Colonialism and Colonial Rule

Question 1

Colonized people were… (Conklin)

Answer 1

subjects, not citizens, they had duties, not rights

Question 2

What rationale was given to French population for colonialism? (Conklin)

Answer 2

That the republic would liberate Africans from moral and material want

Question 3

Examples of French West African governments legislating against slavery and a counter example(Conklin)

Answer 3

• 1895 general directive aimed at ending slavery and eroding powers of the chief, reflecting the republican spirit
• antislavery measures of 1903 and 1905 were limited in scope in so far that they did not free slaves overnight and rather prevented any new enslavement, however French admin never claimed otherwise
• French maintained forced labour and regulated it from 1912 on, as a means of ensuring progress

Question 4

How were Africans viewed by the French ?(Conklin)

Answer 4

barbarians capable of receiving civilisation understood in the most democratic and universal sense

Question 5

Why was there optimism at independence? (C Young)

Answer 5

the idea of ending discrimination and gaining freedom and respect for the dignity of the black man

Question 6

What do the Berg Report and Lagos Report show of the two different arguements for lack of success of independent African states? (C Young)

Answer 6

• The Berg report by the world bank blamed African state policy and performance
• The Lagos report by the African union blamed the ravages of the world economy

Question 7

What had African external debt reached by beginning of 1990s (C Young)

Answer 7

-$200 billion

Question 8

How did colonialism create many small weak countries? (C Young)

Answer 8

-Only 13 had population of more than 10 million in 1990 and 13 had populations of less than 1 million

Question 9

What does Herbst see colonialism as doing to Africa?

Answer 9

• Creating a system of boundaries new to Africa
• Established novel economic system based on mines and cash crops
• Built infrastructure systems that still determine patterns of trade
• they left their religion, languages and cultural practises

Question 10

What does Herbst see the motivation for colonialism as? and why?

Answer 10

-the motivation was economic, end of slavery created need for organising a new regime of compulsions

Question 11

What according to Herbst motivated the scramble?

Answer 11

-European rivalries and the disappearance of open land to conquer elsewhere amongst other factors

Question 12

Why were Europeans unwilling to develop extensive administrative networks? (Herbst)

Answer 12

-due to high cost and low probability of reward

Question 13

What did the Berlin conference say a European colony must do? (Herbst)

Answer 13

-All they need was a base territory on the coast, than they could move inwards without having to establish an administrative presence, except in an ill-defined reasonable time

Question 14

What was the cost to Britain of administrating 70 million African subjects? (Herbst)

Answer 14

-15 pence per person

Question 15

How many administrators were there for 43 million people in British tropical Africa? (Herbst)

Answer 15

-1223 administrators and 938 police

Question 16

Why is the failure to extend power hardly surprising? (Herbst)

Answer 16

-the lack of political or economic incentives to develop true state hegemony

Question 17

Why did the colonial powers use force? (Herbst)

Answer 17

-when they wanted something done they had to use force due to low administrative control