In West Africa, colonialists built railways, feeder roads, port facilities for example the railway that run from Accra to Kumasi, Lagos to Kano in Nigeria, Dakar to Bamako in Senegal, Conakry to Kankan in Guinea all having feeder roads that connected the railways and ports like Harcourt in Ghana and Lagos in Nigeria.

This modern transport network had far reaching effects in the history of West Africa for example cash crops production increased in form of groundnuts in Nigeria, cocoa in Ghana, palm oil among others..  This arose as a result of the fact that transport had been made easy and trade in cash crops could easily be carried out from the countryside to city centres out of West Africa.

Meanwhile commercial and passenger transport services were improved which stimulated migrant labour from rural to urban areas leading to population explosion in cities such as Accra in Ghana, Lagos in Nigeria, Dakar all resulting from colonial transport developments.

The degree of forest exploitation increased especially in timber which was exported because of Kumasi - Accra railway and so it was for mineral exploitation of various areas of West Africa.

It’s also argued that exports increased because of the accomplishment of the Sekandi-Kumasi railway indeed transport costs were greatly reduced.

Like any other modern transport network system in Africa its imperative to note that although the West African population could have benefited.  It only paved way for the exploitation of resources from West Africa such that by 1914 West Africa had turned out to be one of the centres of colonial exploitation.

Question   Discuss the colonial economic policies in Central Africa.

By 1914, the whole of Africa was under colonial patronage with European imperialistic championing the noble call of exploiting Africa to the best of their capacity and in the case of Central Africa like other areas of colonial Africa Europeans employed various colonial policies among which included:

Land alienation whereby Africans were forced out of the economically viable areas in favour of the white settlers for example the Ndebele people lost Matabele land to the British settlers to the tune of 12,360 hectares which were awarded to the British volunteers of the pioneer column and those who had helped in suppressing the Chimurenga wars.  Subsequently many Ndebele were pushed into reserves and made squatters on their own land where they were compelled to serve the white men as their labourers.

Forced labour, where many Africans in Central Africa were forced to provide labour for the whitemen in the mineral regions; for the development of transport networks and infrastructure not withstanding plantation agriculture.

Taxation whereby by in 1900 hut tax had been introduced in Malawi, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia among others..  Similarly, customs duties were also introduced as a mechanism of financing colonial administration and also to force the Africans to provide labour for the settler farms in order to attain money to pay taxes for payments in form of commodities like gold, ivory and cattle had been abolished.

Production of cash crops was also emphasised in order to acquire raw materials like cotton, tobacco, coffee to feed their thirsty industries at home which had been one of the vital forces behind colonial acquisition.

Suffocation of domestic industries was employed as a mechanism of providing markets for manufactured goods of Europe thus Africans became classical consumers of what they didn’t produce and indeed producers of what they didn’t consume.  The failure of the colonialists of manufacturing industries in favour of primary and processing industries in Central Africa was to make Africans dependent on foreign exploitation.

Likewise, a monetary system was introduced in Central Africa where banks were established to make Africans pay taxes as import and export trade became dominated by large European companies like the British South African Company. who played an important role in paving way for European imperialism in Central Africa.

Development of a modern transport network system was yet another policy to enable a quick and simple way of siphoning Africa’s resources for example the railways from Port Beira at the Indian Ocean to Southern Rhodesia, Cape Town, R. Zambezi were all intended to exploit the minerals, agricultural resources little wonder that the modern transport system was strategically placed from resourceful areas to the coast for tapping both African resources and provision of markets for the colonial finished goods.

In conclusion therefore, colonial economic policies in Central Africa like elsewhere in Africa were geared towards the exploitation of Africans for the benefit of the Europeans.  If Africans benefited anything it was accidental.

ROLE OF AFRICANS IN COLONIAL ECONOMIES

Discuss the role played by Africans in colonial economies up to 1917.

During the era of colonial exploitation, its imperative to note that Africans were not on consumers but they played, producer part in the interests of the imperialistic parasites and these roles except by a few individuals were basically similar in all colonies including those of the French, British, Germans, Portuguese among others. and these included:

Provision of land whereby Africans provided land for agricultural products, construction of transport networks, administrative centres which was got from Africans either through diplomacy or forceful means like the Ndebele, Nandis, Khoisans of South Africa lost through treacherous means Lewanika of Barotseland all of which assisted in colonial economies.

Africans provided cheap and free labour to the whiteman for example in the development of transport networks, worked in farms, mines among others. in Angola and Mozambique the Portuguese used Africans, British in Central and East Africa.

They availed taxes used in financing administration, developing infrastructure, transport networks all of which were pillars of colonial economies.  There was the land tax, hut tax, gun tax, poll tax among others..

They participated in cash crop production a key element of colonial economies for example in British West Africans provided labour for the production of cotton, cocoa, groundnuts among others..

Provided markets for manufactured goods from Europe i.e they played a consumer role.

They provided resources for exploitation for example mineral resources, forests which were very important for colonial exploitation.

Used as supervisors for colonial exploitation in enforcing forced labour, taxation and this was more common in British economies mainly because of indirect rule.

In all therefore, in as much as Africans aided in the role of exploitation, it’s worth noting that they partly disrupted the systems of colonial economies through their revolts like the Maji revolt in 1905-07, hut tax wars of 1899 in Sierra-Leone, Shona-Ndebele revolts in Central Africa 1896-98 Nama Herero.

In summary therefore, colonial economic policies were not a hand of the Europeans alone but Africans partly contributed to their own underdevelopment although in certain cases they were only toothless dogs and indeed the attempts for them to bite were in vain as seen in the loss of their independence.

COMPARE BRITISH AND FRENCH POLICIES OF COLONIAL ECONOMY

It’s vital to note out similarities between these policies and differences but right from the ouset these policies were similar.  If there were any differences between them, it was a question of degree for instance, in both a modern transport network system was used for transport of goods to metropolitan countries for example Dakar-Bamako railway in Senegal, Canary-Kankan in Guinea, Uganda railway, ports such as Port Dakar in Senegal, Port Harcourt in Lagos, Port Elizabeth South Africa, Freetown among others..

Land alienation as seen in Senegal, Guinea by the French in Central Africa by the British and South Africa.

Forced labour in French colonies of West Africa and in British colonies of Central Africa.

Taxation was a mechanism for both colonial powers as a medium of financing and forcing Africans to work.

Monetisation of economies for example the British introduced silver civils in 1886 in West African colonies so did the French.

Production of cash crops for example the French introduced groundnuts in Senegal, palm oil in Dahomey, Palm Oil in ivory coast and so did the British introduce cocoa in Ghana, Coffee in East Africa among others..

Destruction of infant industries was common such that by 1914 there were no indigenous manufacturing industries in both colonies.

In conclusion therefore, a critical analysis of the above portrays a fact that both the French and British came to Africa for a similar purpose and the means to achieve their goal were in no doubt the same and indeed had similar consequences i.e the exploitation of the African resources.  If there was any difference it was only in terms of the degree.