Palmistry 

Africa has never been a colony. colonies in Africa. Enslavement of the peoples of East Africa

Colonization of Africa

On the eve of European colonization, the peoples of Tropical and Southern Africa were at various stages of development. Some had a primitive system, others had a class society. It can also be said that in Tropical Africa, a sufficiently developed, specifically Negro statehood did not develop, even comparable to the states of the Incas and Maya. How can this be explained? There are several reasons, namely: an unfavorable climate, poor soils, primitive agricultural technology, a low level of labor culture, the fragmentation of a small population, as well as the dominance of primitive tribal traditions and early religious cults. In the end, highly developed civilizations: Christian and Muslim differed from African in more developed cultural and religious traditions, that is, a more advanced level of consciousness than Africans. At the same time, remnants of pre-class relations persisted even among the most developed peoples. The decomposition of tribal relations was most often manifested in the exploitation by the heads of large patriarchal families of ordinary community members, as well as in the concentration of land and livestock in the hands of the tribal elite.

In different centuries, both in the Middle Ages and in the New Age, various state formations arose on the territory of Africa: Ethiopia (Aksum), in which the Christian Monophysite Church dominated; a kind of confederation called Oyo arose on the Guinean coast; then Dahomey; in the lower reaches of the Congo at the end of the 15th century. such state formations as the Congo, Loango and Makoko appeared; in Angola between 1400 and 1500. there was a short-lived and semi-legendary political association - Monomotapa. However, all these proto-states were fragile. Europeans who appeared on the coast of Africa in the XVII-XVIII centuries. launched a large-scale slave trade. Then they tried to create their own settlements, outposts and colonies here.

In southern Africa, at the Cape of Good Hope, the site of the Dutch East India Company-Kapstadt (Cape Colony) was established. Over time, more and more settlers from Holland began to settle in Kapstadt, who waged a stubborn struggle with local tribes, Bushmen and Hottentots. At the beginning of the XIX century. The Cape colony was captured by Great Britain, after which the Dutch-Boers moved to the north, subsequently founding the republics of Transvaal and Orange. European Boer colonists increasingly developed southern Africa, engaging in the slave trade and forcing the black population to work in gold and diamond mines. In the English zone of colonization, the Zulu tribal community led by Chuck in the first third of the 19th century. managed to consolidate and subjugate a number of Bantu tribes. But the clash of the Zulus, first with the Boers, and then with the British, led to the defeat of the Zulu state.

Africa in the 19th century became the main springboard for European colonization. By the end of this century, almost the entire African continent (with the exception of Ethiopia) was divided between Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium. Moreover, the first place in terms of the number of colonies and the native population belonged to Great Britain, the second to France (mainly to the north and south of the Sahara), the third to Germany, the fourth to Portugal and the fifth to Belgium. But small Belgium got a huge territory (about 30 times larger than the territory of Belgium itself), the richest in its natural reserves - the Congo.

The European colonialists, having done away with the primary proto-state formations of African leaders and kings, brought here the forms of a developed bourgeois economy with advanced technology and transport infrastructure. The local population, experiencing a cultural "shock" from meeting with a civilization that was fabulously developed at that time, gradually joined modern life. In Africa, as well as in other colonies, the fact of belonging to one or another metropolis immediately manifested itself. So, if the British colonies (Zambia, Gold Coast, South Africa, Uganda, Southern Rhodesia, etc.) were under the control of an economically developed, bourgeois and democratic England and began to develop more rapidly, then the population of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea (Bissau) belonging to the more backward Portugal, more slowly.

Far from always, colonial conquests were economically justified, sometimes the struggle for colonies in Africa looked like a kind of political sport - by all means bypass the opponent and not let yourself be bypassed. Secularized European thought during this period abandoned the idea of ​​​​spreading the “true religion” -Christianity, but on the other hand she saw the civilizing role of Europe in the backward colonies in the spread of modern science and education. In addition, in Europe it became even indecent not to have colonies. This can explain the emergence of the Belgian Congo, German and Italian colonies, from which there was little use.

Germany was the last to rush to Africa, nevertheless managed to take possession of Namibia, Cameroon, Togo and East Africa. In 1885, at the initiative of German Chancellor Bismarck, the Berlin Conference was convened, in which 13 European countries took part. The conference established the rules for the acquisition of still independent lands in Africa, in other words, the remaining lands still unoccupied were divided. By the end of the 19th century, only Liberia and Ethiopia retained political independence in Africa. Moreover, Christian Ethiopia successfully repelled the attack of Italy in 1896 and even defeated Italian troops in the Battle of Adua.

The division of Africa also gave rise to such a variety of monopolistic associations as privileged companies. The largest of these companies was the British South Africa Company, established in 1889 by S. Rhodes and having its own army. The Royal Niger Company operated in West Africa, and the British East Africa Company operated in East Africa. Similar companies were created in Germany, France, Belgium. These monopoly companies were a kind of state within a state and turned the African colonies with their population and resources into a sphere of complete subjugation to themselves. The richest African colony was South Africa, which belonged to Britain and the Boer colonists from the Transvaal and Orange republics, since gold and diamonds were found there. This led the British and European-born Boers to start the bloody Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, in which the British won. The diamond-rich republics of Transvaal and Orange became British colonies. Subsequently, in 1910, the richest British colony, South Africa, formed the British dominion, the Union of South Africa.

The history of Africa is calculated for thousands of years, it is from here, according to the scientific world, that mankind originated. And here, too, many peoples returned, however, already in order to establish their dominance.

The proximity of the north to Europe led to the fact that Europeans in the 15-16th century actively penetrated the continent. Also the African west, it was controlled by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century, they began to actively sell slaves from the local population.

The Spaniards and the Portuguese were followed by other states from Western Europe: France, Denmark, England, Spain, Holland and Germany to the "dark continent".

As a result, East and North Africa came under European oppression, more than 10% of African lands were under their rule in the middle of the 19th century. However, by the end of this century, the size of colonization reached more than 90% of the mainland.

What attracted the colonists? First of all, natural resources:

  • wild trees of valuable species in large quantities;
  • growing a variety of crops (coffee, cocoa, cotton, sugar cane);
  • precious stones (diamonds) and metals (gold).

The slave trade also grew.

Egypt has long been drawn into the capitalist economy on a world level. After the Suez Canal was opened, England began to actively compete, who would be the first to establish his dominance in these lands.

The British government took advantage of the difficult situation in the country, prompting the creation of an international committee to manage the Egyptian budget. As a result, an Englishman became Minister of Finance, a Frenchman was in charge of public works. Then difficult times began for the population, which was exhausted from numerous taxes.

The Egyptians tried in various ways to prevent the establishment of a foreign colony in Africa, but over time, England sent troops there to take over the country. The British were able to occupy Egypt by force and cunning, making it their colony.

France began the colonization of Africa from Algeria, in which for twenty years it proved its right to dominate by war. Also, with prolonged bloodshed, the French conquered Tunisia.

Agriculture was developed in these lands, so the conquerors organized their own huge estates with vast lands, on which Arab peasants were forced to work. Local peoples were convened to build facilities for the needs of the occupiers (roads and ports).

And although Morocco was a very important object for many European countries, it remained free for a long time thanks to the rivalry of its enemies. Only after the strengthening of power in Tunisia and Algeria did France begin to subdue Morocco.

In addition to these countries in the north, Europeans began to explore South Africa. There, the British easily pushed back the local tribes (San, Koikoin) to deserted territories. Only the Bantu peoples did not submit for a long time.

As a result, in the 70s of the 19th century, the English colonies occupied the southern coast, without penetrating deep into the mainland.

The influx of people to this region is timed to coincide with the discovery in the valley of the river. Orange diamond. Mines became the centers of settlements, cities were created. The formed joint-stock companies have always used the cheap power of the local population.

The British had to fight for Zululand, which was included in Natal. The Transvaal was not fully conquered, but the London Convention provided for certain restrictions on local government.

Germany also began to occupy these territories - from the mouth of the Orange River to Angola, the Germans declared their protectorate (southwest Africa).

If England sought to extend its power in the south, then France directed its efforts inland in order to colonize the continuous strip between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. As a result, under French rule was the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Guinea.

The British also owned some West African countries - mainly the coastal territories of the Gambia, Niger and Volta rivers, as well as the Sahara.

Germany in the west was able to conquer only Cameroon and Togo.

Belgium sent forces to the center of the African continent, so the Congo became its colony.

Italy got some lands in northeast Africa - huge Somalia and Eritrea. And fot Ethiopia was able to repel the attack of the Italians, as a result, it was this power that was practically the only one that retained its independence from the influence of Europeans.

Only two did not become European colonies:

  • Ethiopia;
  • Eastern Sudan.

Former colonies in Africa

Naturally, foreign possession of almost the entire continent could not last long, the local population sought to gain freedom, since their living conditions were usually deplorable. Therefore, since 1960, the colonies quickly began to be liberated.

This year, 17 African countries became independent again, most of them - the former colonies in Africa of France and those that were under the control of the UN. Lost colonies in addition to this and:

  • UK - Nigeria;
  • Belgium - Congo.

Somalia, divided between Britain and Italy, united to form the Somali Democratic Republic.

While most Africans became independent as a result of mass desire, strikes and negotiations, wars were still waged in some countries to gain freedom:

  • Angola;
  • Zimbabwe;
  • Kenya;
  • Namibia;
  • Mozambique.

The rapid liberation of Africa from the colonists has led to the fact that in many created states, the geographical boundaries do not correspond to the ethnic and cultural composition of the population, and this becomes a reason for disagreements and civil wars.

And the new rulers do not always comply with democratic principles, which leads to massive dissatisfaction and the deterioration of the situation in many African countries.

Even now in Africa there are such territories that are controlled by European states:

  • Spain - Canary Islands, Melilla and Ceuta (in Morocco);
  • Great Britain - Chagos Archipelago, Ascension Islands, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha;
  • France - Reunion, the islands of Mayotte and Eparse;
  • Portugal - Madeira.
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Who knows whether all the countries of Africa were once colonies or are there those that were not colonized?

Ethiopia and Liberia were never colonies.

Ethiopia is the oldest Christian country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Unlike other African countries, it was never colonized (although it survived the military occupation of fascist Italy in 1936-1941).

The history of Liberia as a political entity begins with the arrival of the first black American settlers - Americo-Liberians, as they called themselves, in Africa - on the coast of which they founded a colony of "free men of color" (free men of color) in 1822 under the auspices of the American Colonization Society . The historical roots of true Liberians determine their identity, however, over time, various traditions of the indigenous peoples of Africa were borrowed, during the struggle with them for a foothold in Africa, and during the further confrontation for the expansion of territory and the subjugation of peoples.
On July 26, 1847, American settlers declared the independence of the Republic of Liberia. The settlers perceived the continent from which their ancestors were taken into slavery as the "promised land", but did not seek to join the African community. Arriving in Africa, they called themselves Americans and, both the natives and the British colonial authorities of neighboring Sierra Leone, were recognized as Americans.

In the second half of the 19th century, especially after 1885, the process of African colonization acquired such a scale that it was called the "race for Africa"; practically the entire continent (except for the remaining independent Ethiopia and Liberia) by 1900 was divided between a number of European powers: Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal retained and somewhat expanded their old colonies.

Contrary to popular belief, the Europeans did not begin to conquer it from the first second of their stay on the African coast in the same way as they did in America. Africa met the first colonists with dangerous diseases, centralized states and numerous, albeit poorly armed, armies. The first attempts at aggression against the African kingdoms showed that it would not be possible to conquer them with a detachment of 120 people, as Pizarro did with the Inca Empire. As a result, for almost four centuries after the appearance of the first Portuguese fort of Elmina in Africa (1482), European powers had practically no opportunity to control the deep regions of the mainland, content only with colonies on the coast and in estuaries.

Many European countries managed to participate in the colonization of the Black Continent. As the first "masters" of Africa, which was granted to them by a special bull of the Pope, the Portuguese extremely quickly, literally during the lifetime of one generation, managed to capture or establish strongholds in West, South and East Africa. At the beginning of the XVI century. The Ottoman Empire took over North Africa. Only a century later, in the 17th century, these two empires were followed by young colonial lions - England, the Netherlands, France. Their colonies in Africa in the XVII century. had Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Brandenburg and even Courland, a small Baltic duchy, which for some time owned an island and a fortress at the mouth of the Gambia River, where landless Latvian peasants were settled by colonists.

Europeans preferred to buy or rent land from local rulers rather than fight for it. In Africa, they were not interested in land, but primarily in goods: slaves, gold, ivory, ebony - and these goods could be bought relatively inexpensively or taken as tribute. In addition, the belief prevailed in Europe at that time that the climate in the depths of the continent was unbearable for a white man, and this was true: malaria, schistosomiasis and sleeping sickness significantly reduced the life of a European in Africa. The Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique and the Dutch colonists in South Africa advanced more than others, but on the whole the map of European possessions on the continent in 1850 differed little from that of 1600.

In the 1720s Peter I decided to equip an expedition for the development of the island of Madagascar by Russia. It was not destined to take place, but the archives preserved a letter from the Emperor of All Russia to a certain non-existent "King of Madagascar", where Peter calls himself his "friend": "By the grace of God, we, Peter I, are the Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, etc., etc., and so on, to the most venerable king and ruler of the glorious island of Madagascar, our congratulations.Because we have deigned to send you our vice-admiral Wilster with several officers for some business: for your sake, we ask you, in order to admit them inclined to ourselves, to give free stay, and in that they will offer you in our name to give you full and perfect faith, and with such a inclined answer to let them go to us again, we deigned, what we trust from you, and stay with you, friend. of the year".

As for the map of the interior of Africa before the European conquest, it is usually represented as a solid blank spot. It is easy to see that this is not so: in the middle of the XIX century. there were at least two dozen fairly developed states on the continent, with which the Europeans for the time being maintained very close and relatively friendly relations.

Everything changed literally in an instant in the last quarter of the 19th century, and there were several reasons for this. Europe learned the properties of quinine, produced from the bark of the South American cinchona tree and capable of treating malaria, which was no longer so terrible for European settlers. Europe developed the technology of rifled weapons, which had huge advantages over the smoothbore musket, which was equipped with the most advanced African armies. Europe has accumulated enough information about inner Africa thanks to a whole cohort of glorious travelers who successfully passed through the jungle, swamps, deserts and proved that the sun does not burn a person alive there, as the ancient authors believed. Finally, Europe had experienced an industrial revolution and was in dire need of new markets for manufactured goods, which were being produced at hitherto unheard-of speed and in large volumes. To start the colonial race, it was only necessary to fire the first shot. It was not the great powers that were destined to make it, but small Belgium.

This shot was fired in 1876 in Brussels, when the Belgian King Leopold II announced the creation of the African International Association to promote scientific and humanitarian projects in the Congo Basin. Throughout Europe, this move was hailed as the beginning of the Belgian conquest of Central Africa, and indeed it was. Having landed at the mouth of the Congo, the Belgian soldiers and the black militia armed by them went deep into the continent, forcing the local leaders by force to sign enslaving treaties with King Leopold on an "alliance", which in fact gave the land for nothing into the hands of the Europeans. Many leaders simply did not understand what they put their signature or fingerprint under. Dissenters were killed or imprisoned, uprisings were suppressed with unprecedented cruelty. Western journalists were aware of cases when militiamen hired by the king not only killed, but also ate their victims among the civilian population, especially children. In terms of its cruelty, the exploitation of the local population in the rubber plantations, mines, and road construction organized by the Belgians did not know anything like it in the history of Africa. People died in tens of thousands, and at the same time, repression and robbery remained uncontrolled, because the "Free State of the Congo", as this vast territory was called with terrible cynicism, was not controlled by the Belgian state, but was the personal property of Leopold. This unique lawlessness continued until 1908.

Belgium was immediately followed by England, France, Portugal and Spain, and a little later, the young great powers Germany and Italy, who also dreamed of their own colonial empires, joined the division of the African pie that had suddenly become so fashionable.

The race took on hurricane speed. Everywhere in Africa, where it was possible to negotiate with tribal leaders or break the resistance of local principalities, the European flag was immediately hoisted, and the territory was considered annexed to the empire. At the Berlin Conference of 1885, where the division of Africa was legalized, the great powers urged each other to correct, civilized behavior, but, as always happens in the division, clashes were difficult to avoid. One of the most famous "incidents" occurred near the Sudanese town of Fashoda in 1898, when the French detachment of Marchand, coming from West Africa, came face to face with the English expedition of Kitchener, also busy placing flags. It took intense negotiations and numerous concessions to avoid war: the French withdrew to the south, and the Sudan withdrew into the British sphere of influence.

It cannot be said that this lightning-fast division of the continent cost the colonialists without losses. The British had to go through several bloody battles to capture the Ashanti Confederation in Ghana and the Zulu state in South Africa, while the French overcame the desperate resistance of the Fulani Emirates and the Tuareg of Mali. For two years, German troops had to suppress the Herero uprising in Namibia, which ended in a large-scale genocide of Africans.

Although by 1900 the African continent had turned into a kind of patchwork scarf painted over with the colors of European empires, Tanganyika (the territory of present-day Tanzania) was subjugated by Germany only in 1907, and France secured control over West Africa not earlier than 1913. The liberation struggle of the Libyan tribes against the Italians continued until 1922, and the Spaniards managed to pacify the militant Berbers of Morocco only in 1926.

Independence managed to maintain only one state created by Africans - Ethiopia. At the end of the XIX century. the Ethiopian Negus Menelik II even managed to participate in the division of Africa, more than doubling the boundaries of his state at the expense of various tribes in the south, west and east.

North Africa

At the beginning of the XIX century. most of the North African states belonged to the Ottoman Empire. But the disintegration of this empire was already beginning and the place of the Turkish authorities was gradually taken by European ones. Thus, France subjugated Algeria, followed by Tunisia and Morocco. Here is shown an episode of an attack by warriors of an African tribe living in the desert on a French fort, which is defended by soldiers of the famous Foreign Legion. The ruler needed money and therefore sold his stake in the Suez Canal to Great Britain, which thus could influence the internal affairs of Egypt and completely subordinated it to its power. Egypt, in turn, dominated the Sudan. In 1883, a Muslim preacher led an uprising there against Egyptian rule. British troops were sent to suppress it, but they were defeated near Khartoum.

Trade with Europeans in West Africa

These gold items were made by Ashanti craftsmen, a people who lived in western Africa. The Ashanti state became rich by selling gold and slaves to Europeans. For several years, the Ashanti fought with Britain, who sought to conquer them, and in 1901 they were defeated and their state ceased to exist.

Zimbabwe

This was the name of the capital of a wealthy state in southeast Africa. It was destroyed during the war with rival tribes. The surviving ruins, such as the remains of the temple depicted here, indicate that the city was once built by very skilled craftsmen.

South Africa

In 1652, the first Dutch settlers appeared in South Africa. The settlement they founded on the Cape of Good Hope was called the Cape Colony. Most of them began to engage in farming, and the name of the Boers (from the Dutch word "boer" - farmer) was assigned to the colonists. Under an international treaty concluded in 1814, the Cape Colony became a British possession. In 1835-1837 many Boers, who did not like living under British rule, left their homes and farms and, having loaded their property into wagons, moved north from the Cape to find a new place to settle, free from British domination. This episode entered the history of South Africa as the Great Migration of the Boers.

Cecil Rhodes made a huge fortune mining gold and diamonds and founded the British South Africa Company, one of whose goals was the construction of a railway connecting British possessions in the south with diamond mines north of the new Boer settlements. In 1895, the entire territory was named Rhodesia.

The Boers began to have armed clashes with the Zulus - the most warlike tribe of those that lived in the neighborhood of the new settlements of the Boers. British troops, having entered the war on the side of the Boers, helped to finally defeat the Zulus in 1879. Gradually, Britain increased its influence in those areas where the Boers lived. In 1886, gold was found in one of them, which caused a new influx of British people who decided to settle in these places.

Partition of Africa by Europeans

In 1880 most of Africa was still independent of any European countries. But in the period from 1880 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the European powers one way or another divided almost the entire African continent among themselves.

In 1889 war broke out between the Boers and the British. At first, the advantage was on the side of the Boers, who rode fine frisky horses, knew how to track down the enemy and knew the area where the fighting was going on. British troops destroyed Boer farms and their livestock, and the Boers they managed to capture, including women and children, were placed in special prisoner camps. As a result, in 1902 the war ended with the surrender of the Boers.