Did the European hegemony affect the social dynamics and economic circumstances of

European colonies in Africa for the better?

Following the origins of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and the wild-fire

industrialization through the rest of Europe, the previously peripheral European states

transitioned into an era of almost world-wide dominance, rapid expansion and development, and

in particular massive social and political change. From 1750 to around 1914, thousands of miles

from European homeland, the recently founded African colonies such as South Africa, Nigeria,

Belgian Congo, and many others had their societies completely upturned. One such development

of this was the opportunity for women to take more prominent roles in society, which was

heavily opposed but still managed to overthrow the traditional, long-withstanding way of life.

These traditional village societies were suddenly met with this new imperialism and

industrialization, which in the long-term has aided in achieving racial, gender, and socio-

economic improvements.

As soon as they arrived in Africa, Europeans enacted change. They divided the continent

amongst themselves, and went to work utilizing the land and its people. The Europeans shared

with each other a strong sense of superiority over the native people of Africa, calling them

primitive and dividing them into tribes even though their individual societies were much smaller

and didnt have strong enough connections to be a tribe. Since the Europeans were the greater

race, they believed it was their duty to enlighten the people, which brought modern education,

religion, and technology to Africa. Education was almost exclusively offered at monasteries, so

those that went there also usually adopted Christianity. R. Hunt Davis argues that The end of

colonial rule meant that Africans were to govern themselves. This in turn led African and
Afrophile historians to think it necessary to demonstrate that Africans were capable of governing

states. The establishment of African universities with their own departments of history further

implied a need to shift the focal point of African history from the study of European activities to

the historical development of African society itself. Finally, independent African states are

seeking to discover from the African past that which is relevant to the process of nation-

building. This reveals that the European colonial era was necessary for Africa to advance, both

intellectually and technologically, with the rest of the world. The gender roles of men and women

shifted slightly with the introduction of industrialization. Men, traditionally heads of the

household, had to leave home to find work in the cities. Subsequently, women took upon

themselves the responsibilities of men in addition to the tasks they already had. Kenneth Good

relays that the new developments put in place by the Europeans also produced a growing class

of landless peasants and rural labourers, in addition to a mobile, semi-skilled category of

squatter-traders, artisans and farm-teachers. Relative industrial development, however,

encouraged the expansion of the African wage-labour force in general, and more permanent

unskilled and semi-skilled workers in particular.... A further aspect of development in the towns

was the appearance of a kind of lumpenproletariat in Nairobi, of the unemployed, hawkers, and

single women, some of whom had contacts with the more mobile elements in the White

Highlands. (607) The obligations of women increased so much because, as Good says, people

were evicted from their land and most often forced to participate in industrial life. The day to day

tasks of African men looked increasingly similar to the tasks of a European peasant. However, as

similar as they were to each other, Africans were still treated as inferior. The end of colonial rule

was accompanied by a common desire to build a nation worthy of the world.

 In the most common view of recent history the colonial era is looked down upon for its

rampant aforementioned inequalities, and by many it is seen that the African societies were left

undeveloped and broken by the European hegemony, however this view ignores the gains of

what Europeans brought to Africa. While under colonial rule, tribal and village societies were

upturned in favor of plantations and farms to grow cash crops, large communities where trade

and production could be done for the colonial rulers, fueling the growing global economy. Where

the source of criticism in this system lies in the treatment of native Africans by the Europeans,

who had total control over who they conquered in those communities. But not all share the

widely held belief that colonialism equates despotism, or that profit equates exploitation. L. H.

Gann and Peter Duignan similarly support the positive nature to colonial rule, We also argue

that European immigration to Africa, while occasioning all manner of new social problems,

represented at the same time a much-needed transfer of modern skills. We accordingly interpret

European imperialism in Africa as an engine of cultural transfusion as well as of political

domination. We thus regard the European era as most decisive for the future of Africa....(388). It

is no secret that before and during the late 1700s and 1800s Africa was far behind the rest of the

developing world. As Gann and Duignan conveyed, imperialism from industrialized countries

like Great Britain opened the trapdoor for a much needed shift in the African societies from

pastoral ethnic groups to large populations with skilled urban centers. A major facet of the

Industrial Revolution was the culling of ideas from the Scientific Revolution and European

Enlightenment and practically applying them in trades and scholarly studies, thus birthing these

modern skills Gann and Duignan write of that became so prevalent in western culture. The

urban areas in Africa that grew out of the rapid industrialization opened up new employment

opportunities, but these new jobs that needed western education. As colonial rule became more
relaxed and allowed integration of the natives, such as in the Portuguese Angola, the modern

skills that would shape their society became available to many more people. This was including

the native African middle and upper classes if they could pay or work for it, aptly named the

Assimilados in Angola for having assimilated into the colonial society. With a general

education, literacy, and practical skills an African natives whole life was turned around and

opened up to the world. The average man in these colonies had a far superior status to what it

had historically been thanks to the industrialization, which wouldnt have been possible for

centuries without the European hegemony industrializing the area in the first place. As written by

Remi Clignet of Northwestern University, The larger the educational resources of an African

country the smaller should be the magnitude of ethnic, socio-economic, and cultural

inequalities(3). Clignet makes the point that when a population is educated they can govern

themselves, they can work for personal gain instead of working for a ruler. European colonial

rule, through the industrial revolution and urbanization, brought about not only its own

undermining in many areas but also gave African natives a path to modern independence. The

educational barrier between Europeans and Africans was broken down over time, up until the

World Wars and full decolonization often began, whether or not it was by negotiation or by force.

The African native peoples, now unified under the flags of their colonizers, now with many

educated, and now with an identity that wasnt subordinate to a more powerful group could take

independence and shape an industrialized society to their liking for the future.

Change of course is the essence of history, so the Africans, just like the rest of mankind,

have had to adapt themselves and have had their institutions change in the face of abrupt

upheaval in their societies. Therefore one should instead focus on the manner and methods of

African adaptation to the tumultuous changes that came with the colonial era, not merely the
hardships in society at the time caused by the colonialism. Many would argue that European

colonization in Africa is one of the worst events in the history of the region, predominantly out of

the grievances of the time and a sense of guilt in the present. There is no denying the Social

Darwinism, or institutions such as Apartheid, or the appalling conditions for many African

natives such as those in the Belgian Congo under King Leopold II, all but a few of the egregious

situations for conquered Africans. Yet in the long term the exposure to the rest of the world in the

colonial era has been and will be overall good for Africa, the circumstances for the already

under-developed African people have simply had to get worse before they could get better. The

legacy of European colonialism has both its positive and negative aspects, many of which will

have a permanent effect, but Africa's future will largely depend on what Africans do with this

legacy. No longer can the world sit idly by and critique what we did centuries ago while these

African countries scramble to stay together and find direction. Colonialism gave these states the

amazing industrial power to advance and join the rest of the world, so now we must give them a

helping hand to set their course right for the future.