Definition
Colonial economy was an economy introduction projection Government to
fulfill them. Colonial economy was introduced in order to make production
distribution and consumption of material wealth.
Why the introduction of colonial
economy in Africa?
Colonial economy in Africa was introduced due to the industrial
revolution in Europe. Which led to the need of raw materials, markets, areas
of investment and labourers.
In order to solve those problems, Europeans established five economic
activities such as agriculture, mining, industry, trade and infrastructure.
Features of colonial economy Colonial economy had several
features that differ to the pre-colonial economy as follows:
1. Colonial economy was export oriented as production was for export (e.g.
production of cash crops, mineral
2. It was exploitative in nature that is Africans were highly exploited e.g. on
selling their crops.
3. It went hand in hand with alienation of Africans (Africans were alienated from
their land and it was to be used by the
European colonial masters).
4. Colonial economy used forced labour (in areas where colonial rulers opened
projects).
5. Colonial economy was a cash economy that is, exchange was done in
money form.
6. It went together with the use of high capital in opening of economic
activities like agriculture, mining etc.
7. Colonial economy involved small scale and large-scale production (e.g. of
large scale production was plantation economy while in small scale peasant
economy was left to continue).
8. It went together with introduction of tax. This tax was to enrich colonial
Government.
Establishment of colonial economy in Africa
In establishing colonial economy Europeans used different ways as
follows:
Colonial economy was introduced by the use of three methods that is
Creative, Destructive and Preservation.
a. Creative
In this colonial rules introduced new
things in Africa such as:
1. The introduction of a cash economy as exchange started to be in the form of
cash.
2. Introduction of land alienation where European started for take fertile that
belonged to the Africans.
3. Colonial power introduced large-scale farms e.g. Tea Plantations and settler
farms in Africa.
4. They introduced tax in form of cash where Africans were forced to pay tax
in cash to the colonial Government.
5. It went together with the construction of infrastructure so as to favour the
colonial powers.
6. They introduced forced labour in Africa; Africans were forced to work in
colonial projects.
b. Destructive
Colonial power tended to destruct several things in Africa so as to favour
them e.g.
1. They destroyed African local industries so as to gain market and labourers.
2. Colonial Government, tended to destroy African culture e.g. initiation
ceremony. This was done so as to obtain cheap labourers.
c. Preservative
1. In some of the areas colonial Government preserved peasant economy e.g. in Uganda, West Africa etc.
2. Mode of production in Africa was left to continue e.g. Feudalism in Uganda
and primitive communal mode of production in some of the areas.
Activity
1. Colonial economy was destructive, creative and preservative. Discus.
2. Discuss the methods that were used by Europeans to establish colonial
economy in Africa.
Colonial economies (colonial economic sectors)
In order to fulfill their needs colonial masters introduced several projects/
sectors such as:
i. Agriculture
ii. Trading
iii. Mining
iv. Industrial
v. Infrastructure
i. Agriculture
Agriculture at this time was basically one crop production. In this it was of
small scale and large-scale production.
Crop production was divided into three forms as follows:
1. Peasant economy
2. Plantation economy
3. Settler economy
Peasant economy
In some of the areas Africans were left to continue on production of cash crop
at small scale e.g. Peasant economy was introduced in Uganda (cotton and
coffee in Tanganyikas Sukuma land; and Cocoa and Palm Oil production in
West Africa).
Activity
1. In some of the areas colonial rulers introduced peasant economy and plantation economy. Discuss why?
2. Explain why colonial Government used peasant economy in West Africa and
Uganda.
Why peasant economy was reliable in some of the areas
It is that some of the areas colonial Government continued to produce by
peasant economy (at small scale).
This was due to the following factors:
1. Africans had experience of growing some type of cash crops such as palm
oil, cotton while Europeans did not.
Hence they left Africans to continue producing.
2. The system was cheap to run cost of production was covered by the
peasants (colonial Government determined the selling price for
peasants).
3. It was due to negative response from the Africans while some societies
resisted on the introduction of plantation e.g. in West Africa.
4. It was simple to force Africans on production e.g. basing on quality of
productions for instance in Sukuma land each family was required to
produce two (2) acres of cotton.
5. Due to tropical climate in some of the areas as Europeans failed to enter on
those areas with tropical disease. As a result Africans were left to continue on
production on small scale.
6. The system helped colonial Governments at large e.g. on selling
cash crops, Africans were required to contribute on the construction of roads
and others social services.
7. Some of the areas had high population e.g. in West Africa hence it was not
possible to alienate all of them from their land.
Plantation economy
These were large-scale farms under the colonial Government; they were
highly based on cash crops production e.g. Sisal in Tanganyika (Morogoro
and Tanga).
Settlers economy
This system involved the production of cash crop at larger scale. The settlers
who were Europeans owned these large-scale farms and some of them
were Asians.
Examples of these areas where settlers introduced this type of economy are
Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Algeria, etc.
How Colonial Government favoured settlers in Africa:
At large it is said that settlers were highly favoured by their respective
colonial Governments e.g. in Kenya and Zimbabwe settlers were favoured
to a large extent.
Activity
1. Show how settlers were favoured in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia. OR
2. Show settlers were helped by the colonial Government in Kenya
Settlers in Africa were favoured by the
use of the following:
1. Settlers were given capital by the colonial Government so as to open
forms in Africa e.g. in Kenya highlands (capital was given in form of loans).
2. Colonial Government build social services in those areas with settlers
such as hospital, roads, schools so as to attract settlers in Africa.
3. Settlers were favoured on price of their cash crops compared to the peasants
(crops from the settlers were bought at a higher price).
4. Colonial Government tended to force Africans to work on settlers farms (it
helped increase production due to availability of labour).
5. Colonial Government favoured settlers by the use of land act e.g. 1919 the
Crown Lands Act helped settlers to be given land by the colonial Government
in Kenya.
6. Africans were restricted to grow the same type of cash crops being
produced by settlers e.g. in Kenya.
Africans were restricted to grow coffee (this was to favour the settlers on
market of their produce).
INDUSTRY
The colonial Government introduced processing industries in some of the
areas. These processing industries were established on those areas with
cash crop production.
In order to introduce these processing industry colonial Government tended
to destroy local industries in Africa.
Roles of industries at the time
It was to reduce the bulkiness of raw materials e.g. Sisal, raw materials
were processed to simplify carriage of raw materials from Africa to their
mother countries.
3. Mining
They formulated large numbers of mining centers in Africa so as to fulfill
their demands e.g. South Africa (diamond and gold mines).
Due to the location of mining centers, Colonial Governments tended to use
immigrant labour.
Role of mining
It was to obtain raw materials e.g.minerals like Gold, Diamonds for their
industries.
4. Trade and Commerce
European colonialists introduced trading activities while they started to
import several items such as clothes, simple machines from Europe. On the
other hand Colonial Governments started to export raw materials from
Africa to their mother countries.
Role of trade and commerce It helped European Colonial Governments to gain raw materials from Africa like crops and minerals.
Europeans obtained market for their produce (manufactured goods from
Europe).
5. Infrastructure
In order to develop economic activities in Africa, Colonial Governments built
infrastructure like road, railway houses (infrastructure). Infrastructure was
built for those areas with economic gains such as raw materials and
labourers.
Roads and railways were built from the interior all the way to the coast to
make exportation and importation of goods easy.
Role of infrastructure
i. Roads and railways were used to carry raw materials from the interior
ready for export.
ii. It carried immigrant labour to areas of production e.g. Kigoma Dar es
Salaam railway was built for that purpose.
iii.To carry administrators and military troops from one area to another.
iv.To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to the another
v. To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to the interior.
Activity
1. Discuss the roles of colonial economies as being introduced by the
Europeans in Africa
2. How pre-colonial economy differed to the colonial economy
Colonial labour Creation
Starting from the early 20 th century Colonial Governments in Africa started
to establish colonial economies such as agriculture, industry, trade, mining
etc.
Due to those economic activities they needed more labour.
Why labour questions came up?
The following factors led to colonial labour questions in Africa:
1. Size of economic activities e.g. Plantations demanded large supply of
labour.
2. Locations of some economic activities e.g. mining centers were located in
interior and remote parts hence had shortage of labour.
3. Some of the African societies had negative response to the colonial
powers thus it was not easier to obtain labour.
4. Population size in some areas was less hence labour problem came up.
Ways used by the colonial Government to obtain labour in Africa (methods
used by the Colonial Government to ensure constant supply of labour)
In order to solve the problem of labour shortage in Africa colonial
Governments took the following measures:
1. Introduction of forced labour - Colonial Governments used coercive force (like
army, police) to force Africans to work on colonial economies e.g. in
Tanganyika 1944 about 12,00 labourers were forced to work on sisal
plantation.
2. Europeans imported manufactured goods in Africa such as clothes;
bicycles that were sold on cash basis hence Africans were required to work
so as to buy those things.
3. Colonial Governments introduced tax in the form of cash thus Africans were
required to work on colonial economies to earn money for paying
tax.
4. Colonial Governments registered Trade Unions with the aim of finding
labourers e.g. SILABU (Sisal Labour Bureau) in Tanganyika and W.N.L.A.
(Witwatersrand Native labour Association) in South Africa.
5. They introduced laws and Ordinance e.g. the Kipande system in Kenya
where Africans were required to have an identity card showing their place of occupation.
In Tanganyika there was a Masters and Native Servants Act of 1906
6. Introduction of land alienation e.g. In Kenya and Zimbabwe where Africans
were removed from fertile areas as a result they started to work to earn
money for their living.
7. Colonial Government introduced rationalization so some areas were
special for labour production e.g. Kigoma, Rukwa and other areas were
special for crop production.
8. They introduced colonial education so as to gain administrators for lower
posts in Africa e.g. Clerks, Messengers, etc. (to be used on colonial economies
and other colonial offices.
Question
NECTA 1998
1. Discuss the mechanism, used by colonialists to break up the natural
indigenous (wenyeji/ wazawa) economy of East African people.
2. Using concrete examples of any East African society show the pattern of the
physical and social infrastructures were determined by the system of the
colonial economy.
3. How did the colonial Government ensure constant supply of labour in
their colonies in East Africa?
4. Why was the settler economy a success in Kenya but a failure in
Uganda?
NECTA 1993
Why did the colonial powers facilitate the development of manufacturing
industries in their colonies?
Answers
NECTA 1998 (destructive & creative)
Destruction of local industries
Destruction of African culture
Land alienation where by colonialist took the fertile land and Africans remained with the
unfertile one.
Taxation, money economy, forced labour, cash crops.
Introduction of indigenous/ natural economy Pre- colonial economy - this
economy was established in Africa before the coming of the colonialist (this economy involved Agriculture or crop production).
The 19 th century was the time when Europeans or colonialist came to establish/started to establish their economic activities in Africa, activities such as mining, trade, agriculture,
infrastructure to mentioned a few.
In order to introduce these activities the colonialists used different mechanisms to break up natural economic activities in East Africa.
Colonialists started with the destruction of African local industries, Africans were not
allowed to work in their industries. Therefore the local textile, iron-smelting industries in
East Africa were destroyed. E.g. of destroyed industries are textile industries in Sukuma land, Buganda and Congo industry.
In addition to that the colonialists introduced cash crop production, which disrupted food
crop production, colonialists aimed to gain raw materials from the indigenous. Colonialism
introduced land alienation, which led to the decline of indigenous natural economies like crop production.
Colonialists also introduced forced labour to work on their economic activities this resulted
in the destruction of African economies like agriculture, industry.
1. Introduction of cash tax
2. Introduction of cash (money) economy
3. Introduction of laws & ordinance e.g. Kipande system in (Kenya) and
Masters and Native Act 1906 (Tanganyika). Construction of
infrastructure in East Africa (helped colonialists to obtain markets, labourers & raw materials while it affected Africans).
NECTA 2000 Starting from the late 19th Century
colonial Government obtained colonies
in Africa.
While in these colonies they introduced their economies and offices
that led to the need of supply of labour.
In order to obtain enough supply of labour colonial Government introduced several methods some of them were direct and others were indirect as
follows:
1. Land alienation
2. Taxation
3. Forced labour
4. Registration of Trade Union (e.g.
SILABU in Tanzania)
5. Introduction of Laws & Ordinance (e.g.
Kipande in Kenya)
6. Introduction of rationalization e.g.
Kigoma for labour.
7. Introduction of colonial education
8. Introduction of importation of manufactured goods
Effects of colonial economy to the Africans
Colonial economy in Africa had both positive and negative effects to the Africans.
1. Africans inherited infrastructure from the colonial Governments e.g. roads,
railways, that were used for carrying goods and labourers.
2. After the independence of African countries nationalization of plantations, buildings under the colonial Governments started. Buildings, plantations, harbours
started to be under the African states.
3. It led to the introduction of new varieties of crops from outside e.g. varieties of cotton from America, coffee, etc.
4. Africans inherited the Europeans economic plans that continued to be used even after independence e.g. on rationalization treatment of labourers
5. Due to exploitation done by the colonial Government Africans were impoverished (it increased poverty for the Africans).
6. It led to the decline of African skills e.g. due to the destruction of local industries African technology declined.
7. Due to rationalization some areas that were known for producing labour were
being under developed e.g. Kigoma in Tanganyika.
8. In some areas Africans inherited capitalist elements from their colonial masters e.g. Kenya, Zimbabwe.
9. It led to the taking of natural resources from Africa e.g. minerals, raw materials (this was an unequal exchange).
Activity
1. Discuss the notable effects of colonial economy as being introduced by the
colonialists in Africa.
2. Explain how Africans were affected by the introduction of colonial economies
in Africa during the early 20th century.
Colonial economy was an economy introduction projection Government to
fulfill them. Colonial economy was introduced in order to make production
distribution and consumption of material wealth.
Why the introduction of colonial
economy in Africa?
Colonial economy in Africa was introduced due to the industrial
revolution in Europe. Which led to the need of raw materials, markets, areas
of investment and labourers.
In order to solve those problems, Europeans established five economic
activities such as agriculture, mining, industry, trade and infrastructure.
Features of colonial economy Colonial economy had several
features that differ to the pre-colonial economy as follows:
1. Colonial economy was export oriented as production was for export (e.g.
production of cash crops, mineral
2. It was exploitative in nature that is Africans were highly exploited e.g. on
selling their crops.
3. It went hand in hand with alienation of Africans (Africans were alienated from
their land and it was to be used by the
European colonial masters).
4. Colonial economy used forced labour (in areas where colonial rulers opened
projects).
5. Colonial economy was a cash economy that is, exchange was done in
money form.
6. It went together with the use of high capital in opening of economic
activities like agriculture, mining etc.
7. Colonial economy involved small scale and large-scale production (e.g. of
large scale production was plantation economy while in small scale peasant
economy was left to continue).
8. It went together with introduction of tax. This tax was to enrich colonial
Government.
Establishment of colonial economy in Africa
In establishing colonial economy Europeans used different ways as
follows:
Colonial economy was introduced by the use of three methods that is
Creative, Destructive and Preservation.
a. Creative
In this colonial rules introduced new
things in Africa such as:
1. The introduction of a cash economy as exchange started to be in the form of
cash.
2. Introduction of land alienation where European started for take fertile that
belonged to the Africans.
3. Colonial power introduced large-scale farms e.g. Tea Plantations and settler
farms in Africa.
4. They introduced tax in form of cash where Africans were forced to pay tax
in cash to the colonial Government.
5. It went together with the construction of infrastructure so as to favour the
colonial powers.
6. They introduced forced labour in Africa; Africans were forced to work in
colonial projects.
b. Destructive
Colonial power tended to destruct several things in Africa so as to favour
them e.g.
1. They destroyed African local industries so as to gain market and labourers.
2. Colonial Government, tended to destroy African culture e.g. initiation
ceremony. This was done so as to obtain cheap labourers.
c. Preservative
1. In some of the areas colonial Government preserved peasant economy e.g. in Uganda, West Africa etc.
2. Mode of production in Africa was left to continue e.g. Feudalism in Uganda
and primitive communal mode of production in some of the areas.
Activity
1. Colonial economy was destructive, creative and preservative. Discus.
2. Discuss the methods that were used by Europeans to establish colonial
economy in Africa.
Colonial economies (colonial economic sectors)
In order to fulfill their needs colonial masters introduced several projects/
sectors such as:
i. Agriculture
ii. Trading
iii. Mining
iv. Industrial
v. Infrastructure
i. Agriculture
Agriculture at this time was basically one crop production. In this it was of
small scale and large-scale production.
Crop production was divided into three forms as follows:
1. Peasant economy
2. Plantation economy
3. Settler economy
Peasant economy
In some of the areas Africans were left to continue on production of cash crop
at small scale e.g. Peasant economy was introduced in Uganda (cotton and
coffee in Tanganyikas Sukuma land; and Cocoa and Palm Oil production in
West Africa).
Activity
1. In some of the areas colonial rulers introduced peasant economy and plantation economy. Discuss why?
2. Explain why colonial Government used peasant economy in West Africa and
Uganda.
Why peasant economy was reliable in some of the areas
It is that some of the areas colonial Government continued to produce by
peasant economy (at small scale).
This was due to the following factors:
1. Africans had experience of growing some type of cash crops such as palm
oil, cotton while Europeans did not.
Hence they left Africans to continue producing.
2. The system was cheap to run cost of production was covered by the
peasants (colonial Government determined the selling price for
peasants).
3. It was due to negative response from the Africans while some societies
resisted on the introduction of plantation e.g. in West Africa.
4. It was simple to force Africans on production e.g. basing on quality of
productions for instance in Sukuma land each family was required to
produce two (2) acres of cotton.
5. Due to tropical climate in some of the areas as Europeans failed to enter on
those areas with tropical disease. As a result Africans were left to continue on
production on small scale.
6. The system helped colonial Governments at large e.g. on selling
cash crops, Africans were required to contribute on the construction of roads
and others social services.
7. Some of the areas had high population e.g. in West Africa hence it was not
possible to alienate all of them from their land.
Plantation economy
These were large-scale farms under the colonial Government; they were
highly based on cash crops production e.g. Sisal in Tanganyika (Morogoro
and Tanga).
Settlers economy
This system involved the production of cash crop at larger scale. The settlers
who were Europeans owned these large-scale farms and some of them
were Asians.
Examples of these areas where settlers introduced this type of economy are
Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Algeria, etc.
How Colonial Government favoured settlers in Africa:
At large it is said that settlers were highly favoured by their respective
colonial Governments e.g. in Kenya and Zimbabwe settlers were favoured
to a large extent.
Activity
1. Show how settlers were favoured in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia. OR
2. Show settlers were helped by the colonial Government in Kenya
Settlers in Africa were favoured by the
use of the following:
1. Settlers were given capital by the colonial Government so as to open
forms in Africa e.g. in Kenya highlands (capital was given in form of loans).
2. Colonial Government build social services in those areas with settlers
such as hospital, roads, schools so as to attract settlers in Africa.
3. Settlers were favoured on price of their cash crops compared to the peasants
(crops from the settlers were bought at a higher price).
4. Colonial Government tended to force Africans to work on settlers farms (it
helped increase production due to availability of labour).
5. Colonial Government favoured settlers by the use of land act e.g. 1919 the
Crown Lands Act helped settlers to be given land by the colonial Government
in Kenya.
6. Africans were restricted to grow the same type of cash crops being
produced by settlers e.g. in Kenya.
Africans were restricted to grow coffee (this was to favour the settlers on
market of their produce).
INDUSTRY
The colonial Government introduced processing industries in some of the
areas. These processing industries were established on those areas with
cash crop production.
In order to introduce these processing industry colonial Government tended
to destroy local industries in Africa.
Roles of industries at the time
It was to reduce the bulkiness of raw materials e.g. Sisal, raw materials
were processed to simplify carriage of raw materials from Africa to their
mother countries.
3. Mining
They formulated large numbers of mining centers in Africa so as to fulfill
their demands e.g. South Africa (diamond and gold mines).
Due to the location of mining centers, Colonial Governments tended to use
immigrant labour.
Role of mining
It was to obtain raw materials e.g.minerals like Gold, Diamonds for their
industries.
4. Trade and Commerce
European colonialists introduced trading activities while they started to
import several items such as clothes, simple machines from Europe. On the
other hand Colonial Governments started to export raw materials from
Africa to their mother countries.
Role of trade and commerce It helped European Colonial Governments to gain raw materials from Africa like crops and minerals.
Europeans obtained market for their produce (manufactured goods from
Europe).
5. Infrastructure
In order to develop economic activities in Africa, Colonial Governments built
infrastructure like road, railway houses (infrastructure). Infrastructure was
built for those areas with economic gains such as raw materials and
labourers.
Roads and railways were built from the interior all the way to the coast to
make exportation and importation of goods easy.
Role of infrastructure
i. Roads and railways were used to carry raw materials from the interior
ready for export.
ii. It carried immigrant labour to areas of production e.g. Kigoma Dar es
Salaam railway was built for that purpose.
iii.To carry administrators and military troops from one area to another.
iv.To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to the another
v. To transfer manufactured goods from the harbour to the interior.
Activity
1. Discuss the roles of colonial economies as being introduced by the
Europeans in Africa
2. How pre-colonial economy differed to the colonial economy
Colonial labour Creation
Starting from the early 20 th century Colonial Governments in Africa started
to establish colonial economies such as agriculture, industry, trade, mining
etc.
Due to those economic activities they needed more labour.
Why labour questions came up?
The following factors led to colonial labour questions in Africa:
1. Size of economic activities e.g. Plantations demanded large supply of
labour.
2. Locations of some economic activities e.g. mining centers were located in
interior and remote parts hence had shortage of labour.
3. Some of the African societies had negative response to the colonial
powers thus it was not easier to obtain labour.
4. Population size in some areas was less hence labour problem came up.
Ways used by the colonial Government to obtain labour in Africa (methods
used by the Colonial Government to ensure constant supply of labour)
In order to solve the problem of labour shortage in Africa colonial
Governments took the following measures:
1. Introduction of forced labour - Colonial Governments used coercive force (like
army, police) to force Africans to work on colonial economies e.g. in
Tanganyika 1944 about 12,00 labourers were forced to work on sisal
plantation.
2. Europeans imported manufactured goods in Africa such as clothes;
bicycles that were sold on cash basis hence Africans were required to work
so as to buy those things.
3. Colonial Governments introduced tax in the form of cash thus Africans were
required to work on colonial economies to earn money for paying
tax.
4. Colonial Governments registered Trade Unions with the aim of finding
labourers e.g. SILABU (Sisal Labour Bureau) in Tanganyika and W.N.L.A.
(Witwatersrand Native labour Association) in South Africa.
5. They introduced laws and Ordinance e.g. the Kipande system in Kenya
where Africans were required to have an identity card showing their place of occupation.
In Tanganyika there was a Masters and Native Servants Act of 1906
6. Introduction of land alienation e.g. In Kenya and Zimbabwe where Africans
were removed from fertile areas as a result they started to work to earn
money for their living.
7. Colonial Government introduced rationalization so some areas were
special for labour production e.g. Kigoma, Rukwa and other areas were
special for crop production.
8. They introduced colonial education so as to gain administrators for lower
posts in Africa e.g. Clerks, Messengers, etc. (to be used on colonial economies
and other colonial offices.
Question
NECTA 1998
1. Discuss the mechanism, used by colonialists to break up the natural
indigenous (wenyeji/ wazawa) economy of East African people.
2. Using concrete examples of any East African society show the pattern of the
physical and social infrastructures were determined by the system of the
colonial economy.
3. How did the colonial Government ensure constant supply of labour in
their colonies in East Africa?
4. Why was the settler economy a success in Kenya but a failure in
Uganda?
NECTA 1993
Why did the colonial powers facilitate the development of manufacturing
industries in their colonies?
Answers
NECTA 1998 (destructive & creative)
Destruction of local industries
Destruction of African culture
Land alienation where by colonialist took the fertile land and Africans remained with the
unfertile one.
Taxation, money economy, forced labour, cash crops.
Introduction of indigenous/ natural economy Pre- colonial economy - this
economy was established in Africa before the coming of the colonialist (this economy involved Agriculture or crop production).
The 19 th century was the time when Europeans or colonialist came to establish/started to establish their economic activities in Africa, activities such as mining, trade, agriculture,
infrastructure to mentioned a few.
In order to introduce these activities the colonialists used different mechanisms to break up natural economic activities in East Africa.
Colonialists started with the destruction of African local industries, Africans were not
allowed to work in their industries. Therefore the local textile, iron-smelting industries in
East Africa were destroyed. E.g. of destroyed industries are textile industries in Sukuma land, Buganda and Congo industry.
In addition to that the colonialists introduced cash crop production, which disrupted food
crop production, colonialists aimed to gain raw materials from the indigenous. Colonialism
introduced land alienation, which led to the decline of indigenous natural economies like crop production.
Colonialists also introduced forced labour to work on their economic activities this resulted
in the destruction of African economies like agriculture, industry.
1. Introduction of cash tax
2. Introduction of cash (money) economy
3. Introduction of laws & ordinance e.g. Kipande system in (Kenya) and
Masters and Native Act 1906 (Tanganyika). Construction of
infrastructure in East Africa (helped colonialists to obtain markets, labourers & raw materials while it affected Africans).
NECTA 2000 Starting from the late 19th Century
colonial Government obtained colonies
in Africa.
While in these colonies they introduced their economies and offices
that led to the need of supply of labour.
In order to obtain enough supply of labour colonial Government introduced several methods some of them were direct and others were indirect as
follows:
1. Land alienation
2. Taxation
3. Forced labour
4. Registration of Trade Union (e.g.
SILABU in Tanzania)
5. Introduction of Laws & Ordinance (e.g.
Kipande in Kenya)
6. Introduction of rationalization e.g.
Kigoma for labour.
7. Introduction of colonial education
8. Introduction of importation of manufactured goods
Effects of colonial economy to the Africans
Colonial economy in Africa had both positive and negative effects to the Africans.
1. Africans inherited infrastructure from the colonial Governments e.g. roads,
railways, that were used for carrying goods and labourers.
2. After the independence of African countries nationalization of plantations, buildings under the colonial Governments started. Buildings, plantations, harbours
started to be under the African states.
3. It led to the introduction of new varieties of crops from outside e.g. varieties of cotton from America, coffee, etc.
4. Africans inherited the Europeans economic plans that continued to be used even after independence e.g. on rationalization treatment of labourers
5. Due to exploitation done by the colonial Government Africans were impoverished (it increased poverty for the Africans).
6. It led to the decline of African skills e.g. due to the destruction of local industries African technology declined.
7. Due to rationalization some areas that were known for producing labour were
being under developed e.g. Kigoma in Tanganyika.
8. In some areas Africans inherited capitalist elements from their colonial masters e.g. Kenya, Zimbabwe.
9. It led to the taking of natural resources from Africa e.g. minerals, raw materials (this was an unequal exchange).
Activity
1. Discuss the notable effects of colonial economy as being introduced by the
colonialists in Africa.
2. Explain how Africans were affected by the introduction of colonial economies
in Africa during the early 20th century.
