Colonialism In Africa Essay

What is the impact of colonialism on the economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa) or more generally the colonized countries? This is a question which has reiterated itself through the social sciences for over a century. Colonialism refers to the establishment of political and economic control by one state over another. The colonial experience began in the late 1400s, when Europeans arrived and set up trading posts in Africa. They became interested in Africa as a whole. Europeans were impressed with the abundance of natural resources. It reached a peak in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when European powers dominated many parts of the continent. Colonialism in Africa created nations and shaped their political, economic, and cultural

Sailing along the shores of the continent, they established trading posts and engaged in commerce with local peoples. They made little attempt to explore the interior. During this period, Europeans had very little influence in Africa. From the mid-1700s to 1880s, Europeans became more involved in the continent. One reason for this increased involvement was growing opposition to the slave trade. In 1787 the British founded a colony for freed slaves in sierra leone. About 30 years later, a group of Americans established Liberia for freed slaves and their descendants. Along with efforts to end slavery, Europeans also tried to bring Christianity to Africa. Their missionaries traveled throughout the continent, seeking to convert Africans and spread Western

At the same time, the nature of European interest in Africa changed dramatically.************* Frantz Fanon’s 1959 book, A Dying Colonialism, offers an interesting look on the Algerian War of Independence. In spite of its often gruelling subject matter, this book remains strangely optimistic. As the title suggest, Fanon is describing the end of a system. It is important to note that Fanon is not arguing that colonialism has indeed ended already, but rather that the end is coming soon. Simply put his book is a convincing argument for how colonialism is in decline. How there cannot be a future that sees Algeria under colonial rule. How “colonialism has definitely lost out in Algeria” (Fanon,: 31). Fanon saw how the French had already lost the battle for controlling the Algerian psychology. They had lost the battle for ideas. In light of the work of Antonio Gramsci, they were not able to exercise hegemony in Algeria. They for instance tried to convince Algerian women that they were being oppressed (Fanon: 38). By doing this they hoped to gain power over men whilst simultaneously destroying Algerian culture (Fanon: 38). This was clearly an instance of what Gayatri Spivak refers to as the phenomenon of “white men saving brown women from brown men” (Fanon: 33). Fanon sees this attempt by the French as an absolute failure. Even though they do indeed use the rhetoric that is so