the defeat of Austria in the Seven Weeks War (war between
Austria and Prussia), Italy got Venetia. When the Franco-Prussian war broke
out in 1870, all of the French armies withdrew from Italy. Then, the Italians
entered Rome and this finalized the unification of Italy in the same year; Rome
was proclaimed the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The Pope, however,
continued to govern a section of Rome known as Vatican City.
Although Italy was politically united, many problems continued. These include:
Regional Division: Lack of stability as few thee Italians were experienced in self-
government.
The tension between the industrialized North and the agrarian South.
Hostility between the Roman Catholic Church and the government. The
government granted the papacy limited rights, and control over church properties.
The formation of a secret society known as the Mafia, a kind of state within state,
which the central government was powerless to control.
There were some developments after unification:
A standard form of the Italian language was introduced to help unify the people.
Growth of industrialization and urbanization mainly in north Italy.
Expansion of modern education.
Creation of a strong national army.
1.2.2. Unification of Germany
In the mid nineteenth century, many Germans were driven by nationalistic
feelings to support a unified Germany.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna created the German Confederation, which
consisted of 39 separate autonomous states. While the Austrian Empire usually
dominated the German Confederation, the state of Prussia took the lead in
unifying them into Germany.
The 1848 revolution failed to establish a unified German state.

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 Various forces that opposed to the unification of Germany before 1870
were:
 foreign powers namely Austria, Russia, and France;
 small German states who feared Prussian domination; and
 the Catholic states, which feared domination by Protestants.
Steps toward Unification
Under the dominance of the Napoleonic French Empire (1804–1814), the
Germans developed a sense of common cause to remove the French invaders and
reassert control over their lands.
The development of the German railway was the first indicator of a unified
state. As travel became easier, faster, and less expensive, Germans started to see
unity.
During the Revolution of 1848, the German liberals initiated a movement for a
unified Germany. The movement emphasized the importance of tradition,
education, and linguistic unity of people in a geographic region. However, the
Revolution of 1848 failed in its attempt to unify the German-speaking states
because of division of the German ruling classes on the type of government they
wanted to establish.
The Zollverein- in 1834, Germans created the Zollverein, an economic alliance
between the German states, which promoted trade and a strong economy. This
custom union allowed for the removal of tariffs on products traded between
German states.
Bismarck’s Plan for Germany
Otto von Bismarck was a conservative politician and a leading force behind German
Unification. He came from the Junker class, or the landed nobility, in Prussia. He was
a prominent figure in Prussian politics.
 In 1862, the new Prussian king, Wilhelm I, appointed Bismarck as prime
minister. Bismarck favoured German unification under Prussian leadership.
Prussia was a very wealthy German state. It had large coal deposits in the Ruhr
Valley, and a flourishing iron and steel industry. Prussia had a strong army and
the military was glorified.

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 Otto Von Bismarck led Germany towards unification using his political
philosophy of realpolitik, or “the politics of reality” and the “Blood and Iron
“policy (Military power).
Realpolitik: pursue goals by any means necessary (go to war, lie, break treaties)
“Blood and Iron” policy- using military power to achieve unification of Germany

 German unification was achieved by the force of Prussia. The unification

movement was enforced from the top-down, a product of Prussian royal policies.
 Otto von Bismarck led German unification by appealing to national feelings and
through the following three wars:
1. Danish War 1864 (against Denmark),
2. Seven Weeks War 1866 (against Austria), and
3. Franco-Prussian War -1870/71 (against France).
1. The Danish War: The first war of German unification was the 1864 Danish War,
which began over the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. As a result of the war,
Schleswig was given to Prussia, while Austria kept Holstein.
2. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866: The Seven Weeks War, which was a war
between Prussia and Austria, was not simply to control the territory of Schleswig
and Holstein. More importantly, it was about the leadership of Germany. Prussia
was supported by Italy in its move. The small German states that feared Prussian
domination were on the side of Austria. At the battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) on
3 July 1866, the Prussian army quickly defeated the Austrian forces.
Results of the Seven weeks war:
Schleswig and Holstein were annexed by Prussia
Austria was excluded from German affairs
Venetia was given to Italy
The North German Confederation was formed under the leadership of
Prussia. It consisted of all German states except states in the south, where the
people, were liberal and Catholic.
3. The Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71
This was a conflict between France and Prussia in 1870–1871, during which
Prussian troops pushed into France and finally beat the French at Sedan. The
defeat brought the French Second Empire to an end. The proclamation of the

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 new German Empire at Versailles was the pinnacle of Bismarck's efforts to
unite Germany.
To provoke France to declare war on Prussia, Bismarck used clever use of
telegram that angered Napoleon. The Ems Telegram was significant because it
encouraged France to declare war on Prussia in 1870.
On September 2, 1870, French forces were defeated at the battle of Sedan. In
the Treaty of Frankfurt signed on 10 May 1871:
1. France agreed to cede to Germany the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, rich
areas in coal and iron;
2. France agreed to pay huge war indemnities to Germany.
In 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed at the Palace of Versailles,
outside Paris, with King William of Prussia as German Emperor (Kaiser).

1.2.3. The American Civil War

The Basic cause of the civil war was;
 The contradiction between antagonistic socio-economic systems that
existed in the USA.
 It was fought between northern and Southern states of USA.
1. Economic Difference;
 In the North: capitalism developed, they were industrialists,
manufacturing showed rapid growth. The used hired labor.
 In the West-Mechanized agriculture expanded.
 The north and western states developed closer ties in 1850’s.
 The Southern states- were highly dependent on cotton plantation
using slave labor.
2. Political Difference-the difference on the question of slavery.
 Northerners;
 wanted to abolish it ( were abolitionists)
 support unification ( were unionists)
 Southerners;
 Wanted to preserve slavery
 Support secession(separation from the union)

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  Slavery continued to be a legal institution in the southern parts of
USA.
Immediate cause of the civil war

 The election of Abraham Lincoln became a major turning point in the

outbreak of the civil war that led to secession. Following his election in
December 1860, Southern Carolina seceded from the union and from
1860-61, eleven southern states seceded.
In February 1861 these states set up a new state, Confederate Southern
States of USA ( Confederacy) and elected the rich slave owner, Colonel
Jefferson Davis as their as their president.
 The war had two phases;
1. The First Phase took place from 1861-63. It was marked by the victory
of Confederates.
Reasons for their success;
1. They were well-equipped and prepared
2. They had strong army and well-experienced officers. But the
northerners lacked competent generals.
2. The second phase took place from 1863-65. It was marked by the
success of unionists.
Reasons for their success;
1. Abraham Lincoln’s two decrees on slave and land .i.e.
Emancipation proclamation and Homestead Law respectively. It
brought large number of people to the side of unionists.
2. Abraham Lincoln appointed efficient generals like Ulysses S.
Grant and William T. Sherman
By Emancipation proclamation-Lincoln decreed that slaves belonging to
the southern rebels were free as of 1 Jan 1863.
Homestead Law gave the right to plot of land in the west for everyone who
was ready to work.
Disadvantages of the South

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  Shortage of manpower, artillery, munitions, food and medical supplies.
 They also faced shortage of transportation.
 Lack of recognition and support from western countries became a
psychological blow to the south.
The war came to an end in April 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered to
Ulysses S. Grant. Jefferson Davies was captured on May26, 1865.
On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, agent of the
defeated slave owner and died on April 15, 1865.
Major effects of the war
 High military causalities on both sides
 Social bitterness between north and south(emergence of Ku Klux
Klan, KKK)
 Abolition of slavery
 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
 Expansion of capitalism
 By preserving political unity, it paved the way for the rise of USA as a
global power.

1.2.4. Nationalism and Multi-National Empires

 Nationalism is more than mere love of the physical feature of a country.

 It is the demand of national groups for independent states of their own.
This demand has only achieved through armed struggle as in the case of
Germany and Italy. In the same way the Balkan people in Ottoman
Empire started fighting against their rulers.
 The Balkan region is located south and south east of Europe, around
Balkan mountain. It includes countries like Bulgaria, Albania, Rumania,
Serbia, Montenegro, Herzegovina and Greece.
 The combination of Balkan nationalism, great power interest and
Ottoman weakness created the major international problem of the 19th
century and the years just before WWI, the Eastern question, meaning

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 what would happen to the Ottoman Empire Balkan and Middle East
territories as the Ottoman empire became less able to hold them.

Origin of Eastern Question and the Balkan Crisis

 Turkish conquest of the Balkans since the end of middle ages and the
subsequent decline of Ottoman Turkey.
The strategic importance of the Ottoman Empire which includes the
Balkan Peninsula and Turkey became significant cause of European
competition.
Britain, Austria and Russia were deeply involved in Eastern question.
Since the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725), Russia had been
expanding to the lower Danube and the banks of Bosporus. By the late
17th century Ottoman Empire declined and the Eastern question
became more intensified.
Russia continued to expand in to lower Danube with the aim to control
the Slav people. This triggered rivalry between Austria which feared
Russian expansion and Russia because Austria had great number of
Slavs.
Russia supported the Balkan nationalists for several reasons:
They were Slavs, like the Bulgarians and the Serbs.
They were Orthodox Christians as were many of the
discontented Balkan groups.
Moreover, Russia wanted to gain access to the Black Sea and the
Mediterranean Sea.
Austria: Austria supported the Ottomans because they did not want
Russian expansion in the region.
Britain also needed the existence of weaker Ottoman Empire in order to
prevent Russian expansion in to India and Mediterranean Sea. This
was the main reason for the involvement of Britain and France in the
Crimean war of 1853-56.

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 Outcome of Crimean war
 Ottoman Turkey emerged victorious over Russia in 1856.
 It saved Ottoman Empire.
Though the support of great powers saved ottoman Turkey from external
danger, the internal problem was intolerable due to intense Balkan
nationalism. Therefore, the Balkan nationalism complicated eastern
question. The situation went beyond the control of major European powers
and eventually five Balkan countries namely Greece, Serbia, Montenegro,
Rumania and Bulgaria became independent from Turkish rule.
Greece was the first Balkan country to achieve independence. It was started
in 1821. The major European powers stayed neutral. Because they feared
Russian intervention if the war continued indefinitely.
 The major European powers recognized Greek independence in
1833.

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 UNIT TWO

AFRICA & THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE (1880S -1960S)

2.1 General Background to Colonialism
Colonialism is defined as the direct and total dominance of one country by another based
on the possession of state authority by a foreign power.
 It occurs when one country subjugates another, conquering and exploiting its people.
 The notion of colonialism is inextricably tied to that of imperialism, which is defined
as the policy or belief of using power and influence to rule another nation or people.
 Colonialism has been practiced since ancient times. The ancient Greeks, Romans,
Ottomans, and others established colonies overseas.
Scope of colonialism
 Colonialism grew in scope since the16th c, after the Age of Discovery. This was owing
to advancements in navigational technology that allowed Europeans to travel to all
corners of the earth.
 Following the end of the Atlantic Slave trade, Europeans began trading with Africa in
what became known as “legitimate trade.” The term “legitimate commerce” refers to
the commodity trade between Africans and European merchants after the end of slave
trade. During this time raw products from Africa, particularly cash crops, were
exchanged for goods from Europe.
 The era of “legitimate” trade shifted the relationship between Africa and Europe from
commerce based on human merchandise to merchandise of tropical crops. This
heightened competitiveness, resulting in a race for Africa. Between the final quarter of
the eighteenth century and the 1870s, a large number of European explorers travelled
out into the heart of Africa to conduct “exploration".
Based on the timing and purpose, European ‘explorers’ may be loosely divided into
two groups.
 First, the European explorers who arrived before the 1850s are believed to have been
inspired by a spirit of pure and objective scientific inquiry.
 Second a considerable number of explorers who arrived after the 1850s were European
government agents.
European explorers were followed by missionaries.
 Although the European missionaries came with the good intention to evangelize Africa;
the timing was bad.
 Missionaries came into Africa along with colonial administrators and traders with
the plan to introduce Christianity, commerce and civilization. They cooperated and
united as vital element in the attainment of their set goals.
 Missionaries in critical times of need, depended on traders for funds, and relied
completely on administrators for physical security and protection. However,
European missionaries preaching Christianity in Africa in the last two decades of the
nineteenth century converted only less than 1% of non-Muslim Africans (outside

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 Ethiopia) to Christianity. Because of their lack of success, the missionaries began to
appeal to their respective European governments for help.
2.2 The Motives of European Colonialism
The main reasons for European colonization of Africa were:
1. Economic:
 Demand for raw materials and the need for new market centers were the most
visible ones
2. Political/ Strategic interest:
 European competition for great power status and prestige. European powers were
more interested in dominating strategic territories and favourable locations for
military and naval bases.
3. The Civilizing Mission and the White Man’s Burden:
 The civilizing mission is a rationale for intervention or colonization of other
non-western peoples like Africa. The Europeans presented themselves as having
a mission of spreading civilization, commerce and Christianity across the
globe. The clear implication of this was that Africans were inferior and
uncivilized and Europeans were superior and civilized.
 Another concept which is closely related to the civilizing mission is the so called
‘the white man’s burden.’ Originally, the white man’s burden was a poem
written by an English poet, Rudyard Kipling in 1899. This poem proposes that
white people should rule over non-white people until they can take their place
in the world by fully adopting western ways.
4. Religious factor:
 Some missionaries supported the colonization of African countries believing
that European control would provide a political environment that would
facilitate their missionary activities in Africa.

2.3. Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference

Before the 1880s, only 10% of Africa was ruled by foreign powers.
 Most of North Africa was under nominal Turkish rule.
 Others include:
 Omani rule in Zanzibar Island,

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  the British in Sierra Leone and Gold Coast
 the French in Algeria,
 the Boers and the British in South Africa and
 the Portuguese in Mozambique and Angola coastal areas. However, there
was no firm control by Europeans except in Cape Colony and parts of
Algeria.
These foreign rules were limited only to the coastal part of Africa. The rest of 90% of
Africa was free from foreign rule and was independent.
European interest in colonizing Africa reached its peak in 1880’s. A fierce rivalry,
massive and rapid colonial expansion of Europeans in Africa from the 1880s to the first
decade of the 20th century is called the Scramble for Africa.
2.3.1. Berlin Conference: 1884-1885

 It was held from 1884 to 1885 in Berlin, Germany.

 It was arranged by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
 Representatives of 14 countries including USA met.
 France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the
conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.
 Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power
within European power politics.
 Africa was not invited nor involved in the conference.
 The competition between European powers intensified when King Leopold II of
Belgium and Germany entered the competition for African colonies.
 King Leopold II of Belgium wanted to make Congo his personal colony and for this
reason, he employed H.M. Stanley to explore the Congo River.
 Before the Berlin conference, in 1884, Germany had proclaimed Togo, Cameroon, and
South-West Africa (Namibia), and in 1885, Tanganyika, as its protectorate.
 At the Conference, the participants decided on the “General Act of the Conference,”
which laid international guidelines for colonization.
 It marked the real beginning of colonization in Africa.
The conference had passed the following resolutions.

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 1. Principle of effective occupation: According to Article 35 of the Final Act, Colonial
powers could acquire rights over colonial lands only if they possessed them: if they had
treaties with local leaders, if they flew their flag there and if they established an
administration in the territory with a police force to keep order.
2. Doctrine of the Sphere of Influence- According to article 34 of the General Act of the
Berlin Conference, any fresh act of taking possession of any portion of the African coast
would have to be notified by the power taking possession to the other signatory powers.
 The conference resolved to end slavery in Africa.
3. The Congo Free State (today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo) was confirmed as the
private property of King Leopold II of Belgium. In return, he allowed all other European
powers to have unrestricted freedom of trade over the Congo basin.
4. Free navigation of the Niger and the Congo.
Ways of acquiring colonies

 The colonial powers followed different means to colonize Africa.

1. Treaties of Trickery/ Fake treaties
 Colonial powers falsely claimed to have given possession of lands by local African
rulers. A good example of such a fake or trickery treaties was the Wuchale treaty signed
between Ethiopia and Italy.
2. Wars of Conquest
 French conquest in West Africa.
 British occupation of Egypt.
 The British defeated Mahadist resistance at the battle of Omdurman in 1898.
Europeans were successful in rapidly partitioning Africa during the scramble.

Factors for the success of Europeans

1. The military superiority that they enjoyed over Africa. European powers were using
professional and well trained armies.
2. Lack of cooperation and solidarity among Africans.

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2.4. Colonial Policies and Administration
 European colonial governments used different methods of administration to govern
colonies in Africa.
 These methods include company rule, direct rule and assimilation, indirect rule as
well as settler ruler.
2.4.1. Company Rule
 It was practiced in the early days of colonialism.
 European nations allowed the establishment of private companies that were granted
large African territories to administer.
 These companies were formed by businessmen who were interested in exploiting the
natural resources of the African territories.
 It was exercised from the 1880s to 1924. The British South Africa Company
(B.S.A.C), is an example of company rule, it was formed in 1887 and lasted longer
than the British East African Company.
 The B.S.A.C., under the control of John Cecil Rhodes, used force and coercion to
administer three territories Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia.
The Company governed these colonies until 1924.
Collapse of Company Rule
 It failed due to a shortage of finance and
 Opposition from Africans and missionaries over their harsh company rule.

Cecil Rhodes, the man who bought Africa for Britain,

Cecil Rhodes
Went to South Africa in 1871 and by 1889; he controlled 90% of the world’s
Diamond production and also dominated the gold market.
Served as prime minister of the British Cape Colony from 1890-1896
Extended British control to other parts of Africa.

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 Cecil Rhodes extended British control to other parts of Africa.
 One of his greatest hopes was to see British possessions extending from Cape Colony in the
Southern part of Africa to Cairo in the north.
2.4.2. Direct Rule and Assimilation
 It was practiced by the French, Belgians, Germans, and Portuguese.
 In this system, African indigenous rulers and local governments were uprooted and
replaced by European personnel.
 African chiefs were assigned at the lower levels of the administrative structure to collect
taxes, recruit labour and suppress rural African opposition.
 Under the direct rule, the French government considered its African colonies as part of
France.
 The French colonial policy of direct rule and assimilation was designed by Albert
Sarrout.
 The French colonial policy also incorporated the policy of assimilation, in which the
people of the colonies abandoned their local culture and adopted all aspects of French
culture.
 Assimilation accepted the inherent superiority of French culture over all others. So, in
practice, the assimilation policy in the colonies meant the extension of French language ,
institutions, laws and customs.
 The French also used the policy of association. It was the opposite idea of the
assimilation policy. It implied that the relationship between the conqueror and the
conquered should be one of “association ‘, not of identity and merging; it emphasized
cooperation between the rulers and the ruled.
2.4.3 Indirect Rule
 It was the British colonial policy.
 Its architect was Frederick Lugard.
 Lugard exercised this policy when he was a governor of Nigeria and British East Africa.
 The British choose this policy due to the shortage of administrative staff
 This system of governance used indigenous African rulers within the colonial
administration.
 Frederick Lugard, in his book the Dual Mandate in British tropical Africa, published in
1922, explained the importance of the indirect rule.
Importance of indirect rule as explained by Lugard;
It was the cheapest and most effective way.
It also reduced African resistance.
 Unlike the French, the British made greater use of African customary law.
 The British indirect rule aggravated ethnic differences that emphasized differences in the
dialect of language, dress, and religion.

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2.4.4 Settlers Rule
 Europeans came and settled in Africa, in many cases, displacing indigenous Africans.
 Settler colonies were found in;
Southern Africa including the colonies of South Africa,
Southern and Northern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia),
Angola, Mozambique, and South West Africa (Namibia).
Kenya, a British colony in East Africa, and
Algeria, a French colony in North Africa.
 Here the fertile lands of the African peasants were taken and given to minority white
settlers.
Administration of settlement colonies:
 It was very harsh and racist.
 It made Africans to become labourers and landless tenants. In Kenya, for example, the
Kikuyu, who lost their ancestral territory in the so-called white highlands to European
settlers, migrated in mass to growing urban centers like Nairobi in search of
employment.
The common features of colonial rule;
All colonial systems were undemocratic.
Colonial rule was most often imposed without consent from the African people, and
All forms of colonial rule engaged in “divide and rule”.
2.5 Early African Resistance Movements against Colonialism
 Africans’ response to colonial rule varied from place to place.
 Several forms of armed and nonviolent resistance to colonialism occurred.
1. Nonviolent forms of anti-colonialism included:
the use of the indigenous press,
trade unionism,
organized religion,
native associations,
literary and art forms, and mass migrations.
2. Armed Resistance of Africans
The struggle against colonialism had passed through different stages and using
different methods.
There were three stages of resistance;
The 1st stage- from 1880s -1914
 This phase was also known as early resistance.
 It took place at the time of colonial expansion.
 It was easily crushed by the colonialists before the outbreak of WWI.
The 2nd Stage- that covers the period from 1919 -1939, (Inter war period)
 It aims was not for independence but some reform.

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  The resistance was peaceful .i.e. through petition and demonstration.
 It brought little success.

The 3rd Stage- conducted from the 1950s to1980s.

 It was the last and decisive stage that comes after WWII.
 It was a period of decolonization of Africa.
 It was also the stage that witnessed the emergence of organized national liberation
movement (NLM) that freed the continent from the yoke of colonialism.
Some examples of Early Resistance:
2.5.1 West Africa
A. Ahmadu Seku:
 He was one of the prominent leaders of the Tukulor Empire in West Africa.
 From 1830s to 1845, he resisted French rule in western Africa using various methods.
 In the beginning, he preferred to use diplomacy over armed resistance. But when the
French violated their promise and started territorial expansion, Ahmadu forces clashed
with the French-Senegalese troops.
 The French had recruited soldiers from the local people for their colonial goal.
 Finally, Ahmadu’s forces were defeated and his empire broke up. He was exiled to
Sokoto, where he died. Then after, the French allied with Ahmadu’s brother to control
the region.
B. Samori Ture (ca. 1830–1900)
 He was a Muslim leader in the Mandinka Empire, who engaged the French in
protracted armed resistance from 1882 to 1898.
 Samouri was successful in uniting under his administration most of the people in the vast
area between the source of Niger and the Upper Volta basin. He led a strong army of
30,000 men.
 He had admiral military skills and leadership qualities which earned him the praise, “the
Napoleon of West Africa”.
 Samori Ture, who governed an area in what is today Guinea, Mali, and Cote D’Ivoire
strongly resisted French colonial expansion.
 He was finally defeated and captured in 1898 and
 The French exiled him to their colony of Gabon, where he died in 1900.

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 Samori

C. The Asante
 In West Africa, the British did not acquire large territories like the French.
 The British acquired the coastal areas of Nigeria and Ghana (Gold Coast) before the
start of the scramble.
 In Ghana, British colonial expansion faced opposition from the Asante kingdom led by
Asantehene (King) Prempe.
 After the bloody war, the British defeated the local resistance and were able to establish
their colony of the Gold Coast over all of Ghana in 1900.
 The British used the strategy of divide and rule and their superior weapons as well as
recruited African troops, to conquer the whole of Nigeria in 1910.
2.5.2 Resistances in East Africa
The Maji-Maji Uprising
 The Maji Maji Uprising in Tanganyika was the most significant African challenge to
German colonial rule from 1905 to1907.
 The four German colonies in Africa were Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania), Togo,
Cameroon, and Namibia.
 The German rulers imposed high taxation and a system of forced labour on their
colonial subjects. They were forced to grow cotton and build roads for their European
occupiers. As a result, a movement against the Germans led by a prophet Kinjikitle
Ngwale erupted in Tanganyika.
 Ngwale taught the people to sprinkle their bodies with sacred water known as Maji Maji
which “would turn bullets of their enemies into water.” The rebellion spread throughout
the colony, eventually involving 20 different ethnic groups who wished to dispel the
German colonizers.
 The Maji Maji movement was a spontaneous rising with no previous planning and
central leadership. The Germans followed a ‘scorched earth' policy, destroying villages
and crushing the uprising.
2.5.3 Resistances in South Africa
 The Germans’ rule in Africa was harsh and characterized by land alienation.

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  In South West Africa, for instance, land was taken from Africans and given to German
settlers. The indigenous Herero and Nama peasants were forced to reduce their grazing
land.
 Following the cattle epidemic of 1896-97, white settlers and traders moved to the
African grazing land and provided loans to the poor African peasants to take native
lands.
 In 1904, the Herero people, led by Samuel Maharero, and in 1905 the Nama people, led
by Hendrik Witbooi, rebelled against German colonial rule. However, both uprisings
were crushed by the Germans.
2.5.4 Resistances in North Africa
 After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Britain and France were engaged in a fierce
struggle to influence Egypt.
 At the time, Egypt had a weak government, led by Khedive Ismael Pasha.
 In 1879, both Britain and France agreed to implement dual control over Egypt.
 In 1881, the Egyptian people revolted opposing the imperialist domination of Britain and
France. The revolt was led by Colonel Urabi Pasha.
 In 1882, under the banner of controlling the revolt, the British colonial forces entered
Cairo and defeated the revolt. At the same time, Egypt became a British colony.
2.6 Impacts of Colonial Rule on Africa

2.6.1 Political impacts

 Africans lost political independence and freedom.
 African indigenous administrations were destroyed.
 Europeans created artificial boundaries without the approval of the local community.
This became a colonial legacy and caused boundary conflicts among many African
nations after independence.
 Sometimes they grouped together people who had never been united under the same
government before. Sometimes they divided existing groups of people.
2.6.2 Economic impacts
 Colonialism in Africa brought about the under-development of African territories in
many different ways. Africa remained a supplier of raw materials for Europe.
 Africans were not allowed nor encouraged to go into manufacturing.
 The Europeans had introduced modern education but the introduction of colonial
education made Africans abandon their indigenous technological skills and education.
 African natural resources were exploited by European colonizers. For instance, forests
were cleared to get timber, to provide firewood that was needed to power the steam
engine trains and to construct rail tracks.
2.6.3 Social impacts
 Colonialism also disrupted the development and way of living of local communities.

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  During the colonization process communities had to be moved and relocated to create
white settlement areas for large scale farming.
 Colonization also brought about different types of diseases. An example of such a disease
that was introduced by the settlers is Rinderpest disease which affected the livestock of
the Shona people of present day Zimbabwe and Botswana, and North Ethiopia during the
Kefu Qen.
Generally, colonialism shaped both the economic and political structure of African colonies to
serve the interest of European powers.
Some positive outcomes of colonialism
 It ended tribal warfare’s.
 It also introduced different modern ideas.
 Construction of railways, roads to transport raw materials to ports.

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