The Headstrong Historian

The colonial period in Africa refers to the late 19th to the mid-20th century when European powers sought to expand their dominance over African territories. Following the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, Africa was formally partitioned between European countries, which led to the establishment of European colonies to extract resources and wealth. European powers would try different methods of subjugating African territories. Causing internal strife between factions and different peoples was a common tactic, wherein the colonial power would exacerbate existing tensions and take advantage of the discord. Military conquest was often used as a dominance method against regions that lacked military force and would at times be justified as quelling native rebellions or enforcing law and order. The British Empire would employ such a tactic in their conquest of Nigeria, for instance, and claim that their goal was to protect the region from an Islamic threat.

African economies were also subordinated to the needs of these colonial powers. Trading posts were often built to control trade routes and resource distribution, and much of the work to supply European demand often involved the use of forced labor from African populations. Natural resources, such as gold, diamonds, minerals, cash crops, and rubber, were prized and extracted for refinement in colonial empires, with little investment in return. As a result, local, regional, and national infrastructure were left underdeveloped, and colonies were often impoverished and dependent on colonial infrastructure instead.

Another aspect of colonialism in Africa was the rise in missionary deployments. Though missionaries had been sent to Africa since the 15th century, the 19th century saw an unprecedented increase in delegations. As part of a given Christian faith, such as Catholicism or Anglicanism, these missionaries would establish schools, hospitals, and other institutions to convert local populations to Christianity and European cultural values. Their presence had the benefit of providing education to African children, even in rural areas, as well as establishing standards of medical care that helped to reduce the spread of diseases such as smallpox, malaria, and tuberculosis. Their presence in Africa, however, was not uniformly positive. The push for conversion often came at the price of traditional cultural practices and beliefs, and while the provided education could lead to opportunities for African children, the curricula were designed to “civilize” and “modernize” African societies to service European needs. Local languages, cultures, and indigenous knowledge were lost to this education method, and while there was notable resistance to missionaries, the legacy can still be seen in the continuous maintenance and widespread adoption of Christian faiths in Africa to this day.