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Modernisation In Africa

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Modernisation is the progression from a rural agrarian society towards a more secular industrial society that is induced through political change, economic change and changing ideas. Modernisation thus creates a division in society with what is known as ‘us and them.’ This essay aims to show how ‘modern African societies as well as the African diaspora are divided into ‘us and them’ through the racial and class divide that was brought about by industrialisation, colonisation, westernisation and racism. This essay will also seek to explain the origins of modernisation in Britain and how the influence of modernisation manifested itself in what is known today as westernisation.
The word modernisation means to move from a traditional society towards …show more content…

This rapid transformation towards modernity is largely due to colonisation and industrialisation of Zambia’s Copperbelt. The industrialisation that happened in Zambia was due to its immense copper and other mineral wealth. Europeans settled in Northern Rhodesia, created mines and exploited the Zambians by creating an unskilled labour force to work in the mines (Ferguson, 1999). This created a new stratification in Zambian society in which the concept of ‘us and them’ emerged through white colonial domination (Ferguson,1999); (Magubane,1971). Colonialism, thus framed the context in which ‘us and them’ was formed through the process of white acculturation (Magubane,1971). The Process of acculturation underwent three stages, the first stage was the initial contact between whites and the blacks and the eventual capture of the blacks through force (Magubane,1971). The second stage involved acquiescence, where some blacks deviated from their traditions and adopted white culture and religion (Magubane 1971). Stage two clearly shows the concept of ‘us and them’ by highlighting that some blacks saw ‘them’ as superior and thus wanted to emulate ‘them’, Magubane argues however that some blacks adopted the white values to express their desire to escape colonialism (Magubane,1971). The third stage of acculturation involved a new resistance against colonialist for liberation and independence (Magubane,1971). ‘Us and them’ in Zambia relied on cultural contact and, as before the colonialist came to Zambia, most of the tribes were homogenous in beliefs and as a result the colonialists saw them as tradition bound primitives (Ferguson, 1999). Attire played an important part in differentiating between ‘us and them’, as both the Europeans and the natives wore completely different clothes. It is arguable that nobody

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