As in Asia, colonial rule had a mixed impact on the
societies and peoples of Africa. The Western presence
brought a number of short-term and long-term benefits to
Africa, such as improved transportation and communication
facilities, and in a few areas laid the foundation for a
modern industrial and commercial sector. Improved sanitation
and medical care in all probability increased life
expectancy. The introduction of selective elements of
Western political systems laid the basis for the gradual
creation of democratic societies.
Yet the benefits of Westernization were distributed unequally,
and the vast majority of Africans found their
lives little improved, if at all. Only South Africa and
French-held Algeria, for example, developed modern industrial
sectors, extensive railroad networks, and modern
communications systems. In both countries, European
settlers were numerous, most investment capital for industrial
ventures was European, and whites comprised almost
the entire professional and managerial class. Members
of the native population were generally restricted to
unskilled or semiskilled jobs at wages less than one-fifth
of those enjoyed by Europeans. Those who worked in industry
or on infrastructure projects often suffered from inhumane
working conditions. Several thousand African
conscripts reportedly died on press gangs building the
new railroad system.
Many colonies concentrated on export crops—peanuts
from Senegal and Gambia, cotton from Egypt and
Uganda, coffee from Kenya, and palm oil and cocoa products
from the Gold Coast. Here the benefits of development
were somewhat more widespread. In some cases, the
crops were grown on plantations, which were usually
owned by Europeans. But plantation agriculture was not
always suitable in Africa, and much farming was done by
free or tenant farmers. In some areas, where land ownership
was traditionally vested in the community, the land
was owned and leased by the corporate village.
Even here, however, the vast majority of the profits
from the export of tropical products accrued to Europeans
or to merchants from other foreign countries, such as India
and the Arab emirates. While a fortunate few benefited
from the increase in exports, the vast majority of Africans
continued to be subsistence farmers growing food
for their own consumption. The gap was particularly wide
in places like Kenya, where the best lands had been
reserved for European settlers to make the colony selfsufficient.
As in other parts of the world, the early stages
of the Industrial Revolution were especially painful for
the rural population, and ordinary subsistence farmers
reaped few benefits from colonial rule.
World History
