Page 47 - Volume 1_Go home mzungu Go Home_merged with links

“Go home, m’zungu Go Home !”

An Overview of this volume

The m’zungu did not bring civilisation to Africa.

He simply brought his own culture and values and went to great lengths to impose them
on Africans. Today’s Africans are still paying a heavy price for the distortions this created.

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African societies were capable of sophisticated self-government long before the m’zungu
invaded their lands.

The pre- m’zungu history of Africa features a number of sophisticated kingdoms and

empires; some regional populations with structured societies and beliefs that parallel (and
sometimes exceed) those of the m’zungu ; areas where women’s role in society was respected

(including some where women enjoyed a level of equality beyond that recognised by many m’zungu nations
today) ; and societies that allowed a social mobility for slaves.

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The m’zungu came to Africa for selfish reasons.

The colonial m’zungu focus on Africa was about exploitation and extraction

(The myth of colonial powers ‘helping’ Africa was exposed some 60 years ago in Walter Rodney’s book
“How Europe Underdeveloped Africa”.
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2 million Africans are said to have died in this m̩'zuŋɡu war. It’s estimated that 1 million Africans died of
starvation in East Africa because forced military service led to labour shortages in the fields.)
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Colonialisation

The process of colonisation was rapid, aided by the church and missionaries, and
reinforced by military means. Governance in modern day Africa is made more complicated

by the distortions that colonisation introduced into African society.

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Colonial Rule

Colonial regimes abolished slavery but replaced it with forced labour schemes. Colonial
rule took different forms but always left the m’zungu in control. Colonial powers did not

develop the infrastructure necessary for the creation of an independent nation state.

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