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Pros vs. Cons of Imperialism on African Society
In Africa, there were many positive and negative effects of Imperialism. While the wealthier Europeans found that Imperialism was useful for building their own economy; it is unlikely that the native Africans found Imperialism useful at all. Moreover, Europeans tried to “help” the Africans advance themselves, but it was for personal gain. They gave them religion only to take everything else away from them. In the end all imperialism did for Africans was get them abused, killed, and stolen from with nothing positive in return.
Starting off, any technology that the European people gave to the Africans they ended up using it for themselves more than on helping the natives. In Does Colonization Pay, an article from 1900, O.P. Austin tells their reader that they give the people schooling, roads, and better means of communication [telegraphs], but it’s likely that after they gave them these things they used them more for themselves more than the native people. They say these things helped the native Africans, but it’s more likely that the natives were afraid of these new technological advanced. Also in Imperialism and Politics, Parker T. Moore tells how the “’’inferior races’’” must be ruled over. This is yet another sign that if they had given any technology to these people that it would’ve only been used against them.
In continuation, Europeans also used Religion as a means of taking what they wanted in Africa. For starters Parker T. Moore speaks of the Missionaries who preached of a kingdom of heaven, but ended up making an earthly empire of their own. This shows us that they came to show the world of God, but ended up taking all that was theirs for their own. An African Proverb also states this by saying, “When the whites came to our country, we had the land and they had the Bible, now we have the Bible and they have the land.” This means that they White men came for the land rather than actually being there to save anyone. Also, a German Cartoon showing how we kept them working while taking all the profit for ourselves, the men of the Bible knowing it was wrong turned their heads as if nothing was happening. This shows strong corruption within them.
Lastly is that all of Africa was abused and used with nothing for them. To bring this to life, the political cartoon showing a Chinese man and a Black man pulling a white man shows this by its saying, “Learning civilized ways is hard work.” This shows abuse because nowhere else in the world would you find someone being dragged around in a carriage. It also shows in An Anthology of West Africa By: David Diop, he tells how the White men came and killed their men, worked their children to death, seduced their women and still had the integrity to demand more from them.
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