Max Tallberg
When examining the historical development of Africa closer to the present day, it is crucial to highlight that imperialism has also been interpreted, according to one view, as the more specific influence of foreign capitalism globally since the late 19th century. In practice, this meant the expansion of the capitalist system. Consequently, European, North American, and Japanese capitalists were compelled by the internal logic and competition of their system to control raw materials, find new markets, and secure profitable investments. Trade with Africa was strongly linked to this.
Imperialism is primarily an economic phenomenon and does not necessarily lead directly to political control or colonialism. However, Africa was also a victim of colonialism, as I highlighted in my previous text. When the continent was divided among Europeans from the late 19th century, territories were acquired that were intended to be exploited in the future. Thus, all interested European states acquired colonial territories in Africa. Before the 1800s, Europeans had not been able to advance and take control of the interior regions of Africa because they lacked sufficient military power. But the same technological changes that created the need to conquer Africa also provided the necessary force and power to do so. The weapons of the imperialist era, such as machine guns, represented a significant leap, enabling the subsequent era of colonialism.
It has been argued, particularly by the British, that the desire for colonialism was driven by benevolence, aiming to end the slave trade. The truth is that Africa was colonized because it was vulnerable. This is strongly linked to economic vulnerability but also to political instability in the sense that nation-states had not developed; instead, the continent was divided into smaller units. During the colonial period, the international capitalist economy extracted the economic surplus produced by the continent and directed it to its own centers and metropolises. Labor was cheap in Africa, and the economic surplus thus obtained was substantial. Africans were paid meager wages that were not sufficient for survival, forcing them to produce their own food as well.
African workers could also be exploited more intensively than Europeans because colonial powers had a monopoly on political power, having first suppressed all resistance with arms. African labor was also dispersed, decentralized, and unstable. Racism provided an additional reason and false justification for these injustices, as previously noted. Therefore, it was extremely difficult for African workers to organize themselves. However, such mobilization of the working class would have been the only way to end capitalist exploitation. The development of trade unions, for instance, was made extremely difficult.
When the issues related to colonialism were raised while it was ongoing, those who justified it referred to the higher standard of living and prices in Europe as justification for the exploitation. In reality, this was a result of colonial exploitation. Thus, it was not fair that the living standards of Africans remained so low. White Europeans living in Africa also enjoyed a much higher standard of living and wages compared to Africans.
In addition to corporations, colonial powers naturally exploited and utilized Africa. A key action was to protect their own interests from other capitalist competitors, as well as to mediate disputes among their own capitalists. At the same time, ideal conditions were ensured for private companies to exploit Africans, which was the most important activity. For this reason, law and order were maintained from a European perspective. Taxation was also introduced, and Africans paid it to those who exploited them. Taxes were also collected in the 1800s to recoup the funds spent on the armies that conquered Africa. For this reason, colonial powers ultimately did not invest any financial resources in Africa. Costs were also covered by exporting labor and natural resources.
With colonialism entrenched in various parts of African societies, it became easier to intervene directly in the economic lives and activities of local people. They were forced to do work that benefited the colonial powers. When lands were taken over, the needs of their own citizens were met first, and Africans were forced to work to pay taxes and simply to survive. If all other means of influence failed, physical force was used. Everything done by the colonial powers was legal according to their own definitions.
Labor had to be provided free of charge for public works such as building governors’ castles or prisons. Much of this work also went into constructing roads, railways, and ports, which completed the infrastructure used by private capitalists. Colonial powers also helped capitalists by donating them labor, which was forcibly recruited. The infrastructure was built according to colonial powers’ terms and in ways that benefited them rather than internal African trade or the geographic benefits of African countries. All roads and railways led to the sea. They were built to transport raw materials so that Western companies could benefit from them. If they benefited Africans, it was merely coincidental. Minimal colonial state investments could mobilize thousands of African workers.
Colonialism simultaneously strengthened capitalism in Western Europe and prolonged its lifespan. Capitalism inherently involves innovation and improvement because they relate to the pursuit of profit. However, the colonization of Africa can be highlighted as a key mechanism for the events that enabled technological change, which was the foundation of European capitalism. Without the activities related to colonialism, European capitalism could not have produced goods and services in the same way. Without these historical factors, things could be very different today. The exploitation of Africa, along with other economic interests, also served as a foundation for scientific research and its funding, but the problem here was that Africans themselves did not benefit from this development.
Colonial powers also did not allow the capitalist system to develop in Africa because they did not want competitors. Banks did not lend to locals properly, and insurance companies operated according to Western interests. Products were also not processed in Africa; for example, the value of cotton increased when it was processed in European factories.
Did the colonial powers ultimately do anything in the interest of Africans? Some might argue that they built railways, schools, and hospitals. However, their total amount and value were ultimately very small. During the first three decades of colonialism, almost nothing was done that could be considered even a small help to Africa. Africa’s current underdevelopment is also on the same level as when colonialism ended, so sufficient aid has not been provided even after its end.
It is also untrue that Europe offered Africans liberation from authoritarian rule or political prosperity, as has sometimes been claimed. It is also not true that Europeans promoted the emergence of nationalism in Africa; there were many states there when colonialism began.
Some colonialists have argued that colonial powers helped develop personal freedom for many Africans when young men received wages or engaged in individual farming, thus becoming independent of their families’ influence. However, colonial powers dictated the terms of this freedom, so it cannot be considered true freedom, and European culture or influence could only be participated in at the lowest levels, without room for personal creativity or genuine freedom.
During colonialism, African women were also deprived of social, religious, constitutional, and political benefits and rights, while economic exploitation continued and often intensified. Women had to perform traditionally male heavy labor while men worked elsewhere. Women also had to sustain themselves, their children, and sometimes even their husbands through food production. The development of women’s status was also harmed by the fact that men more easily became part of the cash economy through their work. Colonialism also affected the physical condition of African people through famines, chronic malnutrition, and weakened physiques. The little African history covered in European schools was related to European activities in Africa, so knowledge about Africa itself, its people, and its history did not spread.
In all this context, it can be argued that the only positive aspect of colonialism was its end. It is also essential to observe that the legacy of colonialism remains very significant when examining the current world. Based on this and the previous blog text, we understand that the developed world still has an absolute obligation to help today’s Global South build societies that can ensure the conditions for a dignified life for all their members.
When examining the history of colonialism, in my view, the development leading to it—especially the fact that the conquest of America was made possible by African slave labor—can be seen as a major historical turning point. Of course, history also has other events of similar magnitude, such as the changes brought about by Martin Luther, but when looking at the developments related to human well-being and justice, the emergence of colonialism could be considered the most central.
Looking at the present and the future, it can be argued that the world is once again at such a turning point. The question now is how we respond to climate change and how this affects the Global South. If we do not do enough, the people of the Global South will suffer the most from climate change, even though they did not cause these changes. We must now do everything we can to help these people and ensure that they also thrive in a world affected by climate change. Based on this and my previous text, it is clear that the global community, especially the West, has a responsibility to help them in this regard, as we are the ones who have caused both the current threatening situation and the development that has led to the current world, which still exhibits a great deal of injustice and inequality.
