The term reaction refers to how people felt and responded when the European colonialists settled in East Africa. In the case of East Africa the reaction was two - fold. There was that category of people and societies that welcomed the European colonialists and these came to be known as collaborators. The Africans in East Africa responded in two ways to the establishment of European colonial rule. They either collaborated or resisted.

Collaborators in East Africa

Collaborators were African societies or chiefs that co-operated or showed good will to the European colonial powersin the spread or establishment of colonial rule in east Africa examples are:

• Semei Kakungulu of Buganda
• Lenana of the Masai,
• Nabongo Mumia of the Wanga and
• Merere of Usangu.

Resistors in East Africa

Resistors were African societies that opposed the establishment of European colonial rule or rather refused to co-operate with the colonial powers. Some societies first collaborated but later resisted. Societies resisted in two ways.

The first was active resistance where some Africans societies picked up arms and resisted the British and German rule for example Bunyoro, Acholi, Nandi, Hehe, Abushiri and Ngoni.

The second way was passive resistance whereby some African societies silently refused to co-operate with the colonial powers for example the Shambaa and Chagga of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Reasons for Collaboration

The need for military support forced some leaders to become collaborators. Some societies collaborated with colonial powers for military support against their rivals. The political independence of such societies was under constant threats hence the collaborators wanted to protect it. For example the Baganda collaborated with the British against the Banyoro.

Some communities collaborated because they were too weak to put up armed resistance. It was therefore regarded useless to wage wars that they couldn't win. This was particularly true with those African leaders who knew much about European military might. These chiefs believed that; "He who makes the gun powder must win the war." This forced them to collaborate with Europeans, Buganda under Mutesa I, Masai under Laibon Lenana. Are the best examples.

Others collaborated because they wanted to benefit from European trade. These included Nabongo Mumia of Wanga in Kenya, Mutesa I of Buganda.

Mutesa I was particularly interested in acquiring firearms to use against his enemies in west and east of his kingdom. Items like mirrors, beads, needles, used clothes among others also attracted the Africans.

Some collaborated in order to acquire some peace. Such societies had suffered from slave Trade, constant warfare etc. This was a period when Africa was robbed of its energetic youths and therefore collaboration was sought of as a solution. This is why when Europeans attempted to use a claim of stopping slave trade in Africa they were warmly welcomed. They felt that it was fortune to accept the white man's rule to work against their human torture for example in some parts of central and southern Tanganyika.

Natural calamities attacked and weakened some societies hence making them too weak to resist. For example the Kikuyu, Masai, Chagga and Usambara were weakened by small pox, famine, long periods of drought, rinder pest and locust invasion. These societies accused European intruders for causing some of the diseases and the need therefore to co-operate with them to avoid peoples' suffering.

The wonderful teachings of the missionaries softened and weakened the hearts and minds of Africans from resisting colonial administration. Hence most converts collaborated with the British.

Some people collaborated because they were opportunists. There were some African individuals who expected favours or material rewards from the colonial powers. For example Semei Kakungulu had selfish personal interests to defend. He thought the British were going to make him king of Bugisu and Bukedi but as usual an African of Kakungulu type could not be trusted with too much authority all the time so he was later demoted demoralised.

Ignorance: Other societies collaborated because they did not know what they were all after. They thought the white man had just come as visitors and would soon go away. Besides, they did not know the colonial interests. They also thought it was wrong to resist a visitor. Hence they were only discouraged when it was too late that the white man had come to stay.

Direction: This also determined the nature of Africans response for example all Europeans who entered Buganda from the south were welcomed while those who tried to enter from the east like Bishop Hannington were strongly resisted. Likewise those who tried to enter Bunyoro from Buganda met stiff resistance.

Bribes: Some African chiefs collaborated because they were easily bribed by the Europeans with material rewards like cloth and guns others thought that whites were better experienced and heavily armed. Hence they feared easy defeat and believed that by collaborating, they would defend their independence.

Others collaborated because it could provide them unlimited opportunities in business and government for. the Creoles of Sierra Leone in West Africa worked in the extension of colonial rule because they believed that European protectorates would open up large fields for trade. This would also help the spread of Christianity and provide them with wide opportunities to govern the new protectorates.

A number of African states had been torn apart by succession disputes. Some African leaders welcomed Europeans as allies against their rivals for the throne. This was true with chief Lenana of Masai who welcomed the British as allies against his brotherSendeyo who was righting to overthrow him.

 

In Ankole, there was a power struggle between princess Rwakatogoro and Igumira, following the death of Omugabe Ntare. Therefore, it became easy for British to take over Ankole through collaboration response as a result of their power struggle.

Desire to acquire modern ideas. Missionaries had already instilled a sense of lack of modern ideas among the Africans and it was the white man who was more knowledgeable than others. Africans thought of whites as being commanders in their development struggles. They wished to benefit in terms of technology and culture from the whites. The most important of which was perhaps knowledge on how to make the guns.

They also admired whites on how they established schools, roads, hospitals and railway lines in their territories. They thought that through collaboration, they would achieve these modern ideas without necessarily losing their independence but incidentally, the white man could only offer this to Africans at the cost of losing their independence.

The difference between the neighbours' opinion; Buganda collaborated because Bunyoro had resisted. In the Central Africa king Lobengula resisted because the Shona, his enemies had collaborated with British.

Impact of slave trade:- Some societies collaborated because they had been weakened by the Slave trade of the 19th century. This was an era when Africans were tired of being used as commodities and therefore decided to collaborate with the Europeans especially the 'British as a solution.

It is therefore clear that collaboration didn't necessary mean backwardness and neither did it imply progress. What is clear is that Africans who collaborated found themselves in circumstances where resistance could not benefit them. They therefore became partners in spreading colonisation by collaborating with Europeans and in most cases, Africans who gave in amicably stood to gain a lot unlike those who attempted to resist.

Moreover some collaborating societies had several advantages over those which resisted they acquired some social and economic infra structural developments plus other material benefits while resisters equally acquired the opposite. It is for this matter that some scholars regard collaborators as forward looking while the chauvinistic nationalists term them as traitors.

EAST AFRICAN  RESISTORS

The dawn of the 19th Century saw the wind of white colonialism sweep through various African societies. The reply in some societies was resistance to European imperialism in which African chiefs or local people showed outright opposition to European occupation, a response that has been described by the European schools of thought as having been reactionary andbackward looking.

 

These resistances have been categorized into two, namely:

• Primary resistors who out rightly resisted European imperialism right from the start examples are of Kabalega of Bunyoro, Mkwawa of Hehe among others.
• secondary resistors who accommodated the colonists but later felt that they could no longer accommodate them and therefore opted to put up resistance examples can be evident in the personalities like  King DanielMwanga of Buganda.

Kababa Mwanga of Buganda

The response taken by these personalities and societies was in respect of safeguarding their social, political and economic independence the greatest of which being the need to preserve their political entities and sovereignty as seen in the personalities of Kabalega and Mkwawa of the Hehe.

Likewise some wanted to defend their economies for example Chief Abushiri of the Coast  resisted in order to protecttheir coastal trade against the German East African Company.

In addition, some societies wanted to defend their culture especially the Islamic dominated areas such as parts of Tanzania especially the coast.

Closely related, some societies wanted to protest their long time glory for example. The Nandi, the Hehe, the Banyoro, which the colonialists were threatened. They wanted to remain powerful as ever.

Similarly the existing relations between regions determined their response for example. Bunyoro resisted because Buganda had collaborated and so it was for the Nandi because of the Masai collaboration. This is so for some of these societies which were traditional enemies determined to fight against the collaborators.

Imperialistic approach also determined the response of these societies for in areas where European used harsh means in dealing with Africans, they registered resistance for example in Bunyoro where Europeans termed Kabalega as a blood thirsty warrior expected resistance unlike in Buganda where Europeans had cordial relations with the Kings.

Some societies believed they were powerful and in their attempt to expand their territories they clashed with the European imperialist for example Kabalega.

In conclusion therefore, in as much as resistors lost their independence, the Eurocentric view of referring to these resistors as backward suffers a lot of intellectual mistakes for as Professor Ssempebwa puts it "History is a hard judge of war generals, the successful is hailed while the losing is cursed and condemned".

Dr. Milton Obote resisted the British intellectually

Credit goes to resistors for having laid a foundation for the 19th Century nationalism which justified the view that they wanted to protect their independence but also lacked the means in any case even those who collaborated ended up in the same boat and its from this background that the polarization between resistors as "heroes" or "forward looking" and collaborators as "traitors" or "backward" looking should never arise for it will be a distortion of historical realities and the failure to grasp the dynamics of war.