LECTURE 3: COLONIALISM AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
I. Why is Africa so poor?
A.Could be rich - there are large amounts of good farmland, rich mineral resources
B.Yet, African countries consistently rank at the bottom of world poverty indices
C.Why is that so? Book offers four reasons, all of them can be linked to colonialism.
a.Climactic reasons (drought, floods)
b.Lack of industrialization
c.Unstable political systems
d.Legacies of colonialism
II. What is Colonialism?
A.A form of IMPERIALISM: the exercise of power by a state beyond its borders
B.COLONIALISM: Colonial states set up administrative and bureaucratic apparatuses to control peoples they define as "other."
C.Colonial empires are largely driven by the desire of the colonial powers to import primary sector materials (that is, natural resources) and to export secondary sector materials (that is, manufactured goods).
D.In Africa, although Europeans had been trading there for hundreds of years, the real heyday of colonialism was the late 19th century. Colonialism was driven by the Industrial Revolution. The "colonial period" lasted from about 1880 to 1960-1970, when most African countries gained independence.
E.Colonialism's three periods
a.The scramble: 1880-1900
b.The administrative period: 1900-1950
c.Decolonization begins: 1950-1970's
IV. Long term effects of colonialism in Africa
A.Climactic Reasons: But colonialism led to the loss of Ability to Deal with Recurring Natural Disaster!
B.Lack of industrialization: a deliberate colonial policy to protect markets!
C.Political Instability: the artifact of Colonialism's power vacuum!.
D.Colonialism's legacy: Continued Economic Dependence