Advanced History Form Five

Advanced
History
for Secondary Schools
Student’s Book Form Five
Tanzania Institute of Education
1. HIST-F5 (DOUBLE COLUMN) backUP.indd 1 07/03/2022 18:59:42

Advanced History for Secondary Schools
© Tanzania Institute of Education 2022
Published 2022
ISBN: 978-9987-09-406-6
P.O. Box 35094
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Mobile numbers: +255 735 041 168 / +255 735 041 170
E-mail: director.general@tie.go.tz
Website: www.tie.go.tz
All rights reserved. No part of this textbook may be reproduced, stored in any
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
of Tanzania Institute of Education.
ii Student's Book Form Five

Table of contents
List of figures�� vi
Acronyms and abbreviations�� vii
Acknowledgements�� ix
Preface�� x
Chapter One: Pre-colonial African societies�� 1
Political organisations in pre-colonial Africa�� 20
Pre-colonial education and culture�� 32
Revision exercise 1�� 41
Chapter Two: Africa and Europe in the 15th century�� 42
The political systems in Africa and Europe by the 15th century�� 60
Development of science and technology in Africa and
Europe up to the 15th century�� 63
Rise of the development gap between Africa and
Europe since the 15th century�� 68
Chapter Three: People of African origin in the New World�� 73
The concept of slavery and slave trade�� 74
Black Solidarity and ‘Back-to-Africa’ Movement�� 84
Pan-Africanism�� 89
The Civil Rights Movement�� 93
Student's Book Form Five iii

Chapter Four: The colonial state and agricultural

systems up to 1914��101
The colonial state��101
Reasons for the adopting different colonial agricultural systems��122
Revision exercise 4��127
Chapter Five: Changes in the colonial economy and social services

after the Second World War��129
Changes in colonial agriculture��134
Changes in the colonial industrial policies��142
Changes in the colonial trade��144
Changes in colonial labour policies��146
Changes in the colonial transport and communication systems��152
Changes in social service policies��156
Chapter Six: Nationalism and decolonisation in Africa��168
The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919��171
Pan-Africanism ��177
Effects of the Second World War��180
The United State of America (USA) and decolonisation of Africa��185
United Nations Organisation��187
The Bandung Conference of 1955��189
The independence of India and Burma��191
iv Student's Book Form Five

Chapter Seven: Political and economic development in Tanzania

after independence��195
Political development in Tanzania after independence��195
Economic development in Tanzania since independence��204
Educational development in Tanzania after independence��214
Challenges that faced development efforts in Tanzania��226
Glossary��231
Bibliography��233
Student's Book Form Five v

List of figures
1.1: Some of the areas in pre-colonial Africa where there were

different modes of production�� 19
1.2: Organisation structure of ntemiship�� 24
1.3: West African states involved in Jihad movements

in the 19th century�� 30
2.1: Trade between East African coast, the Roman world,

the Arabian Sea and the Far East�� 45
2.2: North-West Africa Trans-Saharan Trade routes�� 48
2.3: Egyptian pyramid�� 64
3.1: Triangular Slave Trade�� 76
3.2: William Du Bois. �� 81
3.3: Marcus Garvey�� 86
3.4: Rosa Park and Martin Luther King Jr�� 94
4.1: German colonial askaris�� 102
4.2: Sisal plantation in German East Africa�� 120
5.1: Main railway lines and ports in Tanganyika�� 154
6.1: Nnamdi Azikiwe�� 176
6.2: Ahmed Sukarno (1901-1970)�� 190
6.3: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)�� 192
7.1: Urafiki Textile Mill�� 209
7.2: J. K. Nyerere and other leaders marching during

the Arusha Declaration�� 211
vi Student's Book Form Five

Acronyms and abbreviations
ANC African National Congress

ASP Afro-Shiraz Party
BCE Before Common Era (formally known as BC - Before Christ)
BEMP Basic Education Master Plan
CE Common Era (formally known as AD - Anno Domino)
CDW Colonial Development and Welfare
CFAO Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale
COINTELPRO Counter Intelligence Programme
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CPP Convention People’s Party
CRDB Cooperative and Rural Development Bank
DPP Director of Public Prosecutions
EAC East African Community
EAHC East African High Commission
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EIT Export-Import Trade
ERP Economic Recovery Programme
ESR Education for Self-Reliance
ETP Education and Training Policy
FGM Female Genital Mutilation
FLN Front de Libération Nationale
FRELIMO Frente de Libertação de Mozambique
GDP Gross Domestic Product
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IMF International Monetary Fund
INC Indian National Congress
ISIs Import-Substitution Industries
KANU Kenya African National Union
MNC Mouvement National Congolais
MoEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
Student's Book Form Five vii

History for Advanced Secondary Schools
MPLA Movimento Polular de Libertação de Angola

NAM Non-Aligned Movement
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NEC National Executive Committee
NESP National Economic Survival Programme
OAU Organisation of African Unity
PCCB Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau
PEDP Primary Education Development Programme
SADC Southern African Development Community
SADF South African Defence Forces
SAP Structural Adjustment Programme
SCOA Soci ́et ́e Commerciale de l’Ouest Africain
SEDP Secondary Education Development Programme
SILABU Sisal Labour Bureau
SWAPO South West African People’s Organisation
TANU Tanganyika African National Union
TAZAMA Tanzania Zambia Mafuta
TAZARA Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority
TFL Tanganyika Federation of Labour
TIB Tanzania Investment Bank
TRA Tanzania Revenue Authority
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence
UFI Ubungo Farmers’ Implements
UNITA União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola
UNO United Nations Organisation
UN United Nations
UPE Universal Primary Education
USA United States of America
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
WNLA Witwatersrand Native Labour Agency
ZZK Zana Za Kilimo
viii Student's Book Form Five

Acknowledgements
Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) would like to acknowledge the contributions of

all the organisations and individuals who participated in designing and developing
this textbook. In particular, TIE wishes to thank the University of Dar es Salaam
(UDSM), Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy (MNMA), School Quality
Assurance (SQA) Department, teachers’ colleges and secondary schools. Besides,
the following individuals are acknowledged:
Writers: Ms Sophia J. Amasi (TIE), Dr Musa S. Myala,

Dr Hezron R. Kangalawe (UDSM), Mr Karani H. Mdee (MNMA)
Editors: Dr George K. Ambindwile, Dr Albertus K. Onyiego,

Dr Gasiano G. Sumbai, Mr Reginald E. Kirey,
Dr Nicholous A. Njeza, (UDSM),
Mr Telesphor B. Hunja (SAUT-Mbeya)
Designer: Sultan A. Tamba
Illustrator: Fikiri A. Msimbe (TIE)
Cartographer: Anna P. Mushi (UDSM)
Coordinator: Sophia J. Amasi (TIE)
TIE also appreciates the participation of the secondary school teachers and students
in the trial phase of the manuscript. Likewise, the Institute would like to thank
the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for facilitating the writing and
printing of this textbook.
Dr Aneth A. Komba
Director General
Student's Book Form Five ix

Preface
This textbook, Advanced History for Secondary Schools, is written specifically for
Form Five students in the United Republic of Tanzania. It is written in accordance
with the 2010 History Syllabus for Advanced Secondary Education, Form V-VI,
issued by the then Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
The book consists of seven chapters, namely Pre-colonial African societies, Africa and
Europe in the 15th century, People of African origin in the New World, The colonial
state and agricultural system up to 1914, Changes in the colonial economy and social
services after the Second World War, Nationalism and decolonisation in Africa, as
well as Political and economic development in Tanzania since independence. Each
chapter contains texts, illustrations, activities and exercises. You are encouraged to
do all the activities and exercises, as well as other assignments that your teacher will
provide. Doing so will enable you to develop the intended competencies.
x Student's Book Form Five

Chapter
Pre-colonial African societies
One
Introduction
Pre-colonial African societies existed in Africa before colonial rule. The

societies had their own socio-economic and political ways of life. They had
reached a considerable level of socio-economic and political development by
the time colonialism started in Africa. In this chapter, you will learn about the
pre-colonial social formations and political organisations that existed in Africa.
You will also learn about pre-colonial education and culture. The competencies
developed will enable you to maintain the good socio-economic systems that
existed in pre-colonial Africa, for future generations.
Think of the society of which you are a member. Can you trace its origin?
Social and political organisations in because pre-colonial African societies

pre-colonial Africa displayed remarkable socio-economic
Different points of view are given on and political transformation. That
the nature of African societies before transformation was manifested
colonialism. These are the Afro-centric in social, political and economic
and the Euro-centric views. Afro- structures, which were very complex
centric scholars argue that, before the and dynamic.
coming of the colonialists, African The dynamic nature of pre-colonial
societies were dynamic in all aspects African societies was the result of
of life, including politics, culture, many factors. The factors included the
economy and technology. Euro-centric development of production systems,
scholars, on the other hand, argue that, the growth of population and the
before the coming of Europeans to development of trade. However, in
Africa, Africans were barbaric, static order to understand these pre-colonial
and uncivilised. However, the Euro- social formations, it is important to
centric point of view is misleading define some of the key terms used
Student's Book Form Five 1

in history. The terms include labour, the hand hoe, machete, tractor and
human labour, objects of labour, means computer. In short, means of labour
of labour, relations of production, help humans to simplify work. Without
productive forces and modes of them work becomes difficult.
production.
Object of labour
Labour An object of labour refers to everything
Labour refers to the physical and on which humans’ labour is applied.
mental ability used in production. They are the resources upon which
Human beings need to produce to meet human labour is applied to produce.
their basic needs, namely food, shelter Such resources are mostly found in
and clothing. Thus, material production their natural environments such as
is the basis of human existence. land, rivers and forests. That means
Labour may also be defined as a human beings need objects of labour
purposeful activity directed towards to work. Otherwise, work becomes
the production of specific objects and impossible. For example, you may
essentials of human life. It is a form have a good fishing instrument, but you
of social activity that brings people will not fish unless there is a river, an
together and facilitates different levels ocean, a lake or a water pond in which
of human cooperation. This means that fish are found.
humans’ productive activities and the
Means of production
struggle against nature always take
place within the framework of material Means of production refer to the
conditions and specific social relations. combination of means of labour and
objects of labour. They are necessary in
Means of labour the production of goods and services.
Means of labour refer to all the things They are capital and labour. When left on
human beings use in the process of their own, the means of labour have no
production. With the aid of such things, value in life. Therefore, human labour
human beings act upon objects of must act on objects of labour using
labour and transform them. Means of instruments of labour to make material
labour are also known as instruments production a reality. As they interact
of labour. They range from simple to in the process of material production,
complex tools and play a vital role in people use their knowledge, skills as
material production. They act as the well as experience to produce things to
extension of a human’s natural organs meet their basic needs. In the process,
such as hands, legs, eyes and the brain. they develop technology, which is a
Examples of means of labour include significant factor of production.
2 Student's Book Form Five

Productive forces people’s needs. Each society has an

Productive forces result from the organisation called the superstructure.
interaction between human labour and The superstructure consists of non-
the means of labour. The principal productive institutions such as the
elements of productive forces in any judiciary, religious beliefs, customs
society are people, intelligence and and traditions. A society’s mode of
experiences. Productive forces are production and the superstructure
dynamic. They grow, multiply and constitute a social formation. In
change with advancements in human categorising a mode of production,
skills and production experiences. one has to ask oneself questions about
Therefore, the level of the development who owns the means of production,
of productive forces is an indicator of how production is organised and how
humans’ mastery of nature. the fruits of labour are distributed. For
example, under a communal mode
Relations of production of production, the major means of
Relations of production are those into production are collectively owned by
which human beings enter during a the community and the fruits of labour
production process. It is the relations of are distributed more or less equally
production that show whether a relation within the community.
is exploitative or non-exploitative. For
example, capitalist social formation, Exercise 1.1
relations of production refer to a
(a) Conduct a library research
relationship between those who
and write an essay on the
own the means of production (the
pre-colonial African system
bourgeoisie) and those who do not (the
of property ownership.
proletariat). Thus, under this system,
State clearly who owned
the relations of production are always
the means of production
exploitative. According to Karl Marx,
and why.
the only way the bourgeoisie can make
a profit is by exploiting the proletariat (b) Explain how products were
by giving them low wages and making distributed in any pre-
them work for a long time. colonial society of your
choice.
Modes of production
(c) Who owns the means of
A mode of production consists of
production such as land
productive forces and relations of
in your society today and
production. The mode of production
why?
of a particular society should meet

Modes of production in Africa forests as well as in the arid and semi-

By the beginning of the 19th century, arid regions. These were regions which
many African societies were still under could hardly support livestock keeping
the communal mode of production. or crop cultivation. Agricultural
A few societies were under the feudal communities which practised shifting
mode of production and some were in cultivation also fell into this mode
transition from the communal mode of production. Examples of African
of production to the feudal mode societies that led a communal life
of production. The transition from include hunter-gatherers such as the
one mode of production to another Mbuti of the Ituri Forest of eastern
was largely influenced by the local Congo, the San of the Kalahari Desert,
environment and the development of the Sandawe and Hadzabe of north-
productive forces. central Tanzania and the Khoikhoi of
South Africa. Other examples include
Primitive communal mode of pastoralist communities like the Fulani
production of northern Nigeria in West Africa,
According to Karl Marx, this was the the Galla and Somali of north-eastern
first mode of production all human Africa, the Teso of Uganda and Kenya,
societies experienced. Primitive the Karamojong of Uganda, and the
communalism was the earliest system Ndorobo of Tanzania and Kenya.
of social relations that preceded Characteristics of primitive
all the modes of production. It was communalism
the first, non-antagonistic mode of
Primitive communalism had several
production of the stone, bronze and
defining features. One of the most
iron ages. Relations under this mode of
common features was a low level of
production were egalitarian.
science and technology. At first, most of
In Africa, primitive communalism the tools available were made of stones.
existed for a much longer time than any There were three phases of the Stone
other mode of production. It emerged Age, depending on the type of stone
more than one million years ago. In tools used. The first phase was the Old
some societies, especially in hunting or Early Stone Age. The second phase
and gathering societies, the primitive was the Middle Stone Age and the third
mode of production is still practised. phase was the New or Late Stone Age.
At the beginning of colonialism, In the first two phases, humans lived by
the communal mode of production hunting and gathering, while in the last
was found in some parts of Africa, phase humans started to domesticate
especially in the dense equatorial plants and animals. Given the low

level of science and technology, the community members traced their

communal economy could not support origin to the same ancestor. Each group
a large population. was separated from another by large
Moreover, primitive communalism areas of land, and each group had its
was characterised by a simple division own territory. Members of the same
of labour, which was mainly based community shared beliefs and spoke
the same dialect. However, in their
on age and sex. For example, it was
continuous search for food, a member
common for men to participate in
of one group could enter the territory
hunting and fishing activities, while
of another group. Thus, wars broke out.
women participated in gathering roots
In addition, wars could break out as a
and fruits and took care of children.
result of the need for revenge. There
Under the communal mode of were no standing armies. Instead,
production, there was no private during a war, a whole group would be
ownership of the means of production. involved in it and when the war was
All such means were collectively over, they would resume production.
owned by the community. That is There was also a certain level of
to say, the objects of labour such as democracy under this mode of
land, rivers and forests were shared production. This means that all
by all community members. Likewise, decisions would be made by all adult
everyone was free to use the means of members of the group, regardless of
labour but with specific community their sex. Furthermore, elders governed
rules. by consensus. They had no coercive
Furthermore, under this mode of power and exercised their power purely
production, there was no exploitation of through respect and need. Under this
man by man. There was no suppression mode of production, there was hardly
of individuals or families. Whatever any powerful ruler or chief to exercise
was produced was equally shared absolute power.
among community members. This Under the communal system,
tendency discouraged exploitation, production was only for subsistence
since there was no class stratification. purposes. There was no surplus
All society members were relatively production in communal societies
equal. because of the low development of
Additionally, people lived in bands the productive forces. Whatever was
or families and small kinship groups. produced was for consumption.
This form of social formation was Because of the low level of science and
based on blood relationships, in that technology, the tools used were very

crude and were often made of stones, Slave mode of production

sticks and bones. Such tools made the The slave mode of production was the
production of food and other things earliest exploitative mode of production
difficult. Thus, there was no production in human history. It was a socio-
for exchange. economic system based on private
Nevertheless, during this mode of ownership of the means of production,
production, humans continued to including slave labour. According to
struggle to control nature to increase Karl Marx, slavery was the crudest
their productivity. This, finally, led to form of exploitation in human history.
the domestication of animals and plants. This mode of production pre-dominated
The domestication of animals and plants in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, India
came to be known as the Neolithic and China in the 4th millennium BCE.
Revolution in the latter part of the In Greece, the slave mode of production
Stone Age. The Neolithic Revolution, reached its peak between the 5th and
which is also called the Agricultural 4th centuries BCE, while in Rome it
Revolution, was a great shift from reached a climax from the 2nd century
depending on hunting and gathering BCE to 2nd century CE. In addition
to depending on agriculture and animal to Ancient Egypt, other societies in
domestication. This shift marked a Africa such as the Kongo Kingdom
significant step in human history. Ways experienced domestic slavery.
of living were greatly transformed as The development of the slave mode
some people became pastoralists and of production involved complex
others crop cultivators. The Neolithic processes, including improvement of
Revolution led to radical changes in productive forces, the rise of private
human life because it transformed ownership of property such as land
scattered dwellings of hunter-gatherers and the production of surplus wealth
into permanent farming villages. by those who owned the means of
This transformation had far-reaching production.
consequences for the social, political
and economic evolution. Under this mode of production, a slave
was an essential means of production as
Activity 1.1 the slave master perpetually exploited
and appropriated his labour. The slave
There are various social classes
master owned the means of production
in modern African societies.
and the slave himself/herself.
Discuss in pair the advantages and
disadvantages of the social classes
in any society of your choice.

The origin of slavery in pre-colonial was the increase in surplus production.

African societies The desire to reduce surplus wealth
Slavery was a mode of production necessitated having slaves who could
in different parts of the world which help families to cope with the increased
started after the stone-age period. amount of work. Those who controlled
There has been a debate on whether surplus wealth became slave masters
because such wealth gave them power
slavery as a mode of production
over those without. War became the
existed in Africa or not. In fact, there
most reliable means of obtaining slave
were a few societies that developed a
labour. The war captives would be used
slave mode of production, while the
as slaves, instead of being killed. With
majority of African societies did not.
time, this tendency became common
However, the slave mode of production
and prompted the development of the
in Africa did not emerge as a distinct
slave mode of production.
economic system, since it co-existed
with some elements of communalism Slaves were used to build cities and
or feudalism. large structures such as pyramids,
dams and irrigation systems in Ancient
The major factors for the emergence of
Egypt. However, it should be noted
slavery in pre-colonial African societies
that slavery co-existed with feudalism
were technological development and
in Ancient Egypt. Therefore, in Africa
social division of labour. For example, slavery was only partially practised as
during slavery, societies learnt to a mode of production, except in places
use iron tools in farming and other like Ancient Egypt, West Africa and
economic activities. Furthermore, along the coast of East Africa.
pre-colonial African societies were
not homogeneous. They varied from Characteristics of the slave mode of
one place to another in terms of production
development. Some ethnic groups in As a mode of production, slavery was
slave-owning societies specialised characterised by the following features:
in crafts and farming, while others
Under the slave mode of production,
specialised in trade. This division of
population was divided into freemen
labour caused inequality, hence the rise
and slaves. Freemen had civil, property
of social stratification in societies.
and political rights, while slaves were
The earliest people to develop slavery deprived of all the rights and could not
in Africa were Ancient Egyptians, who join the ranks of freemen. Freemen
did so in about 3500 BCE. The reason the included large landowners, who were
Ancient Egyptians developed slavery also slave owners.

The slave mode of production was Ancient Egypt

characterised by the class contradiction Archaeological evidence reveals
between slaves and slave owners. With that the transition from hunting and
the development of the slave mode of
gathering to the cultivation of crops
production, slave labour became the
and the domestication of animals
main means of production and the
happened in Ancient Egypt in 5000
contradiction between slaves and slave
and 4000 BCE. The development of
masters became the basic contradiction
food production led to an increase in
in society. Slave masters’ exploitation
population in Ancient Egypt owing
of slaves was the main cause of this
to the abundance of food. Population
contradiction.
growth called for further development
This mode of production was also of agriculture. To develop agriculture,
characterised by the rise of the state. The the Egyptians harnessed the annual
rise of class stratification in society led flood of the Nile waters and distributed
to the rise of the state. With the growth the waters over large tracts of land to
of the social division of labour and the enhance crop cultivation and animal
development of exchange, separate husbandry. The need to control the
clans and ethnic groups united. The Nile waters compelled different
character of clan institutions changed. kinship groups to come together to
The institutions were converted into construct dams and irrigation canals.
organs of dominance and oppression. The aforesaid activities made some
The elders and military clan leaders people specialise in managing the
became kings and princes, while other
public, while others did manual work.
people, especially the poor, were
Such a division of labour resulted in
subjected to slavery.
the formation of a class of rulers on the
Moreover, the slave mode of production one hand, and a class of labourers on
was characterised by improvement of the other.
productive forces. The improvement
The control of the Nile waters also
of productive forces initiated the
required proper knowledge of floods.
production of surplus and the division
Therefore, some people specialised in
of labour. In Africa, the state emerged
observing the movement of stars in
when societies could produce surplus.
relation to the occurrence of floods. This
At this stage, there emerged people
led to the discovery of the astronomical
who were detached from the process of
calendar and the emergence of people
production and who naturally became
rulers. The following are examples of who were entirely involved in the
the pre-colonial African societies that production of scientific knowledge.
practised slavery. The need to keep records led to the

invention of writing and, hence, a group while the lower class was mainly in
of recorders emerged. This eventually the countryside. The lower class in the
led to the development of abstract countryside fed those who lived in the
sciences such as mathematics and towns.
astronomy. These groups of scientists Sudanic zone
and supervisors or rulers withdrew
from direct production. Those who The Sudanic zone in West Africa was
engaged in mental work had little time another part of Africa where slave-
to interact with land, thus marking the owning societies emerged. The zone
beginning of classes. stretches from the Atlantic coast
eastwards to the area around Lake Chad.
Moreover, the development of Activities such as crop production,
abstract sciences resulted in further animal husbandry and iron-smelting
development of the productive had been well developed in this region
forces which, in turn, led to material by 3000 BCE.
development in fields like architecture,
sculpture, design and pottery. These The relationship between crop
achievements led to the construction cultivation and animal husbandry was
of pyramids and temples, the casting symbiotic. Animal provided manure
of life-size bronze and stone statues and other products to crop cultivators.
of human beings, household goods In return, the cultivators produced crops
and animals. Thus, as the productive like beans and cereals, which were
forces developed in Ancient Egypt exchanged for animal products. At the
during and after the Neolithic period, beginning of the first millennium CE,
communalism gradually collapsed. the people in the region had developed
crafts and techniques of different
Egyptian society was divided into kinds. The techniques included
several classes. There was a ruling cotton-weaving, iron-smelting, the
class which consisted of the nobility, construction of houses made of dried
religious leaders, military commanders bricks and the making of ornaments,
and intellectuals on the one hand, and including bronze, golden and silver
the labouring class, which consisted of articles.
peasants and slaves, on the other.
The development of crafts led to
This division of society into the development of commodity
antagonistic classes went hand in production and exchange within and
hand with the separation of towns between communities. The expansion
and the countryside. The upper class of these economic activities led to
concentrated in towns and cities, the development of the long distance

trade between the Forest Zone and the emergence of three major social
North Africa. The trade between West classes. First, there was the ruling
and North Africa was referred to as class, which consisted of the military
the Trans-Saharan Trade. Camels aristocracy and merchants. The military
became the major means of transport groups became dominant because of
across the Sahara Desert because they the fear that they might be invaded by
could endure the hard conditions their northern neighbours (Berbers)
of the desert. As trade expanded, and of the need to acquire slaves from
camel caravans increased in number the neighbouring communities.
and permanent trade routes were The second class consisted of cultivators
established. Important trading centres and livestock keepers. It was made
such as Walata, Timbuktu, Gao and up of families which produced their
Kano emerged as a result of this trade. means of existence individually, but
Between the 4th and 19th centuries CE, which owned the means of production
large states emerged in the region, communally. The third class was that
including Ghana, Mali, Songhai, of slaves who had been captured either
Kanem-Bornu and the Hausa states. for sale or for domestic production.
One of the reasons for the rise of states It appears, therefore, that slavery
in this region was certain people’s was prevalent in many West African
desire to control trade routes and trade societies before and during the Trans-
centres. Thus, there was a direct link Atlantic Slave Trade. As indicated
between the development of the Trans- earlier, when the West African states
Saharan Trade and the growth of the entered into conflicts for political
Sudanic states. Other factors for the or economic motives, the rulers and
growth of the Sudanic states were the warlords enslaved the captives from
early development of agriculture and other groups because they viewed them
population growth. The development as outsiders.
of productive forces also made the Moreover, the rise of the plantation and
production of surplus in agriculture, mining economy in America between
mining and industry possible. Similarly, the 16th and 18th centuries remarkably
the introduction of Islam into North expanded slaving activities in West and
and West Africa intensified commercial Central Africa. Slaves were bought and
activities in the countryside. sold in extremely large numbers and
The socio-economic development in exported to the Americas to work on
the Sudanic zone was accompanied by plantations and in mines.

East Africa production. The following made it

Slavery was practised along the coast difficult for African societies to develop
of East Africa. For example, some the slave mode of production:
Arabs from Mrima and Omani as well (a) Africans had a strong belief in
as Swahili traders practised slavery. equality. This had its origins in
Although the relations of production, the communal social system.
which developed between 1000 CE Elements of communalism were
and 1800 CE, had some elements of the common almost everywhere
slave and feudal modes of production, in Africa. Collective labour in
in East Africa slavery started around many parts of Africa encouraged
the 6th century. It was started by the communal ownership, of the
Arabs. In the urban areas around the means of production, hence the
coast, production was done using slave absence of social stratification,
labour. The ruling class and merchants which could have subjected some
owned the land on which slaves and society members to slavery. The
tenants worked. communal system also provided
In addition, the slaves that the Asians equal access to land and equal
obtained from East Africa were taken distribution of social wealth,
to India, Lebanon and the Persian Gulf. both of which discouraged
They went there to work as doorkeepers the emergence of slave social
and domestic servants. However, the relations. Africans’ tendency to
Portuguese and the French used them live together became an integral
on their sugar plantations in Brazil and part of the African way of life.
in Réunion, as well as on the Mauritius People regarded themselves as
Islands. The French had opened sugar relatives; hence, no captives of
plantations in the areas. Nevertheless, war were sold as slaves;
the Arabs were the major actors in the (b) There was a high rate of slave
slave trade done in East Africa. absorption into kin groups. For
example, female slaves gradually
The reasons many African societies
became wives of their masters.
did not develop a slave mode of
Similarly, it was difficult for
production
some African societies to develop
Many pre-colonial African societies slavery because slaves had a
were communal. Only a few areas special role to play in the host
developed a slave mode of production, societies. For example, slaves
but that does not mean that Africa were used as soldiers, blacksmiths
passed through slavery as a mode of or boat paddlers. Thus, slavery

was used as an institution for (f) Slavery co-existed with feudalism.

recruiting labourers, and not as In areas like Ancient Egypt, where
a socio-economic formation or a there were elements of slavery,
mode of production in Africa; there was also a strong feudal
(c) The number of slaves in many society at the same time. This co-
pre-colonial African societies existence limited the development
depended on the social and and predominance of slavery as a
economic formations in the mode of production;
societies. The demand for slaves (g) In Africa, slaves did domestic
was not uniform, since not all activities. There were no large
societies needed slaves. For plantations in Africa where slaves
example, there were no slaves could work and produce surplus;
among the shifting cultivators hence, the few slaves obtained
and pastoralists while among the only did domestic work; and
societies where the long distance (h) The African slave mode of
trade was conducted many slaves production did not develop
were used as porters; from internal dynamics and was
(d) There was low surplus production practised in a few parts of Africa
in many African societies because like Ancient Egypt, the coast of
of using poor productive forces. East Africa, the Sudanic zone and
Therefore, production for the Maghreb region.
exchange was also low and could
not support the development Exercise 1.2
of classes and a slave mode of
production; Slavery existed in many forms
and styles. On the basis of the
(e) In Africa, there were no slave
practice of slavery in pre-colonial
masters who could own slaves
Africa, could you say there are
as their means of labour. The
still some elements of slavery
absence of strong slave masters
in modern African societies?
who could possess other people as
Support your argument with
slaves limited the development of
relevant examples.
slavery;

The feudal mode of production clans took control of productive land

Feudalism was the second exploitative and became politically dominant.
mode of production in which land was For instance, among the Haya, the
the major means of production. Under ruling clan (Abakama) seized control
this mode of production, there were two of the banana-producing land and
classes of people. The first class consisted divided it into large estates known as
of the feudal lords who owned the major nyarubanja. The nyarubanja estates
means of production and appropriated the were given by the bakama as a reward
surplus. The other class comprised the for service and loyalty to the people
serfs and tenants who were given pieces whom they had appointed as bakungu.
of land to cultivate. In return, they paid The rulers also gave nyarubanja estates
rent to the feudal lords. In many parts to relatives and friends. The landlords
of Africa, feudalism was associated of the nyarubanja estates became
with certain elements of slavery. known as the batwazi and the tenants
the batwara. The former owners from
In East Africa, the emergence of
whom land was seized by the bakama
feudalism began in the 15th century.
became tenants and clients of the new
The system existed until the second
owners, the batwazi.
half of the 19th century. In this region,
feudal communities were common in The tenants and clients living in
the western part of the interlacustrine the nyarubanja estates did not pay
region, namely Bunyoro, Nyankore, tribute directly to the bakama. They
Karagwe, Burundi and Rwanda. The provided goods and services to their
economy of this sub-region combined landlords, the batwazi. In that way,
crop cultivation and animal husbandry. the various officers of each mukama
There was also the eastern part of the were maintained. Besides, the bakama
interlacustrine region which consisted continued to receive tribute directly
of the kingdoms of Buganda, Busoga from peasants who were still living in
and Buhaya. The economy of this clan owned-land.
sub-region was predominantly based In the western part of the interlacustrine
on agriculture, especially banana region, there was an economy of
cultivation. Banana became their main mixed farming and pastoralism. Each
food crop. of these sectors of the economy was
The banana economy encouraged the monopoly of one social group. The
permanent settlements because banana pastoralists were known as the bahima
is a perennial crop. The economy also in Bunyoro, Nyankore, Mpororo and
led to the development of exploitative the buhweju states, and as the batusi
relations of production in which some in Rwanda, Burundi and Buha. The

agriculturalists were known as the implements. Rent in kind was also

bairu in the former group of states and another form of payment; serfs and
as the bahutu in the latter. Besides being peasants were supposed to give
cattle-owners, the pastoralists formed part of their harvests to the land
the ruling class called the sebuja and owners. The last type of rent was
the agriculturalists constituted the money rent; serfs were obliged to
subject class called the bagabire. sell their harvests and give some
amount of money to the landlords;
Characteristics of feudalism
(c) The productive forces in the
As a mode of production, feudalism
feudal mode of production were
had the following features:
more advanced than those in the
(a) The feudal mode of production preceding modes of production.
permitted private ownership of In the feudal mode of production,
the major means of production, iron tools were widely used.
especially land. Therefore, land That is why there was relatively
was privately owned and controlled high production. Therefore,
by feudal lords. Those who owned advancements in productive forces
land were economically and created surplus which supported
politically powerful as they could other economic sectors such as
do anything to get their interests trading, mining, agriculture and
without the consent of the landless handcraft industries;
(serfs). However, in some societies (d) The feudal system developed
like those of the Hutu and the Tutsi, centralised political organisations
livestock was owned privately and in which power was vested
defined the feudal relations in the in absolute kings. Therefore,
societies concerned; the political organisation was
(b) There were exploitative relations controlled by the landlords to
of production through which the protect their interests. Examples
feudal lords exploited the serfs and of the feudal states which emerged
peasants who paid various kinds in Africa included Ethiopia and
of rents such as labour rent and the interlacustrine states like the
rent in kind. With respect to labour Buganda Kingdom;
rent, for example, peasants and (e) Agriculture was a predominant
serfs were given plots of land by activity during feudalism, although
the landlords and were supposed other economic activities were also
to work on their plots and on those carried out. For example, in the
of their landlords using their own western Sudanic states yams and

cassava were grown as major food pieces of land (plots) were owned by
crops. Likewise, in the Buganda the ruling class (batwazi) and given to
Kingdom and in other parts of the serfs (batwara) after agreements on the
interlacustrine region, banana and payment of tributes and loyalties had
cassava were cultivated as food been reached. The supreme title under
crops. In both cases, trade was the nyarubanja system was known as
also practised and complimented omukama, while the royal class was
agriculture and other economic known as the abakungu.
activities;
Busulo/Mvunjo
(f) Feudalism was characterised
This feudal system developed in
by the presence of antagonistic
Buganda and Bunyoro (Uganda),
classes, namely landlords and
where landless people submitted
serfs or tenants. The landlords
were the rulling class. The ruling themselves to land owners for a piece
classes in these states had political of land to work on in return for the
power and collected tributes from labour services rendered. For example,
the subject peasantry; and the obusulo system consisted of the
Kabaka, Bakungu, Balangira (princes),
(g) The feudal system permitted
Batongole (loyal supporters), Bakopi
the division of labour and
(serfs) and the badu (slaves). Kabaka
specialisation. People specialised
was the political title given to the ruler
in different activities like
of the Buganda Kingdom.
agriculture, fishing, rain-making,
pastoralism and industries. Ubugabire
This division of labour and This feudal system developed in
specialisation was the result of Rwanda, Burundi and Buha (Kigoma in
surplus production. Tanzania). The Hutu and Tutsi people
Feudal relations in East Africa of Rwanda and Burundi, and the Ha
of Kigoma developed ubugabire as a
Feudalism existed for many centuries
form of feudalism based on cattle. The
in the world in different forms. For
feudal relationship in these regions
example, by the 19th century, East
revolved around cattle ownership.
African societies had witnessed the
development of different forms of Being the lower class the Hutu went to
feudal relations as follows: the Tutsi (who were called the sebuja),
requesting a portion of the lords’ huge
Nyarubanja herd to take care of or to rent. The Hutu
This was a feudal system that developed became herdsmen, firewood collectors,
in Karagwe and Buhaya, where small water fetchers and cultivators of the

landlords’ farms for a given time. engage in long-distance trade with the
Mwami was the political title given to interior societies as well as with the
the wealthy rulers among the Ha and Europeans and Asian traders.
bagabire was given to the exploited
In Zanzibar, umwinyi was under its
class.
own system. Mwinyi Mkuu was the
Furthermore, in Rwanda, every district overall leader of Zanzibar. The second
had a land-chief and a cattle-chief position was that of the sheha, who
for administrative purposes. The ruled Unguja and the diwani who ruled
land-chief controlled the agricultural Pemba. Mamwinyi occupied the third
population and was responsible for position and were the landlords. They
collecting tribute in agricultural allowed serfs to work on their land
products. He also requisitioned in exchange for labour and tributes.
labour services from every household. The last political position was held by
The cattle chief was responsible for mwinyi mkuu’s workers who collected
administration among the pastoralists
tributes from serfs and recruited
and for extracting dairy products from
workers to work for him.
them. All the administrative officials
involved in tribute collection at village Ntemiship
and district levels retained a portion of Ntemiship was a form of semi-feudal
the goods and services for themselves relations that developed in the central
and forwarded the rest to the king. part of Tanzania. It was practised by
Umwinyi the Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Kimbu and
Gogo. The leader’s power was based on
This system of feudalism developed
his control of the producers. The ruling
along the East African coast,
class under ntemiship monopolised all
particularly on Zanzibar Island. In this
political power and collected tribute
system, the landlords and the ruling
from the subject peasantry. Mtemi was
classes were known as mamwinyi. They
the political title given to the ruler. The
possessed the land and turned other
Mtemi controlled and mobilsed labour.
society members into serfs otherwise
known as watwana. The serfs paid This system experienced a mild form
tributes to mamwinyi. Mamwinyi of feudal relations compared to other
were engaged in the production of parts of East Africa, partly because
cloves and coconuts. The production of poor soil and marginal rains that
and tributes that the watwana paid inhibited surplus production. Thus, the
enabled mamwinyi to become powerful ntemiship system had mixed features
economically and politically, and to of communalism and feudalism.

The African feudal relations which in societies with a hostile environment.

other scholars call a tributary mode of Favourable environments included the
production were sanctioned by customs areas occupied by the Zulu of South
and traditions. In many instances, Africa; the Tutsi, Hutu, Baganda
people willingly supported this system and Bunyoro of East Africa; and the
as it was part of their culture. Thus, Mandinka and Yoruba of the Savannah
peasants sometimes found that it was and the forest region in West Africa.
an honour to pay tribute to their kings. The fertility of the soil made people
Likewise, chiefs assisted their subjects engage in agriculture, which led to
(people) in times of calamities such as the development of production and
floods, drought and diseases. exchange in societies. Thus, increased
production led to social stratification in
Exercise 1.3 some societies. As a result, feudalism
emerged in such societies, while the
If you were to choose a kind of areas with a hostile environment did
feudalism to live in, which one not develop feudalism.
would you choose out of those
Another reason was the improvement
just mentioned and why?
in productive forces during the
transition from primitive communalism
to the feudal mode of production.
Reasons for the differences in feudal
The transformation did not happen in
practices in pre-colonial African
societies where productive forces were
societies
low, particularly in hunter-gatherer
While feudalism emerged in some and pastoral societies. Conversely, the
parts of pre-colonial Africa, it did not transition from primitive communalism
develop in other places. Historians to feudalism happened in societies
have proposed several reasons for this that managed to improve upon their
situation. productive forces.
Climate and soil influenced the Population growth was also another
emergence of feudalism in some reason for the difference. The increase
parts of pre-colonial Africa. Many in population led to a shortage of
people migrated to areas where land, which further resulted in the class
the environment would support struggle between the landless and those
such economic activities as fishing, who owned land. Eventually, a few
farming, animal keeping and hunting. people owned land privately and the
As people mastered their environment, rest became serfs. On the other hand,
production became more advanced than the increase in population within a

given society ensured the availability production.

of labour for doing different economic Moreover, the transition from a
activities. This transformation, communal mode of production to
however, did not happen among the feudalism was also the result of the
hunter-gatherer and pastoral societies. abundance of food. The availability
The emergence of specialisation of surplus food, in turn, promoted
was also the reason for the disparity. trade, which added value to land and
Specialisation influenced some African encouraged people to settle permanently
societies to evolve into a feudal mode in certain areas, hence the need to form
of production. This forced people into states. In areas where trading activities
different professions such as farming, did not take place, societies depended
rain-making, iron-smelting, hunting on what nature offered them and this
and fishing. The system intensified made centralisation very difficult.
production and differentiation; thus, The areas in which trade had developed
exchange became inevitable. enabled communities to acquire various
Another reason was calamities such as items, which enabled them to develop
floods and drought. Calamities such feudalism. For example, the empires of
as floods and drought necessitated the Buganda, Nyamwezi, Ghana and Mali
existence of personnel who could deal developed as a result of the acquisition
with such challenges. Such personnel of various items from trade. Generally,
later became specialists and leaders pre-colonial Africa developed different
of the society, hence the formation modes of production in relation to
of a state in a particular area. A good different economic, political and
example of this comes from Ancient environmental situations. Figure1.1
Egypt. The areas in which there shows the location of some of the areas
were no such specialised individuals in pre-colonial Africa where there were
remained under a communal mode of different modes of production.

Figure 1.1: Some of the areas in pre-colonial Africa

where there were different modes of production
Activity 1.2
Draw the map of Africa and then locate three communal and three feudal
communities, apart from those shown in the map provided.

Political organisations in The societies which practised clan

pre-colonial Africa organisation involved themselves in
mixed farming as their main economic
In the Afro-centric view, pre-colonial activity.
African societies were not static. Before Many clan-based communities were
the advent of European colonialism, found in savannah and woodland
African societies had reached different environments. Rainfall was usually
levels of political development. Thus, seasonal but sufficient for growing
Africans knew how to rule themselves, seasonal crops like finger millet,
how to settle their disputes and how sorghum, beans and maize. The soil was
to choose their leaders. By 1500 CE, not very fertile and would get exhausted
African societies had built four major after only a few years of cultivation.
types of social and political systems. Following this exhaustion, shifting
The systems were clan (kinship) cultivation became inevitable for such
organisation, age-set organisation, societies. Examples of societies that
decentralised state organisation practised clan organisation were the
(ntemiship) and centralised state Gogo, Fipa, Nyamwezi, Yao, Makonde,
organisation. Matumbi, Mwera, Ngindo, Ndonde
and Pogoro of Tanzania. Many clan-
Clan (kinship) organisation
based communities lived a communal
A clan is a unit of social and political life by sharing the means of production
organisations comprising several and distributing the produce to their
related families sharing a particular members.
ideology. In many cases, clan members
Two main types of clan organisation
descend from the same ancestors,
were practised in Africa, namely
but in other cases they do not. While patrilineal and matrilineal clan
clans were organised under clan heads, organisations.
the major means of production were
owned communally. The functions of Patrilineal clan organisation
the clan leader were to settle disputes, This was a system of social organisation
distribute land, counsel the youth, in which clan heritage was based on
protect and preserve customs and the father’s clan. The children bore the
traditions, preside over religious and name of the father’s clan. The husband
cultural ceremonies, besides choosing paid the bride price to get a wife. Some
spouses for those intending to get of the societies which adopted the
married. The clan head also controlled patrilineal mode of life in East Africa
the surplus produced and determined included the Nyambo, Haya, Hehe,
its redistribution among clan members. Chagga, Matengo, Sukuma and Kurya.

Matrilineal clan organisation The local environment in arid and

This was a system of social organisation semi-arid areas favoured pastoralism
in which clan heritage was based on the as the main economic activity. In
mother’s clan. The uncle had to make Africa, pastoralist societies were of two
all important decisions concerning the types. The first group comprised the
children and nephews of their sisters. nomadic pastoralists who moved from
The societies which adopted the one place to another in search of water
matrilineal clan organisation in East and pasture. Their main foods were
Africa included the Makonde, Mwera, milk, meat and blood. They also ate
Makua and Yao of Tanzania. vegetables and grain, obtained through
exchange with their neighbours who
grew crops. Examples of nomadic
Activity 1.3 pastoralists were the Berbers and
Tuaregs of North Africa, the Fulani and
Read various sources on the
Hausa of West Africa, the Somali of
practice of both matrilineal
North-Eastern Africa, the Karamojong
and patrilineal organisations
of Uganda, the Maasai of Tanzania and
and then write an essay on the
Kenya, and the Khoikhoi of Southern
socio-economic advantages and
Africa.
disadvantages of each system in
modern African societies. Use The second group of pastoralists was
examples from Tanzania. that of the sedentary pastoralists. The
great Maasai expansion southwards
along the Rift Valley led to the
Age-set organisation emergence of two distinct groups,
This is a mode of social and political namely the Iloikop or Wakwavi,
organisation characterised by the who were both agriculturalists and
distribution of work based on age pastoralists, and the Maasai who were
grades. The age-set or grade was first pastoralists per se. The Wakwavi did
determined by initiation ceremonies, not move from one place to another.
but people transformed into another They settled in one area and undertook
age-set or grade through the perfomance their economic activities in that specific
of rituals. This system of socio-political area. They also kept fewer animals. The
organisation was common among the Rendille of Kenya were also sedentary
pastoral and agro-pastoral societies pastoralists.
like the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, The division of labour and social
the Karamojong and Teso of Uganda, responsibilities under this political
as well as the Fulani of West Africa. organisation was based on age and sex.

Society was divided into different age of the raiders. Women were sometimes
groups. The first group consisted of involved in conflict resolution and
young children aged 1-8. These were peace-building.
regarded as non-producers. They stayed Decentralised state organisation
at home with their mothers. The second (ntemiship) in Tanzania
group comprised the youth aged 8-18.
These were responsible for attending to A decentralised state is one in
and grazing calves, and assisted women which political power is centred in
in milking cows. The third group various units of government. Under
consisted of the Moran, a group which decentralised states, power was not
comprised adult males aged 18-35. at the centre. In addition, leadership
These were the warriors and protectors was not hereditary, but rather it was
of the society. Morans had many other determined by a council of elders,
responsibilities such as looking for as illustrated by the Nyamwezi of
new grazing areas and sources of water Tanzania and the Igbo of south-eastern
for their livestock. They also increased Nigeria.
cattle herds by raiding cattle belonging The ntemiship system was a
to neighbouring societies. The last decentralised form of state organisation
group consisted of elders aged 40 and that emerged among the Bantu farming
above. The most senior elder was called communities in western and central
the Laibon and he was responsible for Tanzania between 1000 and 1800 CE.
presiding over the religious and ritual Before the formation of this system,
activities of a specific group. the region was inhabited by Bantu-
However, it should be noted that speaking people who lived in small
the functions of various age groups independent communities. Some of
overlapped sometimes and the the areas that practised the ntemiship
transition from moran-hood into system were Unyamwezi, Ukimbu,
“elderhood” and senior “elderhood” Usukuma and Ugogo. Under this
was possible after performing certain system, many people lived in villages
and a village was viewed as a self-
rituals. For example, in times of
sufficient unit capable of providing
prolonged drought and of lack of
for itself. In some societies, the ntemi
pastures, morans and some junior
system emerged during difficult times,
elders participated in grazing cattle in
especially when people faced security
distant areas. In the pre-colonial period,
threats. Therefore, villages would unite
although cattle raiding was carried out
to form larger and stronger groups.
by morans, it was sanctioned by elders
and sometimes blessed by the mothers The leaders of these groups came to be

known as the batemi, a word derived ntemi states before the introduction
from the word kutema, meaning of European colonial rule. There was
cutting down trees or clearing the bush about the same number in Unyamwezi
in a given area. They were given the and a slightly greater number in
name batemi because they directed Ugogo. There were numerous small
bush-clearing operations in their areas. states because different ruling clans
By the 18th century, the system had in different parts of the region formed
spread to areas like Usangu, Ubena, their chieftains. Moreover, because
Ukimbu, Uchagga and Uhehe. Among land was plenty, those societies could
the Sukuma and Nyamwezi of central practise shifting cultivation. Finally,
Tanzania, the leader was called mtemi. the limited surplus produced could not
Among the Hehe, Sangu and Bena support larger ruling classes. These
of Southern Highlands in Tanzania, factors caused the whole region to be
the leader was called mtwa. In many characterised by the formation of many
societies, the watemi were highly small states with small ruling classes.
respected and feared, since they were The mtemi’s judicial functions included
thought to be associated with the spirit settling disputes; hearing cases of
of former chiefs and were believed murder, treason and witchcraft;
to possess powerful rituals and war and administering traditional and
medicine. customary law. Spiritually, the mtemi
Ntemiship was practised in woodland acted as a bridge between people
and grassland savannah areas, where and their ancestors. Therefore, the
mixed farming was carried out. responsibility for presiding over the
Because of the absence of permanent community's rituals was vested in
rivers and enough rainfall in such him. The mtemi also supervised the
areas, very few people lived in the distribution of land and enforced its
areas. Thus, people practised shifting proper use. Furthermore, he collected
cultivation. Under this system, rulers tributes from his subjects in the form
were chosen by a council of elders. of grants, for example agricultural
The mtemi was chosen based on his produce or livestock. The mtemi also
wisdom, experience and bravery. The preserved food that could be used to
council had political power and could reward his followers and distribute to
remove the mtemi from his position. those affected by natural disasters like
The ntemi system involved many small drought.
communities, mainly of the same Societies that had the ntemi system
lineage or ancestor. For example, in cultivated millet, rice, sorghum and
Usukuma, there were about 30 small other kinds of grain. In this type of

farming, land was left unplanted for a certain period so that it could regain its
fertility. Thus, farmers were obliged to practise shifting cultivation. However,
this kind of political organisation was relatively larger than clan organisation, but
smaller than state organisation. Figure1.2 represents the organisation structure of
the ntemiship system.
Wanyamphala
(Council of elders)
Mtemi
Mgawe Mtwale Mteko Kikoma Minule

(Chief (Army (Deputy army (Information (Tribute
councillor leader) leader and officer) collector)
and ritual head of secret
officer) service)
The commoners
Figure 1.2: Organisation structure of ntemiship
Centralised state organisation

areas of Africa at different times. In
A centralised state refers to a political East Africa, for example, states mostly
entity which has defined boundaries started to emerge in the 15th century.
and centralised political power and The favourable climatic condition
which is headed by a king or ruler. It played a vital role in the formation
is an institution that has administrative of states in Africa. For example, the
machinery with judicial duties and the equatorial region, which had fertile
power to make decisions and collect soil and which received heavy rainfall
tributes. States emerged in different throughout the year, supported the

growth of crops such as yams, bananas parliament. For example, the Lukiiko
and palms. This, in turn, led to an of Buganda acted as a parliamentary
increase in population, which required organ under the Kabaka administration.
a complex political organisation. Under centralised states, power was in
the hands of a single person. At the
States emerged in different parts
centre of administration was a king,
of Africa. They included the West
who had absolute authority to make
Sudanic states such as Ghana, Mali
all major decisions regarding social,
and Songhai; the Forest states of West
political and economic matters.
Africa such as Oyo, Benin, Asante
and Dahomey; the Kongo-Zambezian Factors for state formation in pre-
states in Central Africa, namely colonial African societies
Mwenemutapa, Luba, Lunda, Congo In pre-colonial Africa, state formation
and Maravi; the Zulu state in southern began around the 1st millennium CE.
Africa and the interlacustrine states For example, Ghana Empire existed
such as Bunyoro and Buganda. between the 7th and 13th centuries CE,
Characteristics of centralised states Mali Empire existed between the 13th
and 16th centuries CE, and Songhai
Centralised states had various features,
Empire existed between the 15th and 17th
which distinguished them from
centuries CE, Mwenemutapa emerged
decentralised ones. Centralised states
between the 15th and 17th centuries
were characterised by expansionism.
Leaders used to conquer neighbouring CE and the Buganda Kingdom rose
societies to expand their kingdoms to between the 14th and 19th centuries CE.
obtain wealth and labour. This was The emergence of states in pre-colonial
possible because of the existence of Africa was due to the interplay of many
strong armies in such states. Leadership factors.
under centralised states was hereditary. One of the factors was the development
A successor had to come from the royal of agriculture, which was associated
family, mostly the son of the chief or with favourable climatic conditions
king, and could be named by a king and reliable rainfall. The availability
or chief before his death. Centralised of enough food and surplus led to an
states also had well-defined boundaries increase in population, which made
that covered a large area with a large some of the centralised organisations
population. Most of the centralised administer production and maintain
states had a system similar to a security. For example, states like
parliamentary system. For example, Karagwe, Buganda, Rwanda and
kings made decisions following the Burundi emerged in the intelacustrine
advice of their assistants, who acted as region.

The rise of Islam was another factor consolidate the security of their
for state formation in pre-colonial societies. In Tanzania, some rulers used
Africa as Islamic ideology acted as a armies to expand their domains and
unifying factor. For example, Islam sometimes to establish new domains
was responsible for state information outside their localities. Mirambo of
in West Africa, where Uthman dan Unyamwezi and Nyungu ya Mawe of
Fodio used Islamic ideology to conquer Ukimbu are some of the pre-colonial
the surrounding smaller states. The rulers who used military power to
states created under Jihad movements establish and control their states.
had a well-organised administrative For instance, in the 1860s, Mirambo
structure. The best example of a state used the Nguni military techniques
which rose because of Islam was the and ruga-ruga mercenaries to subdue
Sokoto Caliphate. several states such as Uyowa, Uvinza,
Moreover, some states in pre-colonial Tongwe, Nyaturu, Iramba and Sukuma.
Africa grew owing to the development A geographical location was another
of the long distance trade. Through factor for the emergence of states in
the long distance trade, some societies pre-colonial Africa. The societies found
obtained weapons and used those in a favourable environment could
weapons to conquer weaker societies. form centralised states more easily
The rulers who controlled trade routes than others. Generally, states tended
became very wealthy because they to develop in areas of environmental
obtained tributes from traders. In diversity where there were important
East Africa, for example, Mirambo resources, but which were unevenly
controlled the trade route from Tabora distributed. Therefore, states emerged
to Ujiji. Arab traders were obliged in such places so that they could
to pay tribute when using that route. control the production and distribution
Mirambo also obtained guns directly of various goods and resources. A good
from the coast. In West Africa, the example was the interlacustrine region
Trans-Saharan Trade enabled the rulers in East Africa. That region allowed
of Ghana, Mali and Songhai to obtain the conduct of diverse activities such
swords, guns and horses from North as agriculture, livestock rearing, iron-
Africa to strengthen their armies. smelting, bark-cloth making, fishing
State formation in Africa was also and trade.
facilitated by the presence of strong The existence of various economic
standing armies on the continent. activities and the division of labour
The use of armies enabled the rulers among community members intensified
to conquer weaker societies and the process of class formation and

stratification. As a result, there was The West African Jihad movements are
a need to form an organised body to interpreted by historians as religious,
supervise various economic activities. political and economic movements.
Bunyoro, Ankole, Toro, Karagwe and The leaders of the movements sought
Buganda are examples of the states to revive the basic teachings and
formed in the interlacustrine region. practices of Islam. The spread of Islam
The discovery and use of iron in West Africa before the 19th century
technology contributed enormously was mainly due to commercial contacts
to the emergence of states in pre- between West Africa, North Africa
colonial Africa. This technology led and the Middle East. However, state
to the improvement of agriculture and formation in West Africa during the
helped to ensure that food and surplus 19th century was particularly the result
wealth were available in communities. of the Jihad movements.
It also helped in making weapons Emergence of Jihad movements
such as arrows, spears and axes. Such
The Jihad movements began in the
weapons were used to conquer weaker
18th century following the overthrow
societies and to provide defence against
of indigenous rulers of Futa Jalon
enemies. The states that developed as
(Guinea) by Islamic activists who were
a result of iron technology included
under Alfa Ibrahim bin Nuhu. A similar
Karagwe, Pare and Buganda in East
movement occurred in Futa Toro, a
Africa; Mwenemutapa in Zimbabwe;
state found west of Futa Jalon and on
Manganja in Malawi; Nubia in Sudan;
the southern bank of the River Senegal,
and Axum in Ethiopia.
when the activists, under Suleiman
The role of Islam in state formation Bal, declared a Jihad against the non-
during the 19th century Muslim rulers of the state in 1769. The
The formation of Islamic states in non-Muslim rulers were overthrown and
West Africa was initiated by the an Islamic state was established in 1776.
Fulani and Dyula traders between the A Jihad was a holy war that Muslims
18th and 19th centuries. These traders started against non-believers to reform
wanted to consolidate the Islamic faith and restore the Islamic faith. The
which, according to them, was being proponents of this war based their appeal
contaminated by the pagans who did on several Quranic verses, traditions of
not abide by Islamic teachings or values.
the Prophet (hadith) and the consensus
The spread of Islam in West Africa in of Islamic jurists (sharia). There were
the 19th century was associated with a number of Jihad movements in West
religious movements known as Jihads. Africa. The most notable movements

included those of Uthman dan Fodio of This teaching was contrary to

1804, of Muhhamadu Bello of 1818, of what existed in that society. For
Al-Haji Ummar of 1851 and of Maba example, there was widespread
Diakhou of 1867. corruption in urban areas. In
Causes of the Jihad movements rural areas, Muslims insisted
that all people should be guided
The Jihad movements were primarily
by Islamic laws. As a result, the
motivated by religious, political and
Muslims won the support of the
economic reasons. Some of the causes
commoners. Therefore, frictions
included the following:
began and led to the emergence of
(a) The socio-economic and the Jihad movements; and
political problems that were
(c) The influence of Uthman dan
common in Hausaland before
Fodio of Sokoto and Al-Hajj Umar
the Jihad movements caused
the movements. The Jihad of Tokolor led to the emergence
revolts were waged against the of the movements. These
heavy taxation imposed on the leaders contributed to the rise of
commoners by the ruling class. consciousness among Muslims
For example, the ruling class so that they could fight for their
lived a luxurious life, but the religion and against the evils that
majority were living a miserable arose in their communities. Dan
life. Such problems forced the Fodio and Umar sought to create
commoners to support Islamic a happy world under Islamic law
scholars like Uthman dan Fodio, (sharia). People understood them
Seku Hamad and Al-Hajj Umar, and many joined them, hence the
who were against the evils. The start of the Jihad movements.
movements also emerged because Nevertheless, it must be noted that
of the need to control important
the Jihad movements begin out of
trade routes and centres so as to
socio-economic and political motives.
accumulate wealth. For example,
Islam was only used to mobilise the
Muslims wanted to dominate the
West African people to express their
Bilmar salt mining centre, which
grievances against injustices such
was under the Hausa state;
as heavy taxation, corruption and
(b) Misunderstandings among inequalities. Thus, one could argue that
Muslim scholars also led to the the Jihad movements were caused by
outbreak of the Jihad movements social, political and economic motives
in West Africa. Islam says that rather than religious consciousness
all people are equal before God. alone.

(c) The Jihad movements also played

In your opinion, how can a great role in the establishment
religion promote or distort of strong armies, which were later
peace and order in a society? used in expanding empires. The
ruling class and rich merchants
established strong armies, which
Influence of the Jihad movements were responsible for conquering
on state formation in West Africa and absorbing the weaker states
during the 19th century into their own states. One of the
Islam played a significant role in the strong states that emerged as a
growth and development of states in result of the Jihad movements
West Africa. The following are some was the Sokoto caliphate in 1846.
of its contributions: Similarly, Samori Toure, who
was the King of the Mandinka
(a) Islam acted as a unifying factor
and a Dyula merchant led a Jihad
in some states in West Africa.
movement in the 1870s, which
For example, Islam was an
resulted in the establishment of
official ruling ideology of the
Mandinka Empire in present-day
state throughout Hausaland.
Guinea. This empire was located
Muslims were united and were
roughly between Sierra Leone and
strong enough to maintain and
Liberia in the west, Ivory Coast in
defend their political and material
the south, Mali in the north and
interests;
the River Volta in the east;
(b) The Jihad movements influenced
(d) The Jihad movements succeeded
the expansion of trade, for they
in bringing about judicial
led to the re-establishment of
adjustments in West Africa.
order and good governance over a
Before the movements started,
wide area. This situation enabled
West Africa was administered
traders to move from one place
in accordance with a traditional
to another more peacefully. As
law, which was not only out of
a result, the commoners were
date, but also confusing. After the
encouraged to engage in various
Jihad conquest, Islamic law was
kinds of economic activities
adopted to replace the judicial
like trade. The movements
confusion that was evident in
transformed some non-trading
West Africa. In this way, Islamic
centres like Adages into centres
law and order replaced the earlier
of ideas and trade;
chaos and civil conflicts;

(e) The movements led to the change about Islamic law; and
of administration systems; a (f) The Jihad movements led to the
class of Islamic scholars replaced reformation of administration,
the former noble class because maintenance of peace and
the noble class was corrupt and stability, and the expansion of
unfairly treated the commoners. trade. All these positive effects
In areas such as Gobir, the Fulani played a significant role in the
took up leadership and established formation of states. However,
political offices; the movements also had certain
The new system was run in negative effects as many people
accordance with Islamic law. died and lost their property during
The Fulani, who were migrant the wars. Figure1.3 shows the
subjects, became the masters West African states involved in
since they were knowledgeable the Jihad movements.
Figure 1. 3: West African states involved in the

Jihad movements in the 19th century

Southern and Central Africa. This

Activity1.4 incident has become known among
(a) Conduct a library research on the Nguni people as Mfecane. The war
the importance of religion to started in Zululand and gave rise to a
development. chain of movements that affected many
areas, including the south-western
(b) C
ompare the role of religion in part of present-day Tanzania. Mfecane
pre-colonial Africa with its role played a great role in state formation
in modern Africa. during the 19th century, as follows.
resent your findings in class for
P (a) The frequent wars necessitated
discussion. the formation of efficient armies,
which facilitated the rise of
Influence of Mfecane on state many small states. With the
formation during the 19th century development of these states, the
The word Mfecane was derived from age-set systems were transformed
the Nguni language. It means scattering, into age-set regiments which were
forced dispersal or forced migration. dedicated to professional warfare.
It refers to the wars and disturbances The regiments were composed
that were accompanied by the rise and of highly trained and disciplined
growth of the Zulu state under Shaka soldiers, who fought at close
from 1818 to the 1860s. quarters using short stabbing
spears and complex military
Mfecane is described as a social and
formations. A good example
political upheaval that destroyed and,
was Shaka, a great Nguni leader
at the same time, reconstructed the
who turned age-set regiments
existing state systems in Southern
into powerful military forces
Africa and the neighbouring societies.
for conquering neighbouring
During the early 19th century, a series
communities. As a result, bigger
of wars took place among the northern
states were formed. A similar
Nguni peoples of South-Eastern Africa.
process was adopted by Thulare,
By the 1820s, the Zulu Kingdom had
leader of the Sotho-speaking
become strong enough to dominate
Bapedi people in the north-
other states in the region. During the
eastern Transvaal, Moshoeshoe
1820s and 1830s, armies and refugees
in Lesotho and other kings of the
from these wars spread warfare
Nguni-speaking people such as
and destruction over larger areas of
Sobhuza, Zwide and Dingiswayo;

(b) The growth of social cohesion Zimbabwe and the Shangani state
and unity was also one of the in present-day Mozambique. This
outcomes of Mfecane. Many was the result of the spread of
states were established along the the Zulu type of military system
lines of the Zulu Kingdom. For to those areas. As they moved
example, they borrowed the Zulu northwards, the Zulu destroyed
military techniques and political the pre-existing states such as the
organisation and modified them to Rozvi state in Zimbabwe.
suit their needs and circumstances. (e) Furthermore, Mfecane influenced
Such states were often formed the emergence of strong leaders
from diverse cultural and who played a leading role in the
linguistic groups, but from these formation of different states in
diverse groups there emerged Southern and Central Africa like
powerful unified states with a Shaka of the Zulu Kingdom,
common language, culture, ruler Mzilikazi of the Ndebele and
and government. The languages Mashoeshoe of the Sotho; and
of the dominant group became the
languages of the newly-created (f) Mfecane influenced the migration
trans-tribal states. The states of some societies to Southern,
included the Zulu, Swazi, Basuto Eastern and Central Africa, where
and Ngoni; they developed into strong states.
For example, the migration of the
(c) Mfecane resulted in the spread Nguni groups led to the emergence
of Nguni-speaking peoples to of states like the Ndebele state
Central and East Africa with under Mzilikazi, the Sotho state
various names such as the Ngoni
under Mashoeshoe and the Swazi
in Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi;
Kingdom under Sobhuza.
the Matebele in Zimbabwe and
the Kololo in Zambia. Since these
communities experienced defeat,
they united to form new states to Exercise 1.4
safeguard their social, economic
In your opinion, what is the
and political interests; importance of studying pre-
(d) The Zulu were divided into multi- colonial African societies in
ethnic states of varying sizes, modern Africa?
including the Ndebele state in

Pre-colonial education and culture later train young girls in how to assist
each other during pregnancy. Likewise,
In order to understand pre-colonial
young men and women were taught
education and culture, it is important
parental and marital responsibilities by
to define the two concepts. Culture
adults through jando and unyago.
is defined as the way of life of a
particular social group. It includes Objectives of pre-colonial education
their beliefs, arts and technology that Pre-colonial education was aimed
new generations inherit from their at imparting social values and
ancestors. By contrast, education is transmitting good morals and norms
a process which involves acquiring to new generations to prepare them
and transmitting knowledge, skills, for their future careers. For example,
values, morals, beliefs and habits from Africans were taught to do various
one generation to another. Before the economic activities such as fishing,
imposition of colonial rule on Africas, farming and hunting. This went hand in
Africans had their own culture and hand with equipping the youth with the
education. Pre-colonial Africa was basic knowledge and skills related to
rich in its total way of life, which particular economic activities. In that
differentiated one society from the way, pre-colonial education developed
other. a sense of belonging in learners and
Pre-colonial education encouraged them to participate actively
in performing family responsibilities.
Pre-colonial education is defined as a
Boys learnt skills by observing their
life-long process of transmitting and
fathers performing certain duties,
imparting the knowledge, skills, values,
while girls learnt from their mothers. In
norms and experiences of a given
this area, girls were taught how to take
society from one generation to another
care of their husbands and children. By
before the colonial era. Pre-colonial
contrast, boys were taught how to head
education was delivered through
and protect their families. They both
active participation and observation.
learnt through apprenticeship.
During the pre-colonial period, each
adult participated in transmitting Pre-colonial education was intended to
knowledge. The system did not require develop children’s character, together
people to build complex facilities and with their physical strength and
professional teachers. Youth training intellectual abilities. Children were
depended on the experience of the given practical skills and taught how
trainer in a certain field. For example, develop a sense of self-dependence.
the knowledge of midwifery could be In order to achieve this, specific
imparted to some women, who would vocational skills and training were

inculcated in them. informal and formal education.

Moreover, pre-colonial education Informal education was the mode of
was aimed at promoting peace and learning in which knowledge, skills,
security in a society. It trained the norms and experiences were largely
youth to defend their societies against based on local experiences. Informal
enemies. For instance, in Maasai education was provided through life
society, the Morans were responsible experiences. It was mostly obtained
for peacekeeping. They were also through observation and practice.
taught how to defend their community The youth acquired new knowledge
and protect their livestock from thieves and skills by observing their parents,
and wild animals, as well as to conquer relatives or other members of society.
their neighbouring communities to Informal education did not include
expand their herds of cattle. any theoretical knowledge of books. It
was gained under the influence of the
Pre-colonial education also prepared society.
the youth to take over after the end
of the existing governments in their Informal education was relevant to
societies. This duty was important Africans, since it taught them how
because administrative knowledge was to engage in cultivation, hunting and
at the very heart of social, political and fishing. Individuals were also taught
economic development. Well-prepared how to make iron, leather and clay
young leaders could enhance the tools. Teaching and learning were done
stability of society across generations. through work. For example, a young
man would accompany his father on
Pre-colonial education was also aimed a hunting trip and, in the process, he
at making the youth patriotic. It was would learn hunting skills.
the duty of elders to impart a sense
of patriotism to the youth so that Formal education was a mode of
they might be proud of their people, learning organised in such a way that
environment and resources. In pre- people attended formal classes. It
colonial societies, there were different involved specific programmes and a
antagonistic states. Therefore, a sense conscious division of responsibilities
of patriotism was very important among between teachers and learners. Like
the youth to discourage conspiracy informal education, formal education
against the welfare of their societies. was directly connected to the purpose
of serving a society. In practice, formal
Types of pre-colonial education education dealt with different issues,
There were two types of education depending on the needs of a particular
during the pre-colonial time, namely society. For example, the youth learnt

things like house construction, farming was provided to all society members,
and hunting. In addition, formal regardless of one’s wealth or status. The
education was conducted through only difference was that sometimes boys
literacy classes. Examples of areas were taught military techniques, while
where formal education was practised girls were not. This was influenced by
in pre-colonial Africa included the way informal education was given.
along the Nile Valley, North Africa, As a result, pre-colonial education
Ethiopia, western Sudan and the coast did not create any classes in society.
of East Africa. In some cases, literacy Although pre-colonial education did
was connected to religion. Muslims not lead to the creation of any classes,
provided Quranic education from it promoted specialisation as reflected
the primary level to the university in diviners or healers' activities.
level. For instance, Fez University This type of education was not
in Morocco, Al Azhar University in financially motivated. During the pre-
Egypt and Timbuktu University in colonial era, every society member
Mali offered Quranic knowledge. considered themselves as having great
Significantly, pre-colonial African responsibilities to fulfil in the society.
education taught much about Africa Thus, instructors were not paid. To
and Africans. This is because it was motivate instructors, the community
mainly aimed at preparing Africans to gave them gifts in the form of domestic
be good and useful members of their animals or crops, depending on what was
societies. available in the community at the time.
Characteristics of pre-colonial Pre-colonial education emphasised
education good morals and good social conduct.
Pre-colonial education was practical. The learners were taught good character.
For example, the youth were taken Elders made sure that good values and
to the seas, oceans, rivers and lakes, behaviour such as “hardworking” traits
where they were taught how to fish. were imparted successfully, while
A similar thing was done among the undesirable behaviour like theft and
agricultural communities, who taught prostitution were strongly condemned.
young people how to farm. Moreover, Pre-colonial education lacked
those interested in black smithery or uniformity. It varied from one society
industries were practically taught how to another, ,depending on the economic,
to make iron or other industrial goods. social and environmental conditions
Pre-colonial education was not class- in a given society. Each society had
biased. That means this kind of its own customs and traditions. For
education was not discriminatory. It example, the customs and traditions of

the societies that lived in the arid and iron-smelting, crop cultivation and
semi-arid climate differed from those livestock keeping. Since the mode of
of the societies found around rivers and education was practical, it equipped
lakes. people with the tools necessary for the
Pre-colonial education was economic development of the entire
characterised by both formal and society.
informal systems. In informal Moreover, pre-colonial education
education, knowledge was imparted to enabled individuals to become good
the youth through verbal transmission, leaders. For instance, the chief’s sons
observation and apprenticeship. In were given special skills which would
formal education knowledge was enable them to inherit the throne after
imparted by a recognised trainer, the death of their father.
with specified programmes in specific Pre-colonial education enabled
settings. societies to produce traditional medical
The roles of pre-colonial education doctors and midwives. The traditional
in Africa doctors handled medical cases such as
Pre-colonial education enabled malaria, stomach ache, snake bites, bone
children to learn and preserve the fractures and dislocations. Similarly,
culture of their societies. For example, they obtained some knowledge of
children were taught how to greet the traditional medicine that cured
elders and how to dress. Thus, pre- common childhood diseases. Elderly
colonial education moulded young women shared the general knowledge
people so that they could practise and and skills that enabled them to perform
perpetuate the customs and traditions midwifery roles.
of their societies. Furthermore, pre-colonial education
Pre-colonial education helped the provided special education on social
youth to develop a sense of harmony, and sex roles that benefited the whole
unity and understanding among society. For example, at puberty, boys
themselves and with other society and girls were not allowed to share
members. The youth were also taught sleeping rooms. Likewise, mothers
how to keep peace in society and how taught their daughters how to sit or talk
to respect each other. Thus, the system before elders. This, in turn, helped to
of education was not biased. promote good interpersonal behaviour
that benefited the whole society.
Pre-colonial education enabled the
youth to develop knowledge and skills in In many African societies, there
various areas such as pottery, basketry, were initiation ceremonies through

which a certain age-group would get emerged as the development of

special instruction before they become technology necessitated specialisation
members of the next age-group. An and division of labour. This led to
illustration of that may be taken from the development of a new system of
the initiation ceremonies among education, through which the skills and
the Kurya ethnic group in Tanzania techniques of iron-working, leather-
which are popularly known as the making, cloth-manufacturing and
Saro and which prepared the youth for pottery-moulding were imparted.
adulthood. Likewise, the Makonde and Furthermore, pre-colonial education
other societies of eastern and southern was practical. This practicability
Tanzania had initiation ceremonies enhanced the knowledge and skills
called jando and unyago. The skills imparted to learners. For instance,
and knowledge acquired enabled the children attended various social
youth to learn the responsibilities gatherings to learn about different
of motherhood and fatherhood. For aspects of their lives. Children had
example, males were taught to be to demonstrate their knowledge
good fathers and how to take care of before elders so that their level of
families, while females were taught understanding would be assessed.
how to cook and to take care of the
house and children. This practice was Pre-colonial education instilled among
intended to produce good citizens, who the youth appreciation of cultural
would fit well in the society. values, customs and traditions. Elders
insisted on protecting their culture
Strengths of pre-colonial education as it was their symbol. Therefore,
Pre-colonial education taught Africans pre-colonial education was a good
various economic activities. The custodian of the culture of a given
youth were taught how to do various society.
economic activities. For example, the The education provided was collective
youth were taught fishing, cultivation and inclusive; it did not have any
and trade. These economic activities element of discrimination. Children
acted as a catalyst for development. were taught the same type of education
Pre-colonial education was not in their particular age and sex groups.
static. It changed, depending on Boys and girls attained education
the circumstances and the mode of in accordance with the needs of
production in a particular society. their societies. They were equipped
For example, when societies changed with knowledge for mastering their
from communal to feudal modes of environment. They were also prepared
production, new patterns of education to take care of their parents and elders.

Pre-colonial education instilled a sense Furthermore, the content of pre-colonial

of patriotism in children. It made education included certain customs
them feel proud of their societies. For and traditions that were unnecessary.
example, during the imposition of In many cases, it undermined the rights
colonial rule on Africa, some rulers of women. For example, a woman who
such as Mtwa Mkwawa and Mangi lost her husband was not allowed to
Sina of Iringa and Kibosho were too inherit the wealth left behind by the
loyal and patriotic to betray their husband. Moreover, Female Genital
fellow Africans, although they were Mutilation (FGM), which is said to
persuaded by the white intruders to have detrimental effects on health, was
surrender. encouraged in some ethnic groups.
In some societies, women were not
Exercise 1.5
allowed to eat certain types of food
Is informal education still such as eggs, milk and some parts of
practised in modern Africa? animal meat such as the liver. Similarly,
How useful is it in the current among the iron-working societies,
generation? Argue with relevant women were not allowed to learn iron-
examples. working.
Additionally, pre-colonial education
heavily relied on the economic activities
Weaknesses of pre-colonial education
of a particular society. For example, in
Although pre-colonial education had
agricultural societies, the youth could
several strengths, it also had a number
not learn about pastoral activities, and
of weaknesses, as shown below.
vice versa. This kind of specialisation,
First, pre-colonial education did deprived young men and women of an
not involve the skills of writing or opportunity to expand their knowledge.
recording the knowledge imparted People could not fit in other societies.
to learners. Very few areas provided Pre-colonial education lacked a specific
writing skills, for example Timbuktu in syllabus. This affected consistency and
West Africa, Fez in Morocco and Egypt a regulated flow of knowledge. There
in North Africa. As a result, its success was no uniformity, with respect to
depended largely on one’s ability to the knowledge or skills learnt in the
remember what one had learnt. Thus, society. Each instructor could use his
once people with such knowledge own approach and personal preferences
or skills died, their knowledge also to deliver the knowledge.
disappeared.

The Matengo people, for instance,

Exercise 1.6
celebrated the harvest season by
To what extent was pre-colonial dancing mganda, a dance for men, and
African education relevant to sioda, a dance for women.
learners environment? Pre-colonial African culture was aimed
at speeding up economic development.
It instilled a spirit of hard work in
Pre-colonial culture
Africans. In African societies, lazy men
Pre-colonial culture refers to Africans’ and women were not allowed to marry
way of life, which existed before the and some societies denounced lazy
advent of European colonialism. It people by sending them far away so
was a system of education, traditions, that they could not influence the youth.
languages, customs, arts and craft. Pre- Thus, since ancient times the African
colonial education, therefore, was a youth were taught by their parents
means through which people learnt and not to be parasitic and to be self-
acquired the culture of a given society. reliant. Therefore, pre-colonial culture
Objectives of pre-colonial culture prepared the youth to be productive and
self-reliant adults of the future.
Pre-colonial culture was aimed at
imparting knowledge, skills and values Pre-colonial culture unified community
to society members through the word of members. Culture brought people
mouth, and also by directly involving together via various traditional fora
learners in different activities like for the youth, elders, leaders and
fishing, carpentry and painting; in most the common people. For example,
cases it was learning by doing. Parents Matengo elders and leaders had their
fulfilled their responsibilities by forum known as pasengu, during which
directing their children to behave well. leaders from different clans met and
The younger generation was taught to discussed on the development and
behave as Africans in the environment well-being of their people. Through
they lived in. pasengu, the leaders got information
from different clans and families that
Pre-colonial culture was used to
helped them to make good decision.
entertain people during difficult times
such as funerals, wars and calamities Pre-colonial culture was also aimed at
through songs and traditional dances. preparing good members of society.
It also used to entertain people during It is through culture that good morals,
happy moments when people gathered values and beliefs were transmitted
and celebrated by dancing and singing. to the younger generation. Through

History for Advanced Secondary Schools
culture, parents and elders taught their technological innovation, which was
children good behaviour. For example, the basis for industrial, agricultural
among the Sukuma, girls and women and commercial development. For
had to kneel down while greeting example, the Makonde engaged in
their elders, as a sign of respect and wood carving.
obedience.
Pre-colonial culture showed African
identities. Every society had its own
Activity 1.5
set of customary practices. In order
to distinguish one society from the In small groups, organise a
other, the members of each society had classroom exhibition on pre-
to display some uniqueness in their colonial African culture based on
cultural etiquette. The uniqueness of various cultural practices. The
customs and practices helped to show exhibition should focus on the
how one community differed from following cultural aspects:
another. Language, food, dressing styles,
Moreover, pre-colonial culture traditional dances, medicine,
promoted development by imparting cultural ceremonies, traditional
practical knowledge and skills to leadership styles, arts and crafts.
people. It was the foundation of

Revision exercise 1
1. “Supernatural powers did not impose states in pre-colonial African

societies. Rather, states were produced by the material conditions which
existed in such societies.” Discuss.
2. Using specific examples, show how African societies evolved from

communalism to the feudal mode of production in the period between
1000 and 1800 CE.
3. With vivid examples, examine six main features of pre-colonial African

societies.
4. “The slave mode of production and the feudal mode of production are
one and the same thing.” Comment on this contention.
5. Differentiate between antagonistic and non-antagonistic modes of

production.
6. Explain why some African societies did not develop a feudal mode of
production.
7. To what extent was the Neolithic Revolution a revolution among the

people of pre-colonial Africa?
8. “Slavery never existed in pre-colonial African societies.” Argue for or

against this statement.
9. What are the similarities and differences between umwinyi and

nyarubanja?
10. With examples, explain the different forms of feudal relations that
existed in East Africa.
11. Examine the characteristics of pre-colonial education.
12. What was the impact of Mfecane in East, Central and Southern African
societies?

Chapter
Africa and Europe in the 15th century
Two
Introduction
By the 15th century, Africa and Europe had achieved almost the same levels
of development in terms of technology, politics and economy. The difference
between the two continents could be seen in the development of maritime
technology, of which Western Europe had made a remarkable achievement. In
this chapter, you will learn about systems of exchange which existed in Africa
and Europe, and about the levels of political, scientific and technological
development which had been achieved by the two continents by the 15th century.
You will also learn about the rise of the development gap between Africa and
Europe from about the 15th century onwards. The competencies developed will
enable you to suggest strategies that African societies could employ to develop
economically and technologically.
How is the trade relationship between Africa and Europe today?
The concept of development refers to the improvement of the quality

Development is a broad concept. At of human lives in political, social and
the level of an individual, development economic respects.
means an increase in skills, capacity, Many scholars define development in
greater freedom, creativity and self- relation to underdevelopment, but it
discipline. It also means increased should be pointed out that the concept of
responsibility and the material well- underdevelopment does not imply the
being of an individual. This suggests absence of development. That means
that development is a relative term, in people necessarily have developed
the sense that it means different things in one way or another, regardless
to different people. At the community of their state of underdevelopment.
or societal level, the term development Therefore, underdevelopment or

development makes sense when two or

more countries are compared. This is Activity 2.1
because there is uneven development
Debate the meanings of development
between nations. Some nations are poor
and underdevelopment. Then, use the
and others rich. Like development,
points discussed to assess the validity
the concept of underdevelopment is a
of the Afro-centric interpretation
relative term.
of development in relation to pre-
Studies have shown that capitalism is colonial African societies.
the major cause of underdevelopment
in Africa. It is argued that the Systems of exchange in Africa
development of capitalism in Europe
led to uneven development in Europe Trading activities existed in Africa
and Africa. This is because, before before it came into contact with
the 15th century, African societies Europe in the 15th century CE. Africans
developed independently, but this operated trade and exchange relations
process of development was disrupted at local, regional, interregional and
when the Europeans arrived in Africa world levels. Local trade existed
in the 15th century. From an Afro- everywhere in Africa; traders hawked
centric point of view, African societies goods from house to house or village
to village. Unequal distribution of
had already developed in areas of
resources contributed to the rise of
science and technology, trade, industry,
trade and exchange relations not only
agriculture, religion, education and
in Africa, but also in other parts of
politics when merchant capitalism
the world. The main goods in these
began. Historians like Walter Rodney
exchange relations were salt, iron ore,
have argued that Africa was virtually
iron tools, copper, clay pots, livestock
at the same level of development as
and livestock products, bananas and
Europe in the 15th century. On the
grain, especially sorghum and millet.
contrary, Euro-centric historians refute Other items of exchange were weapons
this argument, claiming that there was such as poisoned iron-tipped arrows
no development at all in pre-colonial and spears used for hunting wild
African societies. To them, Africa animals and for fishing. Generally,
was static, classless and stateless, and before the 15th century trade in Africa
therefore development and civilisation was mainly done to solve the problem
in Africa are the result of the whites’ of scarce goods, and not to create or
activities such as colonialism. acquire wealth. This type of exchange

was supervised by the producers as a medium of exchange or money.

themselves. There were hardly any Such commodities included salt, gold
middlemen or specialised traders. and cowry shells. In West Africa,
Thus, this exchange was not motivated animals like donkeys and camels
by profit making. were used as means of transport,
As time went on, Africa developed which facilitated the development and
regional and long distance trade to expansion of the Trans-Saharan Trade.
get scarce items such as salt and iron Long before the 15th century, people
tools. Regional trade was common in along the coast of East Africa had
Central Africa, where the prominent been in regular commercial contacts
trade items were iron tools from the with people from the Mediterranean
Venda people in Southern Africa which world. In the first century CE, Greek
were exchanged with grain from the and Egyptian traders from the Roman
neighbouring societies. In East Africa, Empire traded with the people of
regional trade developed between the the East African coast. The Periplus
Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Ha and the people of the Erythraean Sea describes
of Katanga in Central Africa. The main navigation and trading opportunities
trade items were salt from Uvinza, from Egyptian ports like Berenice
copper from Katanga and grain and located along the coast of the Red Sea,
iron tools from Sukumaland. In West the Horn of Africa, the Persian Gulf,
Africa, salt was also an important trade the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean in
item. It was mined at Taoden, Bilma the Sindh region of Pakistan and the
and Taghaza. It was used in food and southwestern regions of India. The
for curing diseases. However, the trade Periplus was a commercial guide
was intensified during the 17th and 18th that contained sailing routes; and
centuries. commercial, political and ethnologic
The dominant system of exchange in details about the ports visited.
both cases was the barter trade which Before maps started being used, they
involved the exchange of commodities functioned as a combination of atlas
for commodities. The barter system and travelers’ handbooks.
was practised in most pre-colonial The main trading items from the
African societies in the 15th century. Mediterranean world were clothes,
The common products exchanged in incense, ointment, knives and wine,
East Africa were grain, livestock and while Africa supplied mangrove poles,
livestock products, salt, gold, copper, gold, tortoise shells and rhinoceros
ivory and iron tools. However, as time horns. This trade collapsed after the
went by, some commodities were used demise of the Roman Empire in the 5th

century CE. Figure 2.1 shows the trade items involved and the routes from the East
African coast, the Roman Empire, the Arabian Sea to the Far East.
Figure 2.1: Trade between the East African coast, the Roman world, the Arabian
Sea and the Far East
The people of the East African coast The people of the East African coast
developed trade relations with the also developed trade relations with
Indians and Chinese in the first the Arab world from about the 7th
Millennium. In this Trade, the Chinese century CE. Arabs brought swords,
and Indians brought cotton and silk, beads, dates and porcelain and silk
clothes, porcelain, spices, beads, clothes. They exchanged these goods
ornaments, daggers and ceramics. with gold, ivory, iron, mangrove poles
From the East African coast, the and tortoise shells. Gold was mined
Indians and Chinese took ivory, gold, in Mwenemutapa and transported
copper, slaves, beeswax and honey. by caravans to Sofala, where Arab

traders bought it. Between the 9th and world, which include Southern Europe.
13th centuries, trading towns grew Berber farmers supplied grain, mainly
throughout the coast. These were wheat and barley, to Southern Europe.
Mogadishu, Kismayu, Lamu, Malindi, From Southern Europe, North Africa
Pate, Mombasa, Pemba, Zanzibar, received olive oil, clothes and iron
Kilwa and Sofala. The trade was tools. The form of exchange was also
disrupted in the 15th century by the barter.
Portuguese, who shifted the roots to Significance of trade in Africa
Europe and the New World.
Trade contributed to the growth of
Similarly, West Africa developed powerful empires such as Ghana, Mali
trade relations with Southern Europe and Songhai, and the rise of an Islamic
through the Mediterranean Sea before kingdom in Morocco, and centres of
the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE. learning based in Cairo, Alexandria,
Several centuries before the rise of the Carthage, Tripoli and the Middle East.
Roman Empire, the Greek historian It also contributed to the expansion of
Herodotus (c. 484-425 BCE) wrote urban centres such as Tekrur, Wadan,
about the peoples of Africa. Herodotus Agades, Ghadames and Kano. By
wrote that many of the peoples of the the 10th century CE, a large number
Nile Valley were black Africans and of North African traders who were
suggested connections between the visiting West Africa had contributed to
people of the Nile Valley and other the emergence of separate settlements
people further to the west. The rock for those practising African religions
art of Dar Tichit in West Africa shows and those practising Islam in Ghana
the existence of wheeled chariots Empire. Therefore, trade led to the
south of the Sahara, which suggests spread of Islam in West Africa between
a connection with the Mediterranean the 11th and 15th centuries CE. Later on,
world. The Berber and Arab traders the spread of Islam intensified trade
sold ivory and gold from Ghana and between West Africa, the Mediterranean
Mali, as well as salt from the Sahara world and the Middle East. The spread
desert to European merchants. Gold of Islam also increased the use of the
was mined in the Bambuk and Bure Arabic language in administration.
mines in Ghana. Copper was mined
at Takedda in Sahara. The media of The trade in gold influenced commerce
exchange were gold, salt and clothes. It in the Mediterranean area. Gold was the
was predominantly barter trade. major trade item in the Trans-Saharan
Trade. West African gold was first
Moreover, North Africa developed minted for markets in Europe around
trade relations with the Mediterranean 1000 CE. Gold made the early Arab

traders develop interest in West Africa Goods were carried by horses and
because West Africa was known to them later on by camels. Marrakesh, Fez,
as ‘the golden country.’ The influence Algiers and Carthage linked sub-
of the Trans-Saharan gold trade on Saharan Africa and Saharan Africa to
European societies can be seen in the Southern Europe. These urban centres
derivation of the Spanish word for a were vital to the organisation of the
gold coin in the 15th century, maravedi, Trans-Saharan Trade. They developed
from the Almoravid murabitun dinar. complex infrastructure for providing
By the 11th century, West Africa had services to long distance traders. By
already been connected to North the 15th century, each of such cities had
Africa and Southern Europe via the resting places for traders and clearing
Mediterranean Sea through trade. The houses for collecting taxes. A huge
exports from the Mediterranean world stock of grain like millet, sorghum and
were books, writing paper and cowries. wheat, and another of dried meat were
Cowries became the main currency sold to the traders crossing the Sahara.
throughout West Africa, except Timbuktu became a learning centre
for Bardo. Similarly, sugar, spices, to the scholars who accompanied the
jewellery, perfumes, mirrors, razors, caravans. Other exports from West
needles, knives, carpets and beads Africa were tobacco, dates, gum,
were also imported into West Africa ostrich feathers and kola. By the 15th
from the Mediterranean world. century, when the Atlantic Trade
The caravan trade contributed to began, the Trans-Saharan Trade had
the rise of trading centres along the already flourished and shaped the rise,
trade routes. Some of the centres fall and consolidation of many West
were Awdaghost, Taghazza, Bilma, African states and societies. Figure
Taoden, Jenne, Niamey, Gao, Walata, 2.2 shows the trade routes across the
Sijilmasa, Ghat, Marrakesh and Fez. Sahara Desert.

Figure 2. 2: North-West Africa Trans-Saharan Trade routes
Africa also developed its own industries, Other industries were basket-making,
in which local manufacturers were gold-mining and copper and iron-
at this time manufacturing items of smelting, and the making of bronze and
comparable, if not superior, quality to various kinds of decorations.
those of pre-industrial Europe. Because
of advances in local technology, the The merchants from Britain, France,
iron smiths in some parts of sub- Portugal and the Netherlands who began
Saharan Africa were producing iron trading along the Atlantic coast of Africa
of a better grade than that of their encountered a well-established trading
counterparts in Europe. Similarly, the population regulated by experienced
highly developed West African textile local rulers. European companies
workshops produced fine clothes quickly developed mercantile ties with
for export long before the arrival of the indigenous powers and erected
European traders. There were also salt fortified “factories” or warehouses
industries in East and Central Africa. in coastal areas to store goods and

defend their trading rights from foreign Scotland and Scandinavia. The earliest
encroachment. Independent Portuguese records of Roman explorations of the
merchants called lançados settled sea began in 12 BCE. Southern England
along the coasts and rivers of Africa was formally invaded in 43 CE and
from present-day Senegal to Angola, gradually assimilated into the Roman
where they were absorbed into African Empire, which sustained trade across
society and served as middlemen the North Sea and the English Channel.
between European and African traders. The Germanic Angles, Saxons and
The goods imported into Africa in Jutes from Frisia and Jutland began
considerable volumes included woolen the next great migration across the
and silk clothes, jewelry, beads and North Sea during the Medieval Period,
alcohol. It is also worth noting that, conquering, displacing and mixing
Catholic countries such as Portugal with the native Celtic population in
were forbidden through a Papal Britain. The Viking Age began in 793
injunction from selling items with CE and for the next two centuries saw
potential military use to non-Christians, a significant cultural and economic
although it is unclear how closely this exchange between Scandinavia and
order was observed. In exchange for Europe as the Vikings used the North
their wares, the Europeans returned Sea to colonise England, Scotland,
with textiles, carvings, spices, ivory, France, Iberia and parts of the
gum1 and African slaves. Therefore, Mediterranean world.
trade had a significant impact on Africa From the Middle Ages until the 15th
up to the 15th century. century CE, before the development
System of exchange in Europe of good roads, maritime trade on the
North Sea connected the economies
While Africa developed its trade of northern Europe, England and
relations within and outside, Europe Scandinavia, as well as those of the
also developed its trade and exchange Baltic and the Mediterranean regions.
system. Like Africa, the system of The Hanseatic League, a confederation
exchange in Europe operated at different of merchant families and market towns,
levels. The North Sea had an extensive dominated the sea trade in the North
history of maritime commerce, Sea and the Baltic Sea, establishing
resource extraction and warfare among settlements in all major ports and
the people and nations on its coasts. In stimulating the growth of maritime
addition, there was the migration of trade in Northern Europe. The main
people and the transfer of technology trade items were wool and woolen
between continental Europe, England, clothes from Britain, while iron came

from Arctic Scandinavia. By the 830s the sea. During the Viking Age around
CE, trade in the southern North Sea the 9th century CE, Arctic Scandinavia
zone was already diminishing, while was the source of exquisite furs, downs,
Dorestad, London and Southampton walrus ivory and other commodities
were in stagnation. that were in high demand in England
and on the continent.
After the Black Death (1348-1450),
a well-developed land market Up to the 15th century, education was
among small-scale farmers emerged controlled by the Catholic Church.
in England in which some of the The 15th century CE was an important
small-scale farmers managed to rise age in the foundation of schools and
above their neighbours and begin colleges. Some schools were set up as
to constitute a class of yeomen in adjuncts to chantries, some by guilds
the 15th century. Although England and others by collegiate churches.
remained a predominantly agrarian For example, Henry VI founded Eton
society, significant development and College in 1440 and King’s College
in Cambridge in 1441. Other colleges
changes occurred in the towns. London
were also founded in Oxford and
continued to grow, thus dominating the
Cambridge in this period. Likewise, the
southeast.
influence of the Italian Renaissance in
Elsewhere, the development of the learning and culture was very limited
woolen industry brought about major before 1485, although there were some
changes. Halifax and Leeds grew at notable patrons such as Humphrey
the expense of York, and West Riding and the Duke of Gloucester, who
at the expense of the eastern part of collected books and supported scholars
Yorkshire. Suffolk and the Cotswold interested in new learning. The printer
region became important in the national also emerged in 1476. William Caxton
economy. As trade in clothing grew in set up his press to publish English
importance, so did the association of the works for the growing reading public.
Merchant Adventurers. The merchants One of the great collections contained
of Staple, who had a monopoly on the family correspondence and those of the
export of raw wool, did less well. Italian Pastons, Stonors and Celys.
merchants in Venice, Genoa, Florence While Europe developed its formal
and Milan prospered in the 15th century. education, Africa also developed its
The major means of transport was own education institutions such as
marine transport along the North Sea Azhar University in Ancient Egypt and
and the northern Atlantic Ocean. Most Timbuktu in Mali. Books were printed
of the trading towns were located along on papyrus paper. The Arabic language

was used as a medium of instruction in trade routes were the communication

the universities. Different professionals highways of the ancient world. New
were trained in the universities such inventions, medicines, religious
as scribers, teachers, record keepers, beliefs, artistic styles, languages and
masons and others. social customs were transmitted.
From the 10th century onwards, Europe Goods and raw materials were
developed trade relations with the transported by people moving from
Middle East and the Oriental world in one place to another to exchange them
Asia and China. The Italian city-states for other goods. Although silk was the
of Rome, Milan, Genoa, Florence and main trading item, many other goods
Venice became a link between Europe were transported along the Silk Road
and the Middle East, Asia and the Far between Eastern Asia and Europe.
East. European merchants travelled Over time, medicines, perfumes,
to Asia in search of silk clothes, plants like banana and rice, spices
porcelain, ceramics, gold and spices. and livestock moved between the
The overland ancient route from continents. Trading along the Silk Road
Europe to the Far East through the became strong again between the 13th
Middle East was known as the Silk and 14th centuries, when the Mongols
Road. The Silk Road is a name given controlled Central Asia. During the
to the many trade routes that connected age of explorations, the Silk Road lost
Europe and the Mediterranean world its importance because new sea routes
with the Asian world between the 10th to Asia had been discovered. The
and 14th centuries. The route was over Silk Road was one of the first trading
6,500 km long. It got its name because routes that connected the European
the early Chinese traded in silk along world with the Asian world. It played
with it. China, for example, supplied a major role in the development of
West Asia and the Mediterranean international trade. This was because
world with silk, while spices were this road facilitated the cultural
mainly obtained from South Asia, and technological transmission that
particularly India. The Silk and Spice linked the merchants of Europe with
Routes were the main routes of contact Persia, India and China for almost
between the various ancient empires 300 years. Europe also learnt much
of the Oriental world. The cities along from the development of science and
these trade routes grew rich, providing technology, astronomy, mathematics,
services to merchants and acting as calendar and medicines in China, India
the international market places. The and the Middle East.

Thus, because of the development

Exercise 2.1
of maritime technology in Europe in
the 15th century, European merchants Compare the trading and
organised trading activities within exchange relations between
Europe and beyond. The Europeans Africa and Europe in the 15th
found an alternative sea route to Asia century with the contemporary
and the Far East following the crusade neo-colonial relations. What
involving Christians and Muslims in changes do you see?
the 11th century CE which led to the
closure of the overland route from
Significance of trade and exchange
Europe to Asia through the Middle
in both Africa and Europe
East. Unlike their African counterparts,
the merchants from Europe could travel The system of exchange influenced the
to different parts of Africa, Asia and expansion of towns as it made people
America, doing overseas trade. It was from various parts of Africa settle in
during the 15th century that Portuguese, towns for trading purposes. As a result,
Spanish and English merchants began many small towns grew to become
to dominate international trade. Barter important trading centres. For instance,
trade existed both in Europe and Africa. trade across the Saharan desert
Europe exchanged goods for goods like influenced the expansion of towns such
gold, silver, clothes and alcohol. as Timbuktu, Jenne, Walata and Gao
in West Africa. In East Africa, several
The discovery of maritime technology
trading towns emerged before the 13th
enabled European merchants to sail
century CE. These were Zanzibar,
to different parts of the world for
Kilwa, Mombasa, Malindi, Pate and
trading purposes. They exchanged
Lamu. Those East African coastal
European products like linen, gun-
towns were economically linked
powder, needles, wine, glass, beads together, but they were politically
and muskets for such items as precious independent under their local rulers.
metals, slaves and spices, which were The development of the trade contact
highly needed in Europe during the between East Africa and the Arabian
mercantile era. The coming of the Peninsula contributed to the growth of
European merchants to Africa led to those towns in East Africa. Likewise,
the integration of Africa into the world in Europe, international trade and
capitalist system of exchange in which the exchange systems influenced the
African traders exchanged slaves, growth of towns such as London,
minerals and tropical products for Liverpool, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome,
imported European products. Milan and Florence, most of which

grew to become major trading centres of political units in both Africa and
during mercantilism. Europe. The collection of tributes led to
Trade facilitated the spread of the rise, consolidation and expansion of
Christianity as well as Roman and the ruling aristocracy in some African
Greek civilisations in North Africa. societies. With the development of
The spread of Christianity in Africa trade, some states emerged. Their
in the first century CE played a major economic strength relied heavily on
role in the development and expansion trading activities. Most of these states
of trading relations in North Africa. such as Ghana and Mali developed
The Roman Empire dominated Egypt, along the major trading routes as they
Carthage, Tripoli, Benghazi, Tunisia were located at strategic routes in the
and Cyrenaica as its provinces up Trans-Saharan Trade. The expansion
to the 5th century. Trading centres of trade intensified other economic
developed on the coast of North activities like agriculture and the
Africa, which acted as a link between production of goods in industries. This,
the Mediterranean world and Saharan in turn, enabled states to accumulate
and sub-Saharan Africa. However, in wealth and establish standing armies
rural areas, where Africans remained with which they could fight wars
with their traditional religions, trade of expansion. In West Africa, the
was based on the barter system and its expansion of Ghana Empire and Mali
various media of exchange. Empire was highly influenced by the
desire to control strategic trade routes
The trade relations between Arabia and
so as to participate in trade and to
Africa also contributed to the spread
extract tribute from traders for running
of Islam to North Africa, West Africa
the empires. Likewise, in Europe,
(Western Sudan) and East Africa
several nation-states like Spain, France,
between the 7th and 10th centuries.
England, Italy and the Netherlands rose
As most of the traders came from the
because of their trading activities.
Middle East, they contributed to the
spread of Islam and its civilisation, Evidence from East African societies
including Arabic culture, to North also indicates that interregional
Africa, West Africa and East Africa. trading relations played a major role
The Arab traders observed the Islamic in spreading ideas and cultures among
laws guiding trade in the trading societies. The knowledge of cultivation
centres. and iron technology, for instance, could
spread from one society to another
Moreover, the trade and exchange
through trade contacts. For example,
relations also influenced the expansion
some pastoral societies like the

Mbugwe of Tanzania acquired some various commodities into Africa such

knowledge of agriculture from the Pare as clothes, guns, gunpowder, alcohol
and Shambaa through trade relations. and beads from Portugal and Spain.
In the 1480s, Christianity was also From Africa, the Portuguese took
introduced in the Kongo Kingdom by slaves, gold and ivory. They also
Portuguese missionaries, merchants introduced new crops such as maize
and explorers. Likewise in West and cassava from South America.
Africa, Christianity began when the Moreover, new banana and rice species
Portuguese established trade contacts were introduced into East Africa from
with the coastal societies in the 15th India. Arab traders introduced coconut
century. New trade items, technology trees on the East African coast in the
and a new medium of exchange were 10th century. All these crops were
introduced into Africa. acclimatised and became common in
Additionally, the coming of the Africa.
Portuguese marked the beginning of The impact of trade on African
the adoption of new cultural values political systems
from Europe such as the construction
The impact of trade on African political
of houses, singing, dressing and
systems was two-fold. First, trade
eating styles. In East Africa, the Bantu
contributed to the consolidation and
spoke the Kiswahili language before
expansion of centralised or large-scale
the contacts with the external world
political organisations. For example,
began. With the trade contacts along
Ghana emerged as a small kingdom by
the coast, many Arabic words and
controlling some of the Trans-Saharan
some Portuguese words were adopted
Trade routes. Secondly, leaders
and started being used in the Kiswahili
extracted tribute, which enabled them
language. The legacy of the Portuguese
to run the state and build permanent
presence in East Africa can be seen
standing armed forces, which were
in words like mvinyo (wine), leso
used to conquer strategic areas such
(handkerchief), gereza (prison) and
as the Wangara and Bure gold mines.
meza (table).
Similarly, Mali Empire started as a
The introduction of European small Kangaba kingdom in the 14th
mercantilism into Africa integrated century. Kingdom grew to become
Africans into the European-dominated Mali Empire as a result of controlling
trade relations. The exchange system the trade routes passing through Jene,
transformed Africa and Europe in many Gao, Walata and Timbuktu.
ways. The trade between Africa and
According to John Iliffe, the pre-
Europe in the 15th century introduced
colonial trade contacts in Africa

developed communications and created the coast, supplying slaves, ivory, gold
wealth for central governments. This and pepper to the European merchants
was done through the collection of who stayed along the coast.
tributes and the establishment of Some of the Sudanic states of West
standing armies to ensure the security Africa collapsed following the
of the traders. Secondly, trade caused diversion of trade routes caused by
some states to collapse. For instance, the coming of the European traders.
Ghana Empire, which prospered and The collapse of Mali Empire in the
expanded as a result trade exchange 15th century CE was due to the rise
relations, began to collapse in the 12th of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade,
century CE. The Kangaba Kingdom which diverted most of the trade routes
expanded and controlled some of the which went northwards and turned
trade routes lost by Ghana Empire. them southwards. Monopoly over the
The number of pre-colonial states Trans-Saharan Trade declined with
in Africa declined during the period the presence of Europeans on the West
of mercantilist capitalism in the 15th African coast. In East Africa, coastal
century. city-states such as Mombasa and Kilwa
In the 15th century CE, the rise of lost their commercial supremacy with
mercantilism brought some changes to the coming of the Portuguese merchants
West Africa. New trading ports began at the end of the 15th century (1498).
to develop along the Atlantic Ocean Kilwa was attacked by Portuguese
coast out of the European commercial forces in 1505. The Portuguese
activities. They were Axim, Elmina, controlled trade in the Indian Ocean,
Christiansburg, Goree, Bissau, which was being controlled by the
Whydah, Lagos and Calabar. This led to Swahili and Oman Arab traders.
the beginning of the collapse of inland The trade between Africa and Europe
trading towns such as Jenne, Gao, up to the 15th century was through the
Walata, Tekrur and Sigilmassa. The Trans-Saharan Trade in which Africa
new trading ports prospered because of had indirect trade relations with Europe
the Trans-Atlantic Trade. The trading through the Arab merchants of North
ports along the coast began to support Africa. In the 15th century CE, Africa
the growth of new states which served came into direct contact with Europe.
European mercantilist trade interests. The relations began in West Africa, but
The new states were Fante and Ashanti, later spread to Central Africa, Southern
which extracted tribute from the Africa and East Africa through
caravans travelling from the interior to mercantalism.

The impact of exchange and trade on led to the establishment of financial

economic systems in Europe institutions and insurance companies,
The development of the trade and which continued to finance commercial
exchange relations between Europe activities in Europe. For instance,
and Africa accelerated the development Barclays Bank had its origin in
of the European economy. Through mercantalist activities which involved
mercantalism, European merchants enslaving Africans and acquiring
began to accumulate capital, which overseas colonies.
facilitated the establishment of new The profit obtained from trade as
industries in Europe. Thus, trade played well as the mastery of navigational
a great role in the future development technologies enabled Europe to expand
of industries in Europe. The to other parts of the world in the 15th
accumulated capital was also used to and early 16th centuries. The Europeans
improve European social and physical were looking for precious metals and
infrastructure like roads, railways, overseas colonies. The merchants also
buildings, and water and power supply conducted wars of plunder in America
systems. Infrastructural development and Africa thereby accumulating
contributed to the growth of towns such massive wealth in the form of gold,
as Amsterdam, Manchester, Liverpool, silver, copper, ivory and pepper.
London, Paris and Lisbon. Maritime
technology was improved as more Is there any need for Africa
and larger ships for carrying bulky to have trade relations with
tropical goods were built. Moreover, the outside world now? Give
the exchange relations enabled Europe reasons.
to acquire raw materials, which were
important for industrialisation. Africa The impact of trade on social and
lost most of its wealth by exchanging its economic systems in Africa
valuable resources for cheap products
from Europe. The development of trade activities
in Africa promoted the expansion of
The merchants gained huge profits from
economic activities like agriculture
the unequal trade. The Portuguese,
and mining. Africans started practising
who had established themselves along
agriculture long before the 15th century.
the West African coast since the 1470s,
Archaeological evidence indicates
exchanged clothes and other items for
that agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
gold from the Akan gold fields.
began on the fertile plains of the area
Moreover, through primitive lying between present-day Nigeria and
accumulation of capital mercantilism Cameroon. Archaeological sources

also show that Africans started to also developed methods of dealing

domesticate animals earlier than they with pest invasions like locust and
started crop cultivation. As pointed out tsetse fly invasions. For example,
earlier, the period when man started to pastoralists avoided tsetse fly-infested
cultivate crops and keep animals is belts. They used traditional herbs
called the Neolithic Revolution. This to treat trypanosomiasis, a disease
period in Africa started around 5000 that is transmitted by tsetse flies.
BCE. Early African farmers grew However, by the 6th century CE,
millet and sorghum. In East Africa, iron hoes were widely used in the
the Bantu arrived around 1000 BCE, Savannah region. Iron technology
bringing with them the knowledge enabled societies to produce sufficient
of agriculture. By 500 BCE, the food for consumption and exchange.
domestication of plants and animals In Mali Empire in West Africa, for
had spread to various parts of Africa. example, agricultural production was
The earliest crops cultivated in Africa well organised so that the emperors
were root and fruit crops. As time went appointed leaders called Babili-Farma
by, other crops were introduced. In as ministers of agriculture.
West Africa, yams and palm oils were
Furthermore, the trading activities
cultivated. By the first Millennium CE,
promoted irrigation technologies in
grain crops such as millet and sorghum
other places of Africa like Engaruka
had already been adopted in various
and the Pare Mountains in East
areas such as in the interlacustrine
Africa. This went hand in hand with
region. As already mentioned, banana
the development of construction
culture, which is associated with the
technologies such as stone masonry
Bantu-speaking people is believed to
technologies. Terracing and irrigation
have started in the same Millennium
technologies thrived in different
CE.
societies in East Africa. They involved
By the 15th century, African societies the building of canals and ditches used
had developed various farming to supply water to irrigated areas.
techniques such as shifting cultivation, Irrigation technology helped dry
mixed farming and irrigation, which areas and areas with insufficient rain
were largely practised in the Nile River like Pareland to be productive. It also
Valley in Egypt and Axum Empire. led to the development of intensive
The nature of agriculture was mainly agriculture in Africa.
subsistence, although some harvests
By the 15th century, Africa had already
were exchanged for other commodities
set up industries. In East Africa iron
from non-agricultural communities.
industries had existed since the 1st
African farmers and pastoralists had Millennium CE. Some of the famous

iron sites in Africa were found in The trade and exchange systems
Axum (Ethiopia) and Meroe (the had some negative economic effects
Sudan). The technology of making on Africa. For example, the rise of
and using iron hoes also developed mercantilism and the Trans-Atlantic
among the societies of East Africa. It Slave Trade in Africa in the 15th
started in 1500 CE in Engaruka and century had certain negative effects.
Ugweno among the Pare in modern Slaves were taken from Africa in
Tanzania. The presence of iron led to large numbers and sent to Americas.
the production of iron tools which, in As a result, Africa lost its energetic
turn, improved farming activities thus people, who would have contributed
leading to more production of food towards its development. This was
crops. Technological innovations in also the beginning of unequal trade
agriculture were encouraged by the and exchange relations between Africa
development of trading activities in and Western Europe. The value of
Africa. Foodstuffs were exchanged the commodities exchanged differed
with other products. considerably. For example, African
labour and other goods were of higher
The development of trade in value than the commodities imported
Africa went hand in hand with the from Europe. The slave trade led to the
development of mining activities. stagnation of African technologies and
Mining activities and the knowledge production.
of metal working existed in different
Most of the slaves were captured from
African societies before the coming
the Guinea coast to the south of the
of the Europeans. For example, with
Kongo Kingdom. For example, the
the discovery of iron ore, iron smiths
Kongo Kingdom became the major
forged iron tools. Meanwhile, salt was
source of slaves for Portuguese traders
extracted at Bilma and Taghaza in West
and other European powers. The
Africa and gold at Bambuk, Bure and
Cantino world map of 1502 mentions
Akan in West Africa. Another example
the kingdom as the source of slaves
of mining centres was Katanga, which
for the island of São Tomé. The slaves
was rich in copper deposits. The
were sold to Portuguese merchants.
areas where mining activities were
Most of the slaves exported to the
done experienced the development of
Portuguese farms were war captives
trade and improvement of agricultural
from the kingdom’s expansion
production, hence the rise of states. campaigns. Every year, Portuguese
Good examples were Ghana Empire slave traders would come with 12 to
and Mali Empire formed in the 15 ships for carrying back between 5
Savannah region in West Africa. 000 and 10 000 slaves.

The penetration of Christianity and After taking over the throne, King
European culture such as dressing and Afonso Mvemba Nzinga faced a
eating styles into Africa undermined serious challenge from his half-
African culture. The Europeans began brother, Mpanzu a Kitima. The king
to despise Africans’ aspects of life such defeated his brother in a battle waged
as medicine, religion and hygiene. at Mbanza Kongo. Inspired by this
They regarded them as backward. event, he subsequently designed a coat
They wanted Africans to imitate their of arms for Kongo which was used by
culture. The Portuguese explorer all the kings who came later in official
Diogo Cão was the first European to documents and royal paraphernalia.
visit the Kongo Kingdom. He visited While King João I later returned to his
the kingom in 1483. The kingdom rose traditional beliefs, Afonso I adopted
in the 14th century CE. The Portuguese Christianity as the religion of his
Jesuit missionaries began to convert Kingdom. King Afonso I introduced a
Africans to Christianity. In 1491, some version of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic priests and soldiers into Kongo.
went to the Kongo Kingdom. They
The Africans who were Christianised
baptised King Nzinga Nkuwu and his
were seen as more civilised than
principal nobles, starting with the ruler
those who retained their traditional
of Soyo, in the coastal province. Other
beliefs. The two identities continued
Kongolese followed the example and
to struggle for the throne and later
were converted to Christianity as well.
on this contributed to the collapse of
At the same time, a literate Kongo
the Kongo Kingdom. Thus, European
citizen returning from Portugal opened
culture and Christianity contributed to
the first school in the kingdom. King
the collapse of the Kongo Kingdom.
Nzinga Nkuwu took the Christian
name of João I in honour of Portugal’s
King at the time, João II. King João
I ruled until his death in 1506 and Activity 2.2
was succeeded by his son Afonso Hold a debate in your class or with
Mvemba Nzinga. The penetration of a neighbouring school on the motion
Catholicism into the Kongo Kingdom that Africa was primitive, classless
divided the royal family into Catholics and stateless before the coming of the
and traditionalists. In 1509, instead Europeans to the continent. Summarise
of the usual election involving the and record the main issues raised in
nobles, a hereditary European-style the debate for your own revision.
succession led to the African King,
Afonso I, succeeding his father, João I.

Political systems in Africa and payment of tribute and leadership

Europe by the 15th century roles. For example, the Mtemi was
A political system is defined as a set of responsible for distributing land to his
formal legal institutions that constitute subjects, settling disputes and leading
a government or state. It is usually other in spiritual matters.
compared to the legal, economic and Nevertheless, some African societies
social systems. By the 15th century, developed a relatively formal
Africa and Europe had developed parliamentary system. For example, the
various political organisations. Buganda Kingdom in East Africa had
Although Africa and Europe had the Lukiiko, which was the parliament
developed political organisations, the of the Buganda Kingdom. Members
level of political organisation differed of the Lukiiko were elected directly
from place to place, depending on the from the countries under the Buganda
level of the development of productive Kingdom. Some were appointed by
forces and the mode of production of a the Kabaka. The Lukiiko advised the
particular society. Kabaka (King) on political, social
and economic matters. It also made
The political systems in Africa by laws. In some societies, religion was
the 15th century the central part of state operation.
Pre-colonial African societies practised Despite performing their political
communal and feudal modes of responsibilities, leaders also performed
production at different times, depending religious functions. They were believed
on the nature of their environment. to be in direct contact with their
For example, societies that lived in ancestors (gods).
areas endowed with natural resources The political system in Europe by
developed state organisations under the 15th century
feudalism. Likewise, societies which
In the 15th century, almost all European
lived in grassland areas and arid and
societies had developed feudal systems
semi-arid areas developed clan and
which co-existed with state a formation
age-set organisations, which existed
process. For instance, the existence of
side by side with communalism. The
states like Saxon, Vanetia and Frankish
states formed were accompanied by
proves the validity of this statement,
the existence of military forces which
since these states were already under
defended the society and conquered
the authority of kings. Moreover, the
neighbouring societies.
states were more decentralised, since
Moreover, African societies developed they had land manors or feudal lords
various laws which governed the who were sovereign.

However, after the 15th century, of the Kabaka. In England, the monarch
movements emerged in Europe was hereditary and the royal family was
which sought to weaken the manors’ the source of the next monarch. A good
sovereignty. Kings gained power using example was the house of Tudor, an
soldiers (knights) to break manorial English royal dynasty of Welsh origin,
walls. As a result, the kings took steps which gave five sovereigns to England
to own, organise and control the army. from 1485 to 1603.
This situati or example, the Roman
Africa and Europe developed military
Catholic (clergy) took over many
forces, which were used to conquer
functions in the government, including
neighbouring societies and to acquire
law-making. The Roma Catholic
wealth and labour. The army was also
Church was predominant in Medieval
used to defend the territory against
Europe.
foreign invasions and to keep peace.
Similarities in the political systems of
The political institutions in Europe and
Africa and Europe by the 15th century
Africa were directly involved in trading
The political systems of Europe activities inside and outside their
and Africa shared certain elements. empires. For example, kings in empires
Both Europe and Africa developed like Ghana and Mali supported the long
centralised states. Europe had distance trade between West African
monarchies, in which power was societies and North African societies.
centralised and the decisions the kings Likewise, European states, especially
made were final. Likewise, in Africa, mercantilist states, supported and
centralised states were governed by protected their merchants domestically
kings or queens who were the decision- and internationally.
makers. A good example was King
Both European and African kings
Joao I (Zinga Nkuwu) of the Kongo
involved themselves directly in trade.
Kingdom.
They guarded the trade routes that
Leadership was hereditary in both passed through their territories so
Europe and Africa. The European that they could collected taxes from
royal families had a tendency to pass merchants. For example, Prince Henry,
power to the son of the outgoing king. the Navigator of Portugal, sponsored
Africans also passed power to the son the search for sea routes to India for
of the outgoing king. For example, after trading purposes. Similarly, Tunka
the death of Zinga Nkuwu of Kongo, Manin of Ghana, Sundiata and Mansa
his son Zinga Mbemba (Don Affonso I) Musa of Mali and Askia Mohamed
took over. Likewise, in the Buganda of Songhai were involved directly
Kingdom leaders followed the lineage in the Trans-Saharan Trade. Another

good example was Queen Isabela of political leaders were believed to have
Spain, who sponsored Christopher some spiritual power; hence, they were
Columbus’ Voyages for commercial given the right to organise spiritual
purposes. Furthermore, political rulers matters such as religious ceremonies
in Portugal, The Netherlands and and sacrifices.
England encouraged their merchants Differences in the political systems
to establish trade empires in North of Africa and Europe by the 15th
America, the Far East and other parts century
of the world, especially in Africa.
Despite the similarities regarding the
Likewise, in East Africa, the kings who
political systems of Western Europe
ruled the Buganda Kingdom supported
and Africa, there were also some slight
trade with coastal Arabs and Swahili
differences between the two political
traders.
systems.
European and African politics were
The political systems that existed in
both characterised by expansionist
Europe around 1200 CE moved further
tendencies. That is, stronger states
ahead of African ones. Europe started
used to conquer weaker states to get
to establish absolute nation-states ruled
wealth and increase the size of their
by despotic kings. The kings ruled their
kingdoms. A good example was the
nation-states, bending on the “Divine
Kingdom of England, which was
Right of the Kings” principle, which
established when the West Saxon kings
stipulated that the kings were directly
extended their power over Sourthen
chosen by God. Hence, they were only
England in the 10th century CE. In
accountable to God, who had put them
Africa, the Mwenemutapa Kingdom
on the throne. This principle caused
of present-day Zimbabwe conquered
Europe to have oppressive kings.
its neighbouring societies such as the
Examples of the nation-states that
states of Uteve, Barwe and Manyika
rose in Europe were Spain, France and
in the 1480s. Likewise, Ghana Empire
Holland.
grew out of conquering the small
kingdoms of Diara, Silla and Tekrur. On the contrary, Africa never
developed nation-states like those of
Religion was at the centre of the
Europe in the 15th century. The political
political systems of both Europe and
system was based on both centralised
Africa. In Europe, for instance, the
and decentralised states. However,
kings in France and England had divine
there were very few societies that
rights to rule. For the Catholic Church,
established centralised states. This was
the Pope was both a religious and
due to the presence of strong leaders,
political leader. Similarly, in Africa,
strong armies and geographical factors

in such states. Examples of centralised

states in Africa include Ghana Empire
and Mali Empire. The societies that did Activity 2.3
not fall under centralised states formed Organise a debate in your class or with
political systems that were based either a neighbouring school on the motion
on kinship or clan organisation or age- that Africa had better and organised
set organisation. political systems than Europe up
to the 15th century. Summarise and
The two political systems had also
record the main issues raised in the
a slight difference in the feudal
debate for your own revision.
organisation. Although both Africa and
Europe practised feudalism, European
feudalism was at its mature stage Development of science and
and was in transition to capitalism. technology in Africa and
By contrast, African feudalism was Europe up to the 15th century
reported to be in its initial stages of The concepts of science and technology
development and was practised by a are interlinked. Science refers to a body
few societies. of the knowledge obtained through
observation and experimentation with
In Africa, the ruler (king) had much
the forces of nature (the physical
power over the people and controlled all
world) and by which the theories
the major means of production. Nothing
explaining the behaviour of such
could be done without his consent.
forces are developed. In other words,
However, in Europe much power was
science is the knowledge acquired
vested in the church, which controlled
from careful study of the structure
a large tract of land. The power of the
and behaviour of the physical world
church was supported by formalised
through observation, measurement and
laws that guided relationships in the
experimentation aimed at arriving at
feudal societies.
some generalisations or development
Moreover, the political structure of of scientific theories. Technology is
the ruling class was another thing that defined as the application of scientific
differentiated the political systems of knowledge to solving social problems.
Europe and Africa. Europe possessed It appears, therefore, that science
a broad-based political structure that and technology are inseparable. This
comprised monarchs, dukes, bishops, section explains the development of
knights, landlords and serfs. The science and technology in both Africa
political structure in Africa was very and Europe in the period up to the
brief as it comprised kings and royal 15th century. The main argument is
advisors. that, by the 15th century, African and

European societies had achieved some made of stones, also existed in

comparable levels of scientific and Ethiopia, Ancient Egypt and Timbuktu.
technological development. In Tanzania ancient stone structures
Before the 15th century, Africa had have been discovered in Engaruka,
developed in the areas of science where a unique technology of “dry
and technology. For example, pre- stone building”thrived. The technology
colonial African societies had already of using stones, which is also known
acquired construction or architectural as stone masonry technology, was
knowledge. Archaeological pieces of widespread in pre-colonial African
evidence indicate, for example, that societies. The massive Ancient
massive stone walls were constructed Egyptian pyramids provide another
in the Mwenemutapa Kingdom of piece of evidence that African societies
present-day Zimbabwe for defence had construction knowledge. Thus, the
purposes. pyramids in Ancient Egypt and Great
Zimbabwe and other construction
The ancient structures of the Great styles show that Africa had developed
Zimbabwe also constitute an important its own construction technology by
architectural site in Africa. Similar the 15th century. Figure 2.3 shows an
massive structures, but not necessarily Egyptian pyramid.
Figure 2. 3: Egyptian pyramid

Europe had also developed in Archaeological evidence indicates that

architectural technologies. During the Africa had begun doing metal work
Middle Ages, for example, Europeans by the 15th century. The technology
erected huge magnificent church enabled them to produce various
buildings. In Germany, for instance, tools. The tools made of bronze, for
massive church buildings were built example, were widely used among
in the famous Gothic architecture the Ife, Benin and Oyo in West
of the Middle Ages. The Basilica Africa. The major iron-working sites
of Constantine in Rome is a huge were located in Meroe, Axum, Nok
structure. It is 260 feet long, 82 feet and Futa Jalon. In Europe, the early
wide and 115 feet high. It was built in bronze and iron-working centres were
the 15th century CE. Aegean, Novochekask and Hallstatt.
Furthermore, the discovery of the Archaeological records indicate that
calendar was one of the technological the iron-working technology in Africa
breakthroughs in Africa. For example, and Europe evolved concurrently
Ancient Egypt had developed its around 1000 BCE.
calendar by around 3000 BCE. The Moreover, Africa and Europe had
Ancient Egyptian calendars like developed several handcraft industries
solar and lunar calendars enabled the independently. In Africa, for example,
Egyptians to control the River Nile there existed carpenters, basket-
floods, which affected them frequently. weavers, pot-makers and bark-cloth
They used sticks to measure flooding
makers. Moroccans produced red
intervals in the River Nile and its basin.
leather clothes called Moroccan
That way, they could determine the
leather, which was comparable to that
beginning of the year. They used the
of Europe during the Middle Ages.
calendar to control the floods and thus
In Congo, local clothes were made
regulate agricultural activities.
from barks and palm fibres, which had
Africa also developed her own almost the same quality as velvet. The
technology of preserving corpses. making of bark clothes was widespread
Ancient Egypt developed the embalming in Buganda and Ufipa in East Africa.
technology used in preparing corpses The cotton clothes manufactured in
before their disposal or burial. The Guinea appeared to be better than those
embalming technology was used to imported from Manchester. It should
prevent corpses from decomposing. be noted that the major raw materials
Africa had also developed technology used to manufacture clothes in Europe
for preserving food. Foodstuffs and were linen and wool. Africans used
fish were preserved through salting, barks, cotton and plant leaves to
smoking and sun-drying. make clothes. Like iron work, cloth-

making was done by guilds similar difference in the means of transport

to those of Europe. In Tanganyika, used in Africa and Europe. In Africa,
for example, guilds existed in metal- rafts, canoes and dhows were the major
working societies like those of Ufipa means of water transport. The use of
and Ugweno. Examples of guilds were dhows and canoes was wide-spread
also found among Iwebo, Ibiwe and among the societies found along the
Iweguae societies in Benin. In essence, Indian Ocean coast and among most
on both continents, craftmanship was of the societies found along the water
a noble specialisation that involved a bodies such as rivers and lakes. In
few skilled persons, although it was Africa, donkeys, camels and oxen were
very strict in Europe and a bit flexible commonly used as means of transport.
in Africa. Donkeys were used to carry goods
Both African and European societies across the Sahara before they were
had developed irrigation technology by replaced by camels in the 3rd century
the 15th century. Scientific agricultural CE. Europeans also used donkeys
systems existed both in Africa and and horses as means of transport. In
Europe. A good example is the use of Europe, donkeys were used to pull
irrigation farming, which was practised carts and loads. The discovery of the
along the River Nile Basin in Ancient wheel accelerated the development of
Egypt. The Egyptians used sakia and transport in Europe as it marked the
shaduf (also called shadoof) methods of beginning of animal-driven carts and
irrigation. Similarly, European societies wagons.
applied green manure onto their farms, Africa and Europe had also attained
practised animal cross-breeding and a considerable level of development
used the enclosure system to increase in the field of medicine. In Africa
production. Similarly, Africans used traditional medicines were used to cure
traditional methods of fertilising farms. various kinds of tropical diseases.
Specifically, they used constructed Traditional healing was the major
terraces to control soil erosion and preoccupation of African traditional
practised shifting cultivation and mixed healers or doctors who acquired the
agriculture. Societies with the culture knowledge of healing diseases through
of banana consumption, for example, inheritance or training. The healers
fertilised their banana groves using existed in all African societies and
cow dung. In African societies mixed were accorded respect and honour
agriculture began to evolve during the on account of their healing activities.
first Millennium CE. They knew different medicinal plants
By the 15th century, there was no much which were used to cure snake bites
and numerous tropical diseases.

By the 15th century, Europe was yet aspects, Europe had excelled more in
to record huge improvements in the certain aspects because of the discovery
field of medicine. Although attempts of marine science and technology.
at modernising healing practices in Likewise, in the field of warfare
Europe go back to the ancient period, technology, the Europeans adopted
the major improvements happened gunpowder, which revolutionised
in the 19th century. For example, warfare in Europe. The adoption of
modern medicine did not start until gunpowder from China in the 13th
the 19th century when germ theory century, for example, transformed
was developed. In general, by the 15th warfare methods in Europe. Gunpowder
century medieval medicine in Europe was used to manufacture crude guns
had not yet achieved a high level of such as cannons and muskets. It
scientific development. European was also used as an explosive on
societies relied on traditional medicine battlegrounds. The exploding shells
and used various measures to prevent of artillery, for example, could kill
the spread of epidemics. The use of many people at once. The diffusion of
quarantine, for example, started during firearms like rifles came much later in
the Black Death in 1350. Quarantine Africa. In the field of medicine, Europe
was maintained in Europe throughout was far ahead of Africa.
the 14th and 15th centuries CE. Although Africa had also developed in
In warfare technologies, Europe and the area of literacy, Europe appeared
Africa had achieved comparable levels to be far ahead of Africa in this area
of advancement worth examining. as well. Through monasteries-built
Africans used various traditional universities, the Catholic Church
warfare methods like the use of offered different specialisations, mainly
arrows, bows and spears. They also religious studies, typing, history,
used defensive mechanisms like philosophy and mathematics. Africa
fortifications, trenches and bolt holes. had also developed its own education
The weapons and tactics of warfare system. The education offered was
improved with time. The use of cavalry, practical as it was used to solve various
which involved soldiers fighting while problems. There were the universities
sitting on horses, for example, was of Timbuktu in Mali Empire and Azhar
adopted in the Mali Empire in 15th in Ancient Egypt.
century. Therefore, Africa and Europe had
Although Africa and Europe had attained major achievements in the
achieved similar levels of scientific and field of science and technology by
technological development in certain the 15th century. Africa made these

achievements independently of by enslavement-related activities that

Europe. Although Africa was almost took place in Africa at the time. This
at the same level of scientific and insecurity could not allow production
technological development as Europe, and trading activities to continue
the situation changed drastically in the smoothly. Thus, African economies
subsequent centuries. were completely disrupted, thereby
marking the beginning of Africa’s
Exercise 2.2 underdevelopment.
Are Africa’s handcraft industries Unequal exchange was also another
relevant in modern Africa? reason for the widening of the gap
Substantiate your answer. between the two continents. The
trade relations between Africa and
Rise of the development gap Europe were unequal and unfair
to Africans. For instance, Europe
between Africa and Europe
brought valueless items to Africa
Various historical, linguistic and such as mirrors, gunpowder, beads,
archaeological pieces of evidence show clothes and alcohol. These items were
that Africa was almost at the same exchanged for valuable items from
level of development as Europe in the Africa such as slaves, gold, silver and
15th century. However, after the 15th ivory. Similarly, there was also unequal
century the development gap between exchange during the legitimate trade
Africa and Europe started to widen. in the 19th century, after the abolition
Europe began to develop much faster of the slave trade. Europeans brought
than Africa. There were several reasons manufactured goods with low value
for this situation. and exchanged them for African
natural products like cocoa, rubber,
Slavery is one of the major reasons
lattex, sisal and groundnuts. Therefore,
for that. Through the slave trade, a
unequal exchange benefited Europe,
substantial number of able-bodied
but impoverished Africa.
men and women were taken from
Africa so that they could work on Moreover, maritime technology was
European-owned plantations and in the another important reason for Europe
mines in the Americas. This situation to be far ahead of Africa. Investment
led to depopulation and, hence, in science and technology in Europe
stagnation of African economies and continued in the subsequent centuries.
technologies. Africa was robbed of It contributed to the development of
its healthy working people. Added to industries. With the development of
this problem was the insecurity caused maritime technology, the European

powers could sail to distant areas in of Africa. Furthermore, the African

Africa, America and Asia, looking political and cultural systems left
for sources of raw materials and Africans powerless, therefore affecting
precious metals. In addition, with the their steps towards development.
help of maritime vessels, European Again, neo-colonialism and
merchants waged wars of plunder and globalisation have also contributed
looted Africa. This enabled them to to the development disparity
accumulate much wealth. between Europe and Africa. Under
Furthermore, African political leaders neo-colonialism, Europeans have
became allies of European merchants. maintained unbalanced terms of trade,
Alhough they benefited from since they control the world market.
participating in trade, the destructive The prices of African goods (raw
effects of the trade were bigger than the materials) are low, while the prices
benefits. Africans who tried to resist of European manufactured goods are
European activities were killed or their high. Europe also destabilised Africa
kingdoms were weakened and they politically and planted on the continent
subsequently collapsed. The collapse puppets through whom they could
of the Kongo Kingdom shows how the exploit African resources.
presence of Portuguese merchants and It could, therefore, be argued that
slave traders in Africa intensified royal Africa could not keep pace with Europe
rivalries and contributed to its collapse. because the latter had accumulated
Colonialism also contributed to the much capital by the 15th century and
widening of the gap between Africa had invested it in developing science
and Europe. Colonialism meant that and technology. The merchant capital
African societies were politically, accumulated through the slave trade
economically and culturally under the was later invested in industries. The
European powers. This domination development of industrial production
resulted in the exploitation of African in Europe made Africa a source of raw
resources such as land, labour, forest materials and a market for European
and minerals. The best fertile land was goods. Thus, African economies
alienated for European settler estates; declined because of these European
African labour was used in colonial capitalist trade relations. The system of
economic undertakings. African forests exchange between the two continents
and their products such as ivory, animal was unequal. For instance, Europe
skins and hides were harvested for provided Africa with less valuable
Europeans. All these accelerated the industrial goods, as mentioned earlier.
development of Europe at the expense From Africa, the Europeans took

valuable commodities such as gold, which were extremely exploitative. The

copper, slaves, animal skins, hides widening development gap between
and ivory. The exploitative nature of Africa and Europe had adverse effects
the trade relations largely contributed on the African continent, as shown
to the development of Europe on the below.
one hand, and the underdevelopment
Europe robbed Africa of its resources
of Africa on the other. This also
necessary for the development of
contributed to the widening of the
African people. Africa lost its labour
development gap between Africa and
power and raw materials. The capital
Europe.
accumulated in this unequal exchange
was invested in European industries,
Exercise 2.3
hence facilitating the emergence of
Give evidence showing how the Industrial Revolution. Africa gave
Europe developed at the expense Europe valuable goods like ivory, gold,
of Africa from the 15th century spices and slave labour, while Europe
onwards. imported into Africa manufactured
goods of low quality such as
gunpowder, alcohol and utensils. With
industrialisation came colonialism,
Impact of the development gap which underdeveloped Africa further.
between Europe and Africa
The slave trade led to the decline of the
By the 15 century, Africa had
th African population. Many energetic
achieved almost the same level of Africans worked on the European
development as Europe. Nevertheless, plantations and in the mines in the New
it is erroneous to think that the African World (the Americas and the Caribbean
continent lacked examples indicative Islands) as slaves. Africa lost its
of development in the pre-colonial significant work force. For example,
period as Euro-centric historians claim. the Kongo Kingdom provided many
Rather, African societies had developed slaves, who were taken to the New
in the areas of economy, political World, especially to the Portuguese
organisation, science, technology and colony of Brazil.
culture. However, the societies could Moreover, the development gap made
not develop as expected following the the European nations destabilised
integration of African economies into the African political systems. The
the world capitalist trading relations Europeans interfered with African

political systems, thus causing political

Exercise 2.4
instabilities, particularly in societies
where they had some economic (a) Do you think that the early
interest. Examples of the countries trading contact between
whose political systems were disturbed Africa and Europe has
were Libya, The Democratic Republic something to do with
of Congo, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and the current state of
Zimbabwe. underdevelopment in most
Furthermore, the development gap has African countries? Justify
made Africans economically dependent your argument.
on Western Europe, the USA and (b) Using the knowledge you
Canada. African countries increasingly have gained from this
borrow money from the International chapter, suggest measures
Monetary Fund (IMF), the World that should be taken by
Bank (WB) and donor countries. The African countries to get rid
loans are accompanied by with hard of the exploitative trade and
conditions, which sustain Africa’s exchange relations with the
underdevelopment. The development outside world.
gap has also caused technological (c) Apart from colonialism
stagnation in Africa. This has resulted and the slave trade,
in gross dependence on foreign what caused Africa’s
technology. underdevelopment?

Revision exercise 2
1. What is development? Analyse the social, political and economic levels

of development that African societies had reached by the 15th century.
2. Explain the importance of trade and exchange systems to Africa and

Europe by the 15th century.
3. Compare and contrast the levels of political development reached by
Africa and Europe by the 15th century.
4. Discuss the impact of the exchange and trade relations on the socio-
economic systems of pre-colonial African societies.
5. How had trade led to state formation in Africa by the 15th century?
6. “By the 15th century, Africa and Europe had reached similar levels of
scientific and technological development.” Discuss.
7. Examine the factors for the development disparity between Africa and
Europe beginning in the 15th century.
8. Examine the impact of the Portuguese mercantilist activities on Africa’s
social, political and economic systems.
9. To what extent did the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade disrupt, or rather
changed, the pre-colonial systems of exchange and trade relations in
West Africa?
10. Discuss the consequences of the different levels of development
between Africa and Europe which began after the 15th century.
11. Discuss critically the levels of agricultural development that the African
continent had reached by the 15th century.
12. Explain the various technological innovations that Africa had made
by the 15th century. What is their significance to the development of
African countries today?
13. In what ways did the slave trade retard African economies?
14. What should Africa do to develop?
15. In your opinion, why did Africans surrender to colonialism?

Chapter
People of African origin in the New World
Three
Introduction
There are people of African origin in the New World. Such people are linked to
the history of the development of capitalism in Europe. The European discovery
of marine technology facilitated the coming of Europeans to Africa which, in
turn, fuelled the migration of African people to the New World through slave
the trade as an alternative source of labour. In this chapter, you will learn
about the legacy of slavery and the slave trade, Black Solidarity and the Back-
to-Africa Movement. You will also learn about Pan-Africanism and the Civil
Rights Movement in America. The competencies developed will enable you to
appreciate the initiatives taken by African Americans to eradicate the myths of
white supremacy in America and the entire world. It is expected that you will
also value and respect human dignity and identity in the world.
Have you ever thought of living outside your country?
Background to the people of African the 15th and 19th centuries. Most of
origin in the New World the slaves were taken from West and
Central Africa, especially Senegal,
The term New World is used to refer to Nigeria, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mali,
North and South America and the West Angola, the Democratic Republic
Indies (the Caribbean Islands). Most of Congo and Gabon. The slave
people of African origin in the New trade is directly associated with the
World are descendants of the former development of merchant capitalism
slaves who were forcefully taken or mercantilism. Interestingly, slavery
from Africa by Europeans and sent had its contribution to the development
to the Americas to work in mines and of capitalism which, in turn, brought
industries, and on plantations between the slave trade to an end.

The concepts of slavery and and the Horn of Africa declined by about
slave trade 10 to 15 per cent, which was equivalent
Slavery is a situation in which a person to over three million people. Further
is owned and treated by another as an estimates show that the population of
object of labour. It is an ancient form sub-Saharan Africa would have been
of exploitation and oppression. Slaves nearly one hundred million instead of
were deprived of their rights as they fifty million by 1850.
were bought and sold like commodities.
Think of the social system in
Sometimes, slave masters could kill
your community that contains
their slaves without anyone questioning
elements of slavery. Does it
them. Slaves owned nothing, except
resemble the one practised by
their labour. In America, African slaves
Europeans? Show how.
were intensively exploited as they
worked for long hours on plantations
Origins of slavery and the slave trade
and in mining centres.
Slavery and the slave trade can be
The slave trade was the process of
traced to as far back as the 14th century
capturing, selling and buying human
when Europe was disturbed by the
beings as a commodity. The Atlantic-
bubonic plague, famine and epidemic
Slave Trade is an example of what the
diseases. These disasters killed
slave trade was. The main participants
many people, thereby causing severe
in the slave trade were Europeans, Arabs
shortages of labour in the agricultural
and some African rulers.
sector. Some European empires started
Historically, the Portuguese were the looking for slaves in Eastern Europe
first to take slaves from West Africa, and Russia. However, with the rise of
whereas Antao Goncalves was the Sultan Mohamed II of the Ottoman
first Portuguese sailor to buy Africans Empire (1451-1481) whose regime
along the western coast of Africa in disrupted the slave trade in Europe,
1441. The trade gained momentum European slave traders could no
in the early 16th century when many longer access sources of slaves within
slaves were shipped to the New World, Europe. Africa was, therefore, the only
especially the West Indies. During the continent that could best serve that
voyages slaves suffered humiliation purpose. As a result, Western European
and deprivation, and most of them people turned to Africa for slaves. The
died. As a result, there was a serious slave trade flourished owing to, among
decline in Africa’s population in Africa. other factors, the development of
For example, it was estimated that the marine technology, which transformed
population of the whole of Savannah navigation technology.

At the beginning of the 15th century, while Africans tended to remain

European slave-trading activities were in their locality because they
generally confined to along the West did not know much about the
African coast. The Portuguese and environment;
African local chiefs acted as the key (d) African slaves were financially
actors. As early as the 15th century, cheaper than European slaves and
the Portuguese had established sugar indentured labourers. European-
plantations in São Tomé and Principe indentured labourers were to be
which relied on the African slave labour paid at the end of their contracts,
obtained from along the coast of West usually in the form of a piece of
Africa. Slaves started to be transported land or a precious metal (gold
from West Africa to America after and silver). Moreover, European
the establishment of similar sugar slaves were criminals who were
plantations in the West Indies or the serving their sentences and,
Caribbean Islands, and silver mines in therefore, they were to be released
South America. at the end of their sentences, while
There were various reasons for the African slaves were tied to their
Europeans’ preference for African masters indefinitely; and
slave labour. The following are some (e) Europeans preferred African
of them: slaves because West Africa was
(a) The Red Indians’ immunity to nearer to America; hence, it was
tropical diseases such as smallpox easy to transport slaves across the
and malaria was weaker than that Atlantic Ocean to America.
of Africans;
The rise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave
(b) Europeans’ labour was proved to Trade
be unreliable owing to its limited
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade started
supply and its high mobility. For
following the activities of European
example, European labourers such
merchants and geographers who saw
as indentured labourers worked
Africa and America around the 15th
on contract terms, which meant
century. The Italian sailor and explorer
that they were free to leave their
Christopher Columbus, who was working
employers when the contracts
for Queen Isabela of Spain, discovered
expired;
the New World (America) in 1492. His
(c) Red Indians could escape from the discovery prompted the Europeans
slave masters because they were to open up various economic projects
familiar with the environment, such as mines, plantations and trade in

America. These projects were a precursor cotton and sugarcane to European

to the development of mercantilism. The industries. Europe provided managerial
Portuguese established themselves in Brazil, organisation and manufactured goods.
the Spanish settled in various parts of The major participants in this trade
South, Central and North America, while were African local chiefs, the Dutch,
the English, the Dutch and the French the English, the Portuguese as well
settled in the Caribbean Islands and North as the French. In West Africa, slaves
America. European activities in these came from the areas stretching from
areas demanded massive labour power. the Gold Coast (Ghana) to Cameroon.
Other slaves were obtained from as far
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which interior as Congo and Angola. Slaves
is also called the Triangular Slave Trade were transported from the interior to
or the great circuit, involved three the coastal centres or ports. Among
continents, namely Africa, America these famous ports are Axim, Elmina,
and Europe. The items of trade from Bissau, Whydah (Benin), Lagos, Bonny
Africa included slaves, gold, ivory, and Old Calabar. Figure 3.1 shows the
timber, dye-hoods, gum, beeswax, interconnection of the Triangular Trade
animal skins and spices. America between Europe, Africa and the New
supplied raw materials like tobacco, World.
Figure 3.1: Triangular Slave Trade

The emergence of African Africans’ life in the New World

Americans in America
Millions of Africans who were shipped
As explained earlier, the people of
to America starting from the early
African origin in the New World were
16th century faced various problems,
descendants of ex-slaves.
especially after the Virginia Assembly
The shipping of Africans to the New of 1619. The assembly passed a
World began early in the 16thcentury and resolution that black servants in the New
continued until the last quarter of the World should be slaves forever. That
19th century. It should be noted that, at meant that they had no right to marry
the beginning, the European capitalists and own property, or they did not have
depended on indentured labourers, any civil rights. The resolution made
criminals, political refugees, religious Africans face serious economic, social
non-conformists and wanderers. The and political problems, as explained in
Europeans resorted to using Africans the following section.
because of their advantage. They could
Political problems
not keep European slave labourers
The people of African origin in the
because it was difficult to control them.
New World faced various problems
For example, they could no longer
related to political exclusion. They
hire their fellow Europeans when the
were denied the right to vote or to be
contracts expired. Europeans were
voted for. This denial was legalised
entitled to land as part of their working
by the resolutions of the assembly.
contract, but Africans were denied this
Africans did not have the right to vote
right. For example, by 1645 there were
for people who would represent their
11200 white farmers owning 5680
interests. African Americans were
African slaves. Later in 1667, these
subjected to harsh conditions which
small white farmers were replaced by
limited their opportunity to obtain
only 745 big capitalist farmers owning
their political rights. In order for one
8203 African slaves on the Barbados
to vote, one had to pass a literacy
Island.
test, which most Africans could not
Activity 3.1 pass, since they did not attend school
(a) In pairs, conduct a library research and, therefore, they could not read
to distinguish between slavery and write. This trick was used to put
and the slave trade. African Americans in a disadvantaged
(b) How far was slavery profitable to position and the situation did not
Europeans? change even after the attainment of
(c) Share your findings with the rest independence. It appeared, therefore,
of the class. that the anti-colonial campaigns and

the solidarity which accompanied the Maryland were aimed at oppressing

wars of independence did not mean Africans socially.
equality between whites and blacks. African Americans were also racially
Furthermore, African Americans were segregated in the provision of public
deprived of the right to join trade services such as health, electricity, water
unions. It was feared that, through and transport. For example, American
trade unions, African Americans would bus services separated African seats
challenge the capitalist system. They from European ones. This was evident
would demand higher wages, better in the second half of the 20th century.
working conditions and retirement Whenever African Americans violated
benefits. this racial arrangement, they were
arrested. For example, Rosa Park, a
However, on 1st January 1863, President
42-year-old woman, was arrested after
Abraham Lincoln initiated movements
refusing to follow the bus driver’s order
to abolish slavery. From there, the status
to leave a seat for the white person who
and respect for African Americans were
had missed a seat in the first ten seats,
somehow elevated. The assassination
which had been reserved for whites.
of President Abraham Lincoln on
She was arrested on 1st December 1955
14th April 1865 led to the increase in
in Montgomery, Alabama. Similar
political discrimination against African
racial arrangements were evident in
Americans. They were not allowed
churches, where wooden benches for
to assemble or hold any meetings.
African Americans were separated
This was done to prohibit them from
from those of White Americans. As a
organising liberation movements in the
result, African Americans decided to
form of strikes and demonstrations.
start their own churches.
Social problems
African Americans were segregated
Having lost their language, customs, in schools. They were only allowed to
traditions and homeland as a result of join schools designed and reserved for
the slave trade, in the diaspora Africans them. These institutions were called
were subjected to acts of enslavement, “slaves’ schools”. For instance, in
persecution as well as racial 1957, nine African American students,
discrimination. On the plantations and who had been selected to join Little
in the mines, for example, African Rock Central High School, were chased
slaves were treated badly and were away by the head of the school, who
oppressed compared to their European said that they could cause violence and
counterparts. Laws that were passed bloodshed if they were allowed to join
in various states like Virginia and the school.

Economic problems struggles. Small-scale struggles included

African Americans were deprived of escape; slaves escaped from their
the right to own land. They had no right slave masters and hid in the forests,
to access decent employment or any mountains and swampy areas. This
supervisory and administrative work. form of struggle also involved
All these were reserved for whites. demonstrations. African Americans
African Americans were supposed to destroyed equipment like hoes, rakes
do manual work like cleaning. African and machines; burnt plantations; killed
Americans were not allowed to own slave masters; or committed suicide.
any property, but White Americans The large-scale struggles included mass
had the right to own the major means participation in the campaigns to abolish
of production like land, companies and slavery and the slave trade. African
financial institutions such as banks. As a American intellectuals, activists and
consequence, African Americans were international communities spearheaded
relegated to low-paid jobs. Therefore, the struggle. Although Great Britain
they were generally paid low wages. spearheaded the abolition of the slave
trade and consequently banned the trade
Exercise 3.1 in 1807, the shipment of African slaves
to Brazil and Cuba continued until the
Show why the people of African 1860s. Thus, the movements to abolish
origin in the New World faced the slave trade became part of African
socio-economic and political Americans’ struggles in the United States
problems in the period between of America. The anti-slavery movements
the 17th century and 19th century. were well intensified during the American
civil wars, which began in 1861 and
ended in 1865. At the beginning, the
Liberation struggles by African
anti-slavery coalitions used non-violent
Americans
means to liberate African Americans from
African Americans resisted capitalist
capitalist exploitation. The anti-slavery
exploitation and this came to be known
movements were supported by African
as Black American Nationalism. Their
American leaders or activists, namely
struggle started with the Virginia Frederick Douglass, Booker Taliaferro
Assembly of 1619 and was accelerated Washington, Marcus Aurelius Garvey,
by the American war of independence Martin Luther King Junior, Malcom Little
between 1775 and 1783. They adopted Early (popularly known as Malcom X),
different forms of struggle. Edward Wilmot Blyden and William Du
The forms of struggle they adopted Bois, whose contributions are explained
ranged from small-to large-scale below.

(a) Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) founder of the Tuskegee Normal and

Douglass was an African American Industrial Institute (now the Tuskegee
social reformer, abolitionist, orator, University) in 1881 and the National
writer and statesman. He was born as Negro Business League, two years
a slave and worked in Maryland as a later. He also served as adviser to
several presidents of the United States.
slave, before he escaped and became
Between 1890 and 1915, Washington
a national leader of the abolitionist
was the most dominant leader in
movement in Massachusetts and New
the African American community.
York. Douglass concentrated his efforts
Originally, he was a slave in the south,
on programmes meant for complete
but later fought for his education to the
emancipation of African Americans.
point of becoming an activist, fighting
He was an integrationist who wanted
for the rights of African Americans.
African Americans to be integrated
He advocated economic progress
into American society politically and
through the attainment of industrial
economically. After the proclamation
vocational skills. He was convinced
of the abolition of slavery in the
that the black people had first of all to
USA, Douglass struggled for political
acquire economic power as a prelude
equality between the people of African
to acquiring political rights. He also
origin and others. His efforts bore some
believed that this could be achieved
fruit as a few African Americans got
through the provision of industrial
voting rights. A few African Americans
education.
representatives were also elected to
various state legislatures. For example,
(c) William Du Bois (1868-1963)
some African Americans were elected
as congressmen and one was promoted Du Bois was a prominent African
to the position of senator. However, American sociologist, historian, author
this political success was short-lived and editor. He was an important leader
because in the 1880s and 1890s the in the African Americans’ struggles in
whites in the south became reactionary. the USA during the first half of the 20th
century. He wanted African Americans
to attain political power, which was
(b) Booker Taliaferro Washington the first step towards the integration
(1856-1915) into American society. He formed an
Washington was an African American organisation known as the National
educator, author and orator. He was Association for the Advancement
born into slavery and rose to become of the Coloured People. He wanted
a leading African intellectual of African Americans to struggle for
the 19th century. He was also the their civil rights and to be part and

parcel of American society. He was advocate the integration of black people

an integrationist whose organisation into American society. He wished to
wanted to use constitutional means to build a separate culture and power
attain African Americans’ civil rights. for the black people worldwide. His
Later, he was engaged in organising desire to establish a separate identity
Pan-African Congresses, including the and culture for African Americans
Manchester Conference of 1945. His explains his adoption of the slogan
organisation was an elitist one and did “Back to Africa”. Garvey believed
not get mass support from the African that Africa was black people’s original
American community. Figure 3.2 homeland and thus an ideal place for
shows a picture of William Du Bois. their emigration. His organisation,
the Universal Negro Improvement
Association (UNIA), was formed in
1916 and lasted until 1927. Like Du
Bois, Marcus fought so that black people
could achieve political and economic
prospects. He set up negro economic
enterprises, including negro factories
and a shipping line known as the Black
Star Line for conducting trade between
North America and West Africa. Marcus
Garvey was jailed in 1923 after he was
found guilty of forgery. In 1925 he was
released, after being pardoned by the
president of the USA. He was deported
Figure 3.2: William Du Bois to Jamaica in 1927.
(d) Marcus Mosiah Aurelius (e) Dr Edward Wilmot Blyden

Garvey (1887-1940) (1832-1912)
He was a Jamaican from Black Blyden was born in St. Thomas, Virgin
Nationalist and leader of the Pan- Island. He was a Liberian educator,
Africanism Movement, which sought writer, diplomat and politician, who
to unify and connect the people of was primarily active in West Africa.
African descent worldwide. Garvey Having felt the impact of racial
attended school in Jamaica until he was discrimination, he joined the waves
15 when he left St. Ann Bay and went of black immigrants who migrated to
to Kingston, where he worked as an Liberia in 1850. He dignified African
apprentice in a print shop. He did not personality and condemned white

superiority and the exploitation of French masters in 1791. Many French

black people. He wanted the people of slave masters were killed by the slaves.
African origin to dismantle the white These frequent revolts worried Britain
race superiority complex by showing and France, which organised navies to
their ability to manage themselves. suppress them in 1803. Surprisingly,
He published on Pan-Africanism and their navies were defeated by the
campaigned for the Back-to-Africa angry slaves. Consequently, the slaves
Movement. established their independent republic
Riots, revolutions and demonstrations of Haiti. This incident was referred to
constituted another category of large- as the Haitian Revolution. As a result,
scale struggles by African Americans. government leaders and bankers in
Riots against slavery happened in the France and Britain gradually stopped
USA and in other parts of the New supporting slavery and the slave trade.
World. In Brazil, for instance, slaves This was a major achievement for the
revolted against their slave masters and slaves in the New World.
ended up establishing their own state In addition, demonstrations were
called the Palmares, an African state. staged by African Americans.
Palmers lasted for one hundred years For example, in 1955, there were
before the Portuguese slave masters demonstrations in Montgomery, the
destroyed it. Similarly, in Jamaica capital city of Alabama to condemn
frequent slave revolts were reported racial segregation. African Americans
during the 18th and 19th centuries. started breaking the rules made by the
The revolts taught the European slave
white government. For instance, they
masters that slavery was increasingly
violated the racial rules that prevented
becoming unsafe and expensive to
them from accessing the public services
maintain. For instance, a group of slaves
provided to whites such as stores and
known as the Maroons revolted against
restaurants. Similarly, they protested
their British masters. They established
against racial discrimination in public
and maintained their own self-governing
transport. For example, protests against
farming community before they were
racial discrimination in the American
defeated by their masters. However, the
transport sector were sometimes
biggest event in the form of a revolution
referred to as transportation protests;
happened in Haiti. French slave masters
they were common in the United States
owned sugarcane plantations on the
in the 1920s. Events involving protests
Saint-Dominique Island, currently
against segregation in the transport
known as Haiti.
system are widely documented in
In Haiti, Toussaint L’ouverture led American history books. During the
his fellow slaves to revolt against the 1850s, African Americans were strictly

forbidden to board buses which bore called African Methodist Episcopal

huge signs that read “Colored Persons Church (AME), which was established
Not Allowed.” in Philadelphia, and the African
Episcopal Methodist Zion (AMEZ).
Exercise 3.2 These independent churches enabled
the African Americans to get rid of
Why were African slaves
racial oppression.
involved in the American civil
war of 1861-1865? Moreover, African Americans used
secret codes, languages and rituals in
their struggle against slavery and other
African Americans also used
forms of oppression. For example,
conferences as a form of struggle.
testimonies from oral traditions confirm
Conferences were held to create
that the earliest form of struggle was
awareness and unite people to eliminate
called the Underground Railroad Quilt
racial segregation, oppression,
Code, which slaves used to navigate
humiliation and exploitation. Examples
the Underground Railroad. In places
of such conferences included the
London Conference of 1900, the of work, they also formulated some
Pan-African Congress of 1919, the forms of dances, spirituals, code words
New York Congress of 1927 and the and phrases which enabled them to
Manchester Conference of 1945. communicate in ways their white
Details of these conferences are in the masters could not understand. Quilts
section on Pan-Africanism. had patterns labelled “wagon wheel,”
“tumbling blocks,” and “bear’s paw”.
Furthermore, African Americans used
These carried secret messages meant
songs, poems and slogans as techniques
for the slaves.
for raising and instilling consciousness
in themselves. The slogans were like In 1833, the blacks living in southern
“We shall overcome” by Martin Luther USA formed the American Anti-
and “It is better to die than to live as Slavery Society, known as the Union
slaves” by Frederick Douglass. They League of the Blacks. Its members
fostered black solidarity. organised detachment of rifle
Another form of struggle was the practices, accompanied by violent
formation of African American demonstrations.
churches. Segregation in churches The movement demanded immediate
forced Africans to establish their banning of the slave trade. In due
own churches. For example, in 1794 course, the European capitalists in
Richard Allen founded the first Northern America supported the cause
independent black denomination of the people of African origin. This

was because they had invested much in the north and the slaves in the south.
in the industrial sector, so they wanted The league called for a mass uprising
to get access to cheap free labour as of slaves in the south. The league was
opposed to slave labour. aimed at bringing about emancipation
On 22nd September 1862, the throughout the USA by supporting the
war on slavery until it put to an end the
American government attempted to
interstate slave trade and protected the
end slavery and the slave trade. That
fugitive slaves from kidnappers, who
is the introduction of the Emancipation
wanted to take them back to bondage.
Proclamation or Emancipation Act by
During the war, the economy of the
President Abraham Lincoln. The law
USA declined drastically as agricultural
demanded abolition of slavery and
and industrial production fell and trade
the slave trade in all American states.
was disrupted.
The law declared slavery and the slave
trade illegal. The proclamation had to These are some of the problems that
be implemented by 1st January 1863. forced the government to carry out
political reforms in favour of the people
Another attempt was the introduction of African origin. Thus, as pointed out
of the Confiscation Act of 1861. This earlier, President Abraham Lincoln
law was passed by the American issued the Emancipation Decree in
Congress during the Civil War. The law 1862. The decree abolished slavery and
was aimed at freeing the slaves who the slave trade throughout the USA.
were still being held in the southern An anti-slavery coalition was formed
states. Moreover, the law authorised by African Americans and White
the confiscation of any confederation Americans. Some African Americans
property, including slaves, by the Union started to move to the north and secure
Forces. The confiscated slaves were jobs in factories. Those who remained
then set free. The whole scene divided in the south formed the main base of
the Americans. There was a clash of the anti-secessionists. They boycotted
interests between the southern planters, work on the plantations and burnt the
whose economy solely depended on property and farms belonging to their
slave labour, and the capitalists in the masters. Thousands of them fled to the
north who ran industries and needed north. About 340,000 blacks from the
cheap labour. Eventually, the clash south joined the Union Army.
of interests led to the outbreak of the Despite the issuance of the
American Civil War of 1861-1865. Emancipation Decree, there were still
The abolitionists formed the many shortcomings. For example, the
Emancipation League in 1861. It drew decree stated that all freed African
membership from both the industrialists Americans in the USA would be

transferred to other parts of the world, Klan, formed by young whites in the
especially to Africa. However, that south.
promise was not followed up with The introduction of “Black Codes”
action. Moreover, it did not state and the formation of the Ku-Klux Klan
clearly how the government would
during the presidency of Andrew
assist about one million slaves who had
Johnson prevented African Americans
rebelled against their masters. It did
from emancipating themselves from
not even provide strategies to enable
the institution of slavery, although the
the freed slaves to get land. It did not
black people never gave up. They began
state explicitly that slaveholding was
to devise new methods of the struggle
illegal. It did not guarantee the freed
for freedom and rights. Movements
slaves any civil and political rights. The
were organised under the name of
snags made the Emancipation Decree
Black Solidarity. The champions of
an empty promise. However, the final
Black Solidarity were Marcus Mosiah
blow to the hopes of the ex-slaves came
Garvey and Martin Delaney Luther.
through the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln on 14th April 1865. Black Solidarity and the Back-
The assassination of President Lincoln to-Africa Movement
was plotted by White American planter Black Solidarity refers to the spirit of
elites living in the south of the USA cooperation and togetherness among
(the southerners), who passionately the oppressed and exploited people
advocated the slave system. They did of African origin in America. These
not like abolitionists like Lincoln. The people were united by common forms
incident was followed by massive of capitalist exploitation. A collective
efforts to undo the achievements of black identity was essential in the
the Lincoln era, most especially those struggle against racial oppression.
related to ex-slaves. His successor
Andrew Johnson, a former slaveholder, Back-to-Africa Movement
restored to the former slave owners all The Back-to-Africa Movement was
the property that had been confiscated AfricanAmericans’collective movement
during the war. The white planter elites for liberating themselves from American
in the south revenged bitterly on the oppression, discrimination, humiliation
people of African origin and their white and exploitation. It encouraged them
supporters in the north. They murdered to go back to their original homeland.
many people of African origin. Others The emigration of African Americans
had their bodies mutilated, ears cut to Africa was considered a solution to
off and skulls fractured by the secret the problems they were facing in the
organisation known as the Ku-Klux diaspora.

The Back-to-Africa Movement Africa. To him, the duty of the people

mobilised thousands of African of African origin in the New World
Americans who wished to go back to was to find ways to return to Africa. In
Africa, beginning in the late 1800s. Africa, they could work together with
In the 1880s and 1890s, a substantial their fellow Africans and build a free
number of African Americans migrated and mighty nation. The Back-to-Africa
to Liberia, although such migrations Movement was generally aimed at
started as early as 1820. The migration establishing colonies for the ex-slaves
was organised by the American from America.
Colonisation Society (ACS), which The Back-to-Africa Movement gained
was based in Washington DC. The momentum with the formation of the
ACS founded the Republic of Liberia American Society for Colonising the
in 1847. Most African American ex- Free People of Colour or American
slaves migrated to Liberia. It was Colonisation Society in 1816. The first
Marcus Garvey who founded the The attempt to take slaves to Africa was
Back to Africa Movement in 1820. made in 1820 when some ex-slaves
He also formed the Universal Negro were taken to Sierra Leone. However,
Improvement Association (UNIA) they died of tropical diseases.
and the African Communities Imperial
League (ACIL). Figure 3.3 shows a Objectives of the Back-to-Africa
picture of Marcus Garvey. Movement
The movement intended to promote
a sense of cooperation among black
people all over the world. The Back-
to-Africa Movement believed that all
the black people in the New World and
Africa were one; as such, they should
unite and fight for their rights. The idea
was that the Africans in the diaspora
should support their fellow Africans
to fight for independence. In order to
build a sense of unity among Africans,
Garvey established some connection
with some political leaders in Africa
Figure 3.3: Marcus Garvey such as Abd el-Karim of Morocco
and established a parliament in the
Garvey believed that the blacks in the form of an international convention,
New World could find a true home in where members from different parts

of the world discussed their common frequently called on African Americans

problems and strategies for overcoming to be more unified for social change.
them. The Back-to-Africa Movement The philosophy of Black Solidarity led
emphasised the need to utilise Africans to the formation of such movements
for the benefit of African people. as the Back-to-Africa Movement, the
Moreover, the movement sought to Pan-Africanist Movement as well as
bring together all black people from the Civil Rights Movement. These
the Caribbean Islands, America and movements are explained in the
Europe, who shared a common history, subsequent section
race and dignity. The African race
should be respected by people all over The success of the Back-to-Africa
the world. All black people faced the Movement
same problems caused by capitalist The movement succeeded in repatriating
exploitation and, to resolve them, they some of the African Americans who
had to work together. were willing to go back to Africa. They
were transported by the Black Star
Garvey emphasised much separate
Shipping Company, which belonged to
development between whites and
Marcus Garvey. They settled in Liberia
blacks and said that that could only
and Sierra Leone. They were given
happen if Africans struggled for
fertile land to cultivate and to establish
economic and political sovereignty.
new settlements on. By 1847, 3000 ex-
The whole idea was, therefore, to
slaves had been shipped to Liberia.
liberate African Americans from the
bondage of slavery. The Back-to-Africa Movement
inculcated in Africans a sense of unity
The Back-to-Africa Movement also and love through slogans like “Africa
sought to preserve the culture and for Africans”. This made Africans feel
beliefs of Africans, who had suffered that they came from the same ancestor,
oppression in America. African culture so they had to help each other in their
was considered worthy and, as such, struggle for equality. For example,
deserved to be preserved. Therefore, through an international convention
the Back-to-Africa Movement was that was initiated by Marcus Garvey,
thought to be the best way of protecting it was possible to establish a spirit of
African culture. brotherhood that assisted in promoting
The movement worked hard to independent African nations.
eradicate all the forms of segregation The movement improved the economic
that African people had been subjected conditions of African Americans.
to. In an effort to liberate the people Marcus Garvey raised about US$
from racial oppression, the leaders 2,000,000 that he used to establish

various facilities such as public to do its activities like supplying basic

libraries, cinema halls, fire stations, needs like food and other necessities.
cultural centres, schools and technical Eventually, the movement became
colleges in different cities such as very weak.
Monrovia. Having high economic
Worse still, the colonial governments
status helped African Americans to
in Africa refused to accept the African
access employment and education,
Americans from America, fearing
but, most importantly, to escape from
that they might initiate anti-colonial
white oppression, segregation and
movements on the continent. The new
exploitation.
arrivals found themselves in a very
Another important achievement of this precarious situation as they were now
movement is that it laid a foundation also unwanted in what they believed
for the philosophy of Negritude, as to be their original home. Only two
reflected in Garvey’s idea of “pride no countries in Africa (Liberia and Sierra
shame in black skin”. The movement Leone) received immigrants from
influenced further movements of America.
emancipation in Africa such as the
Kimbangu Movement in the Belgian- There was also an ideological
Congo and African (black) trade unions difference between Marcus Garvey and
such as the Industrial and Commercial William Du Bois on matters concerning
Union founded in 1919 by Clements the Back-to-Africa Movement. This
Kadalie in South Africa. caused confusion among other African
Americans, who eventually got
Problems which faced the divided. Garvey believed that, in order
Back-to-Africa Movement for African Americans to be free, they
In 1923, Marcus Garvey was jailed needed to go back to their motherland
for five years, but he was pardoned in because America was a source of the
1925. Later in 1927, he was deported to problems they were facing. It was
Jamaica. Since Garvey was the initiator so because America was not their
of the movement, his absence caused homeland. However, Du Bois believed
fear in his fellow African Americans, that, if Africans wanted to fight for
who found it very difficult to sustain the their rights, they had to fight while in
movement without him. Moreover, he America. He once said, “If it happens
was the main sponsor of the movement. that Africans should return to Africa,
As a result, the people who were left I will be the last.” These two differing
behind could not afford the expenses of views left African Americans divided
running the movement. The shipping on how to go about fighting for their
company (Black Star) needed money rights.

In addition, the Back-to-Africa Pan-Africanism

Movement received very strong Pan-Africanism is the belief that
opposition from the American African people have much in common,
government. The government believed something that deserves notice and
that African Americans were crucial even celebration. The belief in Pan-
to the development of American Africanism is based on the uniqueness
capitalism. African Americans were and spiritual unity of the people of
needed in the industries as workers. African origin. Pan-Africanism had its
Having seen the potential of African
roots outside Africa as it was started
Americans, the government was
by the people of African origin in the
reluctant to let the movement continue
New World. Thus, Pan-Africanism is a
and, therefore, the solution was
worldwide movement that encouraged
to frustrate the movement. This is
and strengthened the solidarity of all
evidenced by the imprisonment of
black people. The movement brought
Marcus Garvey and his final deportation
Africans together so that they could
to his motherland, Jamaica.
fight against the evils of imperialism.
Another problem that faced the Back-
to-Africa Movement was tropical Pan-Africanism was founded by
diseases, which affected African Edward Wilmot Blyden and later
Americans in Africa. As already strengthened by Henry Sylvester
mentioned, African Americans, who Williams (1869-1911). The latter was
were shipped to Sierra Leone, were a lawyer from Trinidad. He convened
wiped out by tropical diseases. the first Pan-African Conference in
London in 1900. The conference was
Likewise, some African Americans
attended by a few representatives from
were reluctant to migrate to Africa
Africa and a big number of delegates
because of a lack of knowledge about
from America and the West Indies.
Africa. A few of them were prepared to
It was also attended by students like
go back to Africa. The majority chose
to remain in America, where they Dr Du Bois, who later became a
suffered oppression and exploitation. famous Pan-Africanist. In 1910, he
formed the National Association for
the Advancement of Coloured People
Exercise 3.3
(NAACP), through which he advocated
Explain why the Back-to-Africa Pan-Africanism.
Movement was important to Objectives of Pan-Africanism
African Americans.
The objectives of Pan-Africanism
were to spread democracy all over
the world and to lead struggles on

how Africans could regain freedom independent in 1957. This meant

and dignity worldwide. As a result that, by this time, the Pan-Africanist
of the triangular trade and slavery, activities had virtually shifted to
Africans were scattered in many Africa.
parts of the world. Moreover, they Challenges that faced Pan-Africanism
faced several economic, political and
Pan-Africanism encountered the strong
social problems. To overcome the
hand of Anti-African movements. The
problems, Africans wanted to form an
whites in the USA did not want to see
organisation that would be a hub for
African Americans liberate themselves;
coordinating and uniting Africans from
thus, they used various forms of
different places.
sabotage against their movements. For
Pan-Africanism started as a movement instance, the Ku Klux Klan was used to
geared towards achieving African suppress the movements through the
dignity and freedom in the New World, assassination of the leaders of African
but later turned out to be a worldwide Americans.
movement that protested against all
There was also a shortage of funds.
forms of imperialist domination and
Most of the members of Pan-Africanism
oppression. The major objective of
were too poor to financially support the
Pan-Africanism was, therefore, to
movement to carry out activities such
liberate Africans from imperialism.
as organising meetings. For example,
This would be achieved by establishing
the conferences held in Britain, France
global black solidarity.
and the USA were attended by a few
In America, the Pan-Africanist people because the majority could
Movement was geared towards not meet transport costs. Lack of
attaining Africans Americans’ rights reliable sources of income made the
and equality. The American Pan- organisation ineffective.
Africanists were fighting for the total
liberation of African people within Activity 3.2
and outside America. In Africa, Pan- In groups, discuss the major
Africanism focused on the liberation challenges facing African
of African countries. This goal was people in the diaspora in
made clear during the Manchester Pan- today’s world.
African Conference of 1945, which
called for African solidarity to end Pan-Africanist strategies
imperial rule. No wonder that Accra
was chosen as the headquarters of Pan-Africanism operated through
Pan-Africanism after Ghana became international meetings and

conferences. Several conferences were to the Versailles Peace Conference

held in various parts of the world. Six to adopt a policy of mandate for
congresses were held from 1900 to the former colonies of Germany,
1945 and most of them were held in which were Togo, South West Africa
Europe. Some of the conferences were (Namibia) and German East Africa
the following: (Tanganyika, Rwanda and Burundi).
The London Conference of 1900 This petition was eventually adopted by
those who attended the Versailles Peace
This was the first Pan-African
Conference. The resolutions passed
conference held in London from 23rd
included enacting a code of laws for
to 25th July 1900. The conference
providing international protection to
was organised by the Trinidadian
the natives of Africa, abolishing slavery
lawyer Henry Sylvester Williams. It
and the slave trade, enforcing universal
was attended by various people of
education for African children and
African origin including Dr Du Bois.
upholding the rights of Africans to own
The London conference had various
land.
aims, including bringing people of
African origin together. It also acted The Brussels Congress of 1921
as a forum for protesting against This congress brought together
colonial exploitation in Africa. The 113 delegates. Africa alone had 41
conference coined the concept of “Pan- delegates, most of whom came from
Africanism”. The conference was the French colonies. At the congress,
attended by Du Bois, who popularised Blaise Diagne of Senegal opposed
Pan-Africanism afterwards. It appealed the resolutions passed by his fellow
to the British government to protect Africans. This is because Diagne
the people of African origin from continued to advocate an African role
imperialist exploitation and called in France. In short, he was a beneficiary
for solidarity among Africans in the of French colonialism in Senegal.
diaspora. However, the congress, especially
The Paris Congress of 1919 Du Bois, harshly condemned him for
his lack of commitment to Africans’
This congress was organised by Du Bois
interests. Generally, the congress
and Ida Gibbs Hunt. It was held in Paris
condemned racial segregation and
in 1919 just after the First World War,
demanded equal rights for all people
when African Americans demanded
of African origin. It also condemned
the Versailles Peace Conference that
colonialism and called for self-
was held in France to address Africans’
determination for all African nations.
problems as well. It was attended by 57
It endorsed a document called the
delegates. Thus, the congress appealed

“Declaration to the World”, which Following this, the congress formed

stipulated that “equality of all races an association called the International
was the absolute foundation of human African Friends of Abyssinia. This
advancement in the world whether association had two main purposes,
politically, socially or economically.” namely to arouse sympathy and support
The Lisbon Congress of 1923 for the victims of the fascist aggression
in Ethiopia, and to help the people of
The congress was held in Lisbon,
Ethiopia to preserve their territorial
Portugal, for two purposes. The first
integrity and political independence.
was to express its dissatisfaction
with Garveyism. Garvey advocated The Manchester Congress of 1945
the Universal Negro Improvement The ongress was a turning point in
Association (UNIA) and the African the history of Africa, since it was
Communities Imperial League , attended by some African students
in which he declared himself a studying abroad in the 1940s. These
provisional president of Africa. Some included Jomo Kenyatta, JB Danquah,
of his fellow Pan-Africanists objected Kwame Nkrumah, DWB Dubois,
to his declaration. The second was to George Padmore, Magnus Williams,
protest against the suppression of Pan- Peter Abrahams, Otto Mackonnel and
Africanism. At the end of the congress, Nnamdi Azikiwe. The conference
various resolutions were reached. led to the formation of the Pan-
Africans should have a voice in their African Federation of West African
governments, should own land and States, which vowed to struggle for
enjoy its resource, should have access independence using non-violent
to free education and should have a fair means. The West African delegates
trial under an established process of also founded newspapers to spread
law. Generally, the congress demanded the decisions of the congress. One of
the black people in the world to be the newspapers was the International
treated as human beings. African Opinion.
The New York Pan-African Congress The congress attacked some of the
of 1927 colonial constitutional reforms in
The congress was held in New York, their countries, saying that they were
USA. It discussed the threats to irrelevant to the needs of the African
world peace caused by the rise of people. It also attacked the indirect
fascism in Italy, Germany and Japan. rule system, calling it an instrument
Specifically, it was rumoured that Italy of oppression and exploitation.
was planning to invade and colonise It condemned the segregationist
Ethiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia. laws and practices in South Africa

and the Kipande system in Kenya. Relationship between the Back-to-

The congress declared the national Africa Movement, Black Solidarity
liberation struggles throughout Africa and Pan-Africanism
as the main goal of Pan-Africanism.
The Back-to-Africa Movement, Black
It declared that Africans would use Solidarity and Pan-Africanism were
violent means if the imperial powers closely related movements. All sought
refused to grant them independence. to eliminate all forms of racism and
The congress also expressed support oppression.
for the liberation struggles in India,
Each movement had its own way of
China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
achieving this goal. For instance, the
In general, Pan-Africanism united the Back-to-Africa Movement focused on
people of Africa and African Americans encouraging Africans in the diaspora
in the struggle for their rights. This was to go back to Africa, where they could
achieved through pamphlets published live freely. Black Solidarity awakened
and circulated throughout Africa, Africans so that thet could fight against
Europe and the New World. After racism using riots and demonstrations.
the 1945 Manchester Pan-African Pan-Africanism used conferences
Congress, African nationalists began to propagate African solidarity
to form mass political parties. On top for liberation purposes. All the
of that, the congress published the movements, therefore, were intended
Atlantic Charter and the British West to emancipate Africans and eradicate
Africa, which proclaimed the principle all the imperialists’ evil practices.
of self-determination advocated by Generally, the movements focused on
total liberation of Africans within and
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
outside America. They were fighting
of the USA.
against a common enemy, namely
capitalistic imperialism. The lesson
Exercise 3.4 we learn from these movements is
that, whenever there is exploitation or
On the basis of what you have
oppression, the exploited or oppressed
learnt so far, what is your
should use every means possible to get
opinion on better ways of solving
rid of such exploitation or oppression
conflicts and chaos caused by
or any other kind of injustice.
inequality and oppression in a
community? The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement refers
to the struggle organised by African
Americans to protest against legalised
racial discrimination, segregation

and all forms of exploitation, mainly

between the 1950s and 1960s. African
Americans used these movements
to demand their legal rights within
the federal structure of the US. The
Civil Rights Movement was highly
influenced by Martin Luther King
Jr who, in 1955, was involved in his
first major civil rights campaign in
Montgomery Alabama. He mobilised
the African American community in
Montgomery to boycott public transport
and demand equal rights for all citizens
on public transport. Generally, the
movement sought to abolish racial Figure 3.4: (b) Martin Luther King Jr
discrimination in many areas, including
public transport, employment, voting
and education. The other prominent Objectives of the Civil Rights
figures involved in the movement were Movement
William Du Bois, Marcus Garvey,
The ultimate goal of the Civil Rights
Rosa Park and Malcom X. These early
Movement was to achieve equality
civil rights activists campaigned for
African Americans’ rights using non- between African Americans and other
violent means. Figure 3.4 (a) and (b) Americans. African Americans fought
shows pictures of Rosa Park and Martin for equal social, political and economic
Luther King Jr, American activists. rights such as the right to intermarriage,
the right to better social services, the
right to integrate with people of other
races, the right to vote and be voted for,
freedom of association and movement,
the right to own property and the right
to better jobs.
The Civil Rights Movement generally
aimed to force the government to grant
equal employment opportunities to
blacks and whites.
Figure 3.4: (a) Rosa Park

Causes of the Civil Rights Movement activists used different methods and
There were many long-term causes of approaches that differed according to
the Civil Rights Movement; they date circumstances and time. The activists
back to the 19th century. However, the demanded political, social, economic
immediate cause of the movement was and cultural rights for African
the mistreatment of two high-level Americans as citizens of the USA.
students in Montgomery, Alabama. Non-violence was one of the methods
On 1st December 1955, two African adopted by the Civil Rights Movement
American women, Claudette Colvin activists. This method was advocated
and Rosa Park, refused to give their by Martin Luther King Jr. It comprised
seat to a white passenger on a public peaceful demonstrations and boycotts.
bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The movement carried out transport
Thereafter, they were arrested, boycott campaigns in Montgomery,
something that culminated in riots and Alabama, between 1955 and 1956, to
demonstrations. This action led to the protest segregationist laws in public
bankruptcy of some bus companies transport and the arrest of Rosa Park
because most of the passengers were for violating such laws. In 1960,
African Americans. they started a “sit-ins” campaign
Another cause was the coming to power of at Greensboro in North Carolina to
President John F. Kennedy. When he was enforce racial integration in hotels and
a presidential candidate for the Democratic restaurants. The most important turning
Party for the 1960 presidential elections, point of the non-violence movement
Kennedy promised he would exercise moral was the “match of Washington” in
leadership in restoring civil rights to African August 1963. The rally was attended
American citizens. As a result, African by over 200,000 people and addressed
Americans overwhelmingly voted for him. by US President John F. Kennedy and
As president, he promoted employment for Martin Luther King Jr, who delivered
African Americans in federal-supported an inspiring and memorable speech
programmes and established an equal called “I have a dream”. The movement
employment opportunity committee that attracted support from some white
was expected to look into this issue. He Americans.
promoted African American affairs, but
The use of violence and black militants
he was assassinated in November 1963.
was another form of struggle that
Forms of struggle adopted by the African Americans adopted. During
Civil Rights Movement the civil rights struggle, some African
During the struggle for civil rights in Americans believed that it was almost
America, African American civil rights impossible for the white people in

America to change their racial attitudes The most famous writers were James
towards black people. They considered Weldon Johnson, Langstone Hughes,
the movement that used non-violence as Nela Larsen, Claude Mackey, and Jean
meaningless in a society where African Tommer from Harlem in New York
Americans were facing extrajudicial City. Others were Richard Wright and
killings, torture and intimidations. Gwendolyn Brooks, who wrote about
They pointed out that White Americans the problems of racial segregation and
had institutionalised the segregationist the need for Black Nationalism. Their
system that denied African Americans writings and publications helped to
civil rights. Examples of famous raise consciousness and awareness
violent or militant groups included among African Americans about the
the Black Muslims led by Malcolm question of racial equality. Likewise,
X, who called for African unity and some of the white people who read
total separation between whites and the publications changed their opinion
blacks, arguing that the white people about racial segregation.
would never change their attitude.
Other civil rights activists used
There was also the Black Panthers.
This was another militant civil rights constitutional and judicial means. This
group formed by the followers of group believed that there was nothing
Malcolm X after he was assassinated wrong with the US constitution and
in 1965. This group was established that the 13th, 14th and 15th constitution
by P. Huey Newton, Bobby Seale and amendments had fully guaranteed
Eldridge Cleaver, who believed that a the black people civil rights. Hence,
revolution was necessary for African they decided to challenge the laws
Americans to secure their civil rights. of some of the states in court. For
Another group was Black Power, led instance, the National Association
by Stokely Carmichael, H Rap Brown for the Advancement of the Coloured
and others, who had defected from People (NAACP) led by WE Du Bois
the non-violence movement after the filed several cases in the Supreme
assassination of James Meredith, the Court to oppose the violation of the
first black student to be admitted to the US constitution. For instance, the
University of Mississippi. Thus, they 1954 supreme court ruling in the case
organised themselves for self-defence “Mr Brown against Topeka Board
and campaigned for black pride. of Education became the basis for
Moreover, African Americans struggled desegregation in schools and public
for civil rights by writing books and services thereafter. In addition, the
publishing journals, newspapers and civil rights case, Baker against Carry,
pamphlets to raise consciousness and helped to introduce a system of one
awareness among blacks and whites. man one vote.

African Americans extended their Congress. Thomas Bradley was elected

struggle for civil rights by participating as the first African American Mayor
in arts, games and sport. They played of Los Angeles. Harold Washington
a leading role in the music industry, became the Mayor of Chicago in 1983
basketball, boxing, baseball, American and Condoleezza Rice became the first
football and the film industry. For woman to be Chief National Security
instance, Sidney Poitier (1928-2022), and Adviser to the President of the
a famous black actor who won an United States of America, in 1989, and
Oscar Award, was a great opponent later served as Secretary of State during
of racism. Others were Tomie Smith the reign of President George W. Bush.
and John Carlos, who gave the Black Likewise, in 2008 Barack Obama was
Panther salute during the medal elected president of the United States,
ceremony organised during the 1968 the first African American to hold that
Olympic Games in Mexico City and office. In 2020, Kamala Devi Harris
earned worldwide recognition. African became the first African American
Americans’ participation in culture, vice president and the highest-ranking
games and sport became a major female official in the US.
source of their earnings, since the In addition, the right to education for
circumstances did not allow them to get African Americans came after the
better employment. Their competence enactment of the Education Act of 1954.
in these fields also won them respect in The law declared the separation of
America, which facilitated the struggle schools on a racial basis illegal. The law
against racial segregation. gave African Americans an opportunity
Achievements of the Civil Rights to get an education in the schools that
Movement had been reserved for whites. Increased
The Civil Rights Movement enabled educational opportunities for African
African Americans to attain some Americans led to massive advances in
political rights. This was reflected in their educational attainment. However,
the Civil Rights Act of 1965 (Voting the enrolment exercise was still
Rights Act of 1965), which allowed characterised by racism. For example,
and protected the right to vote for from 1970 to the 1980s, college
African Americans. This law was put enrolments among African Americans
in place during the reign of President rose from about 600 000 to 1 300 000.
Andrew Johnson. The law allowed Moreover, the Civil Rights Movement
African Americans to exercise their brought freedom of movement. African
political rights. In 1975, there were 18 Americans could now move without
African Americans in the American any restrictions in any town in the

USA. Hence, this right promoted the Challenges that faced the Civil
mobility and interaction of African Rights Movement
Americans inside and outside the USA. Despite the achievements of the Civil
The Civil Rights Act of 1968, Rights Movement, the conditions of
commonly known as the “Fair Housing African Americans did not improve
Act,” provided equal housing to all drastically for most of them. The
racial groups. In essence, this law movement led to the assassination
banned housing discrimination in both of some Civil Rights Activists like
sales or rentals. Martin Luther King Jr, Fred Hampton,
The Civil Rights Movement ended Malcom X and Mark Clark. It also
racial segregation in public buses in led to the assassination of President
1956. Following a one-year African John F Kennedy, who had pioneered
Americans’ boycott of Alabama bus constitutional reforms to promote civil
services, which caused the bankruptcy rights for African Americans. Following
of bus owners, the High Court banned the black riots which accompanied
racial segregation in all the buses these movements between 1963 and
operating in Alabama. 1965, hundreds of thousands of people
of African origin were either arrested,
Again, in 1978, the Civil Rights tortured or killed.
Movement led to the introduction of
a government-supervised programme Moreover, the majority of African
for promoting the minority groups in Americans remained uneducated. It
America, most particularly African was estimated that about 99 per cent
Americans. The programme, which was of the people of African origin could
otherwise called Affirmative Action, neither read nor write. This made
was intended to reduce the economic them vulnerable to exploitation on
gap between African Americans plantations, in mines and in industries.
and White Americans by extending It was very hard for the leaders to
more employment and educational mobilise them because they lacked
opportunities to the former. The civic education.
implementation of Affirmative Action Furthermore, government officials
enabled some African Americans to be did not support the struggle and those
admitted to American medical schools who did were strongly opposed or
and universities, opportunities which assassinated. For instance, on 26th
had been reserved for White Americans. September 1962 an African American
It should, however, be noted that this student James Meredith was prevented
arrangement was met with strong from joining Mississippi University.
resistance from White Americans. The person who was responsible for

this was Ross Barnert who did not want African Americans to mix with White
Americans. Likewise, the US government launched a programme called Counter
Intelligence Programme (COINTELPRO). It was intended to disrupt the efforts to
unite black militant groups such as the Black Panther Party (BPP).
Activity 3.3
In groups, read various publications on African Americans in the New
World and then write an essay for presentation on the relationship
between the diaspora and the African continent from the 19th century to
the present.
Revision exercise 3
1. With vivid examples, trace the origin of the African Americans who are
in the New World.
2. Explain the historical events that led to the enslavement of African

Americans in the New World during the mercantile period.
3. Why did African Americans form the Civil Rights Movement in the
1950s?
4. Highlight five major attempts made by African Americans to liberate

themselves.
5. Explain six causes of the Civil Rights Movement.
6. Describe three objectives and three techniques used in the struggle for
civil rights in the USA.
7. How did African Americans develop solidarity with other African

people through Pan-Africanism?
8. Discuss the similarities between Black Solidarity, the Back-to-Africa

Movement and the Civil Rights Movement.

9. Assess the achievements of and the challenges that the Civil Rights
Movement faced.
10. What lessons have you learnt from the history of African Americans in
relation to the 19th century (the 1800s) and the 20th century (the 1960s)?
11. Through the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA),

African Americans struggled to have a home in Africa, but this idea
did not materialise. However, the Jews, who had suffered in Europe,
managed to establish the Jewish state in 1948. Why did the African
Americans fail to establish their own state in Africa?
12. The Civil Rights Movement was a struggle for genuine reasons. Account
for six problems that it faced.
13. Explain three prejudices that faced the people of African origin in the
New World and show their legal struggles which brought about equal
education.
14. To what extent did the Back-to-Africa Movement achieve its goal?

Chapter The colonial state and
Four agricultural systems up to 1914
Introduction
The colonisation of Africa passed through three major phases. The first phase
was characterised by the arrival of colonial agents in Africa. Their arrival was
more vivid from the early 19th century to the second half of the 19th century. The
second phase was during the scramble for and partition of Africa in the last
quarter of the 19th century. The last phase was the establishment of colonial
rule, which was cemented by the establishment of the colonial state. In this
chapter, you will learn about the meaning, objectives, nature, characteristics
and functions of the colonial state in Africa. You will also learn about different
colonial agricultural systems, their characteristics as well as the reasons for
their adoption. The competencies developed will enable you to transform the
colonial oriented type of production into a sustainable type of agriculture.
Why didn’t the colonial state strengthen the agricultural sector up to 1914?
The colonial state colonies in Africa. Thus, the colonial

state did not develop as a result of
The colonial state refers to the colonial Africans’ initiatives and wishes. It
government introduced in Africa by the was rather imposed on Africans by
European colonial powers to safeguard the capitalist powers who wanted to
their interests in the colonies. The safeguard their interests. Essentially,
colonial state was a geographical among other things, the colonial state
extension of the metropolitan state. The wanted to establish a proper colonial
main aim of the metropolitan state in the economy, which would directly respond
metropole was to promote and protect to the economic needs of metropolitan
bourgeois interests. The colonial state capitalists. Thus, immediately after
served the same function when the the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885,
imperial capitalist powers established the European colonial powers set up

colonial states in Africa as one of the manifestations of the Doctrine of Effective

Occupation. The establishment of the colonial state was also associated with the
setting up of state apparatus such as the army, police, court and prisons. Figure 4.1
shows German colonial askaris in German East Africa.
Figure 4.1: German colonial askaris
The state apparatus was used to manufactured goods. Thus, the pre-
supervise and facilitate the undertaking colonial economy, which was largely
of the colonial economy on behalf of subsistent but self-sufficient in the
the metropolitan governments. Thus, long run, was negatively transformed
the creation of the colonial state and through the introduction of new forms
its coercive apparatus was the major of an economic system such as money.
strategy for facilitating efficient This transformation and undermining
exploitation of the colonies to meet the of the pre-colonial economy was aimed
needs of the metropolitan government. at integrating African colonies into the
world capitalist industrial economic
As already pointed out, one of the
system.
important roles of the colonial state
was to establish a colonial economy Objectives of the colonial state
in the colonies. The establishment, The colonialists established colonial
of the colonial economy, however, states in Africa. The establishment of
involved restructuring pre-colonial the colonial state was an important step
African economies so that Africans towards realising the capitalists’ goal.
could produce raw materials and The colonial state wanted to achieve
also be a market for European several objectives.

First, the colonial state aimed to suppress as well as areas in which to invest.
African resistance against colonial The colonial state was also expected to
rule. The suppression of African exploit minerals like gold and copper.
resistance was aimed at ensuring that These valuable minerals were found
there was a peaceful and conducive in areas like Belgian-Congo, Southern
environment for the establishment Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia. Gold
and running of the colonial economy. was used as an international currency,
A conducive environment would ease while copper was used as a raw material
the exploitation of African resources in electrical industries in Europe. The
and facilitate smooth running of the coal from Wankie in Southern Rhodesia
colonial economy. That is why African was used as a source of power in South
resistance such as the Maji maji war in African industries.
German East Africa and the Nama and The colonial state was also expected
Herero war in South West Africa had to to ensure a constant supply of cheap
be suppressed by the German colonial labour in mines, on plantations and in
state. other colonial projects. The colonial
The suppression of resistance was vivid state was supposed to make sure that
from 1885 to 1910. During this period, there was abundant cheap labour
many Africans died on the battlefields, force in the colonies. Labourers were
while others were either hanged or died obtained through various techniques
from famine. In addition, the colonial such as taxation, land alienation and
state confiscated a lot of livestock for labour laws such as the Masters’
food. This weakened the economic and Native Servants’ Amendment
stability of African societies, to whom Ordinance of 1921, which popularised
livestock keeping was the major source the Kipande system in Kenya.
of livelihood. The same was witnessed Likewise, taxes had to be paid in cash.
among farming societies, whose crops Africans were forced either to produce
were burnt to weaken them. cash crops or to sell their labour power
The colonial state was also supposed to in the colonial projects to earn money
provide a link between the metropolitan for paying taxes. However, when there
capitalists and the colonies by making was a serious shortage of labour in
sure that all the economic needs of some colonies, a tax could be paid in
the capitalist industries were met at the form of labour.
the cheapest cost possible. The needs The colonial state was supposed to
included cheap raw materials such as construct transport infrastructure to
cotton, tea, sisal, coffee and timber. open up the interior of the African
The colonies also had to be markets continent so as to exploit it. For

instance, they constructed roads, from serving the colonial officials and
railways, airports and harbours that the rest of the European population
facilitated the transport of European in the colonies, the colonial health
manufactured goods from the coast facilities were important in maintaining
to the interior and raw materials from the health of African peasants and
the production areas to the coast for migrant labourers.
shipping to the metropole. In addition, The colonial state was also expected to
the construction of infrastructure was maintain law and order in the colonies.
for transporting migrant labourers The colonial laws were used to ensure
from the labour reserve areas to the that the interests of the metropolitan
production areas. For example, in capitalists were protected. For instance,
German East Africa, the central railway laws related to land alienation and
was used to transport labourers from taxation were meant to ensure effective
Kigoma and Tabora, labour reserves, to exploitation of African resources.
the plantations in Morogoro and Tanga. Therefore, such laws were enforced in
Another prominent railway line was the the colonies by whatever means.
Uganda railway line from Mombasa
to Kampala. The transport networks Nature and character of the colonial
would also transport the colonial state
administrative staff and soldiers to and The achievement of the aforementioned
from different parts of the colonies. objectives influenced the nature and
Thus, the transport facilities were meant character of the colonial state. The
to make the implementation of colonial colonial state behaved in such a way
projects efficient and profitable. that it could easily fulfil its functions.
The colonial state was expected Thus, the colonial state had the
to provide social services such as following characteristics:
education and health. Such services The colonial state was violent. It
were important to the colonial state used violence in performing most of
and the economy. As for education, the its responsibilities and pursuing its
colonial administration expected to get objectives. In this respect, the colonial
subordinates who would do low-ranking state established the colonial coercive
jobs such as being clerks, foremen, apparatus such as the police, army, court
watchmen and ward attendants. Health and prisons to suppress those who were
facilities such as dispensaries, health against the colonial interests. Coercion
centres and hospitals were equally was also used to destroy African
important as they facilitated smooth handicraft industries. Throughout the
running of the colonial economy. Apart colonies, such industries were declared

illegal. In Belgian-Congo, for example, entered Africa without Africans’

Africans who continued working in consent. This made Africans resist
traditional industries after the colonial colonial intrusion even more. African
prohibition were violently punished; resistance was also inevitable as the
their hands were chopped off. This colonialists evicted Africans from their
was done under the leadership of King fertile land so as to establish settler
Leopold II of Belgium. The gross farms, plantations and mines, and to
impact of all this was that African construct infrastructure like roads,
economies lost their technological ports and railways. Africans would
base. This was done so that Africans subsequently be settled in infertile land
would be forced to import industrial so that they could continue providing
products from Belgium. Thus, Africa cheap labour. This happened in Kenya,
was turned into a market for European Algeria, Southern Rhodesia and South
manufactured goods and the African Africa.
people were forcefully integrated into The colonial state used violence to
the money economy. compell Africans to produce cash
The violent nature of the colonial state crops. Force was used when Africans
was also evident at the time of colonial did not respond positively to cash
conquests. During the conquests, crop production. African chiefs and
violence was common almost headmen were ordered to force their
everywhere as colonial troops opened fellow Africans to produce cash crops.
fire against Africans, who resisted the In some instances, Africans were forced
colonial intrusion. In German East to work on plantations without being
Africa, for example, the Germans paid. Forced labour was one of the
fought with the Hehe under Mkwawa, reasons for Africans’ resistance against
the Yao under Machemba and the colonialism. For example, in German
Nyamwezi under Isike. In West Africa, East Africa, the Germans forced the
the French used force to subdue Samori cultivation of cotton in the Rufiji River
Touré of Mandinka, while in Southern Valley. The forced cultivation of cotton
Rhodesia the British South African was one of the reasons for the outbreak
Company used force to conquer the of the Maji maji war of 1905-1907.
Shona and Ndebele. However, Africans Moreover, violence was used in
were not passively conquered. They collecting taxes. The colonialists
actively resisted the conquests. Armed imposed heavy taxation, which became
resistance, for instance, occurred at the a big burden to Africans. Examples of
beginning of the colonial conquests, such taxes were the head tax and the
that is, when the European colonialists hut tax. The heavy taxation imposed on

Africans made them live a miserable Africans were also forced to work
life and become the source of labour in the colonial projects. At the same
to the colonial economic projects. time African labourers were forced to
Because Africans were reluctant to work for long hours. All the operations
pay the taxes imposed on them, the associated with colonial exploitation
colonial state used force to maximise and oppression were supervised and
tax collection. controlled by the colonial state.
Similarly, violence was also used by Furthermore, the colonial state was
the colonial state in the construction based on racial prejudice. It was
of physical infrastructure such as roads heavily preoccupied with the racial
and railways. Africans were forced to supremacy syndrome. It believed
offer their labour power in building in the superiority of the white race
railways. For example, Kenyans were over the black race. Therefore, its
forced to work on the Uganda railway operations were associated with
line from Mombasa to Kisumu between preference for Europeans to Africans
1895 and 1899. The railway served the because Europeans were believed to
interests of the British in the colony. be mentally and culturally superior to
It was the duty of the colonial state Africans. In the administrative sector,
to create a conducive environment for example, high-ranking positions
for smooth exploitation of resources. were held by Europeans, while
Such physical infrastructure was also Africans held low-ranking positions.
intended to serve administrative and The provision of social services was
religious purposes. They were mainly done along racial lines. Europeans
constructed with funds obtained from received the best quality services such
taxation and from the metropole. as water, housing, electricity, education
The colonial state was exploitative and health, while Africans received
and oppressive. It was characterised very low quality services. This was
by intensive exploitation of Africans common in Apartheid South Africa,
through various ways such as land where the Afrikaner regime provided
alienation, forced labour and heavy separate services for whites and blacks.
taxation. For instance, the Kikuyu in The former received better health and
Kenya were forcefully evicted from education services than the latter.
their land, which turned them into Generally, the colonial state was
landless labourers. That was also the guided by the capitalist ideology,
case with the labourers, who worked which showed that African culture
in profitable colonial projects but was barbaric and primitive. Thus,
who were paid very low wages. Some according to Europeans, African

culture was supposed to be destroyed between the colonial state and the
and replaced by Western culture. The post-colonial state.
French colonial state, for instance, Then, present your findings in class
implemented the assimilation policy for further discussion.
for the purpose of destroying African
values and glorifying French values.
Europeans had the duty to civilise Functions of the colonial state
Africans. However, this was a As already indicated, the colonial state
Eurocentric view used to undermine was established to meet the interests of
African socio-economic systems. the metropolitan capitalists in Europe.
Africans had developed and undergone In order to realise the interests, the
social transformation before the advent colonial state had to perform the
of colonialism. Such Eurocentric views following functions:
were used to justify the Europeans’
The colonial state made sure that there
plan to colonise Africans.
was a constant supply of labour to all
Moreover, the colonial state created a sectors of the colonial economy such
regional imbalance; the most productive as agriculture, mining and industry, as
areas were provided with social well as to the construction of transport
services such as health and education, infrastructure and public buildings. To
but other areas were not. For instance, make sure that there was a constant
in Tanganyika, such production areas as supply of labour to European settler
Kilimanjaro, Bukoba and Mbeya were farms, the colonial state alienated
provided with health and education Kenya Highlands to make the Kikuyu
services, while labour reserves such landless and force them to sell their
as Kigoma, Tabora, Singida, Dodoma, labour-power for survival. For example,
Lindi and Mtwara were not. Therefore, the British East Africa (Kenya) colonial
the colonial state was discriminatory state enacted the Master and Native
and this caused a regional imbalance Servant Ordinance in 1906 which
in terms of social and economic required Kikuyu young men to provide
development. labour to European settlers’ farms for
90 days per year. In 1918 the colonial
Activity 4.1 government enacted another Master
In pairs or groups, conduct a library and Native Servant Ordinance which
research on the following: required the Kikuyu young men to
work on European settlers’ farms for
(a) Meaning of the colonial state;
180 days a year. Moreover, in 1921 the
and
colonial government enacted another
(b) Similarities and differences

Master and Native Servant Ordinance, Ngwale against German colonial rule
which introduced the Kipande system in 1905. That resistance was suppressed
into Kenya. The Kikuyu were forced by the German army in 1907. Similar
to work for the European settlers and resistance movements such as Taita and
every person was required to carry Nandi were suppressed by the British
an identity card, popularly called the in Kenya. The Kabarega resistance of
Kipande, wherever they went. The 1894 was crushed by the colonial state
kipande showed whether someone in Uganda. Likewise, in British West
had worked and paid tax or not. Those Africa, the Ashanti resistance was
who did not work or pay tax were crushed by the British forces in 1890.
severely punished. They were fined The Ndebele uprising of 1894, led by
and sentenced to prison or both. This Lobengula, and the Shona-Ndebele
was the mechanism that the colonial resistance of 1896-1897 were crushed
state used to force the African people in by the colonial state in Southern
Kenya to work on settler farms and in Rhodesia. All European powers faced
colonial projects such as public works. resistance across the continent. The
The colonial state worked to protect the suppression of African resistance was
interests of European settler farmers in aimed at preparing a good atmosphere
Kenya Highlands and planters along the for colonial administration and for the
coast. For example, the colonial state establishment of colonial economies.
prohibited the Kikuyu from growing Moreover, the colonial state was
Arabica coffee. This prohibition was charged with responsibility for
aimed at eliminating competition supervising tax collection in the
between the European settler farmers colonies. During this period, taxes were
and small-scale African farmers. In supposed to be paid in cash. Taxes were
Tanganyika, the Bena of Njombe were important in two ways; they financed
prohibited to grow pyrethrum. Only the running of the colonial government
European farmers were allowed to such as paying government officials and
grow such crops. They also enjoyed they forced Africans to either provide
monopoly of marketing the crops. labour on the farms and plantations,
The colonial state suppressed any and in the mines or engage in cash crop
African resistance using its coercive production. Colonial taxes compelled
instruments like the police and the villagers to work for wages, or else the
army. For example, in the southern part police would arrest them. The Southern
of German East Africa, the Matengo, Rhodesian mining industry largely
Pogoro, Zaramo, Matumbi, Luguru and depended on this method, that is, from
Ngindo were organised by Kinjekitile the 1910s to 1920s about 40 000 African

workers were recruited each year. After the colony. For example, between 1905
the imposition of taxes on Africans, and 1914, the Germans constructed the
the colonial state supervised their central railway line from Dar es Salaam
collection. In some instances, the state to Kigoma in German East Africa to,
used low-ranking leaders to assist in among other things, transport labourers
the collection of taxes. In German East from Kigoma and Tabora to Morogoro
Africa, for example, the Germans used and Tanga.
Akidas and Jumbes to collect taxes.
Moreover, the Benguela railway line was
Similarly, the British colonial state used
opened in 1905. The railway linked the
Emirs in Kano, Katsina and Kaduna
port of Lobito in Angola and Tenke town
in northern Nigeria to encourage their
in the Lualaba province of Belgian-
subjects to pay taxes. Emirs also settled
Congo. Tenke produced copper and
disputes, maintained law and order,
cobalt. Moreover, the railway line from
recruited labour for public works and
Lagos to Kano transported groundnuts
eliminated practices which were not
and cotton from northern Nigeria.
acceptable to the British.
The railway line from Port Harcourt
The colonial state also supervised the to Maiduguri and Jos Plateau also
construction of infrastructure in the transported palm oil and tin, whereas
form of harbours, roads, telegraph the railway line from Douala to Mount
lines, railways and others. Therefore, Cameroon transported timber, cotton,
the colonial government was obliged to coffee and sisal. The Uganda railway
construct or supervise the construction
line reached Kampala in 1931. It was
of infrastructure. These infrastructural
used to transport cotton and coffee
facilities were important for smooth
from Uganda to the port of Mombasa
running of the colonial economy and
in Kenya before being exported to
administration, which in the long run
Britain.
benefited the metropolitan capitalists.
The transport networks such as roads Generally, the colonial state ensured
and railways were necessary for that all the needs of the metropolitan
transporting raw materials from the capitalists were cheaply met in the
interior to the coast (harbours) for colonies. Thus, it violently suppressed
shipment to the metropole. It was the Africans who resisted colonial rule.
important for transporting European However, as argued before, all Africans
manufactured goods from the coast were defeated and the colonial state
to the interior. They were also used to established a colonial economy that
transport colonial officials and troops directly responded to the needs of the
as well as labour in different parts of metropolitan capitalists.

The establishment of the colonial tobacco, which were highly needed by

economy in Africa took a number of metropolitan industries. Agriculture
years. It involved transforming African also involved producing food crops
subsistence economies to make them that included cereals such as maize and
inferior using de-industrialisation rice, as well as fruits such as vineyards,
practices and laws such as coercion, pineapples and oranges for feeding
land alienation, imposition of a money the European population in Africa
economy and taxation. Since the and African labourers. Cocoa and
colonies were meant to produce raw groundnuts were important food crops
materials, the main sectors emphasised to the European food market. The
were agriculture and mining. Thus, Europeans invested in agriculture as it
a detailed description of colonial facilitated the maximisation of profit by
agriculture in Africa is given in the buying African crops at low prices and
following section. paying low wages to the labourers who
worked on settler or plantation farms.
Activity 4.2 Thus, there were three types of colonial
agriculture developed in African
The colonial state made considerable
colonies, namely peasant, settler and
efforts to expand agricultural
plantation agriculture. The details of
production within the colonies. Yet,
each type are presented below.
the agricultural sector remained
technologically backward. Conduct Peasant agriculture
search in a library and explain the Under this type of agriculture, the colonial
reasons for this? state allowed Africans to cultivate both
cash crops and food crops. This type of
Colonial agricultural systems colonial agriculture involved small-scale
By 1914, the imperialist nations had production of cash crops by individuals to
almost finished dividing the Africa earn money and to get food for domestic
continent among themselves. The consumption. Peasant agriculture was
next major step was establishing and mostly practised in Uganda, the Gold
consolidating the colonial economy. Coast, Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia,
One of the major economic sectors Ivory Coast, Senegal, the Gambia and
established in the colonies was northern Nigeria.
agriculture. Agriculture formed the In the process of setting up the colonial
backbone of the colonial economy. economy, the colonial state alienated
This was because it provided African land. Part of the land was given
agricultural raw materials such as to African chiefs as in the case of the
sisal, cotton, coffee, tea, pyrethrum and Mailo system in Buganda through the

Buganda Agreement of 1900, while the who lived in areas where missionaries
rest of the land was declared crown land. had built their mission stations started
In 1895, the colonial state in German to cultivate cash crops. This tactic,
East Africa issued a decree, which however, did not yield the quantities
declared all unoccupied land crown of cash crops needed. As a result, the
land. Such land could be given under colonial state used force to destroy
the consent of the Governor to land African economies. African chiefs
applicants, especially German settlers. and headmen were ordered to force
The land occupied by indigenous Africans to produce cash crops. Seeds
Africans could also be appropriated and seedlings were distributed and
by the Governor for public use, for their planting was supervised. Peasants
example building a school or mining; were expected to produce both cash
Africans could be evicted from their crops and food crops. They were also
land after being given a small amount required to produce both raw materials
of money as compensation. for metropolitan industries and food for
At first, it was difficult for the colonial their families. For example, the Ashanti
state to compell Africans produce in the Gold Coast began to grow cocoa
cash crops. However, the missionaries as a cash crop and continued to grow
collaborated with the colonial state yams as their food crop. Similarly,
in persuading Africans to produce in Uganda, the Baganda and Basoga
cash crops. The missionaries taught began to grow cotton as a cash crop,
their converts that Christianity and while the Banyoro and Batoro began to
the production of cash crops were grow coffee around Mount Ruwenzori.
inseparable. They encouraged them to All these continued to grow banana as
grow coffee, tea and cocoa with three a food crop. However, the prices of
goals. The first was to subsidise their cash crops were low.
income. The second was to discourage Moreover, industrialisation and the
the slave trade and encourage Africans use of advanced technology were
to participate in the money economy discouraged in the colonies. The
and the third was to enable African colonies were told to produce raw
converts to get money for making materials for export to the metropole.
the church self-relient and for buying Thus, peasants continued to use
manufactured goods from Europe. the hand hoe. Labour organisation
Consequently, by the beginning of the remained pre-capitalist so that the
20th century, Christian converts had family continued to be the unit of
begun to grow cash crops. Therefore, production. This limited the amount
it was not by accident that the people of land that could be cultivated. Thus,
the more the time spent on producing

cash crops, the less the time one spent Features of peasant agriculture
producing food. Likewise, the more the
time one spent producing food crops, From an economic point of view,
the less the time one spent producing peasant agriculture was economically
cash crops. Furthermore, the failure profitable to the colonial state and
to revolutionise the productive forces European trading companies. This
meant that agricultural productivity was because the cost of agricultural
remained low. production and management was
shouldered by peasants.
The colonial state also intervened
in determining producer prices. At Peasant agriculture was characterised
the beginning of the colonial period, by the cultivation of cash crops for
Asians and Arabs in East Africa and sale and food crops for domestic
Syrians and Lebanese in West Africa consumption. However, the colonial
were middlemen for African producers state placed greater emphasis on the
and metropolitan bourgeoisie, taking cultivation of cash crops, which were
the lion’s share of the money the latter needed as raw materials by capitalist
paid. This discouraged Africans from industries in the metropole. Some
increasing production on the one hand, of the cash crops produced by the
and encouraged their agitation against peasants were cotton, cocoa, coffee and
exploitation on the other. Therefore, groundnuts. The emphasis on cash crop
the colonial state set producer prices so production had a negative implication
as to solve the two problems without for food production, in that, it caused
reducing the profit margins of the frequent food shortages, which in
metropolitan bourgeoisie and their some instances led to famine among
trading companies. peasants.
Peasant agriculture was characterised
Exercise 4.1 by the use of relatively poor tools of
production. Walter Rodney argues that
(a) Why was the colonial state peasants entered into colonialism with
considered violent? the hand hoe and got out of it with
(b) In what ways was the the same hoe. With colonial peasant
colonial state influential agriculture, there was no major change
in the development of in peasants’ tools of production.
agriculture in colonial Peasants used the same tools they had
Africa? used during the pre-colonial period.
Thus, pre-colonial tools like pangas
(machetes) and hand hoes were still
in use. Despite using poor tools,

sometimes peasants produced enough middlemen like Asians in East Africa

food crops for consumption and cash and the Lebanese in West Africa set
crops for sale. This was achieved prices and conditions to limit African
because they used agricultural inputs peasants’ options in terms of prices
such as improved seeds and fertilizers, of their produce. Thus, inequality
and followed the advice given by was a common feature in the trading
agricultural experts. Thus, peasant process between the middlemen and
production increased. For example, the peasants.
there was high production of cotton in In many instances, peasant agriculture
Uganda. was practised in densely populated
Under this form of colonial agriculture, areas. The Gold Coast and northern
the family remained the basic unit of Nigeria are good examples of such
production. In most cases, peasant areas. It is argued that such areas could
agriculture reduced the cost of easily attract strong resistance if settler
production because it rarely used hired or plantation agriculture were adopted
labourers. In this kind of agriculture, because the two forms of agriculture
all family members participated in were associated with massive land
production under the leadership of alienation. Thus, alienation could
the father, who was the head of the anger the peasants and they would
family. The use of family members in thus react against the state. In order
production produced super profit for to avoid this unnecessary clash, most
the Europeans. However, in some areas, of the densely populated areas were
rich peasants paid migrant labourers so allowed to continue practising peasant
that they could work on their farms. For agriculture.
example, Sene-Gambian groundnut In principle, colonial peasant agriculture
farming attracted seasonal labourers involved small-scale farming. Peasants
from the hinterland of Senegal and cultivated small portions of land
the River Niger, while Ugandan coffee because they had an amount of capital
growers drew labourers from Ruanda which could not support extensive
and northern Uganda. Cocoa growers cultivation. Therefore, they could not
in the Gold Coast and Ivory Coast drew buy modern agricultural implements
migrant labourers from Upper Volta. such as tractors and they had no power
Moreover, traders and trading to hire a big number of labourers.
companies exploited peasants. Thus, with their meagre capital, they
Trading companies throughout Africa cultivated only small portions of land
safeguarded their interests by refusing to produce both cash and food crops.
to compete among themselves, while In other words, peasant agriculture was

financed with a low level of capital into Senegal, Guinea and Ivory
investment and simple technology. Coast because it was impossible to
Factors that favoured the adoption alienate land as the areas were densely
of peasant agriculture populated. In the Gezira plains of
Sudan, the British colonial government
A number of factors determined
supported a vast irrigation scheme
whether a specific colony had to
to promote African peasant cotton
adopt peasant agriculture. The factors
production. Cotton was highly needed
included the presence of traditional
by British textile industries.
leadership, population density, pre-
colonial experience in cash crop Poor climatic conditions and the
production and diseases. prevalence of diseases were other
factors that favoured the adoption of
The areas which had put up strong
peasant agriculture in colonial Africa.
resistance against colonial occupation
Areas with such features threatened
and had strong leadership such as the
the health of the colonialists. For
Buganda Kingdom and the Bunyoro
example, peasant agriculture was
Kingdom were allowed to practise
introduced around the lakeside areas
peasant agriculture because it was not
of Buganda, Bunyoro and Bukoba
easy to alienate their land. Therefore,
because of the presence of sleeping
peasant agriculture was predominant in
sickness, smallpox, malaria, influenza,
areas with strong centralised political
meningitis and jiggers, which were a
systems. In such areas, African societies
big health challenge to white settlers.
could not guarantee the security and
Similarly, Europeans could not settle in
protection of the European colonialists
areas with hot climate. In this regard,
in the plantation and settler estates.
peasant agriculture was adopted as
Thus, the colonial state found that
it could be handled by Africans, who
peasant agriculture was the only option.
were used to living in such areas.
Apart from Buganda in Uganda, the
other areas where peasant agriculture The pre-colonial African experience
was highly encouraged were northern in cash crop production played an
Nigeria and Ashanti in the Gold Coast. important role in the introduction
of peasant agriculture. Before the
Highly populated areas were also
imposition of colonial rule, some
suitable for peasant agriculture. This
societies in Africa produced cash crops.
is because land alienation was difficult
For example, in West Africa, palm
in such areas. Therefore, the best way
oil was produced by peasants before
to sustain the colonial economy was to
colonialism. In Uganda, the indigenous
adopt peasant agriculture. For example,
people used to grow local species
the French introduced peasant farming

of cotton on small plots of land. The in the early 1900s. As a result, cotton
willingness of these societies to grow was grown for commercial purposes
important cash crops on their farms in Buganda and Busoga. By the mid-
was influenced by their experience in 1920s, cotton exports enabled the
crop cultivation. Thus, such societies Uganda government to fund its budget
were allowed to continue with peasant without receiving grants or aid from
cash crop production. The colonial Britain. This happened after Governor
state introduced into Uganda new Bell passed the Cotton Ordinance,
species of cotton, which were more which resulted in high quality American
productive than the local species. cotton seeds replacing the wild seeds in
Similarly, in some areas missionaries Uganda. He also banned hand ginning
introduced cash crops long before the and instead opened new ginneries
establishment of colonialism; hence, to process cotton. The government
Africans were used to producing cash also encouraged peasants in Bunyoro
crops. Therefore, the colonial state and Toro in south-western Uganda to
decided not to change the system of grow cotton in the early 1900s. Coffee
production. A good example was coffee thrived very well in these areas. As a
production in Kilimanjaro and Kagera. result, by the 1930s, coffee had become
The preference and arrangements of Uganda’s second largest export.
colonial masters was another factor Settler agriculture
that influenced the establishment of This type of agriculture was controlled
peasant agriculture. In some cases, by Europeans, who had come to live
the colonial state decided that a given in the colonies. They established large
colony should practise a certain type farms in various African countries
of agriculture. For example, the British, like Kenya, South Africa, Algeria,
who had many colonies in Africa, Mozambique, Angola and Southern
decided on the form of agriculture that Rhodesia. The settlers had close links
should be practised in their colonies. with their mother countries and had
For example, Nyasaland had to produce strong influence on the colonial state.
tea. Thus, the colonial state’s policy had to
Governors’ preference also influenced consider their interests, namely capital,
the development of peasant agriculture. land and labour. Initially, many settlers
For instance, in Uganda, while had neither the expertise nor the
Chief Justice William Morris Carter capital with which to start large-scale
preferred settler agriculture, Governor agricultural production. Thus, they
Sir Henry Hesketh Bell encouraged acquired capital through government
the development of peasant agriculture assistance and bank loans at very low

interest rates. As for the acquisition not produce enough for themselves.
of land, the state carried out extensive To supplement their produce, they
land expropriation. The land was given had to sell their labour power to the
to the settlers and planters freely or at settlers. In South Africa, the 1913 Land
a very cheap price. The colonial state Act prohibited Africans from owning
enacted laws that compelled Africans the land which had been reserved for
to provide labour to the settlers. European and Afrikaner settlers. It
In most cases, the settlers did not use also barred squatters from farming
all the land. In the first place, they European-owned land. This was done
lacked enough capital to develop all the at a time when the African-European
land they had acquired. In the second ratio was 4 to 1. In 1906, about 1.6
place, extensive land was acquired for million hectares (3.52 million acres)
speculative purposes. This meant that of land were transferred to European
a settler could sell part of the land at a ownership in Algeria.
higher price at a future date. Moreover, settler agriculture was based
Characteristics of settler agriculture on forced labour, since it was a labour-
intensive type of agriculture. Thus, the
Settler agriculture was one of the
colonial state devised various laws and
important agricultural systems under
the colonial agricultural sector. It was strategies to make sure that there was
large-scale farming under the European an abundant and constant supply of
investors. In other words, it was owned labour in the settler estates. In Kenya,
by Europeans who permanently settled for example, the Masters and Native
in Africa. This type of agriculture had Servants Ordinance of 1906 stipulated
the following characteristics: that a squatter had to work for the
settlers for 90 days a year at a nominal
Settler agriculture went hand in hand
wage. Thus, the colonial state made
with massive land alienation. To
sure that Africans provided labour
alienate land, the colonial state enacted
power to the settlers. Apart from law
land ordinances that legalised private
enforcement, the colonial government
ownership of land and legitimised
imposed land alienation and various
the alienation of African land for the
taxes to force Africans to provide their
settlers. In 1903, for example, the
labour power to the settlers.
colonial government in Kenya gave
large pieces of land to the settlers in Settler agriculture was characterised
the Naivasha Valley in the Central Rift by the colonial state protecting settlers’
Valley, thereby evicting 5000 African interests. This was shown during the
land owners. Thus, Africans were conflicts between peasants and settlers.
pushed into reserves where they could In 1903, for example, the government

policy in Kenya stated that whenever the dairy farms in Matebeleland in

the interests of the settlers collided Southern Rhodesia. Portuguese settlers
with those of the Africans, those of the also occupied the Bie Plateau (1520m
former would prevail. The same was to 1830m) with cool climate and high
emphasised in the 1923 Devonshire rains to grow coffee, maize, rice and
White Paper. However, in the event sugarcane. The Benguela railway line
of a conflict between the settlers and served the settlers by transporting their
the metropolitan bourgeoisie the latter crops to the port of Lobito for export to
used a populist ideology, that is, they Portugal and Western Europe.
pretended to uphold Africans’ interests Furthermore, settler agriculture was
to exert power over the settlers. based on crop production, preferably
Essentially, both the metropolitan cash crops. In most cases, settler
bourgeoisie and the settlers had agreed agriculture concentrated on the
to exploit Africans, but they differed production of crops that were raw
on the method of exploitation and the materials for metropolitan industries.
distribution of the loot. Crops such as coffee and tea were
Settler agriculture was characterised favoured in Kenya. Tobacco and coffee
by improved infrastructure like roads were grown in Southern Rhodesia
and railways. This infrastructure was and Angola. Settlers also engaged in
very important to the transport of commercial dairy farming so as to
raw materials from the interior to the export milk, meat and hides. Settlers
coast. To a great extent, the areas in in Southern Rhodesia grew maize
which settler agriculture was practised and established dairy farms to feed
were favoured by the colonial state the food market at the Rand mining
and, therefore, they were provided and commercial area in South Africa.
with better economic and social Similarly, settlers in Northern Rhodesia
infrastructure, as well as security. This produced maize and milk to feed the
was done to make settlers to invest in food market in the copper belt.
agriculture. For instance, in Kenya, Settler agriculture was also
railways were built from Mombasa characterised by large-scale farming.
in 1895 to Kisumu in 1899, and from Settlers cultivated very large tracts
Nairobi via Thika to Nanyuki in of land for commercial purposes.
1918 to serve the European settlers Therefore, settler agriculture was a
around Kenyan Highlands. Moreover, capital-intensive type of farming. Heavy
the railway line from Bulawayo to capital was needed to buy modern
Salisbury (Harare) served the European agricultural implements such as tractors
settler farms on which maize, coffee and other machines, pay labourers and
and tobacco were being grown and buy other necessary inputs.

Factors that favoured settler Furthermore, this type of agriculture

agriculture was dominant in areas with less or
Settler agriculture was practised in without strong resistance from Africans.
areas with a kind of climate similar to Since settler agriculture involved
that of Europe. Hot climate was not cultivating huge tracts of land, strong
suitable for Europeans; hence, they resistance would occur if such areas
opted to settle in highland areas such had strong centralised societies with
as Kenya Highlands, Bie Plateau and strong armies. This was because settler
Matebele Plateau. agriculture needed huge pieces of land.
Europeans opted to establish settler
Areas with plenty of labourers also agriculture in areas with less resistance
favoured settler agriculture. This was such as Kenya, Angola, South Africa,
because settler agriculture was a large- the north-eastern part of Northern
scale undertaking, which required a Rhodesia, Cholo and the areas around
large number of labourers. Additionally, Mount Mlanje in Nyasaland.
the preferences of the colonial masters
How the colonial state supported
and governors influenced settler
settlers
agriculture. Governors like Sir Charles
Eliot of Kenya was interested in settler The colonial state supported settlers in
agriculture; hence, Sir Eliot promoted various ways. For example, it exempted
its establishment in Kenya. them from paying taxes. This was
done to allow them produce more cash
Moreover, settlers were motivated
crops so as to get raw materials for
to settle in areas where the colonial
industries in Europe. For example, in
state had established good transport
Kenya, tax exemption enabled settlers
and communication networks. The
to accumulate massive wealth.
availability of roads and railways
motivated settlers to settle in such areas. The colonial state also forced Africans
It was easy for them to transport cash to provide cheap labour to settlers in
crops from the production areas to the different ways. This happened in South
cities or ports. A good example is the Africa, Kenya and Southern Rhodesia
Uganda railway, which made settlers (Zimbabwe). The alienation of African
establish farms in Kenyan Highlands land in the early 20th century was
and some parts of the Rift Valley. intended to make Africans landless,
Infrastructure also made Portuguese thus forcing them to work on settler
settlers settle on Bie Plateau in Angola farms as labourers.
and British settlers on Matebele Plateau Moreover, the colonial state constructed
in Southern Rhodesia. transport infrastructure in the colonies.

For example, in Kenya, the Uganda settlers received marketing assistance

railway line was constructed by the and cash subsidies from the colonial
colonial state. In South Africa, railway government.
lines were constructed to link certain In addition, settlers were given security
parts of South Africa with Southern by the colonial government. The
Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia. colonial apparatus like the police and
These infrastructural facilities were army maintained peace and security to
used by settlers to transport labourers protect the settlers and their property.
and crops.
Plantation agriculture
The colonial state created an enabling
Plantation agriculture was another
environment for settlers to do
type of agriculture established in
agricultural activities smoothly. For various colonies in Africa. This type
example, European settlers were given of agriculture involved opening large
the right to own land for 33, 66 and farms that needed large tracts of land.
99 years land and to grow certain cash Many owners of plantations lived in
crops. For example, in Kenya, Africans Europe and employed farm managers
were forbidden to grow Arabica coffee, to supervise production. Each
the country’s most profitable cash company specialised in the production
crop. Thus, Europeans produced much of a specific cash crop. Plantation
coffee and, by 1913, coffee exports agriculture was practised in German
had enabled the Kenyan colonial state East Africa, Belgian-Congo, Congo-
to fund its budget without receiving Brazzaville, Gabon, Cameroon and
subsidies from Britain. In Nyasaland, Liberia. For example, whereas German
Africans were excluded from growing East Africa, produced sisal, Mauritius
the most lucrative varieties of tobacco. specialised in sugarcane production
They were prohibited from growing and Liberia produced rubber. By
flue-cured Virginia tobacco, a key contrast, Ivory Coast and Madagascar
constituent in blended cigarettes from specialised in coffee production and
1908. They were also banned from Sudan in cotton production. Some
growing burley tobacco, another plantations were opened in Uganda.
lucrative and profitable variety. These Asians opened sugarcane plantations
were reserved for European settlers. in Lugazi and Kakira near Jinja. Other
Africans were denied the right to own Asian planters grew rubber. Figure 4.2
land and grow important cash crops like shows a sisal plantation in German
coffee, tea and pyrethrum. Moreover, East Africa.

Figure 4.2: Sisal plantation in German East Africa
Characteristics of plantation Plantation agriculture was monoculture

agriculture in nature. This kind of farming was
commonly based on the cultivation of
Plantation agriculture was characterised one crop in large estates. It focused on
by large-scale farming. Planters’ the quantity and quality of one crop
interest was in producing a large needed in metropolitan countries. For
quantity of raw materials for European instance, in German East Africa areas
industries. The nature of such crops like Tanga and Morogoro specialised
as sisal, rubber, sugarcane and cloves in sisal production whereas Mauritius
demanded large pieces of land. produced sugarcane. Similarly,
Furthermore, plantation agriculture Zanzibar concentrated on clove
needed huge capital. Money was production. This specialisation was
needed to pay labourers, clear the aimed at increasing the production of
land, buy fertilizers and buy advanced a given crop in the colony to meet the
agricultural equipment like tractors and industrial needs of the metropole.
sisal decortication machines. Money Plantation agriculture preferred using
was also used to build infrastructure migrant labour. This form of agriculture
such as irrigation systems, fire control was associated with the development
systems, paths and others. Thus, of migrant labourers. Being labour-
this type of agriculture was capital intensive, plantation agriculture needed
intensive.

a large group of unskilled labourers favoured sisal production. In Mauritius,

to work on the newly established the climate was suitable for sugarcane
sisal and sugarcane plantations. The cultivation. However, in German East
European managers and supervisors Africa the attempt to establish rubber
of plantations used several methods to plantations failed in 1913 as the rubber
persuade or force unskilled Africans to produced was of low quality compared
enter into labour contracts with them. to the rubber produced in Malaysia,
Recruiting institutions were given the Belgian-Congo and Brazil.
right to recruit labourers from certain Plantation agriculture also depended on
zones. The main task of the institutions effective management and supervision
was to hire a large amount of unskilled by European managers. The famous
labourers and give them the lowest plantation companies that operated in
possible wage. For example, the sisal Africa were Unilever’s palm oil estate
plantations in Tanga and Morogoro in Belgian-Congo and Mozambique
depended on migrant labourers from Company Sugar Plantation in northern
Kigoma and Tabora during German Mozambique. These companies
colonial rule. The preference for employed European managers to
migrant labourers was based on the run their plantations. Production on
fact that migrant labourers were very the plantations was fairly inefficient
cheap and that they were not a threat to because there was little investment in
the planters as they came from different research, technology and transport.
ethnic groups. Therefore, the plantations heavily used
Factors that favoured plantation violence to force Africans to provide
agriculture labour.
The establishment of plantation Another factor for the thriving of
agriculture depended on many factors. plantation agriculture was the existence
Some of the factors are: of a less centralised African political
A good climate, fertile soil and reliable organisation. Plantation agriculture was
rainfall made colonial companies practised in areas with less centralised
establish plantations in certain parts of political systems. This is because in
Africa. For instance, Belgian-Congo such areas there were relatively less
was one of the areas which had good organised societies that could not
climatic conditions that attracted the strongly resist land alienation. In areas
Belgians to establish rubber plantations that had no strong resistance, including
there. In German East Africa, the some parts of German East Africa,
climate of Tanga and Morogoro plantation agriculture flourished.

Plantation agriculture needed a big involves European scholars and their

number of labourers. Most of the critics. According to the former, many
labourers were recruited from distant of whom are apologists for colonialism,
labour reserve areas. Therefore, some of the colonies in Africa
plantation agriculture developed in the developed peasant agriculture because
colonies where there was assurance they had high temperatures, which
of sufficient and constant supply discouraged Europeans to develop
of labourers, preferably migrant either settler or plantation agriculture.
labourers. For example, in German East They also argue that tropical diseases
Africa, the southern regions, Tabora such as malaria and bilharzia prevented
and Kigoma supplied labourers to the settler plantation and agriculture. They
sisal plantations in Tanga, Morogoro also mention other factors such as
and Dar es Salaam. strong African political systems and
the status of a colony, that is, whether
Exercise 4.2 it was a settler colony or a protectorate.
The same historians advance the issue
If you were asked to choose of a huge African population, which
between peasant and plantation always caused land pressure. They
agriculture, which one would cite Uganda, which had strong feudal
you choose and why? relations which the British colonialists
could not break. Finally, the British
trusteeship policy adopted in some
Reasons for adopting different West African colonies is said to have
colonial agricultural systems prevented the establishment of settler
Agriculture was the backbone of the and plantation agriculture in such
metropolitan economies. It produced colonies.
agricultural raw materials to meet The critics, however, critique the above
the needs of European industries. Eurocentric views. They say that the
The capitalists adopted three types Eurocentric views ignore the role of
of agricultural production in the the colonial state in determining the
colonies: peasant, settler and plantation type of colonial agriculture that should
agriculture. Each type was established, be developed in a colony.
depending on the material conditions The Eurocentric argument that
obtaining in a particular colony. malaria and other tropical diseases
However, there is a debate regarding were obstacles to the development of
the introduction of different types of settler or plantation agriculture does
agriculture in the colonies. The debate not hold water either. Logically, the

European colonial administrators and because all these countries had similar
missionaries could not have remained climatic conditions, but the colonialists
permanently in such colonies or developed plantation agriculture in the
areas, fearing that they might die of colonies because it was favoured by
diseases such as malaria. For example, the colonial state.
the question of hot temperatures and Therefore, hot temperatures and
tropical diseases such as malaria and tropical diseases did not prevent the
bilharzia did not prevent the Germans introduction of settler or plantation
from establishing three types of agriculture in Africa. Thus, there is a
agriculture in German East Africa. need to find the factors from economic,
Settler agriculture was developed in political and African initiative
Iringa, Rungwe, Arusha, Tukuyu and perspectives. The factors are explained
Lushoto. Peasant agriculture thrived in the following section.
in Kilimanjaro and Kagera. Sisal
plantations thrived in Morogoro, Dar The colonial state policy determined the
es Salaam, Lindi and Tanga. Attempts type of agricultural system introduced
were also made to introduce rubber in a given colony. For instance, in
plantations in Nachingwea, Rufiji and German East Africa, the colonial state
Morogoro. Yet, German East Africa favoured all three types of agriculture.
was one of the African colonies which However, the British, who took over
faced the problems of malaria and high the colony after the First World War
temperatures. and renamed it Tanganyika, did not
want to make Tanganyika a settler
In West Africa, the British, French colony. The government feared that
and Germans attempted to establish making Tanganyika a settler colony
either settler or plantation agriculture. would force Africans to provide labour
For example, the British businessman, to settlers and would involve alienating
W. H. Lever, attempted to establish more land from Africans, which would
plantation agriculture in Sierra Leone, cause another Majimaji war.
Nigeria and the Gold Coast before
his death in 1925. Indeed, he almost Likewise, between 1915 and 1920, the
succeeded in developing settler colonial state set up two commissions
agriculture in Lagos and Accra, which in Uganda to decide whether Uganda
were very hot places. settler agriculture should introduce or
peasant agriculture should continue.
In Central Africa, especially in The few European settlers in Uganda
Gabon, Belgian-Congo and Congo- wanted the colonial state to introduce
Brazzaville, peasant agriculture new policies that would enable them
would thrive just as it did in Uganda to start settler agriculture. Two reports

proposed that Uganda should develop settlers were finally eliminated by the
settler agriculture. The Chief Justice, Chagga peasants. As a result, peasant
William Morris Carter, supported the agriculture flourished in Kilimanjaro.
idea. However, Governor Hesketh Bell By 1913, over three-quarters of the
and the Secretary of State for Colonies coffee produced in the colony was
(Colonial Secretary) in London produced by African peasants.
rejected the two reports. As a result,
A similar experience happened to the
Uganda remained a peasant colony.
West African peasants who, by the
However, in 1902, Governor Charles
1890s, had already entered the cash
Eliot of Kenya sought permission
crop export economy. They were
from the Office of the Secretary of
producing export crops like palm oil,
State for Colonies in London so that he
cocoa and groundnuts. Hence, the
could declare Kenya a settler colony.
colonial state felt that, if it encouraged
Following the discovery of Kenyan
settler or plantation agriculture, it
Highlands. He was given the go-ahead.
would interfere with the traditional
As a result, Kenya became a settler
colony. land rights, thus causing resistance.
The state also feared that Africans
African initiatives also determined would not be ready to work for the
the type of agriculture adopted by the settlers, while they had their own plots
colonialists. In some colonies, the of land to work on. The few Africans,
Africans who wanted to improve their who would have volunteered to work,
living standards planted cash crops like would have demanded high wages,
coffee, cocoa and cotton. For instance,
something that the European settlers
in the early 1900s, a few European
and planters were totally against.
settlers in Kilimanjaro planted over
one million coffee trees. Some The high production costs influenced
Chagga peasants who planted coffee the type of agriculture established in a
trees became successful and began to given colony. In many African colonies,
compete with a few European settlers settler and plantation agriculture
who had hoped to use the Chagga as were not developed because of high
their labourers. In 1907, the settlers production costs and the long time the
asked the German colonial state to crops took to mature. For instance,
ban the growing of arabica coffee by Europeans feared to open cocoa
the Chagga. The German colonial plantations in Ivory Coast and the Gold
state, however, did not take any Coast because the plant take 15 years
action against the Chagga peasants. to mature. Thus, the Europeans did
As a result, the settlers experienced want to grow that crop. After all, they
a shortage of migrant labourers. The were not familiar with the crop.

The presence of transport and sisal plantations became successful

communication networks in a colony in German East Africa because of the
was a factor for introducing a given availability of cheap migrant labourers
type of agriculture. Settler agriculture from Rukwa, Kigoma, Ruvuma, Lindi
and even peasant agriculture were and Mtwara.
introduced in areas that had reliable The availability of capital and
transport and communication systems labourers also determined the nature
like railways and telegraphic services. of the agricultural system introduced
For instance, the construction of the in a colony. Between the 1890s and
Uganda railway line from Mombasa to early 1900s, French firms established
Kampala favoured the establishment of some plantations in Ivory Coast
settler agriculture in Kenya and peasant and Dahomey, but when the French
agriculture in Uganda. The cash crops colonial authority refused to give them
that the settlers produced were easily concession, the firms collapsed and
transported to the coast, ready for plantation agriculture ended. Moreover,
shipment to Europe and other parts of the availability of labour was key to the
the world. Similarly, the cotton, coffee specific agricultural system introduced.
and tea that African peasants produced For example, settler agriculture was
in Uganda were transported to Europe established in Kenya partly because of
via the port of Mombasa. The railway the presence of African labourers, who
line eased transport, reduced costs were forced to work for the settlers
and opened up the interior in Kenyan under the Kipande system.
Highlands.
In addition, with the expansion of Exercise 4.3
peasant farms and plantations in
What do you think was the
Uganda, Governor Hesketh Bell
impact of the colonial land policy
encouraged the importation of bicycles
on Africans after independence?
and lorries to ease the transport of
Draw examples from Kenya and
goods from remote areas. He also
Zimbabwe.
expanded the construction of railway
lines from Kampala to Port Bell, Jinja
and Namasagali to open up the remote Importance of agriculture during
areas by linking them with the Uganda the colonial economy
railway line.
Agriculture was an important sector of
Plantation or settler agriculture the colonial economy. The importance
flourished because of the availability of agriculture to the colonial economy
of migrant labourers. For instance, is shown below.

It stimulated the construction of Rhodesia, South Africa, Kenya and

transport infrastructure such as ports, German East Africa. On top of that,
roads and railways in different parts colonial agriculture absorbed many
of Africa. For instate, in German Africans as peasants and agricultural
East Africa roads and railways were labourers.
constructed to connect the production Agriculture stimulated improvement of
areas with the harbours and ports. The the quality of health services in Africa,
infrastructural facilities facilitated the including the setting up of dispensaries
transport of European manufactured and hospitals, especially in the highly
goods from the coast to the interior productive areas. For example, in
markets in the colonies. They also, German East Africa, the colonial state
facilitated the transport of raw improved the quality of health services
materials from the interior (production in Moshi, Arusha and Morogoro to
areas) to the coast for shipment to the treat labourers and colonial officials so
metropolitan countries. as to increase their efficiency.
Agriculture was a good source of Europeans acquired markets for their
tropical raw materials for metropolitan goods in Africa. For instance, in
industries. The raw materials produced Uganda, Kenya, German East Africa
in colonial Africa were rubber in and Southern Rhodesia, Africans
Belgian-Congo, cotton in Sudan and produced cash crops and sold them to
Egypt, coffee and sisal in German East Europeans. Manufactured goods were
Africa, cloves in Zanzibar, sugarcane in later imported into Africa.
Mauritius and cocoa in the Gold Coast.
All these raw materials were needed Colonial agriculture influenced the
in European industries. Thus, colonial colonial exploitation of Africa through
agriculture helped meet one of the colonial taxes and human labour.
needs of the metropolitan capitalists. For instance, to force Africans to
It also stimulated further industrial cultivate cash crops, the colonial state
development in the metropole. imposed taxes on them. Since paying
taxes was compulsory, Africans had
Agriculture was also a source of to work on the colonial plantations.
employment for both Europeans and Likewise, colonial agriculture led to
Africans. For example, many people the exploitation of African peasants by
in Europe lost their means of survival buying their crops at low prices.
when machines took their place after
the Industrial Revolution. The surplus Generally, the development of colonial
population came to do farming activities agriculture in Africa was not intended
in Africa, for example in Southern to benefit Africans. Thus, colonial

agriculture had a very minimal positive impact on Africans. Therefore, one can
argue that colonial agriculture contributed to the underdevelopment of Africa.
It destabilised the African self-sufficient economy. Since then Africa has forced
famine and starvation because of food shortages.
Activity 4.3
In pairs, assess the legacy of colonial agriculture in modern African
counties?
Share your findings with your fellow students in class.
Revision exercise 4
1. Explain six objectives and six characteristics of the colonial state.
2. Show how the colonial state consolidated colonialism in Africa.
3. To what extent was peasant agriculture an African affair in colonial

Africa?
4. How did the colonial state support settler agriculture? Use either Kenya
or Southern Rhodesia as a case study.
5. Compare and contrast settler and plantation agriculture in colonial

Africa.
6. Discuss six factors that determined the variation of agricultural systems

in the colonies.
7. Give five points to show the role of agriculture in promoting the colonial
economy.
8. Examine six characteristic features of plantation agriculture.
9. Why was the colonial state reluctant to support settler or plantation

agriculture in some colonies?

10. Using concrete examples from Africa, explain the mechanisms that
the colonialists used to transform indigenous African economies into
capitalist economies.
11. With respect to the measures taken by the colonial state to consolidate the
agricultural sector, what is your opinion about agricultural development
in Africa?
12. Why did the British establish settler agriculture in Kenya?
13. To what extent was the colonial state violent?
14. How were African societies affected by the establishment of various

colonial agricultural systems?

Chapter Changes in the colonial economy and social
Five services after the Second World War
Introduction
After the Second World War, such European colonial powers as Britain, France,
and Italy experienced an economic crisis as a result of the war. The crisis forced
the European powers to formulate policies that would assist them in recovering
from the economic woes. In this chapter, you will learn about the changes in
colonial agriculture, industrial policies and trade, as well as labour policies in
colonial Africa made after the Second World War. You will also learn about the
changes in colonial transport and communication infrastructure, as well as the
changes in social service policies. The competencies developed will enable you
to participate in the process of bring about socio-economic changes at family,
societal and national levels.
How exploitative were the colonial agricultural projects established after

the Second World War?
The concept of colonial economy goods. European colonial governments

The concept of colonial economy also imposed colonial economies
refers to the systems of production, in Africa. Thus, by the 1900s the
colonial economy had set its foot in
distribution and consumption which
the colonies. Sectors like agriculture,
were introduced into Africa by the
mining, trade, infrastructure and labour
European colonialists to meet the
were in motion. However, the outbreak
industrial needs in the metropole. The of the Second World War caused the
industrial needs stemmed from the collapse of the European economy. For
Industrial Revolution, which took place example, during the war the industrial,
in Western Europe in the 19th century. agricultural and commercial sectors, as
The European industrial economy well as the trade and transport sectors
made Africa a supply of agricultural were severely affected by heavy
raw materials and minerals, as well as bombings and the depletion of the
a market for European manufactured treasure used to finance the war.

Features of the colonial economy used to make them work. The workers
The colonial economy was an extension who did not observe working laws and
of the European capitalist economy in regulations were punished severely by
the colonies. It responded to the needs their masters or supervisors.
of the imperial colonial powers in Moreover, the colonial economy
Western Europe. The major aim of the was export-import oriented. It was
European imperialists was to acquire characterised by the production
raw materials for their industries and of exportable raw materials for
markets for their industrial goods. metropolitan industries while finished
Thus, the colonies were for meeting the manufactured goods were imported into
economic needs of Western European the colonies. Therefore, the colonial
imperialism. economy served the interests of the
In some parts of Africa, the colonial European capitalists. The capitalists
economy was monocultural, in that it acquired raw materials such as cotton,
heavily depended on the production of sisal, animal skins and hides, tobacco
a single cash crop. For example, the and minerals at low prices from the
Gold Coast produced cocoa, Mauritius colonies, while the colonies bought
produced sugarcane and Liberia industrially manufactured goods such
specialised in rubber production. as clothes, mirrors, drinks and shoes at
Similarly, Zanzibar produced cloves, high prices. This was a type of economy
Northern Rhodesia and Belgian- in which Africans consumed what they
Congo produced copper, while Algeria did not produce and produced what
produced grapes and olives. they did not consume.
The colonial economy was based on The colonial economy was also
coercion. Africans were forced to characterised by semi-processing and
produce for export rather than for their import substitution industries. The
consumption. The emphasis placed semi-processing industries found in
on the production of cash crops left Africa after the Second World War
Africans with little time to produce were meant to reduce the bulkiness
sufficient food crops; hence, frequent of raw materials to reduce the cost of
food shortages occurred in the colonies. transporting them to Europe. Import-
Similarly, many Africans were not substitution industries were set up
ready to work on colonial plantations so that they could produce consumer
and farms, and in mines because they goods like cigarettes, beverages,
were paid low wages and worked butter and soap to meet the needs of
for long hours under harsh and poor the colonial officials and commercial
working conditions. Thus, force was elites. Significant development

of the industrial sector, especially Moreover, any transaction between one

the manufacturing industry, was colony and another involved using the
discouraged to make Africa a market currency of the colonising power. For
for European industrial products example, in British East Africa, Kenya,
and a source of raw materials for Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar used
European industries. This created the same currency called the shilling.
economic dependence, in that African In French West Africa, all French
colonies exported raw materials to earn colonies used the French franc in all
foreign exchange that was used to buy commercial and financial transactions.
manufactured goods such as clothes, Furthermore, whatever was earned
machines, automobiles, oil, spare parts in the colony was deposited in the
and medicines from Europe. metropolitan banks, which contributed
The colonial economy was exploitative to the development of the metropolitan
in nature. Africans were exploited economy. For example, during the
in various ways. The hut and poll cocoa boom of the 1950s, African
taxes introduced contributed to the cocoa farmers from the Gold Coast
development of the colonial economy complained that their money had been
by forcing young men to work as deposited in banks in London, instead
migrant labourers to earn money for of being deposited in the banks in Accra.
paying taxes. In Kenya, for example, The major European banks opened
the Nandi were evicted from their branches in the colonies to facilitate
arable land and became landless. trade between the colonies and the
Landless Africans and those who lived metropolitan countries. For example,
as squatters in settler-dominated areas the Barclays Bank Dominion, Colonies
were compelled to provide cheap labour and Overseas Departments (DC)
on colonial farms and plantations, and enabled British traders to buy cocoa,
in mines. For example, the Kikuyu in coffee, tea, sisal, pyrethrum, palm
Kenya were forced to work on settler oil, cotton and minerals from British
farms in the Kenyan Highlands. The Africa. The Paris Bank also provided
Kikuyu, Kamba and Luo also worked as loans to French companies. By 1930,
migrant labourers on sisal and coconut the French Compagnie Française de
plantations in coastal Kenya. Others l’Afrique Occidentale (CFAO) and Soci
sold cash crops and livestock at low ́et ́e Commerciale de l’Ouest Africain,
prices so as to pay taxes. (SCOA) and Compagnie du Sénégal
et de la Côte occidentale d’Afrique
Another feature of the colonial (in English known as Company of
economy was the use of one currency the Senegal and of the West Coast of
in the colonies and the mother country. Africa) were involved in the palm oil

trade and controlled between two- eastern Nigeria to Port Harcourt. In

thirds and three-quarters of trade in Tanganyika, the central railway line
French West Africa. The British United was extended from Tabora to Mwanza
Africa Company (UAC), owned by in 1928, from Manyoni to Kinyangiri
Unilever, controlled trade in the British in Singida in 1932 and from Kaliua to
West African colonies of Nigeria, the Mpanda in 1949. The central railway
Gold Coast, Gambia and Sierra Leone. line was used to transport cotton from
The UAC was the biggest of the three the Lake Zone to the port of Dar es
companies; it controlled about 50 per Salaam before being exported to
cent of trade in the 1930s and was active Britain. In West Africa, the construction
also in East Africa. Smith Mackenzie of railways took place between 1880
was the largest company in colonial and 1914. In 1914, a railway line was
East Africa doing import and export constructed to connect the palm oil
trade. Companies used metropolitan belt of Sierra Leone to the coast. Other
currencies to trade in colonial Africa. railways were built to connect mining
However, the value of the metropolitan centres to the coast, for example the
currency was higher than the value of the 83-km line connecting Marampa and
colonial currency. This led to unequal Pepel in Sierra Leone. Apart from that,
exchange between the colonies and the the colonial transport infrastructure
metropolitan countries. Therefore, the was used to transport manufactured
colonial economy was characterised by goods from the coast to the interior.
a money economy. All the transactions The colonial transport infrastructure
and exchanges involved using money. also facilitated the transpor of labourers
Besides, the colonial economy was from labour reserve areas to production
characterised by the construction of areas.
roads and railways to facilitate colonial Methods used to establish the
exploitation of African resources. They colonial economy in Africa
facilitated the transport of resources The introduction of the colonial
from the interior to the coast for economy in Africa met with resistance
shipment to Europe. It is not surprising from Africans, who were reluctant
that colonial railways and roads ran to conform to the demands and
almost perpendicular to the coast. strategies of colonial production. Since
In Nigeria, the British colonialists the colonies were to produce raw
constructed a port in Lagos from which materials for metropolitan industries,
railway lines radiated to northern the colonial governments employed
Nigeria so as to transport groundnuts various techniques to achieve their
and cotton. The railway line also aims. The colonialists transformed pre-
transported palm oil from central and

colonial African economies through were imposed on Africans and had to

preservation, creation and destruction be paid in cash. There were two main
methods. reasons for introducing taxes. First,
The colonialists preserved traditional taxes enabled the colonies to meet
tools of production like the panga and administration costs. Secondly, taxes
the hand hoe. These tools remained compelled Africans to enter into the
the main instruments of production money economy by producing raw
that Africans used. As the basic unit materials and supplying cheap labour
of production, the family was also to colonial enterprises. Thus, barter
retained. They also preserved peasant trade had declined in many parts of
agriculture as one of the major sources Africa by the 1920s.
of raw materials. Peasant production The European colonialists also used
was preserved in colonies such as the destruction method to destroy
Uganda, Tanganyika and Nigeria. certain elements of pre-colonial
In such areas, production was left economies which contradicted the
in the hands of Africans who were colonial interests. For example, they
supervised by local rulers on behalf discouraged local industries like
of the colonial state. This was done to handicraft industries. For example,
reduce production costs. Furthermore, in Belgian-Congo, the indigenous
in the British colonies, indirect rule Congolese who engaged in handcraft
was used; local rulers and traditional activities had their hands chopped
political institutions retained their off by the Belgians. In addition, local
positions but implemented the trading networks like long distance
colonisers’ instructions. This helped to trade were discouraged so that the
reduce resistance, administration costs money economy could grow. The
and the costs of running the economy. money economy enabled European
The creation method consisted of traders and their companies to do
different mechanisms such as the business without any competition.
introduction of new methods of
running the economy such as the use Exercise 5.1
of money, taxes and the cash crops
needed by European industries. The Why do you think that the
creation method was used to compel agricultural sector was more
Africans to produce for the colonialists. important than the other sectors
The introduction of a money economy of the colonial economy after
forced Africans to work for their the Second World War?
colonial masters. For example, taxes

Colonial economic reforms after the Europeans found that African farming
Second World War methods and skills could not produce
The Second World War ruined the enough cash crops. Thus, there was a
European economy. Europe witnessed need to establish progressive farmers.
heavy destruction in various sectors Such farmers received training from
such as industries, agriculture and colonial agricultural officers in how
transport. The destruction caused the they should use modern farming
decline of the European economy. methods. The colonial agricultural
Likewise, the imperialist powers sunk officers introduced modern farming
much money into the war, which methods to African farmers, hoping that
left them economically exhausted. agricultural production and productivity
Thus, after the Second World War, would increase. The methods included
the colonialists came up with various the use of tractors and fertilizers, the
economic plans and strategies to revive control of soil erosion and the control
their economies. The strategies included of pests that destroyed crops. For
reforming agriculture, industry, labour example, in all British colonies in
policies, transport and communication East and Central Africa, the nurturing
and commerce, as well as adopting of progressive farmers became an
long-term development plans. official policy during the 1940s and
1950s. In Kenya there were the Land
Changes in colonial agriculture Consolidation Programme of 1953 and
Agriculture continued to be the the Swynnerton Plan of 1954. These
backbone of the colonial economy in were intended to develop independent
Africa throughout the colonial period. farmers. In Northern Rhodesia there
This was because colonial agriculture was the African Farming Improvement
was important to the survival of the Scheme, mainly in the southern and
metropolitan industries. Owing to the eastern provinces. There were similar
economic impact of the Second World projects in Uganda and Tanganyika.
War, the colonialists made several The establishment of agricultural
changes in agricultural production to schemes was another strategy aimed at
increase agricultural output for export. deepening the exploitation of Africans.
For example, Britain and France The colonial governments introduced
introduced several policies aimed at agricultural schemes to recover their
improving agricultural productivity. economies, which had been destroyed
One strategy for increasing agricultural by the Second World War. The schemes
production was the establishment of encouraged African farmers to adopt
progressive farmers. After the war, the modern farming techniques to increase

productivity. Agricultural schemes forced to work for six months on the

concentrated on, among other things, Portuguese plantations. In Tanganyika,
crop production, soil conservation and migrant labour was intensified and the
animal husbandry. Sisal Labour Bureau (SILABU) was
Another strategy was the establishment introduced to recruit labourers for sisal
and expansion of marketing boards. plantations. As already pointed out,
The colonialists established marketing migrant labourers came from Kigoma,
boards to control and supervise the Tabora, Singida, Songea and Mbeya.
production and marketing of cash crops Objectives of introducing progressive
in Africa. For example, a cocoa board farmers
was established in the Gold Coast in Many African farmers did not have
1947. The West Africa Produce Control enough capital for buying farming
Board was also established to purchase tools and equipments such as tractors,
cocoa from all West African countries. fertilizers, improved seeds and
In other areas in Africa, the marketing irrigation equipment. These were used
boards and cooperatives established at various stages of farming from soil
in the 1920s and 1930s experienced preparation, ploughing to harvesting.
massive expansion during this time. Consequently, in 1945, the Europeans
Furthermore, the colonialists identified a few places in Africa in
introduced settlement and population which to open demonstration farms
schemes. The schemes were aimed at for progressive farmers. Progressive
getting arable land for agriculture. For farmers, also called master farmers,
instance, after the Second World War, would be taught modern agricultural
in Southern Rhodesia people were practices like the use of pesticides,
moved from densely populated areas to insecticides, fertilizers, extension
less populated areas so that agricultural services and tractors. Moreover, they
activities could be expanded, especially were given technical assistance. Other
maize farming and dairy farming. peasants or farmers were expected to
The colonialists also introduced learn the modern farming practices
changes in labour recruitment to from the progressive farmers.
increase production. The expansion of One of the objectives of promoting
agricultural activities went hand in hand progressive farmers was to control the
with the growing need for labourers, problem of soil erosion in the colonies.
hence the need for a labour-recruitment Soil erosion reduced productivity
system. For example, in 1947 the in many areas in Africa during the
indigenous people aged between 18 expansion of crop production. For
and 55 in the Portuguese colonies were example, peasants expanded the

production of cotton in Geita and Tabora, which specialised in tobacco

Kahama in Sukumaland in Tanganyika research. These colleges produced
in the 1930s and 1940s, which led to hybrid or improved seeds and trained
soil erosion. Overgrazing intensified more agricultural extension officers to
soil erosion in Mbulu, the Lake Zone assist progressive farmers.
and the Central Province in Dodoma
In Tanganyika, progressive farmers
and Singida in Tanganyika. Progressive
were found at Oldeani in Mbulu, where
farmers planted trees and constructed
they cultivated wheat, Rungwe, where
terraces to control soil erosion. Apart
they grew coffee and tea, Isimani, where
from using fertilizers, they used manure
they grew maize, and Sukumaland,
on their farms. Mulching was also used
where they grew cotton. They were also
to keep the soil moist and damp, hence
found in Nachingwea and Kongwa,
improving crop production.
where they grew groundnuts and
Another objective was to train Urambo, where tobacco was produced.
progressive farmers who would The notable agricultural innovation
transmit their modern knowledge during this period was mechanisation,
of agricultural production to other which came with tractors. Agricultural
farmers who, according to the Europe mechanisation increased as the
and were still primitive. The colonial growing number of African progressive
government established agricultural farmers who owned tractors increased.
colleges to train African agricultural In addition, many African peasants
field and extension officers who would engaged in ox-ploughing in the Lake
disseminate the knowledge gained to Province, west Kilimanjaro, the Mount
progressive farmers. The latter were
Meru area and the Southern Province.
expected to transmit the knowledge
gained to their fellow Africans who Despite their achievements such as the
did not have it. The main objective rise in production, mechanisation and
was to improve agricultural production soil conservation, progressive farmers
in the colonies. In Tanganyika, for experienced certain problems. For
example, several agricultural colleges example, African peasants accused
were established for this purpose. They progressive farmers of exploiting them
included Ukiliguru in Mwanza, which as progressive farmers owned large
researched on cotton, Lyamungo in pieces of land and needed to exploit
Moshi, which specialised in coffee labour from poor peasants. This system
research, Ilonga in Kilosa, which also led to the emergence of classes
reseached on cotton research, maize among the peasants. Thus, progressive
and other kinds of grain, and Tumbi in farmers formed a class of rich peasants.

Agricultural schemes should be established in Kongwa

The period after the Second World and Urambo in central Tanzania and
War witnessed an increase in the Nachingwea in southern Tanzania.
colonial government's involvement in Corporations were formed to manage
agriculture. The colonialists introduced the schemes. First came Overseas Food
large-scale agricultural projects in Corporation in 1948 and Tanganyika
their colonies to increase agricultural Agricultural Corporation, which
production. The agricultural replaced the former in the 1950s.
schemes were aimed at increasing Implementation involved land clearing
and controlling the production and using heavy types of machinery such
marketing of cash crops, particularly as bulldozers, graders and planters. Up
cotton and groundnuts. Thousands to the end of the 1950s, the schemes
of acres of land were used to grow had cost £35 million. That amount
cotton in Mwanza and Shinyanga, as exceeded the government expenditure
well as groundnuts in Nachingwea and for 1946 and 1950.
Kongwa. The following were some of Effects of agricultural schemes in
the agricultural schemes introduced in Africa
Tanganyika:
Agricultural schemes increased the
Kongwa, Urambo and Nachingwea demand for forced labour. Africans
agricultural schemes had to spend much time implementing
After the Second World War, there was the projects. The schemes contributed
a severe shortage of edible fats and oil to food shortages as Africans in some
in Britain. Samuel Frank, the Director- places were forced out of their land
General of United Africa Company, to give way for the implementation of
a subsidiary company of Uniliver the projects. Much time was invested
Company which manufactured soap in the production of cash crops at the
and margarine like Blue Band, asked expense of food crops. The schemes
the British Labour Government to left Africans on barren land or made
start groundnut schemes in Kenya, them landless.
the Rhodesias and Tanganyika. The Moreover, the schemes increased the
project was expected to cost around number of migrant labourers. Most
£24 million, which would be provided young men from Nachingwea, Urambo
by the British government in London. and Mpwapwa migrated to the places
In Tanganyika, the John Wakefield where agricultural schemes were
Commission was formed in 1946 to being implemented to search for wage
study the establishment of schemes. It labour. As a result, the labour reserve
was recommended that such schemes areas were deprived of their labour and

the result was that the areas became the construction of infrastructure,
underdeveloped. the building of dams, environmental
The agricultural schemes also led to conservation and improvement of
the occurrence of resistance in areas the quality of health services. The
like Kongwa, Urambo, Usambara and agricultural schemes in Kongwa,
Ukiliguru. In such areas, Africans Urambo and Nachingwea led to the
expressed their discontent through improvement of the railway lines and
boycotts, demonstrations and strikes. roads to facilitate the transport of
They were unwilling to surrender their labourers to the farms and raw materials
land to the Europeans and to be forced to the coast ready for shipment abroad.
to work in the agricultural schemes. The port of Mtwara, for example,
was built to simplify the transport
In general, the agricultural schemes of raw materials to Britain. Health
were expected to boost agricultural facilities were also built by the British
production, thereby increasing raw colonialists after the Second World War
materials for European industries because the colonialists needed healthy
and food production in the colonies. labourers. In the 1950s, the colonial
The modernisation of agricultural government built more hospitals and
production was, therefore, inevitable. dispensaries to maintain the health of
The modernisation process favoured those working in the schemes.
a small class of African peasants
(progressive farmers), but the majority The Europeans introduced
were victims of forced labour, environmental conservation measures
destocking, land appropriation and that involved protecting wildlife and
forced cultivation of cash crops. forests, and controlling soil erosion.
Africans were not only forced to work The conservation efforts were not
in the schemes, but also lost their intended to improve the quality of
fertile land. The majority of peasants in Africans’ lives. Rather, they were
different parts of Tanganyika protested introduced in the interest of the
against the colonial projects, which colonial masters. Reforestation took
meant that the colonial system was place in different parts of Tanganyika,
increasingly becoming weak towards especially in areas that had been
the 1960s. The protests were part of the seriously affected by soil erosion. The
larger nationalist struggles in Africa. areas included Morogoro, where the
Uluguru Soil Conservation Scheme
Impact of the agricultural schemes was introduced. Reafforestation also
The undertaking of the schemes yielded took place in Dodoma. In Sukumaland,
some good results. They included the British introduced the Sukuma
Land Development Plan in 1947. It

dealt with destocking to control soil Uluguru scheme, the Luguru reacted
erosion. by rioting. Similar riots occurred in
Failure of the agricultural schemes the Usambara Highlands in 1957. The
in Africa Sambaa resisted compulsory ridging
and terracing. As a result, the schemes
Despite the achievements discussed were abandoned by the British colonial
above, the implementation of the authority.
agricultural schemes was not an easy
task on the part of the colonial officials. In Sukumaland, the colonial
Hence, by the early 1950s, almost government introduced compulsory
all the schemes had died for several legislation and cattle destocking. The
reasons. government imposed a compulsory
cattle tax, cattle dipping fees and
African peasants generally opposed compulsory cultivation of cotton. The
the schemes. The enforcement of Sukuma refused to comply with any
compulsory agricultural practices and one of these regulations. The colonial
orders caused resistance. The colonial government reacted by arresting some
officers who supervised the schemes peasants. The peasants organised riots
used force and threats during the in 1953 and 1954, which forced the
implementation of the schemes. They colonial government to abandon the
frequently fined and even imprisoned development schemes.
Africans who did not cooperate with
them. Generally, African peasants were Above all, Sukuma peasants regarded
against the schemes. the new agricultural changes as a threat
to their economic security and culture.
For example, the Luguru refused As far as destocking was concerned, for
to support the Uluguru Land Usage example, the Sukuma were required by
Scheme for three reasons. First, the law to slaughter a certain number
they thought that the scheme was of cattle annually to reduce the number
not adding any value to production. of cattle. This law also demanded
For them, rice was doing very well that livestock keepers give hides to
in areas without terraces. Secondly, the local government officers to show
the implementation of the schemes that they had slaughtered the cattle.
was tedious and demanding in terms Destocking was, however, highly
of labour and time. Thirdly, the opposed by the Sukuma as it interfered
traditional chiefs who supervised the with their culture. Economically, a
work oppressed their fellow Africans. person was considered wealthy if he
In 1955, when the British continued owned a large herd of cattle. Socially,
to attempt using forced labour in the the Sukuma had for many years used

cattle as dowry. The introduction The schemes were financially

of the schemes interfered with their expensive and the British government
cultural practices. They interpreted the did not have sufficient funds to finance
changes as attempts by the colonial them. For example, Britain had set
government and the chiefs to rob them aside £24 million for cultivating 60
of their cattle for Tanganyika Packers 000 hectares of land in Kongwa,
Factory in Dar es Salaam. The factory Nachingwea and Urambo. By the end
was established in 1949 to facilitate the of 1949, only 20 000 hectares of land
export of tin-packed meat and to feed had been cultivated and this work
the growing urban population in Dar es had consumed £35,870,000, which
Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza. Like the exceeded the original budget.
Sukuma the peasants in Iringa refused Moreover, poor planning by the
to use cattle dipping services owing to colonial bureaucracy also contributed
the difficulty in taking cattle to the dip to the collapse of the agricultural
centres. The payment of fees to get the schemes. For example, the areas around
service also angered Africans who, as a Korogwe had salty soils, which did not
result, rose against it. support the growing of cotton or rice.
Similarly, the soil of Kongwa was clay,
Finally, African peasants opposed
thus not appropriate for groundnut
land alienation, which went hand in
production.
hand with the implementation of the
schemes. They opposed resettlement Furthermore, there was no
schemes that accompanied the enough research done before the
agricultural projects. A good example implementation of the schemes. The
was the Meru land question which Colonial Agricultural Officers neither
involved evicting about 3000 peasants conducted thorough research on the
from Engare-Nanyuki following the type of soil suitable for the types of
crops they wanted to cultivate nor did
recommendation of the 1947 Wilson
they study the weather of the areas
Report. The Meru were forced out of
where the schemes were introduced.
their land. They strongly resisted this
They also ignored indigenous
and commissioned Japhet Kirilo to
knowledge of crop cultivation. For
go to New York in 1952 to make their
example, soon after the British had
complaints before the United Nations.
finished establishing the Kongwa
The outcome was that UNO sent a
Groundnuts Scheme, they realised that
Special Commission to Tanganyika to
the area received very little rainfall.
hear the case. The Meru won the case
This situation hampered the progress of
and the British colonial government
the schemes. In other places, however,
called off the resettlement project.
the Europeans constructed dams

for irrigation purposes. Dams were In order to facilitate the workings of

constructed in Tanganyika in places cooperative societies in Tanganyika
like Mlalo in Tanga and Unyanyembe for instance, the colonial government
in Tabora. passed the first cooperative law in
1932. After that, many cooperatives
Activity 5.1 were established, especially after the
Second World War. Examples of the
Organise a class discussion on cooperatives and marketing boards
the reasons for the failure of the introduced were the Bukoba Coffee
agricultural schemes established in Control Board under Clemens Kiiza
colonial Tanganyika.
(established in 1941), the Cocoa
Marketing Board established in Ghana
Cooperatives and marketing boards in 1948 and the Coffee Marketing Board
established in Uganda in 1956. Other
The colonial government set up
examples of cooperative unions were
marketing boards to regulate the
the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative
buying and selling of cash crops
Union (KNCU) founded in 1930 by
in the colonies. Likewise, African
Charles Dundas, the British District
peasants formed cooperative societies
Commissioner of Moshi, which was
to encourage cash crop production.
registered in 1933, the Ngoni-Matengo
The colonial governments established
Cooperative registered in 1936 and the
most of the cooperatives and marketing
Lake Province Growers Association,
boards in the 1930s and 1940s to
which later changed its name to the
supervise and regulate crop production
Victoria Federation of Cooperative
and marketing in Africa. The
Unions. It was founded by Paul
institutions were established to solve
Bomani in 1950. These cooperative
two major economic problems which
unions bought coffee and cotton from
were facing African peasants. The
African farmers who were registered
first problem related to the price of the
members and sold both to other traders.
cash crops produced by peasants. The
The main aim of the cooperative was to
second problem related to the question
undermine the position of middlemen
of markets for the crops produced.
like Indians and Arabs, who were
To address the problems, the colonial
paying Africans very little money.
government set up marketing boards
The cooperatives also controlled price
and cooperatives. They, for example,
fluctuation.
fixed and harmonised the prices of
the cash crops produced by African Despite the importance of the marketing
peasants. boards and cooperatives, they were accused

of exploiting peasants. This happened bulkiness of agricultural raw materials

when the boards and cooperatives set before being exported to Europe.
low prices. A good example of this came The industries depended on African
from the Bukoba Coffee Board, which labourers, who were paid low wages,
in 1947 signed a seven-year contract at although they worked for many hours.
£65 a tonne to sell coffee to the British This was done to maximise profits and
Ministry of Food and Supply. The ministry, minimise production costs. A small
in turn, subcontracted the buying of coffee number of Europeans were employed
to private British agencies and in 1950, in industries as administrators and
when the price of coffee rose to £132 a supervisors. During the Second
tonne, African peasants continued to be World War, the European nations
paid £65. The remaining amount was got affected. The war prevented
taken by the agencies rather than the European commercial ships from
peasants. transporting consumer goods such as
soap, cosmetics, sugar, shoes, textiles,
Changes in the colonial industrial
blankets, cheese, butter, margerine,
policies
whisky, wine, cigarettes, tinned meat
The industrial sector was not given and mattresses to the colonies. The
sufficient consideration as other sectors goods were largely consumed by the
such as agriculture. However, some European officials and settlers who
industries were established in colonial lived in the colonies. The scarcity of
Africa. The European colonial state consumer goods forced the colonial
encouraged the establishment of two state to establish import-substitution
types of industries in the colonies. industries (ISIs). The industries
The first form was that of extractive replaced those of Europe which
industries. The industries mainly produced similar consumer goods.
extracted or processed minerals like Another change that happened after
gold, diamond, limestone and caustic the war related to the international
soda. The second form was that of institutions, companies and firms that
agricultural processing factories financed import-substitution industries.
such as sisal decortications, cotton For example, the International Bank
ginneries, coffee hulling machines for Reconstruction and Development
and tobacco curing industries. These (now the World Bank), which was
industries were built to reduce the formed in 1946, began to sponsor major
cost of transporting the products from economic projects in some African
the interior to the ports and then onto colonies with the purpose of expanding
Europe. All agricultural processing industrial production. For example, the
industries were aimed at reducing the bank sponsored the construction of the

Kariba Dam to produce hydroelectric The ISIs dealt mainly with the production
power for many import-substitution of simple consumer goods like juice,
industries in Salisbury (Harare) in biscuits, sweets and cigarettes. There
Southern Rhodesia. It also funded were no textile industries. Manufacturing
copper mining in Northern Rhodesia. industries hardly existed in Africa. Only
In Uganda, in collaboration with the light industries were established. Examples
colonial state, Frobisher’s Company of the light industries established in the
constructed a hydro-electric power 1940s included soap manufacturing
plant at Owen Falls, near Jinja, in 1954. industries in Nigeria, Kenya, Southern
With a steady supply of electricity, Rhodesia, the Gold Coast and Ivory Coast.
a textile factory was established in In the 1950s, brick-making and copper
Jinja. Meanwhile, electricity was smelting industries were established in
also supplied to the copper industries Belgian-Congo and oven-making industries
in Kasese and Kilembe in western in Southern Rhodesia.
Uganda. Surplus electricity was sold
The ISIs depended on African labourers.
to Nairobi, Kenya, where most of the
In Tanganyika, for example, labourers
import-substitution industries had been
were mainly obtained from various labour
opened. However, import-substitution
reserve regions such as Rukwa, Kigoma
industries were unevenly distributed
and Mtwara. In Nigeria and Ivory Coast,
within and between the colonies. In
the migrant labourers working in both
East Africa, most of such industries
processing and extractive industries, as
were established in Kenya. Tanganyika
had very few import-substitution well as on plantations came from the
industries. The few industries built in interior colonies of Niger, Upper Volta
Tanganyika included Tanganyika Meat (Burkina Faso) and French Sudan. African
Packers, Tanganyika Cigarette and labourers did unskilled and semi-skilled
Bata Shoe Factory. Most of these were jobs, while Europeans did skilled jobs
located in Dar es Salaam. like supervision and administration.
Characteristics of import-substitution Moreover, simple technology was

industries used in the industries. For example, a
Many import-substitution industries soap-making industry needed a simple
(ISIs) were located in towns. For machine and raw materials. Similarly,
instance, in Kenya the ISIs were no formal training was given to the
located in Mombasa and Nairobi. In workers so that they could operate
Tanganyika, the ISIs were located in the machines. African workers only
Dar es Salaam. The ISIs were located in received training when they were at the
the towns where many consumers lived. operational centres.

Location of colonial industries Tanganyika industries were located

There were various factors that in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and
influenced the location of the industries Tanga, while in Kenya industries were
established in colonial Africa. The concentrated in Nairobi, Mombasa and
factors are explained in the following Kisumu. In Nigeria, industries were
section. concentrated in Lagos, in the Gold
Coast industries were built in Accra
The choice of the location of industries and in Southern Rhodesia industries
in colonial Africa depended on the
were located in Salisbury.
availability of raw materials. For
example, industries were located Although the colonial state introduced
in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and major changes in the industrial sector,
Tanga in Tanganyika because of the the sector was not treated with the
availability of sisal. Moreover, the same importance as the agricultural
availability of labourers was another and mining sectors. This was done
factor that influenced the location to limit competition with European
of industries. For instance, Kenya industries. Africa had to continue being
had many industries because of its a producer of raw materials and a buyer
good system of recruiting labourers of European manufactured goods.
through the Kipande system. Likewise
in Tanganyika, SILABU ensured a
constant recruitment and supply of Activity 5.2
labourers to the sisal estates. Labourers Prepare the points that you will
were very useful in the running of the use either to support or oppose the
colonial economy, particularly in the proposition that the changes made to
agricultural and industrial sectors. the colonial industrial policy benefited
Furthermore, colonial industries were Africans after the Second World War.
also located in areas which had markets
for European manufactured goods. For Changes in the colonial trade
instance, productive areas like areas
The colonial trade was one of
with mines and plantations acted as
the important economic sectors
markets for European manufactured
which created wealth for European
goods. In such areas the labourers were
imperialists. The imperialists imposed
potential consumers of manufactured
their own system of trade on Africans,
goods.
while at the same time distorting
Furthermore, colonial industries were Africa’s commercial interests. It is
located into areas which had good clear that the pattern of colonial trade
transport systems. For example, in in African colonies was geared towards

the export-import system (EIS) of not be given trade licences. Africans

exchange. The colonies exported raw had to remain suppliers of labour in
materials to Europe, in return for the various colonial economic sectors
European manufactured goods they and producers of raw materials. After
received. 1945, however, the colonial state
The colonial commercial sector introduced some changes into the
was dominated by such European commercial sector. One of the major
companies as Smith Makenzie in changes made was allowing Africans
East Africa, United Africa Company to have access to and to apply for trade
in British West Africa and SCOA licences. However, they lacked capital,
and CFAO in French Africa. These experience and entrepreneurial skills
companies dominated over 60 per for undertaking trade and commerce.
cent of the import-export trade in the As noted earlier, the import-export trade
colonies. In British East Africa and remained under European companies.
British Central Africa, Indians acted as By the 1950s, some African peasants in
middlemen by supplying the European East and West Africa had begun to invest
goods they obtained from European in retail trade using the capital they had
commercial companies to the rural accumulated after selling cash crops.
areas, where Arabs and Africans had Successful African businessmen raised
established retail shops. In British their share of the import-export trade,
West Africa, the Lebanese and Syrian which previously had been dominated
merchants served as middlemen. by European trading companies. For
The colonial state formulated policies example, in Nigeria, the African share
which enabled European merchants to of the export-import trade (EIT) rose
dominate the trade. European merchants from 5 per cent in 1949 to 20 per cent
owned capital and, therefore, they were in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
the main beneficiaries of the exchange The changes made to the colonial trade
system. Apart from European traders, policy were also accompanied by high
Indians, Lebanese and Syrians were rates of exploiting African peasants
given licences to buy cash crops directly by European merchants and Asian
from African peasants and sell them businessmen. The marketing boards
to European commercial companies. became a major tool for exploiting
This situation denied Africans the Africans. The boards set low prices
opportunity to participate either in the for the cash crops produced by African
wholesale or the retail trade. peasants. In colonial Tanganyika,
Before 1945, the colonial trade policy for example, in 1951, Africans who
explicitly stated that Africans should produced cotton were not paid the

same amount as non-African cotton categories. First, labourers moved from

producers. While Africans received 34 one place to another within a given
cents a pound, non-African producers colony. This was referred to as intra-
received 68 cents a pound. In many territorial migrant labour. For example,
colonies, Africans remained poor even labourers moved from Kigoma to
after 1945. This was due to the fact that Morogoro. In the second category,
European commercial companies had labourers moved from one colony to
invested money in their businesses to another. For example, they moved from
maximise profit. Belgian-Congo to Tanganyika or from
Changes in colonial labour policies Niger to Nigeria. This was referred to
as inter-territorial migrant labour.
European economic activities depended
on African labour. Labourers were Migrant labourers were usually paid
needed on plantations, in mines and in very low wages. Most of them were
the construction of roads and railways. either unskilled or semi-skilled.
In essence, the structure of colonial The low wages paid forced them to
labour that had been established before continue working in colonial economic
1945 remained almost the same. This projects for a long time. Besides,
was because the colonialists did not they lived in compounds belonging
change the colonial economic sectors to the companies they were working
after the Second World War. Thus, for. For example, migrant labourers
colonial plantations, farms and mines lived in houses belonging to the sisal
continued to depend on migrant labour. companies in Morogoro, Kilosa and
However, minor changes were made Tanga, and this made them work for a
to the labour policies owing to the long period. Thus, migrant labour was
growing demand for labourers during cheap. Furthermore, migrant labour
and after the Second World War. Hence, was safe. The capitalist preferred using
the colonial governments came up with unskilled migrant labourers because
some new policies to appropriate the they could not demand their rights. So,
changing colonial economic system. they could easily be exploited.
Furthermore, migrant labourers worked
Migrant labour
under very poor conditions, including
As pointed out earlier, migrant labour poor safety facilities or protective gear.
involved people moving from their For example, miners worked without
homes and going to production areas personal protective gear. They suffered
to work in colonial economic projects from whooping cough and tuberculosis
such as mines and plantations. Migrant (TB) because they inhaled large
labourers were divided into two amounts of dust and worked in an

unsafe environment. In addition, they The eviction of Africans from their

lacked basic social welfare. Generally, land and taking them to reserves or
migrant labourers had no right to social barren land was also a mechanism for
services like education. They also obtaining labourers. Africans were
lacked reliable health services. evicted from fertile land and taken
to reserves or overcrowded areas as
Methods used to obtain labourers squatters. The capitalists grabbed fertile
There were a number of methods which land for opening farms and plantations,
the colonialists used to get labourers. as well as mines to extract precious
One such method was recruiting metals like gold, diamond, copper and
labourers from distant places, silver. Africans had no option but to sell
especially from non-productive areas. their labour power to the colonialists
The colonial governments thought that for their survival. By the end of the
by getting labourers from far away it colonial period, for example, the
would be difficult for the labourers to amount of land expropriated in Kenya
escape and return home. Moreover, the was 7.68 million acres of the most
environment and surroundings would fertile land. In Northern Rhodesia,
be too alien for them to organise any about 10.4 million acres of land had
kind of revolt. been expropriated.
Another way of obtaining labourers Another method was establishment of

was the use of force. Forced labour organisations for recruiting labourers.
appeared in different forms. It was not For instance, in Tanganyika, there was
very much different from slave labour. SILABU. SILABU recruited many
In both cases, force was used and a people from various districts for sisal
plantations. Thus, by the 1940s the
labourer was not paid. The difference
Makonde and Yao labourers formed the
was that under forced labour the
backbone of the Tanga sisal industry.
labourer was not owned. In this case, a
There were also many labourers from
number of villages were allocated to a
Rwanda and Burundi on the sisal
settler. Each day, the village headman
plantations located along the coast of
had to provide a specific number of
Tanganyika. In the 1940s and 1950s, the
labourers to the settler. There were
South African Witwatersrand Native
many instances of forced labour in
Labour Agency (WNLA) had branches
Africa. In Belgian-Congo, for example,
in Nyasaland and Tanganyika and
villagers were forced to collect wild
recruited a large number of labourers
rubber. In 1947, the Portuguese forced from Nyasaland and the Southern
adult males aged between 18 and 55 to Highlands of Tanganyika for the gold
work on their plantations. mines in South Africa.

The colonial state also introduced diverse ethnic origins and historical
various taxes which were supposed backgrounds. It was difficult for
to be paid in cash. For example, in them to organise themselves because
Tanganyika there were head and hut they were not familiar to each other.
taxes. Likewise, in Kenya and Uganda Migrant labourers easily accepted the
there were similar taxes. This situation demands of the colonialists because of
forced Africans to work on the colonial their economic and social conditions.
plantations and in the mines to get The colonialists also preferred using
money for paying taxes. migrant labourers because they
The colonialists also created labour were also a market for European
reserve zones. For instance, in manufactured goods. For instance,
Tanganyika labour reserve zones were the South African Boers used migrant
established in areas such as Kigoma, labourers from Southern Rhodesia,
Tabora, Rukwa and Dodoma. These Mozambique and Namibia who were
areas were considered less productive; a source of market for their finished
hence, they had to supply labour to the goods. Generally, migrant labourers
colonial economic activities. served as a lucrative market for
Reasons for using migrant labourers European goods such as clothes, shoes,
drinks and bicycles.
The colonialists preferred using migrant
labourers because migrant labourers Migrant labour was also preferred
could not escape from the production because it was cheap. This is because
centres. This is because they worked in labourers were paid low wages and
a new environment, which was very far sometimes the wages were paid by
from their homes. They were also new installment. In this respect, it was
to the areas. That is why it was very profitable to the employers.
difficult for them to hide or escape.
Migrant labourers were also preferred Exercise 5.2
because they could work for a long
time and were always available. They (a) Why was migrant labour
lived in the camps found near where preferred to other forms of
they worked. labour in colonial Africa?
Migrant labourers were preferred to (b) Does the same prevail in

other labourers because they could not the post-colonial African
resist easily and, therefore, they were economies?
politically safe. Migrant labourers
came from different areas with

Expansion of labour and labour The establishment of agricultural

migration after 1945 schemes led to a high demand for
migrant labourers. In Tanganyika,
After the Second World War, there was a the colonial government established
need to increase the number of migrant many projects, including those of
labourers on the colonial plantations Nachingwea, Kongwa and Uluguru.
and in the mines. Before the Second The agricultural schemes needed
World War, migrant labourers in many labourers. To ensure that there
Tanganyika mainly came from Kigoma was a constant supply of labour, the
and Tabora, but after the Second World colonial government introduced labour
War they came from Rukwa, Ruvuma, contracts that ranged from 6 to 12
Mbeya, Singida and Dodoma. months. In order to reduce expenses,
The post-war period also witnessed the initially, migrant labourers were not
expansion of technical infrastructure, allowed to go to the mines or plantations
including roads and railways that with their wives and children. The
facilitated the transport of migrant colonial employers provided food to
labourers in Africa. In Tanganyika, for all migrant labourers. However, this
example, infrastructure was expanded system changed after1945 because
following the establishment of various it was found to be very expensive.
schemes in Nachingwea, Kongwa and Henceforth, migrant labourers were
Urambo. Thus, massive labour was allowed to go with their families to the
needed in the construction of roads mines and plantations. The colonial
and railways in order to facilitate the authorities also stopped providing food
transport of the crops produced in the to the labourers. The labourers could
schemes. now use their monthly wages to buy
all their families’ needs. They were no
The establishment of agricultural
longer dependent on their employers.
processing and import-substitution
industries needed labour. Examples of Impact of the changes in colonial
processing industries in Tanganyika labour policies
were Tanganyika Packers Limited in The changes made to the colonial
Dar es Salaam and cotton ginneries in labour policies had various kinds of
Shinyanga and Geita. The establishment impact. Some of the impacts are:
of these industries increased the
demand for more labourers, who were The changes in the colonial labour
needed to revamp the economy, which policies in Africa led to the expansion
had been destroyed by the Second and increase of movement of people
World War. from their home areas to other places
in search of jobs. In the case of

Tanganyika, migrant labourers were that Africans suffered. All these led to
mainly taken from Kigoma, Rukwa the rise of working class movements
and Tabora and sent to production areas which fought for workers’ rights. This
like Morogoro, Tanga and Kilimanjaro. marked the beginning of trade unions
such as the Union of Dock Workers in
The changes also increased the number
Tanganyika and the Rhodesia Railway
of educational opportunities. For
Employees’ Association.
example, in the production areas like
Kilimanjaro, schools were built to train Workers’ movements
people in how to use better farming Workers’ movements were
methods to increase productivity. The organisations that Africans formed to
educational centres such as schools fight for their rights. The movements
started to make social and economic were formed from various workers’
differences among Africans. welfare associations and trade unions,
The changes also led to the growth of which represented teachers and
urban centres, which were the result of industrial, dock and railway workers.
the movement of people from rural areas Examples of workers’ welfare
to urban centres. Some people moved associations in Tanganyika were
from rural areas to towns, believing that the Union of the Commercial Road
life was better in the towns. Eventually, Transport Workers, the Union of Dock
they became a source of labour for the Workers and Railways Workers’ Union.
colonial industries and other projects. Apart from these welfare associations,
Towns such as Morogoro and Tanga there was one prominent trade union
called Tanganyika Federation of Labour
grew as a result of the movement of
(TFL), which was under the leadership
people who were seeking employment.
of Rashid Mfaume Kawawa.
Moreover, the changes led to the
The African working-class welfare
expansion of agricultural production.
associations and trade unions, which
The new labour policies made labour
emerged after 1945, had certain
abundant and available. For instance, in
characteristics. Most leaders were
Tanganyika, soon after the colonial labour
responsible for organising the workers
policies changed, new schemes were
over a period of time rather than
initiated such as the groundnut schemes
emerging as spokesmen in particular
because labour was available. The same
protests. Furthermore, the working-
scenario was common in colonial Africa class movements were largely confined
after the Second World War. to urban areas as they were born out of
Eventually, the changes increased the the colonial economy. These solidarity
exploitation, harshness and brutality of the workers in particular enterprises

and industries increased and was to facilitate the exploitation of African

occasionally expressed in permanent resources. Eventually, the improvement
trade unions. Many of the members in infrastructure became advantageous
were unskilled and semi-skilled to Africans because it was easier for
labourers. them to communicate and interact with
each other as they were in the process
The rise and consolidation of
of forming their movements.
workers’ movements after 1945
The presence of diverse industries in
There were a number of reasons for
the colonies also contributed to the
the emergence of workers’ unions after
rise of workers’ movements. After the
the Second World War. One was the
need to protect and safeguard workers’ war, the colonialists opened different
interests and rights. For instance, they types of industries in the colonies
demanded better wages and better such as import-export substitution and
working conditions. Most miners from processing industries for the purpose
different parts, especially those in the of reviving their economies as well as
Gold Coast, worked in bad conditions, the service sector. This increased the
which caused deaths and injuries. number of permanent labourers, who
stayed together for a long time; hence,
The emergence of an elite class was
they mobilised each other to demand
another factor for the rise of workers’
their rights.
movements. This was a group of
educated workers who influenced the Finally, the colonial government's
rise of workers movements because policy of allowing unions and
they had been exposed to various organisations also contributed to the
issues pertaining to the working- development of workers’ movements
class movements. Some had even in Africa. After the Second World War,
read various works on working-class the colonial governments allowed the
movements in Europe. For instance, formation of trade unions and other
Joshua Nkomo of Southern Rhodesia workers’ movements and organisations.
organised a movement called the The formation of various workers’
Rhodesia Railways African Employees’ organisations such as trade unions
Association to demand better welfare was aimed at fighting for workers’
for workers. rights, good wages and good working
Moreover, the expansion of conditions. The importance of workers’
infrastructure was responsible for organisations is that during the struggle
the rise of workers movements. As for independence they allied with
already pointed out, the colonialists political parties in the struggle for
expanded and improved infrastructure independence.

to Kumasi for transporting cocoa. In

Activity 5.3
Central Africa, there was a railway line
Conduct a library research on the for transporting minerals from Southern
colonial labour question and prepare Rhodesia to the port of Beira in
a presentation on the various methods Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique).
that the colonial state used to recruit In the French West African territories,
labourers.
feeder lines brought export goods to
Assess the effect of such methods in the port of Dakar in Senegal and the
colonial Africa. Use the findings to
port of Conakry in Guinea.
prepare notes for revision.
Objectives of the expansion of the
colonial transport systems
Changes in the colonial transport
and communication systems Expansion of the colonial transport
After the Second World War, the systems was to link agricultural areas
colonial state improved transport in the interior to the coast. The colonial
and communication networks in the powers built railways and roads in
colonies. The colonialists constructed, various areas to transport raw materials
improved and expanded railways, from remote areas to the coast.
roads and harbours for transporting Expansion of the transport systems
goods and providing services. To was also aimed at transporting
improve the communication systems, colonial officers within the colonies.
the state established postal services at For instance, the systems were used
the headquarters of each district. In East to transport the administrators who
Africa, the three Governors of Kenya, were supervising various colonial
Tanganyika and Uganda established government tasks and projects,
the East African High Commission plantations, mines and industries.
(EAHC) in 1948 to provide common
The systems were used to transport
services. A telephone service between
migrant labourers from their homes
the colonies and the metropole was
to the production areas. For instance,
also introduced.
in Tanganyika the central railway
Some of the railways which were was extended from Tabora to Mpanda
expanded after the Second World War to transport migrant labourers from
were the railway line from Lagos to Rukwa and the neighbouring regions to
Kano in Nigeria for transporting palm the production areas such as Morogoro
oil and the railway line from Accra and Dar es Salaam.

The systems were also used to Another characteristic of the

transport soldiers to areas where there communication systems in Africa was
was active resistance. The expansion the dominance of vehicles for carrying
of the transport systems facilitated goods over vehicles for carrying
the suppression of Africans who were passengers. The colonialists preferred
resisting colonialism. wagons to passengers’ vehicles because
they wanted to transport raw materials
Characteristics of the colonial
to the coast (ports) for shipment to
transport systems
Europe and to transport manufactured
In colonial Africa roads and railways goods from Europe to the interior
were developed in such a way that they African markets.
ran from the ports to the major mining
During the colonial time, there were
and cash-crop producing areas in the
networks of feeder roads and railways
interior. The roads and railways did
which were connected to the main
not integrate the colonies, but they ran
railways or trunk roads. The feeder
mostly to economic productive areas.
railways and roads carried raw
For example, in the Gold Coast ran
materials to the main railways or
a few miles from the coast railways
trunk roads. One example of a feeder
to the interior in the cocoa producing
railway line in Tanganyika was the
areas in Kumasi.
Kaliua-Mpanda railway. The railway
Railways and roads rarely connected transported labourers from Mpanda to
two territories. Except where two the main railway line, that is, the Dar
territories belonged to one colonial es Salaam-Kigoma railway line.
master, railways and roads had no inter-
Many roads and railways covered a
territorial integration. For example,
short distance. They extended to the
Uganda and Kenya shared the Uganda
areas that produced raw materials.
railway line because they belonged to
For example, in Tanganyika there was
the British colonial master. However,
a short railway line which ran from
there was no connection between
the coast (Mtwara) to the interior
colonies, for example between the Gold
(Nachingwea), which produced
Coast and Nigeria, and Tanganyika,
groundnuts. Figure 5.1 shows the main
Rwanda and Burundi.
railway lines in colonial Tanganyika.

Figure 5.1: Main railway lines and ports in Tanganyika
Impact of the expansion of the colonial to transport manganese ore and timber
transport and communication from the Congo and Gabon forests.
systems after 1945 In Nigeria, the Kano-Apapa railway
line facilitated the transport of cotton,
The construction of the transport cocoa and groundnuts. The Enugu-
networks stimulated cash crop Port Harcourt railway line was built to
production and of natural as well transport palm oil and coal. In Sierra-
as forest resources for export. This Leone, the Marampa-Pepel railway
intensified colonial exploitation of line facilitated the transport of diamond
Africa’s resources. For example, in from the Marampa mine to the port of
Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Ocean Pepel. The Uganda railway facilitated
railway line, which linked Pointe- the transport of cotton, copper, coffee,
Noire and Brazzaville, was constructed tea, pyrethrum and dairy products from

Uganda and the interior of Kenya to defeat the British forces because of the
the port of Mombasa before they were improved railways and roads, which
exported to Europe. facilitated rapid transport of British
The transport system facilitated troops to the areas where people were
the transport of migrant labourers. resisting colonial rule.
The construction of the transport Many towns developed along the
infrastructure was not for opening railway lines in the interior of Africa.
up the colonies to develop of African In Tanganyika, the towns that emerged
societies. Some railway lines were built along the railway lines included
to transport migrant labourers only. Morogoro, Kilosa, Mpwapwa, Itigi,
For example, the central railway line Manyoni, Tabora, Urambo, Mpanda
in Tanganyika that transported migrant and Kigoma. In Kenya, the towns that
labourers from Rukwa, Kigoma and emerged along the lines were Nairobi,
Tabora to coastal plantations was Kisumu, Voi, Naivasha, Nakuru,
mainly built to serve this purpose. Nanyuki and Thika. In Uganda, the
The sector was a source of employment towns that developed as a result of
to a few Africans. Some Africans were the Uganda railway line were Jinja,
employed as railway workers, drivers Kampala, Kasese and Gulu. Thus,
and dock workers. Others maintained railway lines and roads influenced
roads. settlement patterns and towns.
Railways played a major role in further Improvements in the transport systems

opening up the interior of Africa by stimulated internal communication.
incorporating it into the world capitalist During this period, postal services such
economy. This benefited the Europeans as transporting letters and telegraph
in various ways as they were able to put services became so important that
the colonies under full their control. offices were opened in every district.
The transport networks facilitated
The transport system made it easy interaction between people, both within
to transport troops and colonial and outside the colonies. For example,
administrators to the interior. Troops when the British Governors of Kenya,
were dispatched into the interior Tanganyika and Uganda formed the
using railways and roads. Colonial East Africa High Commission in 1948,
information was also transmitted roads and railways facilitated smooth
from the coast to the interior through movement of goods and people within
the same communication networks. East Africa.
Furthermore, during the Maumau war
in Kenya, African soldiers failed to Therefore, the location and general
direction of the railway lines and roads

in the colonies were not for the benefit fisheries and livestock keeping. In
of Africans. They were, instead, meant Tanganyika, for example, the schemes
to serve the needs and interests of which benefited from British funds
European capitalism. were the Uluguru Mountain Land
Usage and Rehabilitation Schemes,
Exercise 5.3 the Sukumaland Livestock and Land
Usage Development Scheme, the
Discuss the legacies of the Nachingwea Groundnuts Scheme and
colonial agricultural schemes the Kongwa Groundnuts Scheme. The
established after the Second schemes were under the supervision
World War in any African of local authorities. It is worth noting
country of your choice. that the plan, among other things, paid
attention to the expansion of social
services.
Introduction of Long-Term
Development Plans Changes in social service policies
After the Second World War, the
The colonial governments initiated long- colonialists made various changes to
term development plans. For example, the provision of social services in the
the British colonial state introduced colonies. The colonial social services
the 1945 Colonial Development and which were expanded included health,
Welfare Act. The law showed Britain’s education, water supply, housing and
commitment to the development of electricity.
the colonies in her own interest. Thus,
Distribution pattern of colonial
after the war, Britain attempted to
social services
expand production through agricultural
stations, extension programmes, The imposition of colonial rule on
the promotion of technology and Africans was done simultaneously
conservations measures. To facilitate with the imposition of the colonial
the implementation of this law, the economy and the establishment of
British colonial state adopted a Ten- social services like education, health,
Year Development Plan (1947-1957). water, housing and electricity. The
The objectives of the plan were to provision of colonial social services
improve upon colonial bureaucracy, in the colonies was determined by the
transport as well as education. Another following factors:
objective of the plan was to make sure The presence of European settlers in
that the colonies were self-sufficient a colony was one of the factors that
financially. The plan was also aimed determined the provision of social
at improving wildlife conservation, services in the colony. Colonies like

South West Africa, Kenya and Southern like education, health, and electricity.
Rhodesia had a large number of Another factor that determined the
Europeans, who were growing export provision of social services was the
crops such as coffee, tea, pyrethrum and presence in a colony of precious
tobacco. Others had invested in dairy minerals like gold, diamond, copper,
farming. The presence of European iron ore, coal, cobalt, manganese,
settlers in such areas forced the colonial uranium tin and bauxite. Examples of
state to develop or establish social the mining centres established in Africa
services. Such areas had an adequate included the copperbelt of Northen
supply of water and adequate provision Rhodesia, the Mwadui diamond mine
of health services and education, and in Tanganyika and the Ashanti gold
they were served by well-built roads. fields in the Gold Coast. These areas
Urbanisation was another factor that enjoyed adequate provision of water,
determined the provision of social health, transport and housing services.
services. With the onset of colonial In some parts of Africa, the colonialists
rule, Africa began to witness the rise encouraged the development of African
and growth of modern towns and cities. peasant agriculture. In East Africa,
Examples of such towns and cities for example, peasant agriculture was
were Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Kampala, established in Buganda, Kilimanjaro
Blantyre, Salisbury and Lusaka. The and Bukoba. The practice of peasant
colonialists built some administrative agriculture in such areas motivated the
centres in the expanding towns to meet colonialists to build roads and railways
the growing need for social services which connected the areas with the
by the then growing urban population. coastal areas where the Europeans had
Towns and cities also functioned as built modern harbours. For example,
hubs of all types of transport services the Uganda railway line, which ran
like railways, harbours, roads and from Mombasa in Kenya to Kampala
airports. in Uganda, was built with British
The presence of European missionaries capital to transport the coffee, tea and
in rural areas in the colonies was cotton produced by the white settlers in
another factor that determined the Kenya and Uganda.
provision of social services. For Finally, the social services and
example, in Tanganyika, missionaries infrastructure were provided in urban
opened mission centres in Mwanza, centres, where the Europeans had
Tabora, Songea, Bukoba, Moshi and established their settlements and
Mbeya. As a result of their activities, import-substitution industries. Such
the areas began to enjoy social services infrastructure was a link between the

metropolitan power and the colonial The colonial government expanded

markets, and between the urban education so as to use it as an ideological
markets and the production areas in tool to make Africans accept colonial
the rural areas. They were not for the rule and European culture. This
benefit of Africans. accelerated the culturalisation process;
Changes in colonial education educated people were seen as people
who had adopted European culture
Colonial education was offered and who despised their own (African)
to African pupils through formal culture.
instruction in the classroom. Teachers
The missionaries converted many
were trained and employed so that they
Africans to Christianity. However, the
could supervise teaching and learning.
evangelisation process faced a number
The media of instruction were mainly
of challenges because the majority of
metropolitan languages, particularly
Africans did not know how to read and
English, French and Portuguese.
interpret the Bible. The missionaries
Native languages were only tolerated
pressurised the colonial government to
among beginners. Missionaries and
provide education to as many Africans
the colonial government established
as possible so that they could understand
and ran many schools. Each agency
the Bible. The converts were prepared
ran various types of schools. For
to be local religious leaders such as
example, the missionaries ran bush
catechists or evangelists.
schools, primary (lower and upper)
schools, vocational training centres and The expansion of colonial education,
seminaries. The colonial government especially after the Second World War,
ran central government schools as well was aimed at preparing Africans to be
as native authority schools. puppet leaders and to pave the way for
neo-colonialism to start. The colonial
Objectives of expanding colonial
government found that the situation
education at different levels
after the Second World War in Africa
Colonial education was aimed at was difficult owing to the rise of political
creating a class of literate Africans awareness and the determination to
who could be employed as soldiers, struggle for independence. Therefore,
warrant chiefs, teachers, clerks, book the colonial government expanded
keepers, store keepers, farmers, animal colonial education to prepare a class
husbandry experts, catechists and of petty bourgeoisie who could serve
carpenters. All these were expected to their interests and act as collaborators
be subordinates of European officials or sub-imperialists.
in different sectors and were usually
After the Second World War, colonial
paid low wages.

education was used to justify racism Tanganyika in 1956 clearly reveal

and racial segregation in the provision the extent of this bias. In the case of
of education itself and health services, primary schools (Standards I-IV), the
and in residential areas. Education was total number of pupils was 336 000, of
also used to make the African child whom 105 000 were Standards V-VIII
develop a liking for order, cleanliness, girls. The total number of pupils was
diligence and dutifulness, including 28 000; out of these, girls were 4900.
the virtues of obedience and fear In the case of secondary schools, the
of colonial laws and orders. Thus, total number was 4409, out of which
colonial education was to expose only 204 were girls. Thus, the number
Africans to Western culture. It also of girls or female students decreased
helped to reduce illiteracy and give with the rising level of education.
skills to Africans who later on carried The content of the education provided
out activities. to Africans also reflected the needs
Characteristics of colonial education of capitalism. Those who received
after the Second World War it would go back to the village and
The characteristics of colonial increase agricultural production. The
education after the Second World central government schools were
War may be analysed using British geared towards realising the provision
colonies as an example. One of the of other social services and the running
characteristics of colonial education of the few industries that existed in the
was regional imbalances. After colonies. Thus, they taught arithmetic,
the Second World War, the native literacy, masonry, carpentry and
authorities were required to provide printing. Emphasis was put on white
funds for running primary schools. collar jobs, which discouraged manual
This favoured the cash-crop producing labour. White collar jobs implied one
areas because their native authorities had higher education and was civilised,
had much money. The residents of such while manual labour implied that one
areas could also pay school fees. was illiterate.
Colonial education was basically Moreover, the content of colonial

gender biased. The bias stemmed education was mainly Western
from the colonialists’ assumption oriented and, therefore, irrelevant to
that African women were responsible the African situation. One would, for
for taking care of the family. Thus, example, study about mountains in
they were to be given an education Europe without ever studying about
that would enable them to know how the mountains found on the African
to read and write. The figures for continent.

The education provided was theoretical. and fund schools all over the colony.
Likewise, colonial education Therefore, the colonial government
emphasised rote-learning. Pupils were asked missionaries to open more schools
encouraged to memorise new items as so as to accommodate the large number
they were taught even if the knowledge of African children. In Tanganyika, for
obtained was irrelevant to their lives. example, missionaries opened schools
At all levels, discipline and respect for like Tabora Central School and Old
authority were emphasised. Those who Moshi School. The Mary Knoll Fathers
were educated were supposed to obey built St. Marian School in Morogoro
colonial order without questioning the (now Kilakala Girls’ Secondary
legitimacy of colonialism. School). The Franciscan Missionaries
built St. Francis College (present-day
Therefore, colonial education was Pugu High School) at Pugu, in Dar es
provided to underdevelop Africans. Salaam, just to mention a few.
It was not meant to cultivate self-
respect and confidence on the part of The colonial government increased the
Africans, but rather to produce people number of schools and colleges within
who were loyal and submissive to the the colonies. They included Fourah-
colonisers. Only minimum skills were Bay School and Bo-School (Sierra-
provided because colonial education Leone), Achimota College (Ghana),
was not intended to develop Africans Kaduna College and King’s College
in terms of science and technology. (Nigeria), Alliance High School
Africans were supposed to produce (Kenya), Kisantu School (Belgian-
raw materials for export and to buy Congo), Ecole Normal William Ponty
European manufactured goods. (Senegal), King’s College (Uganda),
Gordon Memorial College (Sudan),
Major changes made to colonial Sadiki Academic School (Tunisia)
education after the Second World and Overturn Institute in Northern
War Rhodesia. The majority of these schools
The major changes made to colonial were elevated to secondary schools and
education after the Second World War colleges between 1945 and the 1950s.
related to the colonial government The schools of native authorities were
encouraging missionaries to open more administered by the local government
schools. Missionaries were provided and most of them were built in the rural
with state grants for that purpose. The areas to educate rural children. Subjects
situation after 1945 made it clear that which were taught in such schools
it was burdensome and very expensive were related to the needs of European
for the colonial government to establish capitalism. They were reading,

arithmetic, writing, civics, agriculture During this period, the syllabus

and crafts. Most of them took Standard emphasised agriculture, vocational
I-IV pupils. After completing Standard training and medicine. The
IV, most of the pupils returned to the establishment of vocational schools
villages, where they participated in cash was to enable African pupils to acquire
crop production. The few pupils who vocational skills at an early age so that
passed the Standard IV examinations they could increase production. Some
were promoted to Standard V. Equally schools of medicine were also built
significant, secondary education was in the colonies to train medical staff
introduced into many colonies after among Africans. More middle schools
1945 when the colonialists aimed to were built to feed the few secondary
produce literate personnel to help them schools which had been established.
in administering and exploiting African By 1950, the enrolment of African
wealth. children on secondary schools was
Some colleges were elevated to between one per cent and two per
universities after 1945. The colleges cent in many colonies. In Egypt, pupil
were Gordon Memorial College, enrolment stood at seven per cent. By
which merged with Kitchener School 1950, primary school enrolment in
of Medicine and became University the French West African colonies was
College of Khartoum in 1951, with the six per cent, in Kenya 26 per cent and
University College of London setting Nigeria 16 per cent.
examinations and awarding degrees. The impact of colonial education on
In East Africa, the British colonial state African societies
elevated Uganda Technical College Colonial education had the following
to Makerere University College in impact on Africa:
Uganda. Makerere was affiliated to
the University College of London in Colonial education created two classes
1949. The colonial government also in African societies, namely the
established new universities. educated and the non-educated. These
two classes caused misunderstandings
For example, in the 1950s, the British in society because the educated
government established the University regarded themselves as superior and
College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the non-educated as inferior. The
Southern Rhodesia. The college served colonialists did this to divide Africans
three countries, namely Southern so as to rule them more easily. For
Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and example, in Tanganyika, only a few
Nyasaland, and was affiliated to the people, especially the sons of chiefs,
University College of London. received colonial education.

Colonial education encouraged and Kenya and many other British colonies,
maintained racism in Africa. For Africans learnt English, while in the
instance, whites got the best education, French colonies they learnt French.
Asians received better education and The Western culture that Africans
Africans received poor education. This acquired resulted divided them into
was done to create a class of rulers superior and inferior Africans. Those
and that of the ruled. African pupils who were westernised were considered
were given knowledge pertaining to be civilised and the non-westernised
to agricultural activities, while the were considered to be uncivilised.
education given to Asian pupils related
to business. The education given to Colonial health services after 1945
white pupils was intended to prepare As a result of the Second World War,
them to be administrators in the the colonial masters changed and
colonial offices and to supervise work expanded health services in Africa. This
in colonial projects or undertakings. was done to increase productivity on
The disparity in the provision of plantations, in mines and in industries.
colonial education propagated racism. The characteristics of colonial health
Colonial education produced African services are presented below.
intellectuals who could question and The services were unevenly distributed,
analyse various issues, especially in that a large number of hospitals
political issues. These were people and dispensaries were built in urban,
like Milton Obote (Uganda), Kwame plantation and mining centres, where
Nkrumah (Gold Coast), Nnamdi there were many workers or settlers
Azikiwe (Nigeria) and Julius who were producing cash crops.
Kambarage Nyerere (Tanganyika). The Areas that did not have any economic
Africans who got colonial education potential were marginalised.
knew how they had been exploited
Health services were more curative
by their colonial masters. They saw
than preventive. The colonial health
the importance to regaining their lost
services were not aimed at preventing
freedom; hence, they spearheaded
diseases. The services were provided
African nationalism.
to treat Africans so that they could
Furthermore, colonial education provide cheap labour to the whites.
promoted Western culture in Africa, Besides, Africans were a market for
which made Africans abandon their European medicines.
ways of life and instead adopt new
The services were provided on a racial
lifestyles, including acquiring Western
basis. The health services given to
names and languages. For instance, in
Africans were not of the same quality

as those provided to Europeans. All this reminds us that the minimum

Europeans received better services maintenance of workers’ health by
and Africans received poor services. the colonialists was an economic
For example, in Dar es Salaam, Ocean investment for them. That is why the
Road Hospital offered medical services Africans living outside the web of the
to whites, while Sewa Haji Hospital colonial economic sites were ignored
was for Africans and other non-whites. altogether.
Moreover, most of the doctors were
The reasons for expanding colonial
Europeans. This could be explained
health services after 1945 are, therefore,
by the fact that they were the ones
identified. To modernise social services,
who received appropriate education.
the colonial government expanded the
Africans were prepared to serve as
African health sector. The increase in
nurses, wound dressers and ward
population and the resultant expansion
attendants. Later on, especially during
of towns after the war resulted in an
the post-colonial period, this caused
increase in diseases. Colonial hospitals
problems in most African health
were established and dealt with such
centres as they had an acute shortage
diseases as malaria, tuberculosis (TB),
of medical health personnel.
typhoid and smallpox. Others were
African traditional medicine was hookworms and sexually transmitted
despised, but for a reason. Allowing diseases (STDs) such as gonorrhoea
African local medicine to enter the and syphilis. Health research centres
market would cause competition with were established so that they could
foreign medicine. The missionaries carry out research on tropical diseases.
who owned many health institutions The fact that tropical diseases were
argued that African medical practices posing a serious threat to the European
were incompatible with Christian community in Africa meant that
teachings. Since the time of penetrating measures had to be taken to improve
and establishing colonialism in Africa, the quality of health services for
most Africans had been depending on Africans and Europeans alike. It must
Western medicine. be emphasised, however, that Africans’
In Tanganyika, most of the colonial health services were relatively poor.
health facilities for African labourers The health centres for Europeans were
were located in Tanga and Morogoro, built in most of the settler colonies
where there were sisal plantations. such as Kenya and Southern Rhodesia.
Similarly, Kenyan Highlands in Kenya Hospitals for Africans and Europeans
were provided with health services as were established in Tanganyika as well.
they had camps for migrant labourers.

Exercise 5.4 plantations in Tanga and Kilimanjaro;

the houses were supplied with water.
Is there any consideration in the The house supervisors and factory
provision of social services in workers were built near the areas in
modern Africa? Explain. which they worked. Europeans put
well-drilled water wells around the
Changes in housing and water supply camps for their workers. Such services
were important to the settlers who
The British government planned to supervised the agricultural projects.
allocate more funds to improve the
quality of social services with a view The British colonial government was
to increasing production so as to also determined to provide funds for
rehabilitate the war-torn economies. constructing water and sanitation
It was after 1945 that the colonial infrastructure with a view to increasing
regime planned to spend money on production. For example, the 1948
the provision of housing and water Memorandum of African Housing
services to employees. However, the contained detailed information on
British provided relatively little money the indigenous population and the
for African housing as compared to housing stock, including squatters’
other services or projects such as house, housing needs and proposed
road construction. This was done to housing development projects. The
maximise profit. Following the 1940 schemes launched under CDW resulted
British Act of Colonial Development in increased construction of houses,
and Welfare (CDW), the colonial regime although housing shortages in urban
was determined to increase funding for centres like Dar es Salaam were not
projects such as housing in its colonies adequately addressed. It was estimated
so as to increase production. The 1945 that over two-thirds of the city’s houses
Colonial Development and Welfare were overcrowded and that 3000
was a significant extension of the 1940 houses were required to alleviate the
Act. The law increased the amount of shortage, but the colonial government
money that could be spent between planned to construct 250 houses in
1946 and 1956 on development projects five years. The houses available to the
in the British colonies. African population in urban areas were
significantly few. Thus, most Africans
The early housing and water services in urban centres lived in congested
were for meeting the needs of the slums, which resulted in the spread
labourers on plantations and settler of infectious diseases like pneumonia,
farms. There were houses on the sisal typhoid and diarrhoea. In the slums,

there was a high rate of under nutrition centres. Apart from the sisal cutters,
among children because they ate poor a few Africans such as clerks, wound
and unbalanced diets. dressers, school teachers, store keepers
The few houses constructed in the and messengers were also employed.
African-dominated areas lacked the The most privileged manual workers
necessary amenities like running were the headmen, overseers and
water. Various letters and notes written factory workers. These lived in camps,
between 1949 and 1954 showed the since they were required to be at work
need for public water points. In 1953, all the time. That is why the colonial
hundreds of homes shared a single government built houses for such
public water point. Colonial documents workers. They also dug wells from
reveal shortcomings in the provision in which the workers could draw water.
drainage, sewerage and water services. Moreover, the colonial housing and
The services were also provided on a water services were provided in order
racial basis. For example, in Dar es to minimise workers’ resistance. The
Salaam, pit latrines were designated fear of resistance forced the capitalists
for Africans, while flush toilets were to provide water and housing services
designated for Europeans. in economically important places
like plantation areas, urban centres,
Reasons for expanding water and
industrial areas and missionary centres.
housing services after 1945
However, it has to be noted that the
In the early years of colonial rule, there colonialists did not provide such
were no housing or water services for services for the benefit of Africans.
African and Asian employees. It was
only after 1945 that the colonial state
increased budgets for providing social
Activity 5.4
services like housing and water to
African employees. Housing and water Draw the map of Africa to show the
services were offered to Africans in the pattern of the distribution of colonial
plantation and settler economies. For social services after the Second
example, the Amboni sisal plantation World War. What do you think were
in Tanga had its own schools, mosques, the factors for that pattern?
churches, hospitals and welfare

Revision exercise 5
1. Explain the rationale for making major reforms in the colonial education
sector in Africa after 1945.
2. Account for the expansion of colonial education in Africa after the

Second World War.
3. Give five reasons why the colonial economy had the characteristics it had.
4. Why did the provision of health, housing and water services thrive after
the Second World War?
5. Describe three characteristic features of the colonial industrial sector

of the post-World War Two period. Explain why it had the features you
have described.
6. Describe five strategies that the Europeans adopted to modernise

agriculture after the Second World War and say why they were significant.
7. Do you think the low industrial production in most African countries

today has anything to do with the legacies of the colonial economy? If
so, what should be done to address the problem?
8. Why did most of the agricultural development schemes in Tanganyika

fail? If the schemes were started today, would they thrive?
9. Examine the long-term effects of colonial migrant labour in any African

country of your choice.
10. Assess three weaknesses of the agricultural reforms made after the
Second World War in Tanzania.
11. Why was the distribution of social services uneven? What difference
could evening out the distribution of such services make?
12. Show how the workers’ unions and welfare associations fought for the
interests of the African working class after the Second World War.
13. “Housing became a chronic problem in urban centres after the Second

World War.” Discuss the origin of this problem and how the colonial
policies tried to address it.
14. Explain the motives of the colonial cooperative unions and the marketing
boards of the period after 1945. What do you think were their major
weaknesses?
15. Why did Africans protest against the agricultural modernisation projects
of the Second World War Two period? Mention the forms of protests
that Africans adopted.

Chapter
Nationalism and decolonisation in Africa
Six
Introduction
During the nationalist struggle in Africa, there were events that happened
outside Africa which supported the struggle. The events were referred to as
external influences on the rise of nationalism in Africa. In this chapter, you will
learn about the impact of the peace settlement after the First World War and
the Pan-African Movement. You will also learn about the impact of the Second
World War and the subsequent changes it brought about, the influence of the
Bandung Conference as well as the independence of India and Burma on the
struggle for independence in Africa. The competencies developed will enable
you to appreciate the efforts that African leaders made towards independence
and, therefore, develop a sense of pride in national security and development.
What happens when people have no peace, freedom and dignity in their
society?
Background to nationalism colonial economies into the colonies,

Africans were exploited, humiliated
Pre-colonial Africa had different social and oppressed. Colonial exploitation,
and political organisations, which humiliation and oppression forced
ranged from kinship to centralised state African people to come together to
organisations in the form of kingdoms fight against colonial rule. This sense of
and empires. With the advent of togetherness against colonial injustices
colonialism, different ethnic groups and the desire to get rid of colonialism
with different historical backgrounds came to be known as nationalism. In
were forcefully united to form colonial Africa and Asia nationalist movements
territories. With the introduction of started in the 20th century.

Nationalism was Africans’ desire to their lost freedom. Nationalism was

liberate themselves from colonial generally Africans’ desire to come
domination. African nationalism gained together in order to end foreign rule so
momentum after the Second World War that they could rule themselves.
because at the time political awareness Internal forces for the rise of African
increased and, for most Africans, the war nationalism
had given them the reason to campaign
for self-determination. African scholars Most of the forces that contributed to
like Adu Boahen, Ali Mazrui, Mahamood the rise of nationalism emanated from
Mamdani and Kwame Nkurumah have the colonial system itself. The colonial
given various definitions of nationalism, subjects resisted economic exploitation.
as shown below: For example, peasants complained
about low prices of their produce. They
(a) Nationalism is the desire for were seriously affected during the Great
self-determination, the desire for Economic Depression when the prices
political, economic and cultural of crops such as cotton, coffee and tea
independence by Africans within fell drastically. Therefore, they formed
Africa and in the diaspora; cooperative unions to promote their
(b) Nationalism is a strong sentiment demands, mainly better prices for their
against foreign domination and the produce. In Tanganyika, for example,
belief that European colonialism there were the Bukoba-Bahaya Union
in Africa was a great hindrance to (1924), the Kilimanjaro Native
Africans’ economic growth and Planters’ Association (1925) as well
development; as the Ngoni-Matengo Cooperative
(c) Nationalism is the natural love Union which was registered in 1936.
and pride which Africans have for Examples from Nigeria included the
their countries and continent; and Cocoa Producers’ Co-operative of
Agage Planters’ Union and the Egba
(d) Nationalism is the ideological Farmers’ Union registered in 1926
channel of the anti-colonial as well as the Gbedun Co-operative
struggle that represents the Produce Marketing Society, which
demand for national independence was registered in 1937. The peasant
of the colonised people. cooperatives helped to make Africans
Thus, African nationalism grew out of aware of the evils of the colonialists;
the realisation or consciousness that hence, Africans started to fight for their
the Europeans had deprived Africans rights. In colonial Kenya, the Kikuyu
of their political, economic and cultural wanted to be allowed to grow coffee,
freedom. This made Africans demand which was reserved for white settlers.

They also demanded ownership of land; Africans also sought to eliminate

land was in the hands of the settlers. segregation in the provision of social
Likewise, in Southern Rhodesia, services. For example, there were
Africans wanted their land back. schools for European, Indian, Arab
Furthermore, workers had many and African pupils. The schools for
discontents, which culminated in their European pupils were better equipped
forming workers’ welfare associations. and had their own curriculum. The
For example, in 1922 workers in curriculum for African pupils focused
Tanganyika formed the Tanganyika on agriculture and some rudimentary
Territory Civil Servant Association technical skills. Similarly, health
under Martin Kayamba which laid services were provided along racial
the foundation for mass nationalism lines. There were hospitals for
after the Second World War. Likewise, Europeans, Asians and Africans.
workers in Nigeria established the Poor health services were provided
Nigeria Civil Service Union in 1912. to Africans. For example, those who
These associations protested against worked in the hospitals in which
low wages and long working hours. Africans were treated as wound
The working class was composed of dressers, nurses and clinical officers
civil servants such as teachers, clerks, received basic and rudimentary
nurses and drivers. They struggled to training. There were no medical
eliminate economic injustices through specialists in most of such hospitals.
demonstrations, strikes, petitions In Tanganyika, for instance, a special
and boycotts. For example, the dock hospital, namely Ocean Road Hospital,
workers in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa was for the Europeans who were living
organised strikes in 1947, demanding in Tanganyika during German colonial
better salaries. In West Africa, youth rule. Africans were not treated in that
clubs organised similar strikes during hospital. Similarly, in Nigeria the British
the 1920s and 1930s. Similarly, African colonial government constructed the
trade unions like those of railway hospitals in Lagos and Calabar in the
workers in Sierra Leone organised 1970s. Initially, the hospitals served
workers’ strikes during the 1930s and only Europeans. Later on, the services
1940s. Generally, the African working were extended to the Africans who had
class complained about low wages, been employed by Europeans.
poor working conditions and racism Moreover, Africans complained about
at the workplace and in the provision political exclusion and marginalisation
of poor social services like health and in the colonial administration,
housing. especially in decision-making. There

were no Africans serving as ministers protested against colonial exploitation

or heads of department. In Kenya, for and oppression.
example, Africans were represented in
the Legislative Council (LEGCO) by an Activity 6.1
appointed missionary. Between 1930
Imagine you were invited to
and 1940, European settlers in Kenya
participate in a debate with the
were represented by 11 members and
motion “Internal factors were
the Asian community were represented
the only factors that influenced
by three members in the Legislative
nationalistic activities in Africa.”
Council. After the Second World
What points would you use to
War, the colonial powers reformed
support or refute the motion?
political administration following the
growing pressure for constitutional
changes. It was not until 1945 that two External factors for the rise of
Africans, namely Kidaha Makwaia nationalism
and Abdiel Shangali, were nominated The colonial contradictions within
as members of the Legislative Council African colonies and the protests
in Tanganyika. Similarly, in British which took place in different parts of
West Africa, the Governor nominated the world contributed to the rise of
Kwame Nkrumah as member of the African nationalism. The external and
Legislative Council. Africans were internal forces led to the growing of
also allowed to form political parties the wish to struggle for independence
to express their political interests. in Africa. Whereas the internal
The political parties formed included factors for nationalism related to
Tanganyika African National Union Africans’ protests against colonial
(TANU) in Tanganyika, Malawi exploitation, the external factors were
Congress Party (MCP) in Nyasaland the factors fuelled by the interests of
(now Malawi), Conventional Peoples’ the superpowers, the USA and USSR,
Party (CPP) in the Gold Coast (now which accelerated the whole process of
Ghana) and Uganda People’s Congress nationalism. The following discussion
(UPC) in Uganda. focuses on the external factors for the
It could, therefore, be argued that the rise of nationalism in Africa.
colonial system was exploitative and The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919
oppressive. Hence, it dug its own grave.
Africans could not put up with colonial The Versailles Peace Treaty was signed
exploitation indefinitely. Workers and in Paris, France, in June 1919, that
peasants organised themselves and is, after the First World War. It was

aimed at settling conflicts between 2. Germany had to surrender

the victorious powers known as Triple her colonies in Africa to the
Entente, which consisted of Britain, victorious nations. The colonies
France and Russia, and the defeated were entrusted to the League of
group called Triple Alliance. This Nations and then administered
alliance consisted of Germany, the as mandate territories by the
Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. victorious powers, namely
Furthermore, it proposed preventive Britain, France and Belgium;
measures to prevent another war. 3. Germany had to give up numerous
Those who signed the treaty met at eastern territories so that a new
Versailles in Paris to discuss how to Polish nation could be created.
promote world peace. The leading This included a strip of territory
figures were President Woodrow near the Baltic port of Gdansk
Wilson of the United States of America, which gave Poland access to the
Prime Minister David Lloyd George sea but which disconnected the
of Britain, Prime Minister Georges German territory of East Prussia
Clémenceau of France and Prime from the rest of the country;
Minister Vittorio Orlando of Italy.
Others were the German representative, 4. Germany had to allow the French
Hermann Müller, who was the Minister to occupy several parts of its
for Foreign Affairs, and Johannes Bell, western territories, including
who was a Jurist Doctor and Minister the Saar industrial region, for 15
for Colonial Affairs. Apart from the years. The allies were permitted
countries from which these figures to export iron and coal from the
came the allies of the Triple Entente region;
were represented at the meeting. The 5. The German army was prevented
forms of Versailles were signed on 28th from recruiting more than 100,000
June 1919. soldiers;
Terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty 6. The German navy was limited
The treaty blamed Germany for starting to six battle ships. None of these
the war. It, therefore, proposed that could be bigger than a light cruiser
Germany be punished for causing the (10,000 tons);
war. The following resolutions were 7. Germany had to give up all its
passed: submarines, tanks and military
1. Germany had to return Alsace aircraft;
and Lorraine to France; 8. Germany had to surrender most
of its merchant ships and one-

fourth of its fishing ships; and allowed to develop their

9. Germany had to pay war own national authority and
reparations to the allies. The autonomy;
armistice agreement said that (g) That Belgium should
Germany had to pay for the regain her independence;
damage caused by the war, which (h) France should be liberated
also meant that it had to pay the from any kind of occupation
Triple Entente powers and their and should have Alsace-
allies. Lorraine returned;
The Versailles Peace Treaty also (i) That the frontiers or
adopted the Fourteen Points borders of Italy should be
proposed by US President readjusted based on the
Woodrow Wilson. They were distribution of Russian
actually the guidelines which he nationals in Europe;
had mentioned in his speech to
Congress which he delivered on (j) That the sovereignty of
8th January 1919: Austria-Hungary should be
granted;
(a) That there should be no
secret agreements between (k) That the Balkan States
nations; should be freed;
(b) That there should be (l) That the Turkish

freedom of navigation on government should govern
the seas; the Turkish people and
non-Turkish people should
(c) That there should be no be left free to govern
economic barriers between themselves;
nations;
(m) That Poland as an
(d) That all nations should independent nation should
reduce arms in the name of be created and should be
public safety; allowed to access the sea;
(e) That there should be fair and
and impartial rulings in (n) A general association of
colonial claims; nations (The League of
(f) That the Russian territories Nations) should be set
should be restored from up in order to mediate
Germany and should be international disputes.

Exercise 6.1 Impact of the Versailles Peace Treaty

of 1919 and the decolonisation of
(a) Discuss the significance of the Africa
Versailles Peace Treaty.
The Versailles Peace Treaty adopted
(b)
To what extent were the
the principle of self-determination at
Fourteen Points of US President the Paris Conference of 1919. The
Woodrow Wilson important members signed the document which
to world peace after the First established the League of Nations in
World War? 1920. They hoped that the League of
Nations would promote collective
The principle of self- determination security in the world. The League of
Nations agreed that all German colonies
Self-determination refers to the state
in Africa should become mandate
of being self-conscious and self-
territories. For example, Article 119
ruled with respect to a certain group
of the Versailles Treaty provided for
of people. Self-determination was
Germany to cede Tanganyika, which
one of Wilson’s fourteen points. The
was part of German East Africa
principle of self-determination was
(Deutsch Ostafrika), to Britain as a
put into practice when the Versailles
mandate territory. Ruanda and Urundi,
Peace Treaty granted independence to
which were also part of German
the nation-states of Estonia, Latvia and
East Africa, were given to Belgium.
Lithuania. The US president said that
Theoretically, it was agreed that the
nations should be freed from foreign
powers should rule the colonies while
rule and should be given democratic
at the same time preparing them for
governments of their own choice.
independence. Thus, Britain, France
Apart from the USA, Britain and
and Belgium governed the mandate
France also adopted the principle of
territories on behalf of the League of
self-determination for their colonies.
Nations.
The United Nations encouraged the
colonial powers to apply the principle The Versailles Peace Treaty gave an
of self-rule in their colonies during the opportunity to African nationalists to
struggle for independence in Africa. use the principle of self-determination
Most African nationalist elites such to demand self-government. As a
as Julius Kambarage Nyerere and result, when they started campaigns for
Kwame Nkrumah used the principle political independence the nationalists
of self-determination to demand self- frequently referred to the principle.
government.

For example, Julius Kambarage committee also suggested to UNO that

Nyerere visited the United Nations the South African Apartheid regime
in 1958, requesting the organisation should grant independence to South
to pressurise the colonial powers West Africa (now Namibia).
to respect the principle of self- The idea encouraged Pan-Africanists to
determination. This was also the case intensify the efforts to demand Africans’
for the nationalist leaders of British liberation from European colonialism.
and French West Africa. For instance, the Accra Conference of
The principle of self-determination 1958 demanded African independence.
increased Africans’ political Moreover, the superpowers, the USA
awareness and desire to struggle and the USSR, used the principle
against colonialism. It encouraged the to pressurise the European colonial
colonised societies to form political powers to grant independence to their
parties for self-determination. For colonies. However, the superpowers
example, in 1949 Kwame Nkrumah had their own motives behind their
founded the Convention People’s Party supporting the decolonisation of
(CPP) for the people of the Gold Coast Africa. They wanted raw materials,
(Ghana) to struggle for independence. markets and investment areas.
The CPP used several slogans like One would hasten to argue, therefore,
“independence now”. On 6th March that the Versailles Peace Treaty
1957, the people of the Gold Coast promoted solidarity and unity among
regained their independence from the colonised peoples. Solidary and
Britain. Kwame Nkrumah became the unite promoted the struggle for the
first resident of the Gold Coast, which colonised peoples’ rights. It actually
was immediately renamed Ghana. influenced Africans to establish anti-
With the principle of self-determination, colonial political organisations. In
even after the Second World War, particular, for example, the National
it was easy for the United Nations Congress of British West Africa
to pressurise the colonial powers to (NCBW) was established in 1919
grant independence to their colonies. because of the influence of the peace
The UN Decolonisation Committee treaty in question. The NCBW
frequently visited the colonies to assess organised conferences in different
the implementation of the principle towns in West Africa during the 1920s,
of self-determination. For example, campaigning for the improvement
the committee visited Tanganyika in of African welfare in the British
1954 and wrote a report to UNO. The colonies. The Peoples Union of Lagos
was established in Lagos in 1908 to

protest against land alienation and Jomo Kenyatta became prime minister
taxation. The union campaigned for the of independent Kenya under Kenya
freedom of the press as well. Thus, the African National Union (KANU).
principle of self-determination was the In 1964, Kenya became a republic
foundation for African nationalism and and Jomo Kenyatta became its first
the nationalist struggle. president.
African nationalists and the principle Moreover, Kamuzu Banda of
of self-determination Nyasaland (now Malawi) used the
As already mentioned, the principle of principle of self-determination to
self-determination gave the nationalist demand independence from Britain.
leaders in Africa the reason to double Banda used the United Nations
their efforts to fight for independence. platform to achieve the objective. As a
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was one result, Nyasaland got her independence
of the advocates of self-determination in 1964. It was soon renamed Malawi.
in Tanganyika. In order to make the Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria applied
struggle effective, he led the formation the principle of self-determination to
of Tanganyika African National Union intensify the effort to liberate Africans.
(TANU) on 7th July 1954. TANU Attending the Accra Conference
emphasised unity as the best strategy to of 1958, Azikiwe encouraged Pan-
eliminate colonialism in Tanganyika. Africanists to assist each other in the
Another nationalist and Pan-Africanist struggle for African independence.
who applied the principle of self- He led Nigeria to independence on
determination was Kwame Nkrumah. 1st October 1960. Figure 6.1 shows a
He encouraged the people of the Gold picture of Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Coast to demand independence from
Britain.
Another nationalist leader who applied
the principle was Jomo Kenyatta
of Kenya. He encouraged Kenyans
to oppose settlers’ domination.
His influence increased political
consciousness among Kenyans, who
rose against colonial domination. As
a result, Kenya got her independence
from Britain on 12th December 1963. Figure 6.1: Nnamdi Azikiwe

The Pan-Africanists held a number of

conferences in various towns such as in
Activity 6.2 London (1900), Paris (1919), Brussels
Read different works on nationalism (1921), Lisbon (1923), New York
and then examine how the principle (1927), Manchester (1945) and Accra
of self-determination influenced (1958). The conferences influenced the
nationalist feelings among Africans. speed of African nationalism and the
Present your work to other members struggle for independence in various
of the class for discussion. ways.
Contribution of the Pan-African
Movement to the struggle for
independence
Pan-Africanism
The Pan-African Movement succeeded
Pan Africanism refers to the political in fostering unity between Africans in
and ideological movement of the people Africa and the people of African origin
of African origin intended to build unity, in the diaspora. The nationalists who
solidarity and dignity. It also refers to attended the Pan-African conferences
a strong attachment which all blacks from Africa included Kwame Nkrumah
have towards the African continent, of Ghana, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya,
African culture, African unity and T. R. Makonnen of Ethiopia, Peter
independence. It is an expression of Abrahams of South Africa, Wallace
Africans’ wish to revive their culture, Johnson of Sierra Leone, Obafemi
thereby regaining their dignity and Awolowo of Nigeria, Hastings Kamuzu
identity. This movement was organised Banda of Nyasaland and Nnamdi
in order to fight against capitalist evils Azikiwe of Nigeria. Dr Peter Milliard,
like racial discrimination, exclusion, George Padmore and William Du Bois
humiliation, oppression, colonialism, were from the diaspora.
slavery and the slave trade. Pan-Africanism accelerated African
The movement was started by blacks consciousness of their rights. This
in North America and the West consciousness helped them to present
Indies, who suffered forced labour, their human rights abuses before UNO.
discrimination and torture. Such black A number of young Pan-Africanists
intellectuals as William Du Bois, such as Nyerere, Nkrumah, Banda
Marcus Aurelius Garvey, William and Kenyatta started educating their
Henry Sylvester and George Padmore fellow Africans about their rights,
were the pioneers of the Pan-African including the right to self-government.
Movement in the early 20th century. The movement condemned racial

segregation in South Africa. It also other things, the decolonisation of

denounced all forms of racism African.
worldwide. The Pan-African campaigns
contributed to the awareness that Exercise 6.2
promoted Africans’ struggle against
injustices and, therefore, the rise of The duty of the leaders who
African nationalism. The Pan-African founded African nations was to
congress held in South Africa widely fight for independence. What
publicised the white man’s cruelty are the duties of the leaders in
against blacks and, subsequently, won independent African states?
international sympathy. This advocated
respect for human rights. Role of the Accra Conference of 1958
Pan-Africanism influenced the
formation of political parties in Africa. After the independence of Ghana
The parties built unity and solidarity in 1957, Kwame Nkrumah invited
necessary for the liberation struggles. independent African countries to
Almost all African nationalist leaders participate in a congress held in
established political parties after the Accra in April 1958. The congress
Second World War. Examples of the was attended by the leaders of all
political parties they established are African countries which had already
the Convention People’s Party (CPP) got independence. The countries were
in the Gold Coast, which was formed Liberia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tunisia,
in 1949 by Kwame Nkrumah, and Morocco, the Sudan, Libya and Egypt.
Tanganyika African National Union The conference was followed by All-
(TANU), which was formed in 1954 in African People’s Congress in December
Tanganyika by Julius K. Nyerere. 1958. This congress was attended by
various African nationalist leaders
The movement mobilised financial such as Julius Kambarage Nyerere of
support for African political leaders Tanganyika, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya,
so that they could attend liberation Kenneth Kaunda of Northern Rhodesia
meetings in various parts of the world and Peter Abrahams of South Africa.
like those of London and Accra. Pan-
Africanism facilitated the formation Impact of the Accra Pan-African
of the Organisation of African Unity Conference of 1958 on the struggle
(OAU) in 1963. The organisation for independence
played major role in the African The Accra conference of 1958 was
liberation struggles in the 1960s and the first Pan-African conference to
1970s. The OAU called for, among be held on the African continent. The

African nationalists had, therefore, colonial masters, started seeing light

obtained a good platform which they through the speeches made during
had been struggling for for many the Accra conference. They came to
years. Accra became the centre from learn that colonialism was an evil.
which revolutionary ideas spread to The French assimilation policy had
the rest of Africa. The conference deceived Africans that colonialism was
under Kwame Nkrumah encouraged a blessing to them. The participants
African leaders to co-operate and also addressed the question of the
visit each other in devising strategies future relationship between Africa and
for the liberation struggle. Those who the rest of the world.
attended the conference demanded an
Moreover, the participants unanimously
immediate end to colonialism all over
agreed to adopt the Non-Aligned policy
the continent. The delegates discussed
in relation to the politics of the Cold
how best to facilitate the decolonisation
War. The idea of non-alignment was
of Africa, especially the Portuguese
discussed and adopted by a number of
colonies of Angola, Mozambique
participants so as to safeguard African
and Guinea Bissau. The conference
interests. The idea was to protect
supported the liberation movements in
Africa from external influences. The
such colonies.
participants feared that the superpowers
During the April 1958 conference, would influence decolonisation in their
the eight independent African states own interest. Thus, the Non-Aligned
also agreed to share and exchange members worked together to ensure
cultural, scientific, technological that there was unity in the struggle
and educational information. For against imperialism, colonialism and
example, they agreed on exchange racism. It also condemned all forms
programmes for professors, teachers of foreign aggression, occupation,
and students so that they could raise domination and interference of the
Africans’ awareness of the struggle great powers and bloc politics. On
for independence. They also agreed to returning to their home territories, the
improve communication lines within participants started to implement the
Africa to simplify the movement of ideas related to Pan-Africanism and the
nationalists and the spread of Pan- Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Africanist ideas.
During the conference, President
The conference awakened nationalistic Kwame Nkrumah made it clear that
feelings throughout West Africa. the independence of Ghana alone was
The French colonies, which had meaningless when the rest of Africa was
been believing in the kindness of the still under colonial rule. He, therefore,

pledged to assist the countries which

were still under colonial rule and called
Exercise 6.3
upon other independent countries to do a) President Kwame
the same. Therefore, the conference Nkrumah once said, “The
paved the way for holding other Pan- independence of Ghana
African conferences in different parts alone was meaningless
of Africa to discuss matters concerning when the rest of Africa was
liberation movements, among other still under colonial rule.”
things. Other Pan-African congresses Relate this assertion with
took place in Algiers, Tunis, Lagos, the rise of the struggle for
Addis Ababa, Casablanca and Dar independence in Africa.
es Salaam. They also condemned the b) Assess Kwame Nkrumah’s
colonial domination of Africa. contribution to the
The conference led to the formation of development of Pan-
several political parties and liberation Africanism in Africa.
movements throughout Africa. For
example, Patrice Lumumba formed
the Mouvement National Congolais Effects of the Second World War
(MNC) in 1958. Nationalists in the
Portuguese colonies also started The Second World War (1939-1945)
liberation movements known as was a worldwide war which involved
Frente de Libertação de Mozambique the Axis Powers, namely Germany,
(FRELIMO) in 1962 and the União Italy and Japan, and the Allied Powers,
Nacional para a Independência Total namely Britain, France, the USA and
de Angola (UNITA) in 1966. the USSR. Its immediate cause was
Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland.
The idea of African unity was given Apart from these Western nations,
serious attention. Africans were urged African colonies also participated
to stop thinking only in terms of their in this war. During the war Africans
individual states and instead start served as soldiers, porters, drivers and
thinking about the entire continent. cooks. Among other effects, the Second
This gave birth to the Organisation World War led to the rise of mass
of African Unity (OAU) on 25th May nationalism in Africa. Before the war,
1963. Therefore, the formation of the Africans fought colonial oppression
OAU was the result of the 1958 Accra and exploitation through co-operatives,
conference. welfare associations and independent

church movements. However, after who criticised the Conservative Party

the Second World War, the struggle for allowing Britain to participate in
took the form of mass political parties. the Second World War, which affected
For example, after the war, welfare the British economy. It also condemned
associations were transformed into British colonialism in Africa and Asia,
vibrant political parties, which hastened saying it was out-dated, oppressive and
the process of decolonisation. exploitative. Thus, on gaining power
During and after the Second World War, in 1945, the Labour Party sped up the
the demand for both food and cash crops process of decolonising Africa.
increased, since the Far East, which The end of the war led to the formation
had acted as the main source of tropical of the United Nations Organisation
raw materials such as groundnuts, had (UNO) as a new body charged with the
been cut off by Japan. Apart from that, task of maintaining world peace and
India, which was the source of cotton order. UNO was established to replace
for British textile industries, attained the League of Nations, which was too
independence and, therefore, ceased weak to maintain peace in the world.
to be a producer of raw materials. From the start, UNO condemned
European industrialists had to turn colonialism and advocated the political
to Africa. As the demand for tropical rights of all the colonised peoples of
raw materials increased, prices rose Africa and Asia. The organisation was
and Africans obtained better returns. very instrumental in raising African
For example, the export of groundnuts nationalistic feelings. It also imposed
from Senegal increased. As the material sanctions on the racist South African
conditions of African peasants slightly regime in the 1960s.
improved, the peasants could support
The Second World War exposed
African political parties and send their
African soldiers to the European
children to school. The return of African
environment and war, and hence
students from abroad contributed to the
they realised the weaknesses of the
mounting of pressure for liberation in
Europeans. The ex-soldiers had been
most African countries.
discriminated against in the army. They
After the Second World War, the Labour were also given unfulfilled promises
Party under Clement Atlee campaigned by the colonial governments. By the
against the Conservative Party under beginning of the Second World War,
Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Africans had believed that Europeans
Labour Party won the 1945 general were a superior race. On the contrary,
elections. Members of the Labour Party during the war, the African Askaris
were liberals and socialist workers, on the battlefields realised the fallacy

of this notion. Having demonstrated World War. Therefore, there is a

marshal skills comparable to those of relationship between the Second World
European soldiers on the battlegrounds, War and the collapse of the European
they believe that they could also wage colonial powers in Africa. The European
wars against the European powers in countries faced an economic crisis.
Africa to liberate themselves. Thus, the Most European countries like France
Second World War had certain positive and Britain had most of their physical
psychological effects on African soldiers. infrastructure destroyed. Houses, roads,
About 176 000 soldiers in British West railways, ports, factories and mines
Africa participated in the war. were damaged. Evidence shows that
Encouragement to Africans also came France lost almost half of her wealth.
from various examples of the wars After the Second World War, European
that European forces had lost. For industries lacked enough raw materials.
example, African nationalism was For instance, the supply of rubber
very much encouraged by the defeat from Malaysia to Britain declined
of the Italian forces in Ethiopia in following the Japanese conquest of
1941. Another example is the defeat Malaysia. The result was that there
of British forces by Japanese forces in was a serious shortage of rubber in
Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Britain, something that retarded tyre
Burma. Motivated by these experiences industries. This shortage intensified the
Africans decided to confront colonial exploitation of the colonies. Several
forces in Africa. Wars of liberation agricultural projects were established
were fought in most of the Portuguese in an attempt to increase the production
colonies. In other words, the war gave of raw materials like cotton and
Askaris the confidence that they could groundnuts for European industries.
defeat the Europeans. Therefore, when The intensification of exploitation
the ex-soldiers retuned from the war, in the colonies met with a wave of
they fought wars of liberation, which nationalist struggles.
played a major role in weakening the Contribution of the economic decline
colonial system. Good examples were in Europe to the decolonisation of
the ex-soldiers who had fought in Africa
Algeria, Kenya, South Africa, Angola European nations became dependent
and Namibia. on the USA’s financial aid through the
The decline of European capitalism Marshall Plan of 1947. The USA was
and the decolonisation of Africa financially stable because the world
The collapse of Western European wars were never fought on its soil. In
economies was the result of the Second addition,it joined the war very late.

During the Second World War, the dismantling capitalism in the world. It
USA increased concentration on the believed that colonialism was an arm
production of civilian and military of imperialism and an important part
products, something that boosted her of the capitalist system. Driven by this
economy. Through the Marshal Plan, the idea, the socialist countries decided
USA gave loans to the Western powers to support decolonisation efforts in
to recover their economies on condition Africa. The Cold War politics inspired
that they granted independence to their the USSR to provide much support to
colonies. The European countries had the nationalist movements in Angola,
no choice but to grant independence South Africa, Southern Rhodesia,
to their colonies. However, the end of Algeria, Mozambique and South West
colonial rule paved the way for the start Africa (Namibia).
of neo-colonialism, engineered by the The USSR wanted to establish socialism
USA. in Africa to spread the socialist ideology
Therefore, the collapse of the European and to strengthen her economic
capitalist economies was mainly due position. As an industrial power, the
to Europe’s full involvement in the USSR hoped to benefit from African
Second World War. The war affected markets and raw materials. Finally, the
the capitalists’ economies in such a way USSR wanted to prevent the growing
that the colonial governments failed influence of US capitalism in Africa.
to finance their colonies. Attempts Thus, the Warsaw Pact was signed in
by the colonial powers to recover 1955 to defend socialism. It was a
their economies met with nationalist military alliance whose members were
movements in Africa. Following the Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,
economic crisis, coupled with pressure East Germany, Romania and the Soviet
from the USA, the colonial powers had Union (USSR). This occurred after
no choice but to grant independence the Western capitalists had established
to their colonies in Africa. During their military organisation known as
the 1960s, most of Southern African the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
countries fought wars of liberation. (NATO) to protect the capitalist
ideology.
Role of the USSR and the process of
decolonisation in Africa The USSR played a significant role
in the establishment of UNO in 1945.
After the Second World War, the Union
UNO condemned colonialism in the
of the Soviet Socialist Republics
world. After the Second World War,
(USSR) emerged as a socialist
the major world powers met in San
superpower in the world. The USSR
Francisco and signed the UN Charter.
and other socialist states started

Article 13 of the charter made it clear forces. She also gave financial support
that colonialism was an evil that had to to Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea. The
be stamped out of the world. It declared financial aid rescued Guinea Conakry
all peoples’ right to choose governments from collapsing after Ahmed Sekou
that are best suited to them. Through Toure had voted no to the French
the United Nations, the USSR used its Referendum of 1958, which required
veto power to pressurise the colonising every French colony to remain under
powers to grant independence to their French rule. With this referendum,
colonies. More importantly, the USSR France had to maintain her defence
was instrumental in inspiring UNO forces and influence foreign, economic
to adopt the Universal Declaration of as well as financial policies. Guinea
Human Rights Charter in 1948. Conakry rejected this arrangement
The USSR linked economic prosperity as she was not fully independent.
to political independence. The USSR Immediately, France granted
explained that she had been a very independence to Guinea Conakry.
poor country just like African and However, France uprooted all railway
Asian countries, but she had attained lines, destroyed roads and bridges
industrialisation and economic and evacuated all civil servants from
prosperity through socialist principles Guinea Conakry. This paralysed the
and policies. The USSR’s explanation newly independent nation of Guinea
made African nationalists struggle Conakry. The USSR and Ghana stepped
for independence, since capitalism, in to assist Guinea Conakry financially
through colonialism, hindered Africa’s and technically.
development. This caused panic Moreover, the USSR gave military
amongst the colonial masters who support to the Front de Libération
sped up the decolonisation of Africa to Nationale (FLN) of Algeria,
prevent socialism from spreading to the Movimento Polular de Libertação de
entire continent. Angola (MPLA) of Angola, Frente de
In the effort to spread socialism, the Libertao De Mocambique (FRELIMO)
USSR identified herself with the anti- of Mozambique and the Southern West
colonial struggles. She gave financial Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO)
and military support to African of Namibia. The support spreadheaded
nationalists. She gave support to the liberation process and led to the
President Gamal Nasser of Egypt for independence of Mozambique, Angola,
building the Aswan High Dam. The Algeria, Guinea Bissau and Southern
USSR also trained Egyptian soldiers Rhodesia. At the same time, the USSR
and supplied weapons to the armed condemned openly the Unilateral
Declaration of Independence (UDI)

made by the settlers of Southern countries, they demanded democratic

Rhodesia. The settlers had established and constitutional rule from European
their political party called the Rhodesian colonial powers. By giving such
Front in 1962 under Ian Dougles Smith. freedom to the elites, the USA wanted
The USSR used African independent to spread liberal democracy in Africa.
states like Ghana, Zambia and The USA had anti-colonial traditions.
Tanzania to provide military assistance The USA had once been a colony and
to the countries which were fighting had been oppressed by Britain in the
for independence such as Angola, 17th and 18th centuries. She gained her
Mozambique, Southern Rhodesia and independence in 1776, after the bloody
South West Africa. American war of independence. It
The USSR used its political, economic was only after gaining independence
and military power to support the that she developed as a republican
decolonisation of Africa. The military nation. She understood clearly the
and economic strength of the USSR status of Africans and worked hard to
quickly surpassed that of Britain and help colonial Africa to free itself from
France. After the Second World War, the European colonial rule.
USSR emerged as the new superpower USA President Woodrow Wilson
of the world. (1913-1921) encouraged the European
The United State of America (USA) colonial powers to adopt the principle
and the decolonisation of Africa of self-determination. At the Versailles
The USA exposed African students to Peace Treaty, President Woodrow
the philosophy of liberal democracy. Wilson gave his fourteen points, which
It did not only provide scholarships laid the foundation for the principle of
to African students like Nkrumah and self-determination. Equally important,
Azikiwe to study abroad, but also the Second World War depleted the
allowed them to form democratic resources of Britain and France, with
students’ organisations. For example, the result that they turned to the US for
West African students formed the economic aid. The USA demanded that
African Students’ Association of the independence be granted to African
United States and Canada in 1941. countries. This was achieved through
The association published a monthly the Marshall Plan. The US economic
magazine, the African Interpreter, to aid was known as the Marshall Plan.
allow students to exercise democracy The plan was named after the US
while in the USA. It prepared them Secretary of State, George Marshall,
for nationalistic struggles in Africa. who had initiated it in June 1947. The
When they returned to their home plan started to be effected in April

1948. The USA pressurised European the USSR were Dr Augustino Neto
colonial powers to grant independence (Angola), Dr Eduardo Mondlane
to their colonies so that the USA could (Mozambique) and Dr Amilcar Cabral
benefit from Africa’s resources. (Guinea Bissau). Because the USSR
Since these countries needed economic supported decolonisation in the
aid very badly, they started preparing Portuguese colonies, the USA allied
African colonies for self-government. with the Portuguese to fight against
the socialist influence. Generally,
Contradictory roles of the USA in the USA wanted to consolidate the
the decolonisation of Africa capitalist block by supporting political
While the USA strongly supported parties which adopted her ideology
decolonisation in the British, French and were against socialist parties.
and Belgian colonies, she did not do For example, in Angola, the USA
the same for the Portuguese colonies supported Jonas Savimbi and his party,
of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea UNITA. Savimbi was fighting against
Bissau. The reason behind this is that the socialist party, MPLA, which was
the USA had access to resources and under Augustino Neto. In Mozambique,
markets in the Portuguese colonies and under the influence of the USA, South
that meant that decolonisation of these Africa supported Resistencia Nacional
countries would make no difference. Mocambicana (RENAMO) (in English
There was no protectionism in the Mozambican National Resistance)
Portuguese colonies before and after the under Afonso Dhlakama against
Second World War. This implies that US FRELIMO, which was under Samora
capital and manufactured goods flowed Machel.
easily into the Portuguese colonies. The USA wanted to create puppet
Thus, the USA assisted the Portuguese regimes in Africa similar to the regimes
in delaying the independence of their of Moise Tshombe and Mobutu
colonies in its own economic interest. Seseseko in Zaire for the purpose of
Additionally, the USA wanted to safeguarding her economic interests. In
protect and consolidate capitalism particular, it wanted copper, diamond
and to prevent the spread of socialism and gold. The puppet leaders would
to the Portuguese colonies. This was enable the USA to build military bases
because the nationalist movements in necessary for protecting and promoting
the Portuguese colonies were strongly American interests in Africa.
supported by socialist countries Finally, the USA had already invested
such as Cuba, China and the USSR. heavily in industries in the Portuguese
The African leaders supported by colonies. The Portuguese government

allowed the USA to invest in its World War (1939-1945). The formation
colonies and to access its markets. The of UNO had profound effects on the
Portuguese colonies in Africa were African decolonisation process.
rich in resources, especially crude oil,
After the Second World War, UNO
diamonds and tropical agricultural raw
set up a Trusteeship Council, which
materials. Therefore, the economic
transformed the mandate territories
potentiality of the colonies attracted
into trustee territories. The council
the USA. The USA did not support the
had to take care of such colonies as
decolonisation of Southern Rhodesia,
Tanganyika, Libya, Togoland, South
fearing that ZANU-PF, which was
West Africa, Rwanda-Urundi and
being supported by the USSR and
Cameroon, which formerly belonged
Cuba, would jeopordise US interests
to Germany and Italy. The trustee
in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia
territories were to be prepared for self-
and South West Africa. One should,
government and the decolonisation
therefore, note that, although the USA
process was monitored. For instance,
supported decolonisation in Africa, it
the UNO Trusteeship Council sent
also did so in its own interest.
Commissioner Adrian Pelt to prepare
Exercise 6.4 the constitution of Libya, which
enabled Libya to gain independence in
a) Discuss the controversies 1951. UNO’s trusteeship officials also
surrounding the US made political reforms in Togoland,
decolonisation efforts in Cameroon, Tanganyika, Somalia and
Africa. Rwanda-Urundi, which hastened the
decolonisation process.
b) What is the legacy of the
US decolonisation efforts in Furthermore, UNO upheld the ideas
Africa? of the Atlantic Charter of 1941 in
which US President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
United Nations Organisation Winston Churchill declared their vision
In October 1945, shortly after the and intention to build a new and better
Second World War, the United Nations world. Article 3 of the charter allowed
Organisation (UNO) was born in San all the peoples of the world to form
Francisco in the USA. It replaced the governments they liked. Therefore,
League of Nations, which had failed to it is not surprising that, when UNO
keep world peace by failing to prevent was established in 1945, it adopted
the outbreak of the Italian-Ethiopian the Atlantic Charter as a road map for
War (1935-1941) and the Second achieving independence.

From this period onwards, UNO UNO also issued the Universal
campaigned for independence. It was Declaration of Human Rights in
acknowledged that capitalism had 1948, which emphasised the dignity
caused the Second World War. To avoid and equality of all human beings. It
the re-occurrence of such a devastating broadly defined a person’s political,
war, UNO worked on the demands economic, social and religious rights.
and rights of the colonised peoples. This document inspired all oppressed
For example, in December 1956, peoples of the world to fight for their
Nyerere addressed the 579th meeting rights. They hoped that UNO was
of the Fourth Committee of the UN concerned about the oppressed; hence,
Security Council. He talked about the they were encouraged to fight for their
decolonisation process in Tanganyika. freedom.
It could be argued generally that
Moreover, UNO recognised the
African nationalist leaders used the
liberation movements in Africa.
UN forum to demand independence.
Whereas the colonial masters looked
Thus, many African countries could
at African nationalist groups as rebel
achieve independence peacefully. In
movements, UNO recognised them
1960, UNO granted an audience to
and allowed liberation leaders to
President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana,
present their grievances during its
who presented Algerians’ grievances to
conferences. For example, the ANC of
the UN summit.
South Africa, SWAPO of South West
Algerians had suffered French nuclear Africa and FRELIMO of Mozambique
bomb tests and other injustices. used this opportunity to condemn the
Nkrumah’s speech made UNO Apartheid policy and further their
members condemn France and call for need for independence. They were
an immediate end to French colonialism sympathetically listened to by UNO.
in Algeria. It is interesting to learn that UNO
allied with the nationalist parties in
UNO set a decolonisation committee,
the struggle for independence. With
which was charged with the task of
respect to South West Africa, the UN
working out strategies for decolonising
General Assembly recognised SWAPO
all the colonised peoples of Asia and
as a liberation force of that country.
Africa. Some of the committee members
were African nationalists, who were The UN imposed economic sanctions
campaigning for independence. They on the racist regimes of South Africa
submitted reports and recommendations and Southern Rhodesia. The UN
to UNO, explaining the progress of prohibited countries from trading with
decolonisation in Africa. those regimes. For example, economic

sanctions were imposed on Southern The Bandung Conference of 1955

Rhodesia when, under Ian Douglass This conference was held in Bandung in
th th
Smith of the Rhodesian Front, British Indonesia from 18 to 24 April 1955.
settlers made the Unilateral Declaration Participants mainly came from African
of Independence (UDI). They formed and Asian countries. One of the aims
a government of the minority settlers of the conference was to consider the
and Ian Douglas Smith became problems affecting Asian and African
prime minister. Sanctions were also people. The problems included the
imposed on racist South Africa and Cold War, national sovereignty and
the Portuguese colonies. Economic colonialism. The conference was not the
sanctions helped to put an end to the first to discuss issues that were affecting
unilateral government of minority Africa and Asia. A similar conference
whites in Southern Rhodesia on 18th was held in Brussels (Belgium) in
April 1980. Countries which had 1927; during the conference African
attained independence were required and Asian nationalists formed a league
to abide by the UN sanctions, which against imperialism and colonialism.
had been imposed on South Africa.
The conference was organised and
Therefore, countries such as Tanzania,
sponsored by Indonesia, Burma, India,
Zambia, Botswana and Lesotho formed
Pakistan and Sri-Lanka. Twenty-
the Front-line States in the 1960s. They
nine countries participated in the
were committed to fighting Apartheid
conference: 22 Asian countries, for
and minority whites in South Africa
example Indonesia, Burma, India,
and Southern Rhodesia. Between the
Pakistan, Sri-Lanka and China, and
1960s and 1980s the South African
7 African countries, namely Egypt,
Defence Forces (SADF) attacked the
Libya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana,
Front-line States in order to frustrate
Liberia and Sudan. The conference
their decolonisation efforts.
was convened by the president of
Indonesia, Ahmed Sukarno. Sukarno
Exercise 6.5
was a nationalist leader, who led
Assess the argument that the Indonesia to independence from the
UN played a very great role in Dutch colonialists. Figure 6.2 shows a
the decolonisation of African picture of Ahmed Sukarno.
countries.

Aligned Movement (NAM). Through

this movement, Asian countries agreed
to help Africa in promoting good will
and in ending colonialism. The NAM
agreed to remain neutral as far as the
Cold War politics were concerned.
The conference brought together the
first generation of African nationalist
leaders. This, in turn, helped the leaders
to explore and advance their mutual
and common interests. That is, they
Figure 6.2: Ahmed Sukarno (1901-1970) established good relations and vowed
to support each other. The conference
At the conference, it was declared that aimed to end colonialism in Africa and
“colonialism and its manifestations are safeguard the interests of independent
evil and must be brought to an end.” African and Asian countries. The
The conference also addressed issues participants agreed to promote
such as the tension between the USA cooperation among developing
and China over China’s invasion of countries in order that they might solve
Taiwan and established a forum to their economic and political challenges
discuss movements aimed at ending together.
colonialism, racialism and imperialism In 1957, African and Asian countries
in Africa and Asia. formed the Afro-Asian Peoples
The contribution of the Bandung Solidarity Organisation. This
Conference to the struggle for organisation helped to reinforce
independence in Africa solidarity between African and Asian
nationalist leaders. This promoted
The conference influenced the struggle
unity and solidarity among African and
for independence in Africa in a
Asian states. Generally, the conference
number of ways. It identified three
fostered the unity of developing
major problems that Africans were
nations. African nationalist leaders
facing and vowed to end them. These
established relations with Yugoslavia,
were colonialism, institutionalised
Hungary and China, which were also
racism and the Apartheid policy. The
Third World countries. The conference
conference declared that all these
identified strategies and techniques
problems dehumanised Africans
for achieving African independence.
and, therefore, had to be eradicated.
African nationalists were encouraged
The conference established the Non-

to use constitutional means, after leaders who led India to independence

armed struggles had failed. were Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal
The participants called upon the Nehru and Dr Rajendra Prasad. The
colonial powers to grant independence achievement of independence by
to the colonies and agreed to support these countries encouraged African
self-determination. This is one of countries to intensify their struggle
the factors that enabled the Gold for independence; they had realised
Coast (Ghana) to be the first colony that they could also achieve the same.
in sub-Saharan Africa to regain its The following section explains the
independence in 1957 under Kwame contribution of that achievement to the
Nkrumah. nationalist struggles in Africa. India
and Burma were not the only Asian
countries that influenced nationalist
All African countries are struggles in Africa. Others were China
independent now, but how and Vietnam.
are they free politically and
economically? Influences of India and Burma on the
decolonisation of African countries
The independence of India and Burma
The independence of India and Burma influenced the struggle for independence
in Africa in different ways. For example,
India was colonised by Britain from
having seen several Asian countries become
1858 to 1947. The struggle for Indian
independent, African nationalist leaders
independence intensified after the
got motivated to struggle for their own
Second World War. It should be
independence. African countries also
noted that many Indian soldiers had
used the methods of struggle which
fought on the side of the British forces
Asian countries had used such as the use
during the Second World War. The
of peaceful means. Africans boycotted
Indian ex-soldiers came back from
British shops and schools and used
the war determined to end British
demonstrations and the press. For the
colonial rule. The emergence of
same purpose they also campaigned for
prominent nationalist figures in those
constitutional reforms.
countries during the 1940s enabled
them to gain independence much Influence also came from experiences in
earlier. For example, India got her the wars of liberation, which had been
independence in 1947 and one year fought in the Asian world. The defeat
later Burma, present-day Myanmar, of Russian forces by Japan in 1905, for
also got her own independence. example, taught Africans that they could
Among the prominent nationalist also fight successful wars of liberation.

Again, during the Second World War independence of Uganda. As a matter of

Japan defeated British and French forces fact, the Indian foreign policy focused on
in Hong Kong and Burma. It also defeated supporting the decolonisation of African
American and Dutch forces in Indonesia countries.
and the Philippines. The Asian countries’ Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings about the evils
military achievements weakened the myth of colonialism also influenced the liberation
regarding the superiority of Europeans. struggles in Africa. Gandhi preached
This and the military experiences of the against the evils of colonialism using
African ex-soldiers promoted the wars the Bible. His teachings condemned racial
of liberation in most African countries. inequality in colonies, thereby motivating
Independent Asian countries like India African church leaders to preach against
and Burma supported African liberation colonialism as well. Then, several African
struggles in a number of ways. For example, church leaders and important political
they extended military support to the figures protested against colonialism. For
African countries which were fighting example, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South
wars of liberation. India and Burma Africa and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia
gave weapons and medical support to said that colonialism was incompatible
soldiers in Africa. Records show that with Christianity. Figure 6.3 presents a
they also provided military training to picture of Mahatma Gandhi.
the freedom fighters in South Africa,
South West Africa, Southern Rhodesia
and Mozambique. Evidence also shows
that Indian leaders campaigned against
the racist South African regime through
the UN organs. Other forms of assistance
came from other Asian countries. Mao
Tse-tung of China gave financial, moral
and military aid to the “free officer’s
movement” in Egypt.
Some African nationalist leaders were
groomed or at least were trained in Asian
Figure 6.3: Mahatma Gandhi
countries. They were advised on the best
(1869-1948)
forms of struggle to adopt. For example,
the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Africans were inspired to fight for
Nehru, invited Milton Obote of Uganda independence. Mutual support
to India and advised him on the good from Asian and African countries
strategies to use in the struggle for the strengthened party politics which had

thrived during and after the Second World War. Numerous political parties were
formed in African countries. The parties championed the struggle for independence.
The political parties established close relations with those in Asia, for example the
Indian National Congress.
Activity 6.3
(a) In groups, read various works and then write brief biographies on the lives
and legacies of the following leaders: J. K. Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, Ahmed
Surkano, Patrice Lumumba, Mao Tse Tung, Milton Obote, Kamuzu Banda,
Kwame Nkrumah, Jonas Savimbi, Mahatma Gandhi and Nnamdi Azikiwe.
(b) What lessons could today’s leaders learn from such leaders?
Revision exercise 6
1. Discuss the view that there were both internal and external factors that
gave rise to nationalism in Africa.
2. Explain the contribution of the Versailles Peace Treaty to the

decolonisation process in Africa.
3. Assess the influence of external forces on the rise and development of

nationalism in Africa.
4. To what extent were the fourteen points of US President Woodrow

Wilson important to world peace after the First World War?
5. Discuss the role of the USA in the liberation of African countries.
6. “The principle of self-determination played a vital role in the development

of nationalism and the struggle for independence in Africa.” Discuss.
7. “The Second World War had some impact on the development of

nationalism in colonial Africa.” Evaluate this statement.
8. How and why did the USA and the USSR support decolonisation efforts
in Africa?

9. Using any two Asian countries of your choice, assess their contribution
to the struggle for independence in Africa.
10. Examine the influence of the Pan-African Movement on the struggle for
independence in Africa.
11. Explain different factors that determined the nature and characteristics
of nationalist struggles in Africa.
12. What were the contributions of African nationalist leaders to the

decolonisation process?
13. To what extent did the global politics of decolonisation shape the nature
of nationalist struggles in Africa?
14. Discuss the triumph of African nationalist struggles after the Second
World War.
15. In your opinion, what were the major achievements of the Pan-African
Movement in the 1940s and 1960s in Africa?

Chapter Political and economic development
Seven in Tanzania after independence
Introduction
Independence made Africans (including Tanzanians) hope that they would
develop. The attainment of political independence was the beginning of the
struggle for economic independence. The first president of Tanzania, Julius
Kambarage Nyerere, talked about rapid economic development. In this chapter,
you will learn about the economic and political development of Tanzania, since
independence, including the Arusha Declaration. Similarly, you will learn
about the educational development of Tanzania as well as the challenges facing
the development effort in the country. The competencies developed will enable
you to participate effectively in the efforts to bring about social, economic and
political development in the country.
Is there any relationship between freedom, politics and economic

development?
Political development in on 9th December 1961. Since her

Tanzania after independence independence, Tanzania has been
experiencing several changes. The
The European powers divided Africa
changes are the result of the effort to
at the Berlin Conference of 1884/85.
bring socio-economic and political
The powers used the Berlin Act
development to its citizens. One of the
in administering their colonies in
main issues in the post-colonial period
Africa. Colonial administrators made
in Tanzania and Africa at large had to
constitutions which served the interests
do with the need to address the colonial
of the colonial powers.
political legacies. Tanganyikan
Tanganyika gained her independence leaders made new constitutions that

would address the needs of the newly minister and a governor-general who
independent nations. The focus was represented Her Majesty the Queen of
on the distribution of political powers, the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, as the
citizens’ responsibilities and the leaders formal head of state. The constitution
drawing legitimacy from the people did not include a Bill of Rights. The
rather than from the colonial powers. executive was led by a prime minister,
Constitutional changes in Tanzania chosen from a party with the largest
after independence number of parliamentary seats. Under this
constitution Mwalimu Julius Kambarage
A constitution is the basic principle and Nyerere became the first prime minister.
law of a nation, state or social group The constitution also established the
which determines the distribution independence of the judiciary. However,
of the powers and duties of the the Independence Constitution lasted for
government and citizens, and which only one year.
guarantees certain rights to both
leaders and citizens. Therefore, the The second constitution was the
constitution is the fundamental law in Republican Constitution of 1962. The
a country. There are two constitutions ruling party, TANU, had expressed
in the United Republic of Tanzania. its wish to have a republican form of
One is the Constitution of the United government with an executive president.
Republic of Tanzania of 1977, which The Government White Paper entitled
includes the Union Matters. The other “Proposals of Tanganyika Government
is the Constitution of Zanzibar of 1984. for a Republic” was published, discussed
A constitution can either be written and adopted by the National Assembly
or unwritten. Tanzania has a written so that it could have legal force. As a
constitution. From 1961 to the present, result, Julius Nyerere was elected the
Tanzania has undergone five major first executive president of the Republic
constitutional changes. of Tanganyika in 1962.
The first constitution was referred to as the The most important feature of the
Independence Constitution of Tanganyika Republican Constitution was that it
of 1961. The Independence Constitution concentrated powers on the executive
replaced the Colonial Constitution. This president who was the head of state, the
constitution was promulgated in London head of government, the commander-
by the United Kingdom Parliament and in-chief of the armed forces and part
was directly imposed on Tanganyika. of parliament but not a member of the
It was characterised by a Westminster National Assembly. The president was
model with a sovereign parliamentary, made part of parliament so that he could
multiparty democracy and a prime give assent to bills. Furthermore, the

president was given powers to appoint him by Articles of Union and through
a vice-president and ministers, and Government Notice No. 246 of 1st May
to dissolve parliament under certain 1964, the president of Tanzania modified
circumstances. the Republic Constitution of 1962 in
It should be noted that Zanzibar gained accordance with the agreements which
nominal independence on 10th December TANU and Zanzibar’s ruling party, the
1963. There were two major political Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), had signed by
parties: the Zanzibar Nationalist issuing a decree entitled “The Interim
Party (ZNP), which represented the Constitution Decree of 1964”, which
Arab population, and the Afro-Shiraz established the Interim Constitution of
Party (ASP), which represented the the United Republic of Tanganyika and
African population. Like Tanganyika’s, Zanzibar. The agreements were ratified
Zanzibar’s Independence Constitution under the name “Articles of Union” and
established a constitutional monarchy, included in the new constitution as “Acts
which proclaimed the sultan of Zanzibar of Union”. The most notable feature of
as a ceremonial head of state. Acts of Union was the establishment of
the two-tier government structure. This
The ASP was not satisfied with this structure includes one government for
constitution. As a result, on 12th January the Union and another one for Zanzibar.
1964 the ASP organised a revolution, Zanzibar’s government included its own
which ousted the Zanzibar Arabs from president and a Revolutionary Council.
power thus abolishing the sultanate. It The president of Zanzibar had executive
should be noted that this constitution did powers over all matters related to
not survive even a month. It was repealed Zanzibar. The president of Zanzibar also
and replaced with a series of presidential served as the first vice-president of the
decrees. Under this system, the president Union. The prime minister of the Union
exercised all executive and legislative also became the second vice-president
authority on behalf of the Revolutionary of the Union.
Council. To consolidate its position and
prevent a counter revolution, the ASP Under this Constitution, the Union made
merged Zanzibar with Tanganyika on Tanganyika and Zanzibar one sovereign
26th April 1964. state. The government of Tanganyika
was replaced by the Union government,
The third constitution was known as the which dealt with the Union Matters and
Constitution of the United Republic of non-Union Matters related to Tanganyika.
Tanganyika and Zanzibar of 1964. In There were 11 Union Matters:
1964, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged
to form the United Republic of Tanzania. (a) t he Constitution and the government
Acting under authority conferred on of the United Republic;

(b) external affairs; the Union Parliament enacted a law

(c) defence; which declared an Interim Constitution
of Tanzania which provided for a one-
(d) police; party system for Tanzania and Zanzibar.
(e) emergency powers; As such, TANU and ASP became the
only political parties in the country.
(f) citizenship;
The Interim Constitution was amended
(g) immigration;
several times. A major change was
(h) external trade and borrowing; made in 1965 to formalise the one-
(i) the Public Service of the United party system. Coherent to the two
Republic; government structure defined in 1964,
the 1965 Constitution recognised two
(j) income tax, corporation tax,
political parties, TANU for the Union
customs and excise duties; and
and ASP for Zanzibar. In the following
(k) harbours, civil aviation, posts and years, several amendments were made
telegraphs. to strength the one-party system. For
However, Zanzibar maintained autonomy example, the amendment made in 1975
over matters related to it. The two stated that all government institutions,
countries had to share a national flag including parliament, were subordinate
and a national anthem. to the Party's Executive Committee.
In 1977, TANU and ASP merged to
form Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Exercise 7.1
The constitution defined the power
Compare the Union Matters relations between the two countries of
of 1964 with those included in Tanganyika and Zanzibar. It created
the current Constitution of the a new post-colonial identity, namely
United Republic of Tanzania. Tanzania, which did not exist in the
colonial period.
In 1965, the government passed It also established two organs

another constitution, namely the with legislative powers: the Union
Interim Constitution of Tanzania. Parliament, which comprised members
This was popularly known as a one- from Mainland Tanzania and Tanzania
party constitution. This was the fourth Zanzibar. In Zanzibar, the president
constitution after the country had was the chairman of the Revolutionary
attained her independence. Through the Council, which governed the country.
report of a commission appointed by Zanzibar was ruled through presidential
President Julius Kambarage Nyerere, decrees. The Revolutionary Council

had powers to make and amend laws The Constitution of the United Republic
concerning Zanzibar. The Union of Tanzania of 1977 provides for three
Constitution abolished the multi-party brunches of government: parliament,
system, which had been inherited from the executive and the judiciary.
the colonialists. On the other hand, the In its preamble, the Constitution of the
Union Constitution introduced general United Republic of Tanzania of 1977
elections involving one political party. declares that Tanzania is “building
The elections were held every five a democratic society founded on the
years. principles of freedom, justice, fraternity
The fifth constitution is the Constitution and concord.” The constitution required
of the United Republic of Tanzania the executive to be accountable to the
of 1977. This constitution essentially people. In the same way, the legislature
confirmed the main principles of the has to be accountable to the people,
republic and interim constitutions, since it represents them. To ensure
which included a strong executive equality before the law, the government
presidency, a dual government structure set up the judiciary as an independent
and a one-party state. This constitution organ. The constitution contains 22
was made after the merger of the two Union Matters:
political parties which were rulling (a) the Constitution of Tanzania and
Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. the government of the United
Chama Cha Mapinduzi was formed on Republic;
5th February 1977. On 16th March 1977, (b) foreign affairs;
through Government Notice No. 38 of
(c) defence and security;
25/ 3/ 1977, the president of Tanzania
appointed a Constitutional Commission (d) police;
of 20 people: 10 from Mainland (e) emergency powers;
Tanzania and another 10 from Zanzibar. (f) citizenship;
The commission was supposed to (g) immigration;
prepare a constitution proposal. At
(h) external borrowing and trade;
the same time, through Government
(i) service in the government of the
Notice No. 39 of 25/3/1977, the
United Republic;
president appointed representatives of
the Constituency Assembly so that they (j) income tax payable by individuals
could discuss the proposal drafted by and by corporations, customs
the commission. On 25th April 1977, duty and excise duty on goods
the Constituency Assembly discussed manufactured in Tanzania
and passed the proposal to make the collected by the customs
Union Constitution of 1977. department;

(k) harbours, matters relating the supremacy of parliament and

to air transport, posts and participatory democracy.
telecommunications;
In 1984, the constitution was amended
(l) all matters concerning coinage and so that it could include a Bill of Rights.
currency for the purposes of legal The bill provided for the freedom of
tender (including notes), banks movement, freedom of association,
(including savings banks) and all the right to privacy and personal
banking business; foreign exchange security, the right to life, the right to
and exchange control; personal freedom, the right to freedom
(m) industrial licensing and statistics; of religion, freedom to participate in
(n) higher education; public affairs, the right to work, the
(o) mineral oil resources, including right to just remuneration and the right
crude oil, and other categories of to own property. The 1984 amendments
oil or products and natural gas; also limited presidential mandates to
two terms.
(p) the National Examinations Council
of Tanzania and all matters In February 1991, the president of
connected with the functions of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ali
that Council; Hassan Mwinyi, appointed a Presidential
(q) civil aviation; Commission, popularly known as the
Nyalali Commission. The commission
(r) research;
consisted of 22 commissioners, with equal
(s) meteorology; representation for Mainland Tanzania
(t) statistics; and Zanzibar. It was responsible for
(u) the Court of Appeal of the United collecting Tanzanians’ views on whether
Republic; and the country should adopt a multi-party
system or continue with the one-party
(v) registration of political parties and
system. The commission found that,
other matters related to political
parties. although 72.2 per cent of the people it
interviewed wanted Tanzania to continue
The constitution has been amended a with the one-party system, the changes
number of times, as follows. requested could only be accommodated
In 1983, a constitutional debate under a multi-party system. Consequently,
started in Tanzania, with the ruling on 29th May 1992 Tanzania passed the
party, CCM, setting the agenda for Political Parties Act, which led to the
change. The debate revolved around re-introduction of multi-party politics
three issues, namely executive power, into the country.

The Constitutional Amendment of Another constitutional amendment

1992, which laid the ground for was made in April 2000. It introduced
the re-introduction of the multi- the following changes: First, before
party system, came into force. The a candidate needed 50 per cent of the
amendment changed the structure votes cast in a presidential election so
of the National Assembly so that it as to be declared to have been elected
could comprise members elected from as president of the United Republic of
different political parties. Women Tanzania; a candidate now needs only
representatives formed 15 per cent of a simple majority to become president.
the parliamentarians and were to be Secondly, the president could not
nominated by their political parties. nominate anybody as Member of
Furthermore, the National Assembly Parliament. All Members of Parliament,
had to include five members elected except for the Attorney General, were
from the House of Representatives in elected in their constituencies. The
Tanzania Zanzibar. The commissioners constitutional amendment allows
of the National Electoral Commission the President to nominate up to 10
were to be appointed by the president. Members of Parliament. Thirdly, it
The constitutional amendment increased the number of special seats
of December 1992 provided for for women from 15 per cent to 20 per
presidential elections and introduced cent, depending on a declaration made
the possibility of parliament to by the National Electoral Commission
impeach the president through a vote from time to time, and the consent of
of no confidence. It also separated the the president. The legislature or the
functions of the president and those of parliament of the United Republic of
the prime minister. Tanzania has two parts: the president,
who is also the head of the executive
In December 1994, a constitutional and the legislature, which consists of
amendment was made following the Members of Parliament elected in the
report of the Bomani Presidential constituencies, from special seats under
Commission. Mark Bomani had affirmative action, members nominated
chaired the commission. The by the president and the attorney
commission recommended that the general. The president does not sit in
president of Zanzibar should cease to the National Assembly, but he or she
be the vice-president of the Union, but exercises the authority vested in him or
should continue to be a member of the her by the constitution by giving assent
Union Cabinet. CCM implemented this to bills to complete the law enacting
recommendation. process.

Zanzibar adopted a new constitution

Exercise 7.2 in 1979. Many scholars call this
Assess the importance of the constitution the first constitution of
Nyalali Commission to the Zanzibar. They say so on the grounds
development of democracy in that there was no constitutional
Tanzania. continuity between the pre-1964
and the post-1964 political state.
This new constitution provided for
the same branches of government
Zanzibar’s constitution
as those provided for the Union
In Zanzibar, the history of constitution-
Constitution. It made the nomination
making goes back to the Independence
of a presidential candidate slightly
Constitution of 1963. This constitution
more democratic; a special committee
provided for monarchy leadership,
submits two proposed candidates to
with the sultan as the head of state and
the National Executive Committee
few executive powers exercised on
of the party (Chama cha Mapinduzi),
the advice of the Cabinet. However,
which nominates one candidate. The
the constitution was repealed by the
name of that presidential candidate is
Zanzibar Revolution of 1964. Zanzibar
presented to the electorate rather than
was ruled using a presidential decree
the Revolutionary Council.
passed by the Revolutionary Council.
The council held both the executive In 1984, the Zanzibar Constitution
and legislative powers from 1964 to of 1979 was repealed and replaced
the early 1980. As a result, Zanzibar by another constitution. Section 63
did not have a constitution from 1964 of the Zanzibar Constitution of 1984
to 1979 when the Revolutionary re-establish the Zanzibar House of
Council passed the first democratic Representatives as the legislative organ
constitution of 1979 under the president in Zanzibar. The constitution came
of Zanzibar and the chairperson of the into force on 12th January 1985. One
Revolutionary Council, Aboud Jumbe of the most important issues included
Mwinyi. The 1979 constitution created in this constitution is a Bill of Rights.
a legislative body called the House of The rights include the right to equality,
Representatives. This was followed equality before the law, the right to life,
by the first national election after the personal freedom, the right to privacy
Zanzibar Revolution. The house is and security, freedom of movement,
mandated to oversight the government the right to own property, freedom of
of Zanzibar. It was founded on 14th conscience, freedom of association and
January 1980. assembly, the right to work, the right

to a fair remuneration and the right to serves only two consecutive terms of
participate in national affairs. five years each. The president is the
The constitution separated the powers head of the executive. There are two
of three branches of government: vice-presidents, the first vice-presidents
the legislature, which is the House has to come from the main opposition
of Representative, the executive and party in the House of Representatives.
the judiciary. The constitution also The second vice-president comes
includes government accountability. from the party that has won the most
The constitution made it mandatory of the votes cast in a general election.
for the government be accountable to Ministries are appointed in keeping
the people either directly or through with the number of seats won in
their elected representatives. Finally, the House of Representatives. The
it established the Office of the Director president, the vice-presidents and the
of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as an ministers, the attorney general and
independent organ. MPs nominated by the president form
the Revolutionary Council. From 1984
The constitution gave every person to the present, the Constitution of
the right to institute proceedings at Zanzibar, has undergone several minor
the High Court if the constitution is and major amendments.
violated, is being violated or is likely
to be violated. The aim is to ensure that Significance of constitutional changes
the rights stipulated in the constitution in Tanzania after independence
or any law are fully protected. In short,
it ensures that there is the rule of law in The constitutional changes made in
Tanzania spearheaded the development
Zanzibar and that the basic rights of an
of Tanzania after independence, as
individual are protected.
follows.
The Zanzibar Constitution of 1984 was
The changes abolished all forms of
amended in 2010. It was amended after segregation in the provision of social
a referendum held in July 2010 to give services such as health, education,
effect to arrangements which would water, transport and housing.
govern the distribution of executive Furthermore, the changes forbade
powers following the 2010 general exploitation.
elections. The post of chief minister, The changes broadened participatory
who was responsible for the day-to-day democracy in Tanzania. For example,
functioning of the government, was general elections are held every five
abolished. The president remained the years. Parliament also got the power to
head of government and chair of the impeach the president through a vote of
Revolutionary Council. The president no confidence.

The changes increased the percentage

of special seats women MPs from 15 Activity 7.1
per cent to 20 per cent, depending on
In consultation with your history
declarations that the National Electoral
teacher,
Commission makes from time to time.
Moreover, it could be argued that the (a) V
isit an advocate or any other
constitutional changes strengthened lawyer; interview them on
unity between the people of Zanzibar the history of constitutional
and Tanganyika (Mainland Tanzania). changes in Tanzania before and
Finally, the constitutional changes after independence.
made the observance of human rights (b) U
se the information gathered to
mandatory. This was evident in the prepare notes for revision.
amendment made in 1983/1984
when a Bill of Human Rights was
incorporated into the constitution. Economic development in Tanzania
Thus, people are guaranteed freedom
since independence
of movement, freedom of association,
The term development is commonly
freedom of religion, the right to
associated with economic progress.
privacy and personal security, the right
to life, personal freedom, freedom to This is because, with economic
participate in public affairs, the right development, there is a likelihood
to work, the right to just remuneration of accelerating the growth of other
and the right to own property. domains of life in a given society.
Economic development entails poverty
Generally, the independence constitutions reduction and increased productivity
were made to address the colonial
because of improved production
political and social legacies and vested
techniques, increased opportunities of
the sovereignty in the people; thus,
creating employment for young people
the state and its organs drive their
and reduction of inequalities in the
powers from the people. Moreover, the
provision of social services.
amendments are intended to address the
political, economic and social changes Tanganyika was dominated by two
taking place in the world and affecting colonialists at different times. It was
Tanzania. The amendments ensure under the German colonialists from 1885
that the authority to run the affairs of to 1918. It was also under the British
the country belong to the citizens. The colonialists from 1919 to 1961 when
power and authority of the government Tanganyika gained her independence.
is derived from the citizens through the The colonialists introduced a money
constitution. economy in Tanganyika. Tanganyika

became a producer of raw materials. access to transport infrastructure, while

The raw materials were agricultural and the labour reserves and other areas
natural products such as minerals and had limited or no transport networks
forest products. Moreover, Tanganyika at all. This situation caused regional
became a market for manufactured imbalances.
goods from Europe. That means Economic development between
European colonialism was responsible 1961 and 1981
for the economic underdevelopment of
Tanganyika and other parts of Africa After the attainment of independence,
because the relations between the two industries, farms, plantations, banks,
benefited Europe in general and Britain mines and large commercial activities
in particular. continued to be under foreign investors.
Therefore, the people of Tanzania did not
When Tanganyika gained independence enjoy the fruits of their independence.
on 9th December 1961, its economy The major task of the independent
remained tied to that of the capitalist government was, therefore, to promote
world. Generally, the nation did not economic development. This was done
have sufficient trained manpower. The in phases and with development plans,
country inherited an economy, which which lasted from 1961 to 1981. Four
was largely dependent on the developed plans were implemented during this
countries. Moreover, its economy period. They were the Three-Year
depended on the export of cash crops Development Plan (1961-1964), the
and restricted foreign investment. The First Five-Year Development Plan
economy also continued to be in the (1964-1969), The Second Five-Year
hands of foreigners, especially the Development Plan (1969-1974) and
British, Arabs and Indians, who were the Third Five-Year Development Plan
the leading merchants. Industries, (1974-1981).
farms, plantations, banks, mines and
The Three-Year Development Plan
large commercial activities continued
was the first plan to be adopted. It
to be under British domination.
was based on an extensive survey of
At independence, Tanganyika inherited Tanganyika economy. It was prepared
a poor transport network. The transport by a World Bank Mission. It was not
infrastructure connected the centres a comprehensive plan which could
of production with the coast. This guarantee public capital expenditure,
was done to serve the interests of but it reflected the main priorities
the colonial power. In some areas of of the Tanganyika government. The
production like Moshi, Arusha, Tanga main economic objective of the plan
and Morogoro the people had more was to ensure a rapid and progressive

increase in the cash income per head the first comprehensive and ambitious
of the population as well as a steady plan. The government’s main goal
improvement in the people’s standard was to achieve rapid economic growth
of living. and self-sufficiency. In that regard, the
This plan had three specific objectives. plan had three main objectives, which
First, it was aimed at developing would have been realised by 1980.
agriculture and the livestock industry. The first objective was to raise the per
Under this objective, the plan was capita income from £19 in 1964 to
aimed at boosting crop cultivation £45 by the end of 1980. The second
and animal keeping by supporting objective was to ensure self-sufficiency
farmers through the provision of in trained manpower. The third
credits, agricultural extension services, objective was to raise life expectancy
the establishment of co-operative from 35 to 40 years in 1964 to 50 years
societies, the search for markets, the by the end of the plan. In order to
provision of farm implements and the increase life expectancy and improved
establishment of river-based irrigation the standard of living, emphasis was
schemes and agricultural resettlement placed on ensuring that safe water was
schemes. Secondly, the plan was available to all and health services
aimed at improving and developing were improved upon through the
communication systems, specifically construction of dispensaries, health
the construction of feeder roads in centres and hospitals. However, at the
rural areas. Thirdly, the plan was aimed end of the projected period, not much
at developing primary, secondary and had been achieved. It was found that
technical education, increasing student only five out of the 80 health centres
enrollment improving and the quantity planned had been completed. Similarly,
of facilities in schools and colleges. In in order to raise the per capita income,
the industrial sector, the emphasis was the government placed more emphasis
placed on the improvement of import- on the development of agriculture,
substitution industries to increase which was considered the backbone
the availability of basic needs and to of the country’s economy. In order to
reduce the quantity of imported goods. achieve this goal, the plan allocated 15
However, owing to limited funds, per cent of development funds to the
the implementation of the Three- agricultural sector. The government
Year Development Plan was not as also aimed to train its own manpower
successful as expected. such as teachers, doctors, administrators
and factory managers. This means that
The First Five-Year Development Plan, the plan was aimed at speeding up the
which lasted from 1964 to 1969, was process of africanisation.

The Second Five-Year Development capita income, and growing the

Plan (1969-1974) was aimed at national economy; and
raising Tanzanians’ standard of living. (e) Cooperating with other African
Furthermore, the plan was aimed at countries. The plan insisted on
bringing about economic changes. The expanding and strengthening
main objective was to identify domestic cooperation with other African
resources that would contribute to the countries in economic matters.
growth of the national economy and
strengthen rural development. This In the industrial sector, the plan focused
could be achieved by expanding and on industrial development in Tanzania.
increasing agricultural production It was expected that there would be five
as well as identifying resources that categories of industries in the country.
would help to build and strengthen These were industries which could
industries in the country. It should also manufacture simple consumer goods,
be noted that the plan was aimed at industries which processed agricultural
implementing the Arusha Declaration. crops ready for export, industries which
Therefore, it was built on five main manufactured building materials,
pillars: industries which refined oil and
petrol and industries which produced
(a) Equality of all citizens. The plan agricultural implements.
was aimed at ensuring that all
citizens benefited from national The Third Five-Year Development
development initiatives; Plan (1976-1981) was the last medium
term plan in the implementation
(b) Socialism (Ujamaa). The plan
of the long-term plan in the period
emphasised doing collective and
from 1964 to 1981. This was the first
co-operative economic activities
plan made by all public authorities
and reducing the income
at the village, district, regional and
and economic gap between
national levels. This plan was made
individuals;
by the people through the planning
(c) Self-reliance (Kujitegemea). The commission, which comprised all
plan insisted on developing the Members of Parliament. The Third
country using our own resources, Five-Year Development Plan was
specifically the energies and aimed at furthering the objectives of the
resources in the villages; previous plans. In addition, this plan
(d) Making economic changes and emphasised self-sufficiency in food by
changing the lives of the people. 1981, proper and efficient utilisation
The plan emphasised increasing of natural resources, processing of
the national income and the per primary commodities into final and

semi-final products for domestic services. For example, there was an

consumption and export, developing increase in the number of dispensaries,
and restructuring the industrial set- health centres and hospitals. Therefore,
up, developing science and technical rural and urban communities had more
education, satisfying the needs for access to medical facilities. People’s
water and electricity for industrial living standards and life expectancy
use and strengthening communication also improved. For example, life
services. expectancy rose from 35-40 years in
Achievements of development plans 1964 to 40-41 years in 1967. The Gross
(1961-1981) Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5 per
cent during the First Five-Year Plan,
Several achievements were made. One although the growth was lower than
of the achievements was development the projected growth of 6.7 per cent.
of the agricultural sector. For example, During the Second Five-Year Plan, the
at independence, the annual agricultural GDP grew at 4.8 per cent, which was
production stood at 140 000 tonnes, but lower than the projected growth. The
after the implementation of the First growth rate of the GDP in the Second
Five-Year Plan, production rose to Five-Year Plan was very low owing
500 000 tonnes. This increase was the to the decline in crop production as a
result of improvements in agricultural result of prolonged drought and little
production methods and the use of investment in the sector. Other factors
tractors and fertilizers. for the low growth of the GDP were
There was also an improvement in inadequate preparation of projects,
the education sector following the poor performance of the industrial
implementation of the plans. For sector and the world-wide rise of the
example, illiteracy rates were drastically price of oil since 1971.
reduced. This was due to various steps Furthermore, the number of industries
that the government took to improve in the country increased. This, in turn,
the education sector, including reduced the importation of goods and
establishing schools, increasing pupils’ increased employment opportunities
enrolment and improving the quality of for Tanzanians. For example, in
adult education. These steps increased 1975, a Basic Industrial Strategy was
the number of Tanzanian experts in introduced. This strategy was well
the civil service as well as in private implemented during the period of the
companies. third plan. As a result, the government
Moreover, the development plans built industries such as the Tanzania
helped to improve the quality of health Petroleum Refinery Industry, Musoma

Textile Mills and the Friendship Textile Mills (Urafiki). Figure 7.1 shows the
Friendship Textile Mill (Urafiki). Finally, physical infrastructure was improved by
linking various regions with all-weather roads. This improvement facilitated the
transport of goods and services. The Arusha Declaration and the changes made to
the educational policies, which are discussed in the next section of this chapter,
were also the result of the plans.
Figure 7.1: Urafiki Textile Mill
Challenges
hand hoes. This led to low production
and low foreign exchange. Similarly,
There was an inadequate number
from the mining sector very little
of experts and skilled manpower
was obtained because of using poor
as most of the projects were run by
technology.
Tanzanians who, at the time, were
not experienced enough to implement Moreover, there were inadequate
them. For example, there was a funds for implementing the
scarcity of engineers to supervise road development plans. The shortage of
construction projects or skilled people funds resulted from the decline in
to run industrial machines. This means the amount of foreign aid. This was
that Tanzania was still depending on partly because Tanzania had broken
foreign experts. Such experts did not diplomatic relations with Britain and
maximise the use of their energies and West Germany. For example, Tanzania
skills for Tanzania’s development. decided to break diplomatic relations
Thus, low production was exacerbated with Britain because of the Unilateral
by the low level of technology as Declaration of Independence (UDI)
most of the farmers were still using made in Southern Rhodesia in 1965.

Britain withheld all its aid to Tanzania. The Arusha Declaration

Hence, some of the development On 5th February 1967, the government
projects such as the construction of of the United Republic of Tanzania
industries and infrastructure were not adopted the Arusha Declaration. The
implemented. Declaration was adopted during the
The rapid population growth was First Five-Year Development Plan, but
another challenge in the course of was implemented during the Second
implementing the First Five-Year Five-Year Development Plan. The
Development Plan. Population growth Declaration was a special proclamation
increased the demand for services and propagated by the president of the
commodities that could not be easily United Republic of Tanzania, Julius
obtained. Environmental hazards such Kambarage Nyerere, in Arusha
as prolonged drought also affected through the National Executive
the plan. Finally, a drastic fall in the Committee of TANU. The Declaration
prices of crops at the world market stated that Tanzania was building a
lowered the value of key Tanzanian socialist society. It was a response to
exports such as coffee, tobacco and the growing neo-colonial influence that
sisal. Tanzania highly depended on hindered Tanzanians from enjoying the
the export of agricultural cash crops, fruits of independence and achieving
especially sisal, for foreign exchange. socio-economic development.
The fall of the price of sisal at the world The Declaration was aimed at building
market owing to the development of a socialist and self-reliant nation
synthetic fibres such as nylon deprived based on the principles of equality,
Tanzania of foreign exchange. The justice, democracy and human dignity.
prices of other crops also declined. As Education for self-reliance and rural
a result, Tanzania did not have enough development were at the heart of the
funds to implement the plan. Arusha Declaration. The Declaration
also focused on the eradication of all
Exercise 7.3 forms of exploitation, nationalisation
of all major means of production,
Why did Tanzania come up democracy and the provision of
with the national development education to all. The Arusha Declaration
plans in her early years of instituted a code of leadership ethics. It
independence? provided leadership principles and rules
in Tanzania. Some of the principles and
rules required a leader not to have more
than one salary, not to own houses for

rent and not to be a board member or receive foreign aid at all. It continued
a director of any private company. The to receive foreign aid, but it was rather
principles and rules laid the foundation minimal. Foreign aid and assistance
for Tanzanian socialism, namely were accepted only if they did not
Ujamaa. Ujamaa implied Tanzania’s jeopardise the country’s independence
commitment to a more collective way and freedom. As noted earlier, the
of rural production. adoption of the Arusha Declaration
Furthermore, the Arusha Declaration shaped the way the Second and the
was intended to promote public Third Five-Year Plans were designed
ownership of the major means of and implemented. Figure 7.2 shows
production by putting them in the President Julius K. Nyerere and other
hands of workers and peasants through leaders marching in support the of
their representative government and Arusha Declaration in 1967.
cooperatives. The major means of
production were land, forests, mineral
resources, water, oil, electricity,
communications, transport, banks,
insurance, import-and-export trade,
wholesale businesses, steel machine
tools, motor cars, cement and fertilizer
factories as well as textile industries.
It condemned the exploitation of man
by man and emphasised collective
production and distribution of
resources. The Declaration openly
declared that Tanzania was a nation of
peasants and workers. It encouraged
popular participation in all important
decision-making processes.
Moreover, the Declaration discouraged
foreign aid as the main source of
capital for economic development.
Instead, it emphasised the use of
domestic resources. However, this did Figure 7.2: J. K. Nyerere and other
not mean that the government did not leaders marching during the
Arusha Declaration

Economic changes after the Arusha industrial growth. It was during

Declaration this time that import-substitution
manufacturing industries expanded.
After the Arusha Declaration, the Some of the import-substitution
government nationalised all the major industries that did well in the mid-1960s
means of production which were were textile, beer, cement, cigarette
privately owned by compensating the and soap industries. Furthermore,
former owners. Some of the nationalised the government established other
foreign assets were Standard Bank, industries, which could produce basic
Barclays Bank, British-American tools for farmers. For example, in 1970,
Tobacco Company and Bata Shoes the Ubungo Farmers’ Implements
Industry. The government also entered (UFI) was established for this purpose.
into partnerships with companies as the This industry could produce 2 500 000
country had no capital and technology hand hoes a year. During the 1970s,
to run them. In so doing, the government plans were made to explore the Liganga
ensured that all the major means of iron ore and the Kiwira coal fields. The
production were collectively owned by government also established bicycle,
the people of Tanzania. The natural and radio and battery assembling factories
human resources were utilised for the in Dar es Salaam and Arusha.
benefit of all, regardless of their social-
economic status. However, the industrial boom of 1967-
1973 dropped in the subsequent years.
In implementing the Arusha Tanzania experienced a sharp decline
Declaration, the government set up in the industrial sector between 1973
various public corporations. The public and 1983. Some of the reasons for
corporations included the National the decline were the deterioration in
Bank of Commerce (1967), the commercial agriculture, particularly
National Textile Corporation (1968), cash crop production. Other factors
Tanzania Tobacco Authority (1970), were poor planning, maladministration
the State Mining Corporation (1972) and overstaffing. By 1975, Tanzania
and Tanzania Cotton Authority (1973). had eight textile industries that were
These public enterprises employed performing poorly. The most famous
Tanzanians and thus increased their industries were Urafiki Textile,
purchasing power. The government Sungura Textile, Musoma Textile and
owned the co-operations and authorities Mwanza Textile Industries.
by 100 per cent.
After 1967, the government embarked
Between 1967 and 1973 Tanzania on improving agricultural output. For
experienced a remarkable rate of example, oxen training centres (OTC)

were established in many regions to train The implementation of the Arusha

peasants in how to use ox-ploughing to Declaration gained support from socialist
improve agricultural production and countries. Various projects were funded
productivity. With the introduction by socialist countries. For example, in
of Ujamaa and the villagisation the 1970s, a railway line from Dar es
programme, the mechanisation of Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia was
farms was implemented. For example, constructed with a loan from China. The
tractors were distributed to sampled railway came to be known as Tanzania-
Ujamaa villages, depending on the Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).
amount of output and organisation. TAZARA and the Petroleum Pipeline
The other efforts made to improve known as Tanzania Zambia Mafuta
agriculture included the establishment (TAZAMA) employed many Tanzanians.
The Chinese government also opened the
of a tractor assembling plant (Valmet)
Mbarali Rice Farm in Mbeya Region. It
at Kibaha in the 1980s. The plant had
was one the most successful agricultural
the capacity of assembling 500 tractors
establishments in Africa in the 1970s
a year. The other factory for agricultural
and 1980s.
improvement was called Zana za
Kilimo Mbeya (ZZK). This factory Despite the commendable efforts by
and the Ubungo Farmers’ Implements the government of Tanzania to build a
(UFI) in Dar es Salaam produced socialist state and to promote economic
various agricultural implements such development after the Arusha
as iron hoes, threshers, ploughs and Declaration, the government faced
several challenges. In the first place,
harvesting machines. Apart from
there were problems related to the
increasing agricultural production,
nature of nationalisation itself. Critics
they also provided direct employment
argue that the process was undertaken
opportunities to many Tanzanians.
without enough preparation, especially
Furthermore, after the Arusha trained manpower to run the nationalised
Declaration the agricultural sector was economic enterprises. Other critics
given more impetus through the banks point out that the compensation given
which had been established to support to the former owners of enterprises
farmers. For example, the government was wasteful spending of limited
established the Tanzania Investments resources. As expected, the expensively
Bank (TIB) in 1970 and the Cooperative compensated enterprises failed to
and Rural Development Bank (CRDB) generate economic benefits.
in 1971. These banks provided loans to Moreover, the oil crisis which stemmed
African farmers. from the Yom-Kippur war between

Israel and some Arab states in 1973 could have been invested in economic
created economic problems for the production to stimulate development in
world. At the climax of the oil crisis in the country.
1973, Tanzania was spending almost
half of her foreign earnings buying
Exercise 7.4
oil for the industrial and transport Suggest measures which
sectors. While the price of oil had should have been taken by
increased, the prices of machines like the government to rescue the
tractors and spare parts, imported from industrial and agricultural
Europe, also increased tremendously. sectors during the 1970s and
This negatively affected industrial 1980s.
performance, thus leading to a decline
in industrial production.
Educational development in
Furthermore, the East African
Tanzania after independence
Community collapsed in 1977, thereby
affecting the economy of Tanzania. After the independence of Tanganyika
This was due to a drop in the volume of in 1961 and the Zanzibar Revolution in
Tanzania’s trade with her partner states 1964, the education sector was reformed
in East Africa. The decrease volume of to meet the needs of the country.
trade worsened the economic situation However, in order to understand the
in the country. Moreover, the collapse reforms well, it is important to review
of the community forced Tanzania to the nature of the colonial educational
buy ships and airplanes using foreign system, which preceded the post-
exchange so as to continue providing colonial educational system.
its citizens with the services which Colonial education policies and their
the East African Community had effects in Tanganyika up to 1961
been providing. The aforementioned
In any society education is an
expenditure diminished the foreign
ideological tool aimed at shaping
currency reserve. Hence, an economic
the society based on the interests of
crisis manifested itself in the failure to
the people of that particular society.
import goods and spare parts.
Colonial education was an ideological
Another economic challenge was tool used to safeguard colonial interests.
caused by the Kagera War of Therefore, the colonial education
1978/1979, which forced the country policy was structured in such a way
to spend millions of shillings in the that it safeguarded colonial interests in
war. This means that the financial the colonies. The introduction colonial
and human resources spent in the war education undermined pre-colonial

education. To Africans, colonial Objectives of colonial education

education was aimed at producing Colonial education was aimed at
messengers, clerks and watchmen to preparing a few Africans who could
assist in colonial administration and in occupy lower positions like being
the running of the colonial economy. messengers and clerks. This was to
Therefore, colonial education was not be achieved through the provision of
given to all Africans. Rather, it was elementary education in bush schools,
aimed at creating a class of Africans missionary schools and government
who would be used to realise the schools. The colonialists wanted to
Europeans’ interests. It also prepared get people who could do clerical work
Africans to be good producers of cash like arranging files and posting letters.
crops. The Africans who held such positions
During the early years of colonial rule, were paid low salaries and helped the
most schools were run by missionaries colonialists to reduce administration
for evangelisation purposes. In 1892, costs.
the German colonial government in The colonial education provided by
German East Africa (Tanganyika) missionaries was aimed at converting
established its first government school Africans to Christianity. In the schools
in Tanga. European educational system run by missionaries, spiritual teachings
operated in the colony. By 1902, the were incorporated into the syllabi. This
government had three main schools in type of education was aimed at making
Tanga, Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam, Africans easily accept colonialism.
and three subsidiary schools in Kilwa,
Pangani and Lindi. The European Colonial education was aimed at
educational system in the colony propagating racial segregation
developed more during the British between Africans, Indians, Arabs and
period, especially after the Phelps Europeans. Thus, members of every
Stokes Commission of 1923. The racial group had their own schools. This
commission said that there was a great was done purposely to make Africans
need for education in Africa. Some of feel inferior. Africans mainly received
the famous schools and colleges which primary education and, indeed, very
were established after the Phelps few got tertiary education, which was
Stokes Commission were Tabora reserved for Europeans and Indians.
Boys (1924), Malangali, Buigiri Girls Moreover, colonial education was
School (1927) and Ukiliguru College aimed at dividing and weakening
of Agriculture (1939). colonial subjects by making them
loyal and submissive to their colonial

masters. Education was a means of Colonial education was based on

facilitating the ultimate goal of political racial discrimination. For example, it
domination and economic exploitation. favoured Europeans and Asians, while
The education provided became a at the same time discriminating against
mechanism for preparing Africans to Africans. In primary and secondary
be loyal and docile. Therefore, colonial schools, there were more Europeans
education left Africans ill-equipped and Asians than Africans. The number
in relation to their efforts to improve of Africans who attended colonial
their living conditions because it was schools was very limited. Even those
not meant to develop their critical who attended such schools received
consciousness and intellectual ability. elementary education so as to facilitate
Furthermore, colonial education colonial production. The content of
was aimed at promoting and this education was designed in such a
propagating European culture, history way that it served the interests of the
and geography. The nature of the minority Europeans rather than those
knowledge taught reflected European of the majority Africans.
social, political and economic Colonial education was provided
achievements. For example, at school, to few Africans, mainly the sons of
Africans learnt about the physical chiefs, catechists, pastors and rich
landscape of Europe like the Alps and people. This was deliberately done to
the River Rhine, and neglected African win their loyalty as this was important
physical geography. The colonial for colonial administration and church
syllabi glorified European history. evangelisation.
History topics for Africans were full of Colonial education was based on gender
Europeans’ efforts to civilise Africans imbalances as it was mainly provided
through the abolition of the slave trade, to males. Girls were ignored on the
the introduction of cash crops and the grounds that they were economically
building of schools, hospitals, roads less productive. In 1955, for example,
and railways. Generally, the syllabi there were a total of 150 students from
potrayed an image that showed that the Tanganyika studying at Makerere
colonial powers were not oppressors or University College, but only four of
exploiters. them were women. This imbalance was
Features of colonial education also due to African culture, which made
Colonial education had features that parents give more opportunities to
were different from those of pre- boys than girls. Similarly, the colonial
colonial African education. government preferred training boys to
training girls.

Colonial education was very to their fellows who were not educated.
theoretical but pre-colonial education Generally, colonial education was alien
was practical. Colonial education also and, as such, it imparted Western values
concentrated on teaching reading, to Africans.
writing and arithmetic. This was done However, it is important to acknowledge
to orient Africans to white-collar jobs. that the colonial education policy
The theoretical aspect of colonial shed light on nationalistic sentiments,
education was meant to make Africans that is, it produced some prominent
dependent on the colonialists. nationalist leaders. Like elsewhere
Colonial education was pyramidal in in Africa, in Tanganyika colonial
shape because many students were at education produced radical elites like
the lower levels of education and the Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Rashid
number kept decreasing as one moved Mfaume Kawawa, who championed
up the education ladder. the struggle for independence.
Colonial schools were unevenly Colonial education policies in
distributed, which reflected the Tanganyika up to 1961
colonial economic regional divisions. After the establishment of colonial
Most schools were established in the rule in Tanganyika, there was a need to
regions where the colonialists had ensure that the people accepted colonial
established economic activities such policies. This was considered very
as Kilimanjaro, Tanga, Dar es Salaam, important as the colonial government
Mbeya and Kagera. The labour reserve was in need of raw materials, cheap
regions such as Kigoma, Mtwara, labour and markets. To achieve this
Lindi, Singida and Rukwa were objective, the Germans and the British,
marginalised. In 1939, for example, the who colonised Tanganyika at different
boys who attended primary school in times, introduced a European education
Tanga were around 27 per cent, while system to maximise the exploitation of
in the Southern Highlands only three African natural resources and labour in
per cent attended primary school. their own interest.
Therefore, colonial education facilitated Between 1890 and 1918, the Germans
the process of underdeveloping and introduced an education policy that
exploiting Africans because it granted reflected their mode of administration.
elementary education to Africans. In The mode of administration adopted
other instances, colonial education was direct rule. Apart from reflecting
facilitated the social stratification of this mode of administration, education
Africans in the same society as educated played an important role in building
Africans regarded themselves superior

the Germans’ ideology among the World War was that of adaptation.
people of German East Africa. This kind of thinking was established
The main agencies that provided in 1925 under Governor Sir Donald
education during the German colonial Cameron following the report by the
administration were Protestant and Phelps Stokes Commission of 1923.
Catholic missionary organisations The main purpose of the commission
and the colonial government itself. was to create an education system that
Their curricula put much emphasis reflected the needs of the society. The
on vocational education, masonry, curriculum consisted of agriculture,
carpentry, tailoring, road construction development of local industries,
and agriculture. However, the improvement of health, improvement
educational activities introduced by of true ideals of citizenship and the
the Germans were short-lived. They training of people in managing their
ended with the First World War. Later own affairs. Generally, education for
on, educational activities were re- adaptation meant development of the
structured by the British when they rural sector and improvement of the
took Tanganyika as a mandate territory socio-economic conditions of the local
under the League of Nations. population.
In 1925, the British government After the Second World War, the British
introduced a system of ruling Africans government introduced the Ten-Year
in accordance with their traditional Educational Development Plan. It was
political organisations. The system
implemented from 1947 to 1956. The
was popularly called indirect rule. It
plan dealt with, among other things, the
was introduced by the second British
expansion of primary schools, middle
Governor, Sir Donald Cameron. The
schools and teacher training colleges,
system involved integrating African
the establishment of technical education
political structures into the central
and the enrolment of girls on schools.
British administrative structure. The
Therefore, the plan was intended to
indirect rule policy influenced the
expand indigenous education. It placed
nature and development of education
high emphasis on primary education,
in Tanganyika. Special schools were
teacher education and technical
established to train the sons of chiefs
education. This education continued to
to ensure that the local leadership was
serve the colonial needs.
indoctrinated with British values and
the British political ideology. Following the achievements obtained
through the implementation of the Ten-Year
The policy that guided education in
Educational Development Plan, the British
colonial Tanganyika up to the Second
colonial government formulated another

Five-Year Educational Development Plan that would not favour the elites and
of 1956-1961. Unlike the previous plan, undermine others in the country. The
the Five-Year Education Development president criticised colonial education
Plan insisted on expanding secondary for encouraging individualistic values,
and post-secondary education. The plan instead of promoting a cooperative
insisted on improving the quality of spirit among the people. He also
teachers; expanding secondary education; viewed colonial education as an
establishing the institute of education; instrument for destroying African
introducing unified teachers’ services; values and replacing them with
and promoting agricultural, technical colonial and Western values. Thus,
and commercial education. President Nyerere wanted to reform
However, at independence in 1961, the primary school curriculum, which
there were high illiteracy rates among was meant to promote and maintain
adults and children. There was also colonial rule and its ideology. The need
very small pupils enrolment on primary to improve and develop the education
school. The uneven distribution of system was reflected in the objectives
schools was marked, since the colonial of the development plans discussed
education system favoured the areas in the previous section of this chapter.
which engaged in cash crop production. New curricula which emphasised self-
Colonial education also created social reliance and agricultural production in
stratification. For example, the educated primary and secondary schools were
regarded themselves as superior and designed and implemented.
regarded the non-educated as inferior. The government also sought to reduce
Therefore, colonial education alienated illiteracy. Before independence,
Africans, especially the educated, from Tanganyikans who knew how to read
their communities. and write were very few numerically.
Changes in the education policy in At independence, only 10 per cent of
Tanzania after independence (1961) the population knew how to read and
write. To address this problem, the
Soon after independence, the president
government reforms the education
of Tanganyika, Julius K. Nyerere,
policy and intensified the efforts to
noted some weaknesses in the system
eradicate illiteracy in the country. The
of education inherited from the British.
First Three-Year Development Plan of
In his view, the system had been
1961-1964 was aimed at expanding
designed in such a way that it could
the enrolment of pupils on schools to
create a class of a few privileged
reduce illiteracy.
elites. In response, President Nyerere
advocated a system of education The provision of education based on

race and religion was abolished. The 3251 pupils who studying in Forms
education Act of 1961, which came into V, and VI 2158 (67 per cent) were
force on 1st January 1962, abolished the studying science subjects.
provision of education based on race. A Moreover, in the 1960s, African history
single system of education for pupils of was strengthened in order to create a
all races and religious persuasions was spirit of patriotism and nation-building
established. based on the African philosophy of
In addition, local education authorities self-reliance and socialism. Thus,
with powers to monitor and control the expansion of primary, secondary
primary schools were established and as well as technical education was
a unified teaching service scheme for intended to prepare skilled people who
teachers was introduced in 1963. As a could occupy various positions. In the
result, the government expanded pupil civil service, for example, Tanzanians’
enrollment on primary schools from graduates gradually replaced European
486 470 in 1961 and 753 114 in 1967 civil servants in the 1960s and early
to 848 215 in 1971. 1970s.
Furthermore, the education provided The education policy adopted after
emphasised solving the shortage of independence also emphasised the
skilled manpower which emerged soon incorporation of self-reliance into the
after independence. Much emphasis school curriculum. Teaching was directed
was placed on expanding secondary towards imparting various skills to the
and higher education to train middle learners so that they could be self-reliant
and high-level manpower. This was after completing their studies. For example,
attained through the diversification agricultural activities were introduced into
of the curricula to include various schools to familiarise students with their
disciplines. As a result, Tanzania local settings and to make schools less
witnessed an expansion in student dependent on external financial support.
enrolment on secondary schools. For They were also aimed at changing the
example, the number of students in mind-set of the people who associated
secondary schools from Forms I to the attainment of school certificates with
VI increased from 11832 in 1961 doing white-collar jobs.
and 19897 in 1964 to 31600 in 1971. Another reform was the abolition of
More emphasis were placed on science school fees. One of the main obstacles
subjects. In 1969, out of the 2563 pupils towards achieving educational goals
who were in Forms V and VI, 1509 after independence was parents’ failure
pupils (57.7 per cent) were studying to pay school fees for their children.
science subjects. In 1973, out of the This was because many parents were

poor. To increase the number of students modified to accommodate the teaching

completing primary and secondary of local ideals, values and culture.
schools, school fees were abolished in Unlike the colonial curriculum which
all government schools in 1964. insisted on teaching Western values, the
new curriculum emphasised teaching
Another change was the introduction
local values, which reflected the local
of adult education. The government
environment.
realised that adult education was
important in national development. Thus, in the early years of independence,
Having educated adult people would education became a basic human right
produce immediate results because for everyone in the country, regardless
the country was trying to speed up of one’s colour, gender, religion,
development activities. In 1964, ethnic and economic status. Access to
the Institute of Adult Education education was no longer determined by
was established and was given the affiliation with the ruling class nor was
education intended to prepare a class of a
task of formulating and executing
few privileged people. The government
training programmes for teachers and
expanded student enrolment on
administrators of adult education,
primary and secondary schools and
disseminating information and findings
established schools in various regions
of research on adult education carried
to accommodate students from various
out by other institutions in Tanzania,
parts of the country in order to foster
producing and standardising the
national unity and development based
learning materials for adult learners, as
on the philosophy of self-reliance.
well as promoting and stimulating mass
education through the mass media like Education for Self-Reliance 1967-1985
the radio and newspapers. Following the Arusha Declaration,
Another major change made soon after which instituted socialism as the
country’s philosophy, the government
independence was the adoption of the
sought to review the national education
Kiswahili language as a medium of
curriculum in keeping with this new
instruction in primary schools. This
philosophy. The education provided
was done to promote the local culture
was to enable each recipient to have
and values. In early 1962, the Kiswahili
socialist values. It was from this drive
language replaced the English language
that the philosophy of Education for
in primary schools.
Self-Reliance (ESR) was published
Other modifications which were in March 1967. The purpose was to
incorporated into the education system prepare young people to learn to serve
after independence involved changing their society. The ESR was aimed at
the curriculum. The curriculum was imparting and transmitting knowledge,

skills, values and attitudes to were to be structured in such a way that

Tanzanians. The education provided in they measured students theoretically
primary and secondary schools was to and practically.
go beyond the notion of preparing the
Moreover, primary education was not
youth for higher learning institutions.
used as a ladder to the secondary level
Education was, in that respect, intended
of education. Rather, it was supposed
to be complete at every level. It was
to prepare students for future life.
to provide the knowledge, skills and
Likewise, secondary education was not
attitudes that would enable students
a ladder to universities, teacher training
to live successfully in a developing
colleges and technical colleges.
socialist state.
Instead, it was to prepare people for life
Furthermore, the ESR philosophy and service in the society.
emphasised collective making of efforts
The middle-level primary schools, most
to develop the country. Under the ESR
of which were boarding schools run by
philosophy, schools were designed in
missionaries or private organisations,
such a way that they would become
were abolished. The payment of school
economic, social and educational
fees was abolished at all levels of
communities capable of meeting their
education. This transformation had far-
own maintenance needs. In that respect,
reaching consequences. Children from
by 1968, all primary and secondary
poor families began to enjoy upward
schools, as well as teacher-training
social mobility.
colleges had embarked on farming
and other self-reliance activities like Generally, the type of education
poultry projects, shops and livestock adopted during the Second Five-Year
keeping. Plan, 1969-74, reflected the ESR
philosophy. It advocated the move
The ESR was a typical example
towards self-sufficiency in terms of
of equality in society as the policy
skills at all levels of the economy. This
document was aimed at making
type of education was aimed at giving
education beneficial to the whole
primary education to every child.
society. The policy objective would be
Primary education was, therefore,
attained through making educational
declared free and compulsory.
institutions producers of goods which
would, in turn, benefit the same The success of Education for Self-
institutions. In addition, all learners Reliance
were required to participate in various Despite the challenges, the
communal productive activities. Under ESR programme realised some
the ESR philosophy, examinations achievements. Among of them were

the increase in student enrolment at (UPE) whereby education was

all levels of education. For instance, provided free of charge and was
in 1962, pupil enrolment on primary compulsory to all children without any
schools stood at 518 663, but the number discrimination. This measure solved
rose to 1990 650 in 1976 and 3530 622 the problem of school fees and rural-
in 1981. This tremendous increase was urban migration among school leavers.
due to the ESR programme. Some of To make it effective, the government
the reasons for the increase included allowed secondary school graduates to
the abolition of school fees and the teach in primary schools.
nationalisation of private schools. Finally, the ESR imparted practical
Furthermore, the ESR helped to skills to pupils. Learners studied skills
eradicate the problem of ethnicity and relevant to their societies such as crop
gender imbalance, for the students who farming and animal keeping.
were selected to join secondary schools Failure of Education for
were distributed nationwide, regardless Self-Reliance
of their ethnic groups and regional
Implementation of the ESR was not
backgrounds. The quota system served
successful for various reasons. One of
this purpose. Emphasis was also put on
the reasons was the lack of guidance as
gender equality. As a consequence, the
education stakeholders implemented
ESR helped to minimise the problem of it blindly. Neither the ESR nor later
gender discrimination in education. For policies gave directives on how to
instance, in 1961, female enrolment in pursue the objectives. Although in the
Form One was 29 per cent and Form examinations there were questions
Six 9 per cent. By 1981, the total closely related to the ESR philosophy,
female enrolment in Forms I-VI had the questions could not be used to
risen to 34 per cent. evaluate the implementation of the
policy broadly.
Another success of the ESR was the
introduction of political education The implementation of the ESR also
to create political awareness and lacked proper organisation as it was
consciousness among pupils on politics, not coordinated from above. Thus, it
economics and the social condition was difficult to evaluate the strategies
which were being implemented.
of the nation. Political education was
introduced as a compulsory subject for Furthermore, the teachers who
all learners. implemented this programme were
not trained in how to implement it.
Moreover, the ESR was the foundation The programme integrated academic
for the Universal Primary Education training and manual work. As a

consequence, there was a decline in

the quality of education, especially the Exercise 7.5
intellectual capacities of school leavers
Assess the relevance of
as schools devoted most of their time
Education for Self-Reliance in
and resources to the implementation
your community.
of production projects, instead of
imparting academic excellence to
students. In other words, it was difficult Education policies after the failure of
to strike a balance between academics Education for Self-Reliance
and self-reliant activities.
Since independence, the government
Another problem was the students and
has carried out reforms in the
teachers’ negative attitude towards
education sector to achieve the set
the ESR. With the ESR, schools
objectives. One of the largest reforms
tried to change students’ attitude
was the 1974 Musoma Resolution,
towards manual work and national
which was passed after the conference
responsibility without success.
held in Musoma to assess the ESR.
Unexpectedly, students perceived the
The Musoma Resolution continued
ESR as punishment because students
strategies to correct the major problems
who misbehaved were punished by
of the ESR. The strategies included the
being asked to do agricultural work
universalisation of primary education
on school farms and in gardens. Thus,
and the integration of vocational
teachers used agriculture and manual
training with academic training.
work to discipline naughty students.
There was also a shortage of funds Another reform was the 1990 education
for implementing the ESR. The review. In 1990, a National Task Force
government lacked enough funds to on Education was appointed to evaluate
run ESR projects and buy teaching- and review the education system and
learning materials. Thus, there was an recommend a suitable educational
acute shortage of relevant teaching and system for the 21st century. The task
learning materials like books and pieces force recommended improving the
of chalk. There was also a shortage of quality of education and strengthening
desks. Parents did not consider the the link between the education provided
ESR useful because even classrooms at all levels and socio-economic
were built by them. Finally, the ESR development in Tanzania.
lacked a proper assessment mechanism
Moreover, in 1995, the government
as it was implemented differently in
introduced the Education and Training
different places.
Policy (ETP). The policy was aimed at

providing guidance and synchronising the Primary Education Development

and harmonising all structures, plans Programme (PEDP). PEDP was part
and practices to ensure access to equity of the 2025 development vision. PEDP
and equality at all levels of education resulted in the abolition of school fees
so that there could be a proper and and mandatory contributions. It also
efficient mechanism for managing, resulted in the recruitment of 50 per cent
administering and financing education of teachers in five years, the building
and training in Tanzania. The focus of over 40 000 new classrooms and the
of the ETP was on decentralisation of introduction of an annual capitation
education, establishment of schools and grant of 10 USD per pupil.
expansion of training opportunities,
access, equity curricula, examination The Secondary Education
and certification, teacher education Development Programme (SEDP)
and tertiary and higher education. was also introduced. Under SEDP,
Under this policy the role and visibility emphasis was put on specific
of the private sector in education was subjects, especially Information and
increased. There was also a reduction Communication Technology (ICT).
of subsidies and the introduction of Generally, education policies have
cost-sharing in education. been changing to reflect the needs of the
country in different economic phases.
Additionally, in early 1997, the For example, as explained earlier, the
government developed a Basic education policies implemented from
Education Master Plan (BEMP) to the 1960s to early 1980s suited the
guide the provision of basic education. objective of building a socialist and
BEMP was intended to ensure that the self-reliant society.
quality of education was good.
There was the Local Government

Reforms Agenda in 1998. Under such Activity 7.2
reforms, less developed regions were In March 1967, the government
given preference in the establishment introduced the philosophy of
of new schools. Regions like Mtwara Education for Self-Reliance. Write
and Lindi were given priority to bring an essay about the ESR in terms of
about equality in the education sector. its success and failure and present
your essay in class.
Furthermore, between 1999 and
2001 the government implemented

Challenges that faced development There was also the deterioration of the
efforts in Tanzania quality and provision of social services
which was observed in several sectors
Like any other African country,
like the health, education and water
Tanzania faced various challenges
sectors. The government’s ability
before and after independence. Tanzania
to allocate funds to these services
faced certain economic, social and
declined remarkably. For example,
political challenges that she inherited the funds allocated to the education
from colonialism. It also faced certain sector declined in relation to the total
challenges from the mid-1970s to early government expenditure between
1980s. The challenges are commonly the 1970s and 1980s. Thus, from the
called economic crises which are beginning of the 1980s, the education
discussed in the following section. sector faced several problems such
as lack of textbooks, lack of desks,
The economic crises of the 1970s lack of staff houses and poor school
and 1980s maintenance.
The economic crises of the 1970s and There was also deterioration in the
1980s were caused by a shortage of transport sector. The problem was
consumer goods and basic production seen in the lack of spare parts and poor
inputs such as agricultural implements maintenance of roads and railways. This
and industrial inputs such as spare parts affected the collection of agricultural
and raw materials. Basic needs such as products and the delivery of inputs
home-based commodities like cooking and basic consumer goods to the rural
oil, salt, soap, sugar, batteries and areas. As a result, there was a decline in
kerosene were also insufficient. agricultural production. Agriculture is
Moreover, there was high inflation. The the backbone of Tanzania’s economy.
rate of inflation, for example, increased This decline resulted in the fall in
from 10 to 12 per cent in the early the volume of exports, especially the
1970s to about 25 per cent in the late volume of cashew nuts, coffee, sisal,
1970s. In the early 1980s it increased tea and tobacco, which were the main
to 30 per cent. export crops. A serious drop in these
Furthermore, there was a decline in crops was witnessed between the early
the performance of the manufacturing 1970s and mid-1980s. As a result,
sector. The decline in commercial there was further depletion of foreign
agriculture, particularly export crops, exchange.
was a major factor for the decline of
the industrial sector.

Factors for the economic crises of the have been used to implement national
1970s and 1980s development plans were used to import
There were several factors for the relief food from the USA an North
economic crises of the 1970s and America.
1980s. The major factors included the Moreover, the collapse of the East
following: African Community (EAC) in 1977
One of the factor for the economic adversely affected the economy of
crises was an increase in the price of Tanzania. Tanzania was forced to
petroleum oil. The war between Israel establish new structures for civil
and the Arab states of Egypt and Syria aviation, harbour administration,
in 1973 increased the price of oil more railways, postal services and
than four times at the world market. telecommunications. Investment in
This increase came about because the infrastructure made the government
Arab nations did not export oil to the spent a large amount of funds highly
USA and Western Europe because these needed for other domestic purposes.
powers supported Israel during the war. Hence, the economic crises were
The price of oil increased again in 1974. inevitable.
Like other countries, Tanzania was
affected by this increase. In this regard, The war between Tanzania and Uganda,
the government earned less foreign which was fought from 9th October
exchange from its exports and used a 1978 to 3rd June 1979, also caused
huge amount of foreign exchange to the economic crises of the 1970s and
import oil at very high prices. At the 1980s. The government used much
same time, there was a drastic decline money during the war by buying
in the price of agricultural exports. weapons and financing the logistics
of the war such as the movement of
The occurrence of persistent drought soldiers, foodstuffs and other war
in the early 1970s also contributed needs from Tanzania to Uganda.
to the economic crises. The country As a consequence, the government
was hit hard by a severe drought in experienced a serious shortage of funds
1973 and 1974. This caused severe for use in the economic and social
famine throughout Tanzania. The sectors. The estimated cost of the war
country exhausted all its food reserves was US $500 million. This cost was so
to enable the victims to survive the big that it had a direct negative impact
famine. Thus, the government used on the country’s budget.
much money to import food, especially
maize, wheat and beans for the victims The oil price shock of 1979 was yet
of famine. Thus, funds which should another reason for the economic crises.

The price of oil almost doubled in the was formulated in a hurry and that
period between 1978 and 1979, thus it contained unrealistic targets.
increasing the import bill which was Therefore, the programme did not lead
three times more than that of 1974 and to economic recovery.
1975. The price of oil destabilised the
The government also implemented
economy as in the 1980s it accounted
the domestically-based Structural
for over 55 per cent of export earnings
Adjustment Programmes (SAPs)
and 23 per cent of its imports.
between 1982 and 1985. The major
Measures the government took to objective was to finance the fiscal
overcome the challenges deficit largely through domestic
borrowing in the absence of external
Initially, the government sought to assistance to reduce inflation, restore
improve domestic policies before production, maintain social services
finding foreign-based measures to and revive the economic infrastructure.
solve the crises. Some of the measures The SAPs were also intended to
taken are discussed below. promote agricultural development and
improve efficiency.
Internally-designed reforms
Furthermore, several provisions were
The first major attempt that the
put in place to fight economic sabotage
government made was to formulate
which was common at the time of
a National Economic Survival
the crises. The government passed
Programme (NESP) in 1981-1982.
Economic Sabotage Act No. 9 of 1983
The objectives of the NESP were to
to fight overpricing and the hoarding
increase substantially foreign exchange
of goods done because of the scarcity
earnings, save on imports, eliminate
of commodities in several parts of the
food shortages through village-centred
country. The government established
irrigation schemes, controlling public
special tribunals to deal with economic
expenditure in both government and
sabotage offences.
parastatals, formulating development
plans that emphasised the consolidation To contain the decline in the price of
of activities, instead of introducing new crops, the government reintroduced
activities, and raising the productivity cooperatives through the Cooperatives
of workers and farmers through Act of 1982. It should be noted that
appropriate incentive schemes. cooperatives had been banned in
1976. Moreover, the 1982 Act allowed
The objectives of the NESP were private ownership of land, advocated
not realised because they were ill- the liberalisation of several aspects
defined. It was argued that the NESP of agricultural marketing and paved

the way for people to make private purpose. The assistance received from
investment in agriculture. the international community saved the
Despite the government’s efforts to economy from declining and, thus, the
address challenges, most domestic economy started growing in the late
measures did not bear fruit. Most of 1990s.
them failed either because of financial
Tanzania adopted a donor-funded
constraints or because of inefficiency and
Economic Recovery Programme (ERP)
maladministration. Foreign assistance
in 1986 after its domestic policies had
was, therefore, sought to supplement
failed. The ERP came up with a set of
the domestic initiatives, which had
Structural Adjustment Programmes
failed to recover the economy. Thus, the
(SAPs) and a package of reforms that
persistence of the challenges left the
were essentially aimed at liberalising
country with no option but to introduce
the economy. The SAP-related
donor-funded economic recovery
measures included the devaluation of
programmes in 1986.
the shilling, the liberalisation of trade
and the encouragement of local and
Activity 7.3 private capital producer incentives.
Others were the liberalisation of internal
Imagine you were Mwalimu
trade by removing price controls,
Nyerere, the first president of
cutting government expenditure on
Tanzania. Address the nation
social and productive services through
on the economic situation after
cost-sharing measures and eliminating
independence. Suggest the
subsidies and allowances. The
measures your government would
government was also advised to reform
have taken to address the situation.
the political system by re-introducing
Present your speech in class.
the multiparty system, which was
expected to bring about checks and
balances and, indeed, accountability.
Structural Adjustment Programmes
(SAPs) Moreover, the SAPs were meant to
In the mid-1980s, it was realised that, increase production for internal and
in order to overcome Tanzania’s socio- external markets and to improve the
economic challenges, there was a need country’s physical infrastructure and
to re-adjust the economy. Thus, the the industrial sector. However, as
World Bank (WB) and the International explained earlier, in the long run the
Monetary Fund (IMF) were consulted SAPs did not enable the government to
to secure either loans or grants for that solve the economic crises.

Exercise 7.6
The SAPs have been interpreted differently by different scholars. Some
scholars view the SAPs as a perfect solution to Tanzania’s socio-economic
challenges. Other scholars view them as a source of other economic problems.
What are your views on this and why?
Revision exercise 7
1. Provide a brief history of the constitutional changes made in Tanzania

from 1961 to the 2000s.
2. What do you understand by “colonial education policy”.
3. Evaluate the effects of the colonial education policy up to 1961.
4. Explain briefly the philosophy of Education for Self-Reliance and
assess its strengths and weaknesses.
5. Evaluate the validity of the government’s six recommendations with
respect to Education for Self-Reliance.
6. Discuss the challenges that hinder the development of Tanzania today.
7. How did Tanzania address the challenges of economic development in
the 1970s and 1980s?
8. What were the justifications for introducing the Arusha Declaration in
Tanzania?
9. What do you think was the best way of implementing the villagilisation
programme in Mainland Tanzania? Why do you think so?
10. Why was Tanzania reluctant to accept the comprehensive SAPs in the
early 1980s?
11. “The 1970s and 1980s economic crises were caused by Tanzania’s
internal policy deficiency.” Discuss.
12. Examine the indicators of the economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s.

Glossary
Act a law that has been officially accepted by the governing body
of a country
Amendment a minor change or addition made to improve a piece of

legislation
Ancient belonging to the distance past or something dating to the past
Articulation includes transformation, some changes, adoption and

preservation of some pre-colonial elements
Barbaric extremely cruel and unpleasant
Bill a draft of a proposed law presented to parliament for discussion

and approval
Cathedral a church that contains a seat of a bishop, thus serving as a

central church in a diocese
Coercive using force to make people do things that they are unwilling
to do
Compelled forcefully driven to a particular course of action
Crown land the territorial area belonging to the monarch, governor or

president who holds it on behalf of his or her subject
Declaration the act of making an official statement about something
Diaspora dispersion of people from their homeland or a community

formed by people who have exited or been removed from their
homeland
Evict officially forcing someone to leave a house or piece of land
Gandhism a body of ideas and principles that describes the inspiration,

vision, life and work of Mahatma Gandhi
Hinterland the remote areas of a country away from the coast or the banks
of the major rivers

Loot Steal goods from a place, typically during a war or riot
Metropolitan relating to or denoting a metropolis or a large city
Ordinance an authoritative rule or law, decree or command common

during the colonial period
Pact a formal agreement between individuals or parties
Persuasion the act of convincing; making someone do something
Philosophy a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour
Prejudice an unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling, especially when

formed without enough thought or knowledge
Pyramid stone buildings with four triangular sloping sides
Sabotage deliberate damage or destruction of equipment or property

which belongs to your enemy or opponent
Sanction strong action taken in order to make people obey a law or rule
Trustee a person or firm that holds and administers property or assets

for the benefit of a third party
Union Jack the flag of the United Kingdom which combines the flags of
England, Scotland and Ireland
Westminster a democratic parliamentary system of government practised

by the UK

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Tanzania Institute of Education

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© Tanzania Institute of Education 2022

Tanzania Institute of Education

P.O. Box 35094

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

ii Student's Book Form Five

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Acronyms and abbreviations��������������������������������������������������������������������������� vii

Chapter One: Pre-colonial African societies���������������������������������������������������� 1

Political organisations in pre-colonial Africa�������������������������������������������� 20

Pre-colonial education and culture������������������������������������������������������������ 32

Revision exercise 1����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 41

Chapter Two: Africa and Europe in the 15th century������������������������������������ 42

The political systems in Africa and Europe by the 15th century���������������� 60

Development of science and technology in Africa and

Europe up to the 15th century��������������������������������������������������������������������� 63

Rise of the development gap between Africa and

Europe since the 15th century��������������������������������������������������������������������� 68

Revision exercise 2����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 71

Chapter Three: People of African origin in the New World������������������������� 73

The concept of slavery and slave trade������������������������������������������������������ 74

Black Solidarity and ‘Back-to-Africa’ Movement������������������������������������ 84

The Civil Rights Movement���������������������������������������������������������������������� 93

Revision exercise 3����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 99

Student's Book Form Five iii

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Chapter Four: The colonial state and agricultural

The colonial state���������������������������������������������������������������������������������101

Reasons for the adopting different colonial agricultural systems��������122

Revision exercise 4�����������������������������������������������������������������������������127

Chapter Five: Changes in the colonial economy and social services

Changes in colonial agriculture�����������������������������������������������������������134

Changes in the colonial industrial policies������������������������������������������142

Changes in the colonial trade��������������������������������������������������������������144

Changes in colonial labour policies�����������������������������������������������������146

Changes in the colonial transport and communication systems����������152

Changes in social service policies�������������������������������������������������������156

Revision exercise 5�����������������������������������������������������������������������������166

Chapter Six: Nationalism and decolonisation in Africa��������������������������168

The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919���������������������������������������������������171

Effects of the Second World War���������������������������������������������������������180

The United State of America (USA) and decolonisation of Africa�����185

United Nations Organisation���������������������������������������������������������������187

The Bandung Conference of 1955�������������������������������������������������������189

The independence of India and Burma������������������������������������������������191

Revision exercise 6�����������������������������������������������������������������������������193

iv Student's Book Form Five

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Chapter Seven: Political and economic development in Tanzania

Economic development in Tanzania since independence������������������������204

Educational development in Tanzania after independence����������������������214

Challenges that faced development efforts in Tanzania��������������������������226

Revision exercise 7���������������������������������������������������������������������������������230

Student's Book Form Five v

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1.1: Some of the areas in pre-colonial Africa where there were

1.3: West African states involved in Jihad movements

2.1: Trade between East African coast, the Roman world,

2.2: North-West Africa Trans-Saharan Trade routes������������������������������������� 48

2.3: Egyptian pyramid����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 64

3.1: Triangular Slave Trade��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 76

Acronyms and abbreviations�� vii

Chapter One: Pre-colonial African societies�� 1

Political organisations in pre-colonial Africa�� 20

Pre-colonial education and culture�� 32

Revision exercise 1�� 41

Chapter Two: Africa and Europe in the 15th century�� 42

The political systems in Africa and Europe by the 15th century�� 60

Europe up to the 15th century�� 63

Europe since the 15th century�� 68

Revision exercise 2�� 71

Chapter Three: People of African origin in the New World�� 73

The concept of slavery and slave trade�� 74

Black Solidarity and ‘Back-to-Africa’ Movement�� 84

The Civil Rights Movement�� 93

Revision exercise 3�� 99

The colonial state��101

Reasons for the adopting different colonial agricultural systems��122

Revision exercise 4��127

Changes in colonial agriculture��134

Changes in the colonial industrial policies��142

Changes in the colonial trade��144

Changes in colonial labour policies��146

Changes in the colonial transport and communication systems��152

Changes in social service policies��156

Revision exercise 5��166

Chapter Six: Nationalism and decolonisation in Africa��168

The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919��171

Effects of the Second World War��180

The United State of America (USA) and decolonisation of Africa��185

United Nations Organisation��187

The Bandung Conference of 1955��189

The independence of India and Burma��191

Revision exercise 6��193

Economic development in Tanzania since independence��204

Educational development in Tanzania after independence��214

Challenges that faced development efforts in Tanzania��226

Revision exercise 7��230

2.2: North-West Africa Trans-Saharan Trade routes�� 48

2.3: Egyptian pyramid�� 64

3.1: Triangular Slave Trade�� 76

3.2: William Du Bois. �� 81

3.3: Marcus Garvey�� 86

3.4: Rosa Park and Martin Luther King Jr�� 94

4.1: German colonial askaris�� 102

4.2: Sisal plantation in German East Africa�� 120

5.1: Main railway lines and ports in Tanganyika�� 154

6.1: Nnamdi Azikiwe�� 176

6.2: Ahmed Sukarno (1901-1970)�� 190

6.3: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)�� 192

7.1: Urafiki Textile Mill�� 209