Page 232 - Volume 1_Go home mzungu Go Home_merged with links

“Go home, m’zungu Go Home !”

Some Key Findings

Colonial Rule

· By 1902 90% of all land in Africa was under European control.

· Prior to the Berlin conference European diplomats worked through the local African trade
networks
· European colonial powers adopted a different style of governance

France instituted a policy of assimilation designed to convert Africans in French held
territories into French citizens. French policy was based on ‘direct rule and assimilation’.

Britain allowed Africans a form of quasi-autonomy. British policy was based on ‘indirect
rule’.
Portugal’s colonial system has been described as social Darwinism reflecting a belief
that Africans had nothing tangible to contribute to the development of society.
Portuguese colonies were known for having the highest rates of illiteracy.

Belgian colonial government relied on Belgian multinational companies and the
Catholic Church for control. Africans were exposed to the church in order to instill
discipline, respect, and subservience.

Italian rule came to reflect fascism and, in particular, white superiority

· Studies evidence the degree to which British colonial rule made deliberate use of a ‘multi-
dimensional ‘divide and rule’ strategy. Dividing populations
into distinct population groups (religious, racial, linguistic)

along class lines (e.g. separating elites from the masses)

· Colonial regimes abolished slavery but replaced it with forced labour schemes

· Studies find that citizens of Anglophone African countries are more likely to attach greater
importance to ethnic identity ; have weaker norms against tax evasion ; face extortion by
non-state actors

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The Struggle for Independence

(“Vade Retro domum” - “Nolo Relinquere”)

· Colonial powers used of a policy of divide and rule and the early decades of m̩'zuŋɡu
colonisation saw different ethnic African groupings being used to help suppress rival ethnic

groups.

· Most of earliest forms of African resistance were peaceful and involved local movements
resisting colonial policies.

· WW1 acted as a catalyst for a greater willingness to confront colonial powers arising from