How Did The French Compcolonize Mali?

1009 Words3 Pages

Mali is a West African country located just north of Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast (Africa Prefix Map) and in 1892, it was colonized by the French(World-net: Virginia and Mali History). The main legacies of colonization that affected Mali were religion, language and agriculture. During this time if any Malian resisted colonization the French Military would take action and punish those individuals. Although Mali was colonized, the country benefited in many ways from these specific changes. As of September 22, 1960 Mali is independent but the country still carries some of the French traditions in their culture. After the French colonized Mali, it became known as Soudan Francis which is French Soudan. Mali had been under French rule from 1892- 1960. During these 68 years, the country’s borders expanded into present day Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso which is called Senegambia et Niger (WorldNet: Virginia Mali-History). Before the French arrived, central powers did not exist in Mali which caused agriculture to diminish. This made the Malian’s vulnerable for French control. When the French arrived they were searching for raw materials and markets to sell their manufactured goods; therefore, they forced Malians to grow cotton and peanuts. Malians were also were required to create roads to and railroads to allow for trade on the coast (WorldNet: …show more content…

If it wasn’t for the French their agricultural system would not have been as productive and advanced. Because the French introduced these crops, they are still playing a large role in the Modern day Malian Economy. For Example they would not have known how to harvest new crops if the French had not educated them on the procedures. Although they have been independent for over 50 years they have not been able to structure themselves into a developed country. If they had still been under French rule they most likely would be a modern developed

Open Document