The Influence of Colonial Rule on Present Day Africa

After the invasion of European countries into the African continent during the African Partition, life as the natives knew it was over. Not only did they have to deal with the changes that the Europeans enforced on them, but they then had to deal with the aftermath after the European countries pulled out when the Atlantic Charter was signed and World War II was over.

As the countries began to rebuild, many of the larger cities grew too fast. The expanding populations put great pressure on the economy of the cities and resulted in problems such as high crime rates, excess traffic, and overcrowding. Ghettos popped up all over the outskirts of the cities, leaving many people in poverty.

As the Africans struggled with the colonialism that Europe left behind, they were forced to try and fit the only form of true government they had ever known into a society that it did not fit. The only way that these Africans had ever seen this type of government work was with corrupted colonists, this resulted in the African government also being corrupt. Many of the officials would exploit others and situations to further their political careers. One of the most corrupt leaders was General Bokasa of the Central African Republic. His taking over the republic resulted in riots and killings. Under his rule, there also existed a large gap between the rich and the poor which was indicative of the social classes found in Europe.

Before the Europeans had invaded, the African continent, the people living there had their own form of government and functioned successfully in this type of organization. After the invasion, the Africans were either forced, or felt compelled to adapt this was of ruling. Instead of being able to have the type of government that worked for them, they were being forced into a mold that did not fit.

Political corruption also extended into Nigeria where the population was tricked into fighting against the Federal Nigerians. Even the very young were forced to fight. Eventually, the army withdrew to allow the population to rule, but in the end, the army returned to power in 1984.

The British then divided Nigeria into three areas by race. This was as a result of the African Partition when the Berlin Congress divided the continent as they saw fit without regard to social or natural boundaries. Nigeria, as a result, was a country made of the three different races that could not live together peacefully. Had the Berlin Congress taken the time to divide the countries on a more natural boundary, issues such as this on could have been avoided.

The African population did enjoy some benefits from the partition. The Europeans forced them into cash crops and exports, but as a result, ports and transportation systems were built that may or may not have been built otherwise. Another advantage to the invasion was that the African countries were then able to receive large quantities of imports.

In is questionable whether or not imports, such as food, would have been necessary in Nigeria had they not been forced to grow cash crops such as cotton and lose focus on raising food crops. Had the population not been forced to pay taxes and focus on the cash crops for profit, Nigeria probably would have been able to support themselves.

Some of the others problems that resulted from the imports was that Africa participated in heavy foreign borrowing in order to pay for the large imports. As a result, the cost of their exports dropped significantly and the cost of the imports increase greatly. Inflation in Africa was rampant.

From the influence of the Europeans, there was a reduction of diseases in the area due to better medical care. This resulted in healthier people and therefore, overpopulation. This overpopulation caused the ghettos in the cities as well as food shortages. Again, while the reduction of diseases was an improvement for the African people, many of the diseases that the Africans fought were introduced by the European invaders. Also, the food shortages go back to the production of cash crops instead of food due taxation and forced exports.

Reconstruction is an important part of the African history. For example, Mozambique is facing a problem with gangs. These gangs have destroyed the power lines to the dam on the Zambezi River. Mozambique is now focusing on youth education, ignoring racial boundaries, and convincing the people to produce for crops by providing more modern equipment for them.

It is anyone's guess at this point if the need for reconstruction is from the European invasions or if Africa would have eventually gone through these changes unassisted.