General
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UNIT 9:ROLE OF COLONIAL AGENTS IN THE CONQUEST OF AFRICA
An agent is a person who acts on behalf of another. It can also mean a person
who obtains and provides information for the government in a certain area
in secret. Europeans who acted as agents to their respective governments in
the second half of the 19th Century and early part of the 20th Century came to
Africa either individually or in groups such as: traders, hunters, explorers and
missionaries among others.
9.1.1. Explorers
Exploration is the act of searching for the purpose of obtaining information
or resources. An explorer is a person who travels in search of information
about various things and places. European explorers in Africa were seekers
of information on geographical features, trade possibilities and agricultural
potentials to mention but a few areas.
However, whatever their immediate motivation, the result of their explorations
led to European ultimate conquest of Africa. Examples of explorers include
Mungo Park, Clapperton, Richard Lander, Speke, Burton, Grant, Henry Morton
Stanley, Joseph Thomson
9.1.2. Traders and hunters
During the latter part of the 19th Century, traders penetrated Central Africa
using two main approaches: from the east coast, either overland from the
central settlements in Tanganyika and Mozambique; or up the Zambezi and the
Shire and Luangwa rivers, to the land between the four great lakes of Mweru,
Bangweulu, Tanganyika and Malawi.
Many Arab and Swahili traders used the overland routes while Portuguese
traders generally used the Zambezi one. The other main approach was from
South Africa to Barotseland and the area south of the Zambezi. European hunters
and traders went into this area from the south. They went first to Matabeleland
and then extended their interests to Mashonaland and Barotseland. Few
penetrated further into Zambia which was very inaccessible before 1890.
Most of the visitors travelled along the so-called ‘Missionary Road’ to
Matabeleland, which ran between the borders of the Transvaal and the Kalahari
Desert. This area offered good facilities for hunting, as elephants and other
game animals were plentiful in the savannah. Traders too were attracted as
they were able to bring their goods into the area quite easily by wagon from the
south. Examples of traders and hunters included George Philips, George CobbWestbeech and Frederick Selous.
9.1.3. Missionaries and Christianity in Africa
Missionaries or the ‘soldiers of Christ’, as they called themselves, provided the
first concerted thrust at African institutions and way of life. Although they were
preceded by the explorers, the missionaries were men with a mission. They
wanted to stay and win Africa into Christianity.
Their activities were to have a serious bearing on the direction of African history
in the 19th and 20th Centuries. They usually invited their home countries to
come and conquer Africa. In a sense therefore, the pattern of the partition was
substantially affected by the earlier settlement of the missionaries.
Secondly, the missionaries purported to know the African better than other
Europeans. Thus, many of the policies pursued by the colonizing powers were
inspired by the reports of the missionaries. It is important therefore to regard
missionary activity in Africa in the 19th Century as the pioneering arm of
imperialism.
Examples of missionary organisations included the Church Missionary Society
(founded and run by Evangelical Anglicans), the Wesleyan Missionary Society,
The Church of England (Anglican Church), The Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel (SPG), Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the Roman Catholic
Missionaries, The Lutherians The Orthodox Missionaries and The Holy GhostFathers.
9.2.1. Explorers
They mapped the economic potentials of Africa so that the future colonialists
would know where they could establish their colonies. Explorers discovered
and drew the maps indicating the location of the strong and hostile African
tribes.
They show on maps where located the weak African kingdoms and befriended
some Africans and their chiefs. They also indicated the location of African
geographical features like navigable lakes and rivers.
They called upon their home government to come and to exploit and dominate
Africa, leading to the African colonization by European.
They revealed to colonialists the ways of life of African people i.e. language,
culture and all kind of organizations.
They took to Europe African soils sample which enabled the colonialists to
identify and occupy fertile part of Africa.
They encouraged the treaty signing with some African leaders, consequently
facilitated and accelerated the colonization process.
They established the contacts and relationships between Africans chiefs and
European colonialists. For instance, we can mention the visit of Stanley to
Kabaka in Buganda and Von Goetzen to Kigeli IV Rwabugili in Rwanda.
9.2.2. Missionaries
Missionaries exaggerated the wealth of Africa. For instance, Livingstone and
Rev. Moffat said that the minerals of South Africa were found in all areas from
South Africa to Cairo. This attracted the Europeans to come and control these
areas in order to exploit Africa’s wealth.
Missionaries gave alarming reports about slave trade and human sacrifice which
raised deep humanitarian fillings. According to them those could end if the
African chiefs are overthrown and replaced by whites in colonial environment.
Missionaries financed bankrupt – chartered companies as a means of enabling
them to finish the assigned duties and completed the preliminary work of
colonization.
Missionaries played key roles in the signing treaties as long as they were
working in fraternity with chartered companies and other colonial agents in
luring Africans to sign treaties.
Missionaries agitated for the coming of many white settlers to come and
occupy Africa. According to their plan, the white settlers would in turn seek for
protection from their metropolitan countries.
Missionaries with collaboration of chartered companies trained Africans who
became army men and later used by the colonialists. They condemned African
cultures and customs as backward primitive and barbaric. This weakened the
African spirit of resistance and made it easy for Europeans to take over.
Missionaries built schools where they trained Africans that were to receive
and work for colonialists. In such schools, missionaries trained Clerks
administrators, interpreters and the masses taught the new language that
imperialists would when they joined them.
Missionaries established communication facilities which were seen by European
powers as favoring factors for their take over. Since they were assured of easy
movements into most parts of Africa especially the interior, they did not hesitate
to come to Africa to colonize it.
Missionaries did the work of softening the minds and hearts of the Africans.
In their constant preaching, they emphasized on “Love one another as you love
yourself”. This meant that the European strangers should not be killed but loved;
which neutralized African resistance, but Africans might receive European
colonialists in a hospitable behavior.
9.2.3. Traders (Chartered Companies)
Traders ended up being regrouped in Chartered companies. These ones paved
way for European colonization by signing treaties with African leaders. To
Europeans these treaties meant surrender of the Africans thus such areas for
their home government.
They exaggerated the mineral wealth of Africa, which created more appetite to
colonize Africa. The British South African Company (BSACo) exaggerated the
mineral wealth of South Africa; Leopold’s company said that the Diamonds and
copper in Congo extend up to the coast of East Africa.
Troubles of slave trade were exaggerated which forced some countries to come
on a ticket of humanitarianism. These companies argued that slave trade could
only be controlled if the social, economic and political lives of the Africans were
firmly governed by Europeans hence leading to colonial conquests.
The Chartered companies created peace, established law and order and courts
to promote justice in Africa. When all these were done, their metropolitan
countries saw the situation ready for take over from the Chartered companies.
Chartered companies built social facilities like hospitals and schools that helped
the colonialists to come to do their work. The fear of diseases was reduced
which encouraged the imperialists to come to Africa.
Chartered companies, in collaboration with missionaries, created manpower
that was to help the imperialists in colonial administration as they financed
some schools that trained clerks, interpreters and administrators as colonial
auxiliaries.
Chartered companies trained and equipped African Loyal Army which was
used in suppressing African resistance and rebellion. It was used also in the
annexation of more land for the Europeans.
Chartered companies drew the maps and boundaries of the areas under their
control and their establishment meant that the partition of Africa began when
the companies were still operating.
Chartered companies supported religious, internal and external wars in Africa.
This was meant to weaken African military, make them become enemies to
each other and force one of these seek for European protection.
Chartered companies exploited the interior of Africa, opening it to the
colonialists and they drew the map of African interior locating the fishing
grounds, fertile soils, forests, mineral locations, mountains and other African
economic potentials. All these had to attract the colonial powers to take overAfrica.
9.3.1. Explorers
None of the explorers really knew where they were going because they were
the first European who came in Africa without any previous knowledge to this
continent. As results, they faced the following problems:
Explorers had to use big waters like oceans which were by the time inhabited by
dragons and some sea monsters. Those animals have hindered the movements
of explorers.
Explorers were facing a problem of wild animals like lions, hyenas, leopards,
snakes, etc. To some extent, those animals claimed their life especially in the
areas where they had to cross the forests.
Explorers face a problem of shortage of food and water and other major supplies
as they would go so far interior of Africa and they could not easily adapt African
food as their diet.
The problems of diseases like malaria, yellow fever and sleeping sickness which
scared them and even some attacked and killed them like Dr David Livingstone.
Due to the previous problems, the number of explorers was limited so that
they could not effectively carry out their work in Africa. This became a great
problem as long as they would explore a large area in Africa.
Explorers also encountered the problems related to the lack of means of
transport and accommodation because the African rivers and lakes were not
yet navigable and large area was still covered by the forests and desert.
Explorers were facing the problems of linguistic barriers as long as they used
Europeans languages to the local people with the local languages.
9.3.2. Missionaries
Like explorers, missionaries had a few knowledges about Africa. So, they had to
face problems on their ways such as:
Lack of means of transport: This was because in Africa there were no roads,
railways and water bodies like rivers and lakes were not yet open for navigation.
The small number of their own while their proscribed areas of operation
were so wide and with a large population: So, their influence got limited to a
few communities.
Poor communication facilities: The Missionaries went into little-known areas
with poor communication facilities, and for months, or even years at a time,
they had to depend on the haphazard trips of traders and hunters for supplies
and letters.
Insecurity: They were faced with constant insecurity, for missions depended
on the goodwill of some powerful chief, and at any time succession quarrels,
tribal wars or raids could endanger their lives or force them to leave the district.
Hostility of people: Frequently, missionary teachings provoked trouble, for
they attacked many existing customs which appeared to them to conflict with
the teaching of Christianity.
Slave trade: Missionaries were often sickened by the heartlessness and cruelty
they encountered, which included the agonies of victims of slave raids, speared
to death if any rescue was attempted.
Lack of medium for communication : Mission work in scattered populations,
speaking a variety of languages increased the difficulty of putting new ideas
across to the people. To secure understanding and acceptance of the Christian
message was a long and arduous task.
Unfavourable climate and disease: Most dangerous of all was the tropical
climate, and the fevers that followed. Although quinine was known, the causes
of malaria, blackwater fever, and many other diseases had not been discovered.
Few of the missionaries were given any training in the use of such medicines as
were available, and poor communications often caused a shortage of medicalsupplies. All suffered continually of illness and there were frequent deaths.
Lack of central government in some areas of Africa: Lack of central
government was an obstacle to missionary work; the spread of independent
chiefdoms, often rivalling each other, resulted in missionaries getting into
unnecessary antagonisms. This was not conducive to consistency and even
success of missionary work.
Discrimination of missionaries: In some areas, the missionaries were
manifesting racial tendencies, being harsh, cruel and marginalizing the Africans.
In West Africa for instance, Bishop Crowther Ajayi was underlooked and denied
powers in his diocese hence hampered in his work.
In general, by paying attention to each group of colonial agents, consequences
of colonial agents are summarized as follows:
9.4.1. Effects of explorers in African societies
The introduction of new products in Europe like gold and silver flooded into
Europe especially in Spain because it was more involved in explorations.
The exploration led to the improvement of the European economic conditions
and the increasing of the population in Europe.
The exploration led to the motion of vast colonial empire to European leaders
like French, British, Spanish, Portuguese and Belgians who got colonies in
Africa.
It also contributed to the discovery of African rivers and lakes by Europeanslike Victoria, Zambezi, Malawi, etc
The exploration led to the development of industries, commercial routes and
banking system.
There was also evolution and spread of the Christianity religion because almost
European explorers were Christians and along their paths they had introduced
their religion.
The exploration prepared the ground to the slave trade. Slaves were taken
from Africa and were brought to America as the workers in different kinds of
plantations and mining.
Explorers discovered much economic potential in Africa and this made them
call upon their home government to come to occupy the regions in order to
exploit which led later to colonization of the African continent.
Explorers exposed the hostile tribes and the tribes who were so welcoming
which facilitated the coming of the colonialists.
They also encouraged the treaty signing that consequently facilitated the
colonization in non-European territories.
9.4.2. Impacts of the Missionaries on African societies
Missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa through
evangelization, and then Africans took up new faith abandoning their traditional
religion.
Missionaries campaigned against slave trade and succeeded in having it
abolished in most part of Africa. They would receive and give protection to
people running away from slave raiders.
They built schools where Africans received Western education and taught
Africans how to write, read and to calculate. Some languages learnt were
English, French, Portuguese and German.
Missionaries established health centers and hospitals which were to basically
benefit the Whites and their converts, and they were signs of social development
in Africa.
Missionaries undermined and tried to uproot African way of life because they
replaced Africans ways of life by their home civilizations and cultures. African
Christian converts stopped polygamy, widow inheritance, sharing of wives,human sacrifice and killing of twins.
Missionaries contributed to the spread of European languages through
education. However, there are some missionaries who studied and mastered
African languages and were able to write and translate African languages. There
were like Krapf who translated the New Testament of the Bible into Swahili.
Missionaries improved on agriculture by introducing new crops like coffee,
cotton, sweet potatoes, palm oil trees and cacao and new methods of farming.
Missionaries collaborated with traders and established the means of transport
and communication lines in Africa.
Missionaries tried to bring peace and security in areas they were operating.
However, in other areas they increased and planted seeds of divisionism and
conflicts. They also involved themselves in the local politics.
Missionaries paved way for the colonization of Africa as they were the
forerunners of the European imperialism. They signed treaties which meant
the surrender of territories of the signing chiefs, they called upon their home
governments to come and give them protection together with their converts.
9.4.3. Effects of traders (Chartered companies)
They introduced taxation system in order to enable them and their home
government to operate and set up some development schemes.
They rounded big spheres of influence for their home government by acquiring
territories that they surrendered to their metropolitan countries. Or instance,
the BSA Company annexed central and South Africa for the British and German
East African Company (GEA Company) got Tanganyika for Germany. This has
reduced African resistance to colonial conquest.
They established economic assets that became the base for economic
development for the imperialists. They started large plantations, industries,
mining centers and farms. This was effective form of exploitation of African
resources.
They prepared areas where the imperial settlers would occupy. E.g the Imperial
British East Africa Company (IBEA Co.) reserved Kenya highlands for the British,
Shire highlands of Nyasa and Shonaland in Zimbabwe annexed by the British
South African Company (BSA Co.) and the Niger basin region by the Royal Niger
Company (R.N.Co.) also were kept for the British settlers.
They signed treaties with African leaders. These treaties principally meant to
make these people co-operate to the white and meant that the African surrender
their land. For instance, Leopold’s AIC Co. signed treaties with Chief Makoko of
Kongo while the R.N Co signed 237 treaties with the Niger Delta States.
They established the market for their home industries products. They spread
European civilization and detribalized Africans, which forced them to need
European goods. They even established a monetary environment which made
some Africans be able to purchase European manufactured goods.
They established communication facilities like roads and railways that helped
in trade, exploitation of the resources and for easing administration.
They trained an African army that assisted them to carry out their duties
especially annexing more territory and defeating African resistors. This army
was also inherited by the imperialists who came shortly after.
They began social facilities that were a means of “modernizing and civilizing”
Africa. Thus, they established schools etc which helped them in training
Africans who joined their schools as they learnt how to read and write. These
later became the interpreters of Europeans and administrators.
They helped in the abolition of slave trade and used their armies including thelocal soldiers they had trained in fighting against slave trade.
