TOPIC 3.COLONIAL ECONOMY
COLONIAL ECONOMY
Establishment of Colonial Economy
The Meaning and Objectives of Colonial Economy
Explain
the meaning and objectives of colonial economy
Colonial
economy was introduced in order to increase production distribution and
consumption of material wealth.
Why colonial economy was introduced to Africa
Colonial
economy in Africa was introduced due to the industrial revolution in Europe
which led to a need for raw materials, markets, areas of investment and
labourers. In order to solve those problems, Europeans established five
economic activities such as agriculture, mining, industry, trade and
infrastructure.
Features of colonial economy
Colonial economy had several features which differ from the
pre-colonial economy in the following ways:
1. Colonial
economy was export oriented (e.g. production of cash crops, mineral.
2. It was
exploitative in nature,that is Africans were highly exploited.
3. It went
hand in hand with alienation of Africans (Africans were alienated from their
land which was used by the Europeans).
4. Colonial
economy used forced labour (in areas where colonial rulers opened projects).
5. Colonial
economy was a cash economy that is, exchange was done on monetary terms.
6. It went
together with the use of high capital in opening of economic activities like
agriculture, mining etc.
7. Colonial
economy involved small scale and large-scale production.
8. It went
together with introduction of tax. This tax went to the colonial government.
The Tactics used to Establish Colonial Economy
Analyse critically the tactics used to establish colonial economy
Establishment of colonial economy in Africa
In
establishing colonial economy Europeans used different methods: Creative,
destructive and preservation.
a. Creative
Colonial rulers introduced new modes of production in Africa
such as:
1. The
introduction of a cash economy, exchange took place through cash.
2. Introduction
of land alienation where European took fertile belonging to Africans.
3. Colonialists
introduced large-scale farms e.g. tea plantations and settler farms in Africa.
4. Africans
were forced to pay tax in cash to the colonial government.
5. It went
together with the construction of infrastructure for the benefit of colonial
powers.
6. Africans
were forced to work in colonial projects.
b. Destructive
Colonial power tended to be destructive to Africa:
1. Colonialism
destroyed African local industries in order to gain market and labourers.
2. Colonial
governments tended to destroy African culture e.g. initiation ceremony. This
was done to obtain cheap labour.
c. Preservative
1. Colonial
governments preserved peasant economy in some areas e.g. in Uganda, West Africa
etc.
2. African
mode of production was allowed to continue e.g. Feudalism in Uganda and
primitive communal mode of production in other areas.
Activity 1
1. Colonial
economy was destructive, creative and preservative, discus.
2. Discuss
the methods that were used by Europeans to establish colonial economy in
Africa.
Sectors of Colonial
Economy
The Various Sectors of Colonial Economy
Identify
the various sectors of colonial economy
In order to fulfill their needs colonial masters introduced
several projects/sectors such as:
a. Agriculture
b. Trading
c.
Mining
d. Industrial
e.
Infrastructure
The Features of each Sector of the Colonial Economy
Explain
the features of each sector of the colonial economy
Agriculture
Agriculture at this time was basically one crop production. In
this it was of small scale and large-scale production.Crop production was
divided into three forms as follows:
1. Peasant
economy
2. Plantation
economy
3. Settler
economy
Peasant economy
Africans
were left to continue with production of cash crops on a small scale in some
areas.Peasant economy was introduced in Uganda, cottonand coffee in
Tanganyika’s Sukuma Land, and Cocoa and palm oil production in West Africa
Activity 2
1. In some
of the areas colonial rulers introduced peasant economy and plantation economy.
Discuss why.
2. Explain
why colonial governments used peasant economy in West Africa and Uganda.
Why
peasant economy was reliable in some areas
Colonial governments continued production using the peasant
economy on a small scale. This was due to the following factors:
1. Africans
had experience growing cash crops such as palm oil, cotton while Europeans did
not. Hence they allowed Africans to continue producing.
2. The
system was cheap and the cost of production was covered by the peasants.
3. It was
due to negative response from the Africans while some societies resisted the
introduction of plantation farming e.g. in West Africa.
4. It was
simple to force Africans on production e.g. basing on quality of productions
for instance in Sukuma Land each family was required to produce two acres of
cotton.
5. Europeans
were unable to live in some areas with tropical climates as they feared tropical
diseases. Therefore, Africans were left to continue with production in these
areas.
6. The
system helped colonial governments at large with selling cash crops. Africans
were required to contribute on the construction of roads and others social
services.
7. Some
areas had high populations e.g. in West Africa, hence it was not possible to
alienate all of them from their land.
Plantation
economy
These
were large-scale farms under the colonial government; they were mainly based on
cash crops production e.g. Sisal in Tanganyika (Morogoro and Tanga).
Settlers
economy
This
system involved the production of cash crops at a larger scale.European and
some Asiansettlers owned these large-scale farms. Examples of these areas where
settlers introduced this type of economy are Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Algeria.
How Colonial Government
favoured settlers in Africa:
At
large it is said that settlers were highly favoured by their respective
colonial Governments e.g. in Kenya and Zimbabwe settlers were favoured to a
large extent.
Activity 3
1. Show
how settlers were favoured in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia. OR
2. Show
how settlers were helped by the colonial Government in Kenya
Settlers
in Africa were favoured through on of the following methods:
1. Settlers
were given capital by the colonial government through loans.
2. Colonial
governments built social services in areas with settlers such as hospital,
roads, schools to attract more settlers to Africa.
3. Settlers
were favoured in the pricing of cash crops compared to peasants (crops from the
settlers were bought at a higher price).
4. Colonial
governments tended to force Africans to work on settlers’ farms, it helped
increase production due to availability of labour.
5. Colonial
governments favoured settlers through the use of the Land Act. In 1919 the
Crown Lands Act helped settlers obtain land in Kenya.
6. Africans
were restricted from growing the same type of cash crops produced by settlers
e.g. in Kenya. Africans were restricted from growing coffee, this benefited
settlers in marketing their product.
INDUSTRY
The
colonial government introduced processing industries in some of the areas.
These processing industries were established in areas with cash crop
production. Colonial governments tended to destroy local industries in Africa
in order to introduce these processing industries.
Roles of industries at
the time
Industries
were meant to reduce the bulkiness of raw materials e.g. Sisal, raw materials
were processed to simplify carriage of raw materials from Africa to their
mother countries.
Mining
White
settlers formulated large numbers of mining centers in Africa to fulfill their
demands e.g, in South Africa diamond and gold mines were opened.Colonial
governments tended to use migrant labour due to the location of mining centers.
Role of mining: Toobtain raw materials
e.g. minerals like gold, diamonds for their industries.
Trade
and Commerce
European
colonialists introduced trading activities while importing several items such
as clothes and simple machines from Europe. On the other hand, colonial governments
also exported raw materials from Africa to their home countries.
Role of trade and
commerce
It
helped European colonial governments to gain raw materials from Africa like
crops and minerals. Europeans obtained market for their manufactured goods from
Europe.
Infrastructure
In
order to develop economic activities in Africa, colonial governments built
infrastructure like roads, railway houses. Roads and railways were built from
the interior all the way to the coast to make exportation and importation of
goods easy.
Role of infrastructure
a. Roads
and railways were used to carry raw materials from the interior ready for
export.
b. They
carried immigrant labours to areas of production e.g. Kigoma – Dar es Salaam
railway was built for that purpose.
c.
To carry administrators and military troops from one area to
another.
d. To
transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to the another
e.
To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to the interior.
Activity 4
Discuss
the role of colonial economies introduced by the Europeans in Africa and how
pre-colonial economy differed to the colonial economy.
The Impact of the Establishment of Various Sectors of Colonial
Economy on Africa
Assess the
impact of the establishment of various sectors of colonial economy on Africa
Colonial economy in Africa had both positive and negative
effects for Africans.
1. Africans
inherited infrastructure from the colonial governments e.g. roads, railways,
that were used for carrying goods and labourers.
2. After
the independence of African countries nationalisation of plantations, buildings
under the colonial governments started. Buildings, plantations and harbours
were now under the African states.
3. It led
to the introduction of new varieties of crops from outside e.g. varieties of
cotton from America, and coffee.
4. Africans
inherited European economic plans which continued to be used after independence
e.g, the treatment of labourers.
5. Africans
were impoverished due to exploitation by the colonial governments.
6. African
technology declined due to the destruction of local industries.
7. Some
areas that were known for producing labour were under developed due to
rationalisation, e.g Kigoma in Tanganyika.
8. Africans
inherited capitalist elements from their colonial masters in some areas like
Kenya and Zimbabwe.
9. It led
to Europeans taking natural resources from Africa e.g. minerals, raw materials
through an unequal exchange.
Colonial Labour
The Concept of Colonial Labour
Explain
the concept of colonial labour
Starting
from the early 20th century,
colonial governments in Africa established colonial economies such as
agriculture, industry, trade, mining etc. Due to those economic activities they
needed more labour.
Why labour questions came up?
The following factors led to colonial labour questions in
Africa:
1. Size of
economic activities e.g. plantations demanded large supply of labour.
2. Locations
of some economic activities e.g. mining centers were located in interior and
remote parts hence had shortage of labour.
3. Some of
the African societies had negative response to the colonial powers thus it was
not easier to obtain labour.
4. Population
size in some areas was less hence labour problem came up.
The Tactics Used to Create Colonial Labour
Analyse
the tactics used to create colonial labour
In order to solve the problem of labour shortage in Africa
colonial governments took the following measures:
1. Introduction
of forced labour: Colonial governments used coercive force like army and police
to force Africans to work in colonial economies. In Tanganyika 1944 about 12,00
labourers were forced to work on sisal plantations.
2. Europeans
imported manufactured goods in Africa such as clothes, bicycles that were sold
for cash, Africans were required to work to buy such products.
3. Colonial
governments introduced tax in the form of cash thus Africans were required to
work in colonial economies to earn money to pay tax.
4. Colonial
governments registered Trade Unions with the aim of finding labourers e.g.
SILABU (Sisal Labour Bureau) in Tanganyika and W.N.L.A. (Witwatersrand Native
labour Association) in South Africa.
5. They
introduced laws and ordinance e.g. the “Kipande” system in Kenya where Africans
were required to have an identity card showing their place of occupation. In
Tanganyika there was a Masters and Native Servants Act of 1906
6. Introduction
of land alienation. In Kenya and Zimbabwe Africans were removed from fertile
areas and had to work to earn money.
7. Colonial
governments introduced rationalisation so some areas were special for labour
production e.g. Kigoma, Rukwa and other areas were special for crop production.
8. They
introduced colonial education to gain administrators for lower posts in Africa
e.g. clerks and messengers which were used on colonial economies and other
colonial offices.
The Types of Colonial Labour
analyse
the types of colonial labour
Colonial
labour force was divided into different types, namely migrant labour, forced
labour, communal labour, family labour, contract labour, resident labour,
indentured labour and feudal relation labour
The Impact of the Establishment of Colonial Labour to African
Societies
Assess the
impact of the establishment of colonial labour to African societies
Introduction
of indigenous/ natural economy
·
Pre- colonial economy - this economy was established in Africa
before the coming of the colonialist (this economy involved Agriculture or crop
production). During the 19th century
Europeans came to establish economic activities in Africa, activities such as
mining, trade, agriculture, infrastructure to mentioned a few.
·
In order to introduce these activities the colonialists used
different mechanisms to break up natural economic activities in East Africa.
·
Colonialists started with the destruction of African local
industries, Africans were not allowed to work in their industries. Therefore,
the local textile, iron-smelting industries in East Africa were destroyed.
Examples of destroyed industries are the textile industries of Sukuma land,
Buganda and Congo.
·
In addition, the colonialists introduced cash crop production
which disrupted food crop production. Colonialists aimed to gain raw materials
from the indigenous people. Colonialism introduced land alienation, which led
to the decline of indigenous natural economies like crop production.
·
Colonialists also introduced forced labour to provide manpower
for their economic activities, this resulted in the destruction of African
economies like agriculture and industry.
They introduced the following:
1. Introduction
of cash tax.
2. Introduction
of cash (money) economy.
3. Introduction
of laws and ordinance e.g. “Kipande” system in (Kenya) and Masters and Native
Act 1906 (Tanganyika). Construction of infrastructure in East Africa (helped
colonialists to obtain markets, labourers and raw materials while affecting
Africans.
Effects of colonial economy to the Africans: Colonial
economy in Africa had both positive and negative effects on the African people.
1. Africans
inherited infrastructure from the colonial governments e.g. roads, railways,
that were used for carrying goods and labourers.
2. After
the independence of African countries nationalisation of plantations, buildings
under the colonial governments started. Buildings, plantations and harbours
were now under the African states.
3. It led
to the introduction of new varieties of crops from outside e.g. varieties of
cotton from America, and coffee.
4. Africans
inherited European economic plans which continued to be used after independence
e.g, the treatment of labourers.
5. Africans
were impoverished due to exploitation by the colonial governments.
6. African
technology declined due to the destruction of local industries.
7. Some
areas that were known for producing labour were under developed due to
rationalisation, e.g Kigoma in Tanganyika.
8. Africans
inherited capitalist elements from their colonial masters in some areas like
Kenya and Zimbabwe.
9. It led
to Europeans taking natural resources from Africa e.g. minerals, raw materials
through an unequal exchange.
Activity 5
NECTA 1998;
1. Discuss
the mechanism, used by colonialists to break up the natural indigenous
(wenyeji/ wazawa) economy of East African people.
2. Using
concrete examples of any East African society show the pattern of the physical
and social infrastructures were determined by the system of the colonial
economy.
3. How did
the colonial Government ensure constant supply of labour in their colonies in
East Africa?