EUROPE ENCOUNTERS AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS, 1450 – 1550: 1. European - peasants, agricultural society, church was very important in their belief system, pagan-monotheistic hierarchy, patriarchal society, and urbanized. West African - trade slaves, spoke many languages, family clan system, worshiped spirits and Allah. Native American – nomadic, pantheistic, feudal system All – had belief systems and had agriculture 2. Portugal and Spain had encomienda, forced Native Americans to work the lands so that they could send out their crops to Europe, brought diseases with them which altered environment, came up with the Columbian Exchange.
“But apart from the church, the white men had also brought a government.” This is a quote from the text “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe thats shows the first months of European colonization of Africa. Colonization is a process by which a central system of power dominates the surrounding land and its components. This is what occurred when the Europeans invaded Africa and took control of the African people and implemented different government systems and religions. Overall colonization occurred because European powers wanted to gain more economic power which caused the people of Africa to be stripped of their freedom and forced to adopt a whole new way of living. Prior to European colonization, Africa consisted of many different cultures and ethnicities.
had began when Arabic cultures infiltrated Ethiopia in northeast Africa by the seventh century B.C.E., the first Christians arrived from Syria in the fourth century C.E. But that didn’t stop soon North Africa was invaded by Muslims and by Nomads and brought more cultural changes. African culture soon began to thrive when the first black African states formed between 500 to 1500 C.E. Trade routes were increased across the Sahara desert when the camel was introduced in 100 C.E. from Arabia.
Africa followed India’s model for state planning and economic regulation. In fact, some African countries even looked for socialism to determine their economy. Countries had to choose to depend on either their governments or their markets, and most African countries chose the former. The government regulated taxes, tariffs, subsidies, loans, etc. Private property was legal, yet most industries were owned by the state.
The European colonies have played an important role in moulding the African social, economic and cultural existence. Imperialism is considered as the source of colonization and post colonialism in the history of the African nations. Imperialism emerges out as a strong hold in most the colonized nations before Europeans has come to the colonized countries. Imperialism, Colonialism and Post colonialism are the most frequently used terminology of the last centuries. The task of the writers is to present the realistic approach of the ruler and exploitation of the native black African
During and after the Berlin Conference various European countries sent out agents to sign so-called treaties of protection with the leaders of African societies, states, kingdoms, decentralized societies, and empires. The differential interpretation of these treaties by the contending forces often led to conflict between both parties and eventually to military encounters. For Europeans, these treaties meant that
A couple of thin strips on the east outskirts of Nigeria have been mandated by the British. During Britain’s attempts to acquire a system in order to accommodate African requirement for political power, there were claims of Nigeria’s numerous land by the adversary. This came to be most noticeable following the Second World War. The land had split into three, Northern, Eastern and Western by the time it reached 1951 with a house of assembly for each region respectively. For the reason of reflecting the culture of tribal authority, the Northern region contains a house of chiefs unique for
The primary difference in the political organization of both East and West African from 1000-1500 CE comes in the form of government. While all sub-Saharan Africa utilized kin-based groups, West Africa was structured more around kingdoms, and East Africa structured around city-states. Some West African kingdoms had a strong centralized government, such as the Kingdom of Kongo. The government included a king, who controlled military, judicial, and financial affairs, with the help of his officials. When the emergence of formal states came about, the strong kin-based societies of the West survived for centuries later.
During his pilgrimage, the Mansa developed new ties with Muslim merchants, which in turn lead to the further development of Mali’s trade. The empire was connected to even more kingdoms across Africa, the cities of Mali became important trading centers for all of West Africa. Moreover, Musa brought back Muslim scholars, government bureaucrats, and architects, he was set on building a better empire. Mosques, libraries, and universities were built around the empire, leading to more and more people converting to Islam. The tales of Mansa Musa’s glory reached scholars, artists, and poets across the Islamic world.
Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. In addition, a colony is a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country and occupied by settlers from that country. Following the end of the slave trade, between the period 1871- 1914 European nations rushed on the African continent to exploit its large fields of raw materials and precious metals. Also known as the scramble for Africa, different territories on the continent experienced various forms of colonisation. This paper will focus on the Algerian case.