THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COLONIALISM IN AFRICA

By the early twentieth century much of Africa, except Ethiopia and Liberia, had been occupied by European powers. For more than a half a century, the European big powers took over African continent, sliced and began to rule it as subordinates. Prior to contact with Europeans, African societies were complex, with their own political, economic, and social systems. Everything changed upon their arrival. In the first place, the traditional political institutions said to have existed in pre-colonial societies were replaced by a foreign rule, and all the resources of the colonized countries were controlled by its colonial superior. Although Europeans had traded in Africa for many centuries before colonisation, it was not until the end of 19th century when the scramble for, and actual colonisation of Africa took place. Early trading contacts were mostly restricted along the coast of the continent and the Europeans knew very little about the interior.

Colonialism is therefore, the situation where by one powerful nation dominate the other weaker one in all aspects of life; economically, politically and socially. Colonizing nations generally dominate the resources, labour, and markets of the colonial territory, and may also impose socio-cultural, religious and linguistic structures on the indigenous population, thus the colonized place becomes dominated politically, economically and socially.

Europeans’ Industrial Revolution.

The industrial revolution is one of the most far- reaching historical phenomena man has encountered. This was fundamental development in industrial sector that consequently transformed Europeans from agricultural to industrial societies. It was the time when European societies transformed to new manufacturing processes. Because of a number of factors which are beyond the scope of this work, the revolution started firstly in England in the mid of 18th C (1750) and spread to other European countries a century later. This resulted to several positive changes like urbanization, increase of production in every production sector, and rapid increases of population. Shortly, industrialization marked a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. It changed the entire life of man in Europe, something which made it known as industrial revolution. As industrialization spread and matured in the 19th century throughout western and central Europe, it gave countries the wealth, technology, and motivation to look beyond their homelands. Moreover, the European industrial powers found themselves in the great demands of;

raw materials to feed their industries. Since many nations became industrial competition for raw materials increased. Every European power was in great demand of raw materials to feed her industries. However, most of Europe was resource poor, were dependent on raw materials from pre-industrial societies of outside Europe.

markets to sell their industrial commodities. By the late 19th century, the industries in Europe were producing more industrial goods than Europeans could consume. Consequently, industrialists sought markets for their goods around the world. Under this circumstance, European governments decided to struggle for the areas of influence where they could sell their commodities.

area for investment of surplus capital. Due to industrialisation, industrialists accumulated much wealth. Thus, they were in great demand of the new places where they could invest their surplus capital made in different activities like mining and farming.They saw Africa as a new place to invest the money made in industry.

cheap labour. The first phase of industrial revolution was associated with the rise of working class movements. Workers in England started demanding higher wages from their industrial owners, as they recognised that capitalist did always maximise capital through exploiting workers. Thus, capitalists realised that by that time it was no longer possible to accumulate profit by exploiting their fellow Europeans, thus they were interested to go and invest somewhere where people were still unaware, so as to exploit cheap labour.

areas for settlement of surplus population. As the industrial revolution increased production and generally improved the entire life of man, the population was more than doubled. The Europeans were overpopulated and therefore wanted to get new areas in outside Europe where they could resettle their surplus population.

The Industrial Revolution in particular provided European countries with a reason to add lands to their control. As European nations industrialized, they searched for new markets, areas to invest and raw materials to improve their economies. A sure way to control raw materials and markets would be to create colonial monopolies.

THE ROLE OF MISSIONARIES, EXPLORERS AND TRADERS.

Prior to the actual occupation of Africa was there was the work of missionaries, explorers and traders. Their role in the colonisation of the region cannot be underestimated. They entered Africa simultaneously at the very beginning of colonial conquest and domination, and they all prepared the ground for the coming of foreign rule. It is for this reason that they are sometimes referred to as the agents of colonialism. Although Africa had integrated with European countries for many centuries before colonialism, their early activities were limited along the coast, where they engaged in both trading and evangelisation. Thus many parts of Africa were still unknown to Europeans. As early as in the 19th century European powers like France, Germany, and Britain likewise sent number of missionaries, explorers and traders in Africa. These groups were sent in Africa to investigate the needed knowledge about Africans, their history and culture, mostly knowledge about raw materials, potential areas and the nature of African population. Thus the three groups arrived in Africa playing vital and unforgettable role in the process of colonisation something which made them known as the Agents or Forerunners of colonialism.

MISSIONARIES

European Missionaries were basically individuals sent by the European’s religious groups in Africa for spreading Christianity and general western civilization. Among the Christian societies that sent their missionaries in Africa included the British based Anglican Church Missionary Society (C.M.S), the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (W.M.M.S), the London Missionary Society (L.M.S), the Protestant Missions from France, Germany, and Holland. It is documented that, missionaries in Africa did not perform a single activity though they themselves proclaimed to have the single task of spreading Christianity. One activity brought them in Africa influenced them into other activity. Apart from spreading Christianity that was their primary function, they also conducted different activities in the continent to save the interests of their mother countries. For example, they investigated those areas they established their missions and sent back to their mother countries. Furthermore, they convinced their converts not to resist foreign domination, rather welcoming them and cooperating with Europeans. It is correct to say that missionaries and colonial administrators had common interest in Africa.

EXPLORERS

Again, the role of the explorers in this regard cannot be underestimated. The exploers’ reports of African natural potentials and endowment no doubt provoked to a large extent the search for colonies in the continent. Basically, the exploration of Sub-Saharan Africa began with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, pioneered by Portuguese, the early travellers. The Cape of Good Hope for example, was firstly reached by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 and later Vasco Da Gamma when they were in search of the new sea route to India. However as said above, European exploration of Africa itself remained very limited during the 15th and 17th centuries, as these earliest explorers activities ended only on coastal areas.

Thus, at the beginning of the 19th century, European knowledge of the geography of the interior of Sub-Saharan Africa was still rather limited. The explorations of Sub-Sahara Africa were made during the nineteenth century, immediately before colonisation process. Therefore, explorers were the Europeans sent for exploration/investigation of African continent.

TRADERS

Together with missionaries, there were the groups of people sent for trading purposes. Although the prime function of these traders was to carry out trade in respective areas, they also did something extra which on one way or the other led to the colonization of the continent. Therefore, traders, missionaries and explorers are referred to as the agents of colonialism, due to their contribution to the Europeans’ colonization of African continent.

David Livingstone was a Scottish missionary, explorer arrived in Africa in 1940s, with two goals: to explore the continent and to end the slave trade by spreading Christianity. In March 1869 Livingstone reached Ujiji, an Arab trading depot on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Livingstone died in Chief Chitambo's village (present-day Zambia) in 1873 from malaria and internal bleeding. His two followers, Susi and Chuma, on the morning of his death made the decision to remove the heart and prepare the body for carrying to the coast for subsequent shipping to England. Livingstone's heart was buried under Mvula tree near the spot where he died. His body together with his journal was carried by his loyal attendants Chuma and Susi to the coast to Bagamoyo, and was returned to Britain for burial.

Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904)

Sir Henry Morton Stanley, original name was John Rowland, born in 1841 in Denbigh-Wales. He was sent to find Livingstone who had been presumed dead for four years as no-one in Europe had heard from him. Stanley reached Zanzibar in early 1871 and proceeded to Lake Tanganyika. There in November 1871 he found the sick explorer, Dr Livingstone at Ujiji on the edge of Lake Tanganyika. When Livingstone died in 1873, Stanley resolved to continue his exploration of the region, funded by the Herald and a British newspaper. He explored vast areas of central Africa, and consequently became among the famous explorer.

Sir Richard Burton (1821 -1890)

Was an English explorer sponsored to explore African continent. Richard Francis Burton was born in 1821. In 1857, Burton and his friend Speke embarked on a Royal Geographical Society funded expedition to explore inland from the east African coast, with the hope of finding the source of the Nile.

How missionaries, explorers and traders played role in colonisation process? They sent back to their mother countries information about African continent. As these people were sent deliberately to collect necessary information about Africa, they consequently sent back to their mother countries information about what they found in Africa. It is this information which led to Europeans’ competition for Africa, as they through them became aware about the potentiality of the continent

They engaged on the abolition of slave trade. For the purpose of establishing colonialism, slave trade must in the first place be abolished. This is because with slave trade Africans were taken to America to provide their slave labour, thus colonialism would not meet its demands of raw materials, markets and cheap labour. By assisting abolition of the trade, missionaries, traders as well as explorers welcomed colonialism

Missionaries softened African hearts and shaped them in the manner to accept colonialism. They used Christian religion to suppress African resistances. The converted Africans were made non-resistant, as were told that resistances meant backwardness, and sin before God.

They were the first people to introduce cash crops. Beside their missions, missionaries established farms for cash-crops production. They always told their converts to concentrate on cash crops production. Through this, they prepared Africans to serve the colonialists demands.

They signed treaties with African chiefs. Together with their various activities in Africa, missionaries, explorers and traders concluded several treaties with African chiefs, treaties which put those respective areas under colonial domination. For example, Karl Peter signed a treaty with chief Mangungo of Msovero-Usangara, the treaty in which Mangungo surrendered his territory to Germans. These treaties were considered in the Berlin Conference when they were partitioning African continent.

They mapped important areas of African continent. European explorers and missionaries beganmapping the interior of Africa in the nineteenth-century. Adventurers like Livingstone and Henry Stanley played vital role in this

They constructed infrastructures which came to be used by the colonialists to penetrate into the interior of Africa. For example the I.B.E.A.Co became bankrupt after constructing six kilometres railway in Uganda.

SCRAMBLE FOR, AND PARTITION OF AFRICA

The dictionary meaning for the word “scramble” is struggle, push, fight or compete with others in order to obtain something. Thus, scramble in so far as African colonization is concerned, refers to the struggles among the Europeans to get colonies in Africa. The scramble for African territory had begun in earnest about 1880. Up to 1880 only small portion of African continent was under European control. It was around this time, following the information received from the agents of colonialism, that European nations rushed to Africans competing with each other to get colonial possessions in Africa. No European power wanted to be left out of the race. This struggle is what is referred to as scramble. Where partition in this context means the process of dividing up African continent among the European scrambling powers, and fix colonial boundaries. Therefore, the Scramble and partition of Africa is referred as a period where African continent was rushed to and divided into parts for European countries.

Why scramble for and partition of Africa?

The main causes of the scramble and partition of East Africa were Economic, Social, Humanitarian, Prestigious, Strategic, and political as follows:

· Industrial revolution

The 19th century in Europe was a time of industrialization. Every industrial nation in Europe required raw materials to feed her industries, area to sell her products, and area for investment of surplus capital. Africa was the only option that had the resources as well as the land they needed for production, thus Africa became the new area of influence, to satisfy themselves with these economic demands. This economic motivation played a large role in the colonization of Africa.

· Prestigious purposes.

It was established notion by the time that, a European nation had many colonies was considered prestigious and powerful. European countries scramble and occupied Africa to get territories for prestigious purposes because the more territories a European power had, the more it would be considered powerful. Take an example Britain that is said to have dominated quarter of the world, was regarded strong, powerful and influential in European affairs of that time. Therefore this inspired other nations. Each country aimed to increase its own prestige by accumulating territories in other parts of the world.

· Strategic reason

Some areas were strategically important for maintaining trade routes to Asia or maintaining refuelling station for a world-wide navy. For the British, Suez Canal in Egypt created a much shorter route between the United Kingdom and her colonies India. On the other side, South Africa provided a useful stop for ships on their way to India. Thus, Egypt and South Africa became strategic areas to Britain. This also made east Africa strategic to Britain. Following the construction of the Suez Canal, Britain realized that Egypt could not survive on its own without the Nile; she therefore struggled for east Africa which was said to be the source of Nile, and all the countries it passed through.

· To spread western civilization

Many Europeans viewed themselves as the most advanced civilization in the world, thus colonization to them was a mission to enlighten and civilize people in the rest of the world. The Europeans wanted to spread their western cultures, including the way of dressing, religion, education and administration since Africa was previously referred to as ‘The Dark Continent’.

· European Balance of power

With the emergency of strong unified Germany in 1871 balance of power in Europe had been radically altered, as Germany became stronger after defeating France in the 1870/1871 Franco-Prussian war, which ended with the France loss of her two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. French politicians and military officers bitter at the loss of Alsace and Lorraine saw the domination of Africa as a chance for their country to remain a world power. As the provinces were rich in coal and iron, France struggled for colonies outside Europe to compensate the loss.

Areas experienced intensive scramble by Europeans

It should be noted that some areas in Africa were intensively scrambled than others. This was due to some environmental, demographic and geographical factors. Among others, there were; Egypt, South Africa, Congo and Niger delta.

EGYPT AND NILE VALLEY. Of the areas which were intensively scrambled, was Egypt. The powers involved were France and Britain. This was certainly due to the canal of Suez that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean. The sea level waterway would allow for much quicker travel from Europe to Asia because boats would no longer need to sail thousands of miles around Africa. Britain became increasingly involved in Egyptian affairs. Any European power tempering with the Nile was regarded as a big enemy of Britain.

THE CONGO BASIN. The other intensively scrambled area was Congo. Power involved were France, Belgium, Portugal and Britain; French claims over Congo Basin the claims were supported by the treaties signed between the local rulers and the French agents called DE BRAZZA. Belgium had claims over the Congo Basin the claims were support by the treaties signed between France, Stanley and the local rulers. Portugal had claims over the Congo basin That Congo was very close to the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique Britain has vested imperialist interest in the Congo Basin rich agricultural land and -mineral potentialities and also existence of internal rivers and lakes for easy navigation. Such diversity interest led to intensive scramble among the imperialist nations.

NIGER DELTA. The power involved was Britain, France and German. The source of the conflict originated in the British imperialist ambitions to control the Niger delta and again any power tempering with the region was regarded as a big enemy of Britain. Expansionism from Cameroon to the region alarmed the British disputes occurred among the three powers.

Shortly these areas were intensively scrambled than others because of;

· Accessibility to interior due to presence of navigale water bodies. Some areas were intensively scrambled because of rivers which facilitated Europeans penetrations into the interior, through water ways. Good examples of these were Congo due to Congo River, and Niger due to Niger River.

· Populational factor. On the other side, areas with higher population were also much scrambled by the Europeans, as they hoped wider markets for industrial commodities from Metropole, and enough labour in their farms.

· Strategic consideration. Britain much scrambled for Egypt because it was shortcut to her, for her ships leading to India.

· Presence of minerals. Chief factors for Europeans colonization of Africa were economic, among of which to get raw materials for their industries. Thus, areas with minerals were intensively scrambled. Examples of these were Congo and South Africa.

· Agricultural potentiality. Some areas were intensively scrambled because of presence of fertile soil. This was conducive environment for agricultural undertakings.

BERLIN CONFERENCE (1884-1885)

Berlin conference was an international imperialist meeting held in the city of Berlin-Germany under the chairmanship of the German chancellor Otto Von Bismarck between 1884-1885, to solve conflicts and misunderstandings among the European powers, and peacefully divide African continent.

Intensification of European scrambles brought disputes and rivalries among the European powers, and this created the war situation. At this time, every European power was in the conflict with the other. Britain for example, was in conflict with France over Egypt, France in conflict with Belgium over Congo, Dutch in conflict with British over South Africa. It was time for negotiation. Diplomatic initiatives were taken by the imperial chancellor and architect of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, who in Nov 1884 convened a conference to be attended by the major western powers of the world, especially those struggled for African continent to resolve disputes and settle the political partitioning of Africa. Bismarck’s decision to summon the conference at Berlin was not only important but also necessary to solve the conflicts.

At the invitation of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, ambassadors from fourteen (14) countries (including the U.S.A) attended when the conference opened in Berlin on November 15, 1884 to consider problems arising out of European scrambles for Africa. These included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America. Of these fourteen nations, USA and Denmark attended as speechless observers, while France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time. The conference lasted until February 26, 1885 - a three month period. Among others, the conference aimed at;

Solving conflicts and misunderstandings among the European powers. As said above, scramble for Africa created enmity among the European powers, as they all competed for the same areas of influence. Here, the Bismarck’s intention was to solve these conflicts and misunderstandings. This was the prime objective of the conference.

Peacefully dividing African continent among the European scrambling powers. It was obvious that had the conference not being summoned; the continent would have been violently divided. Thus Bismarck wanted to witness peaceful division.

Abolishing slave trade and slavery in Africa and establishing the so called ‘legitimate trade’. The 1884 Berlin conference had the stamping out slave trade high on the agenda. Though the slavery had been abolished long time in 1830s, still some European nations were reluctant. Britain was the only European power that campaigned against it. Thus the conference aimed at emphasizing the process of abolition of slave trade among the European powers.

Setting rules on how to rule the continent. Nothing would be possible in colonising African continent in absence of a set of rules that would govern them. Bismarck’s intention to summon the conference targeted on enacting laws of governing African colonies.

The conference ended with the signing of “Berlin Act” (law), in which they agreed on the following;

The Niger and Congo rivers were free and open to all. The initial task of the conference was to agree that the Congo River and Niger River mouths and basins would be considered neutral and open to trade. The 14 signatory powers would have free trade throughout them.

They agreed on the principle of notification. Article 34 of the Berlin Act states that any European nation that wanted to acquire an area in Africa, had to inform the signatory powers of the Berlin Act of this action in order to succeed. Failure to do this, then the claim would not be recognized. This article introduced what came to be known as the principle of notification.

They agreed on the principle of effective occupation. The principle of effective occupation stated that powers could acquire rights over colonial lands only if they possessed them or had "effective occupation". The European powers should effectively occupy their territories that are if they flew their flag, and if they established an administration in the territory to govern it with a police force to keep order, and not a colony by name.

Tolerance of missionaries. They agreed that missionaries should be free in African continent regardless of who is colonising such a particular place. Missionaries from every European nation were free throughout Africa.

They agreed on the abolition of slave trade. The other agreement of the conference was the ending of slave trade In the continent, thus, an international prohibition of the slave trade throughout their respected spheres was signed by the European members. This was probably to achieve their economic demands, like markets and cheap labour in Africa.

Effects of Berlin conference in Africa.

Africans lost their independence. Its Berlin conference that formalised Europeans acquisition of Africa, the results of which Africans lost their independence. Here, in most cases African traditional political systems were abolished and Africans placed under foreign rule. Even in places where traditional rulers were preserved, they were no longer autonomous, but agents of colonial administration

Africans lost their land. The Berlin act made necessary for imperialists to send representative to begin grabbing land of the Africans. Thus soon after Berlin Conference, European colonial powers stepped into African continent in which they alienated all natives land. With foreign rule, all fertile areas in Africa were taken for agricultural undertakings, and the natives remained landless.

It marked permanent boundaries in Africa. The boundaries set by the European imperialists in the Berlin conference, are the boundaries recognized by the modern independent states. However, the division of African lands by the Europeans without considering the African natural boundaries led to series of tribal conflicts

Partition of African continent. It was in this conference where African continent was sliced into pieces, and placed under whites’ domination. The partition of Africa created African colonies which after independence became modern African states

Abolition of slave trade. It was one of the agreements in Berlin Conference that every European power acquired a colony in Africa should engage in the process of abolishing slave trade. Thus, the conference marked the end of slave trade in Africa

The conference led to the random separation of Africa tribal groups. Unfortunately, Africans whose land was subject in the Berlin conference were not participants. The setting of boundaries in the conference did not consider African tribal lines, the impacts of which it divided African ethnic groups into separated colonial boundaries. the Makonde in Mozambique and in Tanganyika, the Maasai in Kenya and Tanganyika, the Luo in Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

Even prior to the Berlin Act, European powers had acquired spheres of influence in Africa in a variety of ways-through settlements, explorations, establishment of commercial posts, missionary settlements and by making treaties with African rulers. Following the conference, influence by means of treaty became the most important method of affecting the paper partition of the continent. The conference was so significant event in so far as the European colonisation of Africa is concerned.

IMPOSITION OF COLONIAL RULE

The paper partition of Africa that was concluded in the 1884 conference was followed by the military conquest and occupation in conformity with the principle of effective occupation. The next task then was establishing political control. Colonial rule means foreign political control of a certain place. Initially, colonialists mandated their chartered companies with the rights to administer their colonies on behalf of their home countries. However, these companies proved failure due to different factors. Thus the companies handled over political control to their mother countries. In establishing colonial rule, colonialists used different methods. These methods varied from place to place and from time to time. These included;

· The signing of bogus treaties and agreements.

The acquisition of land by Europeans in Africa was achieved largely by signing treaties with the local Chiefs who often did not understand the implications of what they were agreeing to. The nature of these treaties was bogus, as the African chiefs did not know their intention, as were told these were only friendship treaty with whites. In turn, these treaties put their areas under foreign rule. The good example of these treaties were; one signed by Sultan Mangungo of Msovero in Usagara: “Treaty of Eternal Friendship – Sultan Mangungo offers his territory with all its civil and public appurtenances to Dr Karl Peters, Representative of the Society for German Colonisation for exclusive and universal utilization for German colonisation.......,” these treaties came to put those respective areas under colonial domination.

· Military conquest.

Basically, not all the African chiefs welcomed Europeans on their areas, others did not want to hear about Europeans, were not even ready to sign treaties with whites. In these places therefore colonialist used the army of occupation to establish their domination. This was effective in the areas where Africans resisted colonialism. For example, British used military confrontation to establish foreign rule in Bunyoro. Germans also fought against Hehe, and militarily imposed their colonial rule in Tanganyika.

· They used Christian missionaries.

Wherever they settled, missionaries converted all the people in respective place to Christian religion. They paved the ways for colonization by preaching the message of love and brotherhood which convinced the African that it was a sin to fight against the Europeans. The converted Africans could no longer resist colonial rule, rather welcomed them, and thus colonialists very easily established their colonial rule.

· Divide and rule.

Colonialists used the method of divide and rule, in which they introduced different things which disunited Africans, thus could not unite against them. For example, by introducing education and different religions such as Catholics, Protestants, Africans were disunited against British, thus could not resist against the enemy.

· Gunboat diplomacy

This was intimidation method. African chiefs here were forced to sign treaties with Europeans, in which they surrendered their areas. This was through intimidating them, by their troops. For example Jaja of Opobo was intimidated in this way.

· Collaboration method.

Wherever Europeans found Africans in conflicts among themselves, they allied with one side to defeat the other, consequently, they colonised both of them. For example, There was considerable rivalry between Bunyoro and Buganda, and constant fighting over territory. British collaborated with Buganda against Bunyoro, the result of which put Buganda to British rule.

AFRICAN REACTIONS TO COLONIAL CONQUEST.

The colonization of Africa by the European powers provoked resistance in African societies. The history of the African resistance against foreign encroachment and domination has deep roots since arrived not as colonialists but as missionaries, traders and even explorers. The Africans generally welcomed the early Europeans; explorers, traders, missionaries in the spirit of the African generosity. However, whenever the Africans realised the real aim of these visitors, they resisted. Since with the arrival of whites, the traditional social, political and economic systems were undermined, Africans had no choice but to respond in defence of their ways of life. These are what are called “African resistances” or“African reactions” African resistances refer to the African oppositions against the imposition of colonial rule.

How Africans reacted?

In reality the struggle between the Africans and the Europeans was not an equal one. Africans resisted in various ways but with a single goal in mind – freedom. Some fought by using arms and this was called an active resistance; some assumed non-cooperation while the others welcomed them without protest. These can be categorise into three;

(i) Active resistance

This was the type of resistance which involved physical reaction by using weapons and other violent means as a way to resist the colonialists. Here Africans in most cases took up weapons and militarily fought colonialists. This was possible only in the societies that were economically and politically strong enough to stand against whites. e.g. Hehe, Asante etc

(ii) Passive resistance

This was the form of reaction against colonialists which did not involve the use of force or violent, but denying cooperation with them. The Africans here did not militarily fight colonialism, but adopted non-cooperation policy. Forinstance, the Seeds which were supposed to be cultivated in the colonial plantations were cooked before cultivating. This amounted to resistance. e.g. the Gogo of Central Tanzania.

(iii) Collaboration

Was the form of reaction in which some African societies welcomed Europeans and cooperated with them. It was possible to resist colonial rule through collaboration with the colonizers, as it would limit European political control through some form of collaboration with European colonial administrators. eg Buganda. Some societies formed alliances with the colonizers as buy time for preparation for active resistance e.g. Menelik in Ethiopia

What factors determined the nature of African reaction?

The three forms were determined by political and economic position of such a particular society. Basically, society that was militarily not strong, could not organise military confrontation against whites, rather welcomed Europeans and collaborated them, or they passively resisted. Beside, society that was economically not stable could not resist colonialism.

· The level of economic development. Societies which were economically stable, with presence of enough food became confident to fight colonialists. But those with shortage of food could not, and hence employed other form of resistance.

· The level of political development of the society. Existence of strong organization with powerful leaders organized active resistance. e.g. chief Mkwawa of the Hehe, Lobengula of the Ndebele, Mirambo of the Nyamwezi. But decentralized societies which had no single leader like Sukuma in Tanganyika, could not actively resist.

· Ignorance of some chiefs, who did not know the intention of Europeans in Africa. They thought these were just friends who came to visit them and would go back to their home countries. These chiefs comfortably welcomed Europeans. But few chiefs who soon recognised the real intention of whites, like Mkwawa of Hehe, organised military resistance.

· Presence of missionaries. With the existence of missionaries who brain washed the African to accept colonialism through Christian indoctrination and missionary education that softened their hearts Africans could not resist colonial rule, rather welcomed Europeans and cooperated with them.

· Presence of natural calamities. Some societies were victims of natural calamities like drought, diseases, famine and hunger. They hoped that foreigners would help them to fight these problems, like bringing to them medicines for some diseases, thus welcomed them in their societies.

· Individual interest of some chiefs. Some African chiefs were interested to defend their political positions, like Mkwawa of Hehe, thus mobilised military confrontation against the whites for the purpose of defending his political position.

Why Africans resisted colonialism?

It is undoubtedly that conflicts between Africans and Europeans during the establishment of colonial rule was inevitable. Africans could not remain silent to the whites’ domination that was full of exploitations and oppressive to them.

· Land alienation.

One of the reasons led to Africans’ resistances against whites’ foreign domination, was loss of fertile land. With foreign rule in Africa, all fertile areas were taken by whites for cash crops production, while Africans were squeezed to unproductive areas. Whites needed more land for the establishment of the large production schemes. The Africans wished to regain their better-lost lands, hence resistances were inevitable.

· Heavy taxation policy.

Tax is compulsory monetary contribution to the state's revenue, often imposed by a government on the individuals, activities or property. It is basically not bad that government imposes tax from its subjects for running its businesses. But it should be fairly imposed, with regard to the citizen’s income. This was not the case with colonial taxation. People of Africa generally were not happy with the whites’ imposition of heavy taxation policies. The burden of taxes was imposed by the colonial governments, which were in additional harshly and unfairly collected. The harsh and brutal methods of tax collection, for example torture and imprisonment for those who failed to pay, forced Africans to resist colonial rule.

· Cultural interference

Whites’ domination came with the introduction of foreign culture in Africa. The European colonialists did not have respect for the African traditional religions, and cultural values generally. They used ideological bodies, like missionaries and schools to spread western culture, and destroy Africans, the situation that forced Africans organising resistances to defend their cultures.

· Forced labour with less pay.

African rebellions were also caused by forced labour. People were forced against their will to work on the plantations and various projects, yet under poor conditions. Tanganyikans for example, were forced to provide their labour in German construction projects like buildings, road, and railway networks as well as crop plantation. Therefore the people of Tanganyika hated these forced labour policies, and thus resulted to resistances.

· Brutality and harshness associated with colonial rule.

Heavy and corporal punishments also caused African resistances. Africans were harshly treated in the colonies in every aspect. People hated harsh punishments the colonial administrators inflicted on them for example public flogging was considered disrespectful especially to the grownups and men of integrity in the presence of their wives and children.Resistances therefore, were the way to fight this brutal and harsh rule.

· Cattle confiscation

In some places Europeans started taking Africans cattle without their permission. This was one of the causes for Chimurenga war, when Europeans started taking cattle from Ndebele by force hence resulting into resistance.

Effects of African resistances

Death and depopulation. Resistances led to death and heavy depopulation in African continent. Many people lost their lives during fighting, as the Europeans used superior weapons like guns, with appropriate military techniques. Many leaders and those who were fore front on the rebellion were hanged.

 Destruction of properties. A lot of property was destroyed during the fighting, for example cotton plants on whites’ farms were uprooted and destroyed. A lot of buildings occupied by Europeans were burnt to the ground.  Separation of families was the other impact of the war. The resistances led to the displacement of many African families during the war. This was due to fear and insecurity, where many people escaped to different directions to look for other areas of settlement where they thought to be peaceful.

 The resistances led to the emergence of severe famine. Since the fighters destroyed farms and granaries during the war, the end of the war was followed by a period of famine, known as the Great Hunger (Njaa).

 Initial resistances laid a foundation for future nationalism. Although failed, the uprising gave birth and inspired future nationalism in Africa. The mistakes of the early uprising leaders and the poor methods of organisation were later corrected to give the people of Africa more effective leadership, for example leaders like Julius Nyerere gained a lot from the failure of Majimaji uprising. He used these lessons to form a national political party called TANU. It was this TANU that finally led Tanganyika to independence.

MAJIMAJI RESISTANCE (TANGANIKA 1905-1907)

The Majimaji uprising is one of the most familiar stories in Tanganyikan history. This was a revolt by native African tribes in southern Tanganyika against their German colonial rulers, lasting from 1905 to 1907. Certainly, this was the most significant African challenge to German colonial rule during the brief period when Germany had in African colonies. Here the societies across a large portion of Southern Tanganyika took up weapons strongly fought against them.

The movement took a wide coverage. Matumbi of Nandete in Rufiji were the first to take up arms and speeded very fast to other areas like Uluguru, Masasi, the Makonde plateau, Songea, the Kilombero Valley, North Dar es Salaam, the Mahenge and in many other areas. However the most active societies included the Matumbi, the Wangindo, the Ngoni, Uluguru, the Kichi, people of Lukuledi valley, Mahenge plateau, Kilombero valley and Uzaramo. Some societies which had already experienced rebellion and defeat like the Hehe, the Chagga and Nyamwezi feared to join the fighting.

Majimaji rebellion was called so because of the magic water used by African participants believed to neutralise German bullets. Kinjekitile Ngwale was the name of the leader of this uprising. He inspired people that if they sprinkled their bodies with this magic water, it would turn German bullets harmless. This gave a lot of false confidence to the Africans to declare an uprising, thus the warriors attacked in the open in a massive wave attack depending upon the “war medicine” to protect them. Initially they attacked small outposts and damaged cotton plants.

Causes of the Maji-Maji Rebellion

· Heavy taxation was one of the causes of the rebellion. Throughout this period of German occupation the Tanzanian people were subjected to heavy taxation. The burden of taxes was imposed by the colonial governments, which were in additional harshly and unfairly collected. The harsh and brutal methods of tax collection, for example torture and imprisonment for those who failed to pay, forced Africans to resist colonial rule.

· Loss of fertile Land to Germans. Land alienation was one of the unfair policies of colonialists. The Germans established large white cotton schemes in southern Tanganyika hence had grabbed the better Africans’ lands in Rufigi valley, Kilombero, Lukuledi, Mahenge plateau, and the natives had been pushed to remote and unfavourable areas. The Africans wished to regain their better-lost lands. 

· Africans were forced to grow cash crops. Forinstance in 1902, Carl Peters ordered villages to grow cotton as a cash crop for export. Each village was charged with producing a quota of cotton. The Headmen of the village were left in charge of overseeing the production, which set them against the rest of the population. These German policies were not only unpopular, they also had serious effects on the lives of the natives.

· Majimaji rebellion was also caused by forced labour. The Germans relied heavily on forced labour to accomplish various tasks. The Africans were forced against their will to work on construction projects like buildings, road, and railway networks as well as crop plantation, yet under poor condition. Therefore the people of Tanganyika hated these forced labour policies. The methods of supervision were even too harsh for example they worked for long hours and they were paid little or no wages and could become severely beaten for not working.

· The need to protect their culture from whites’ interferences. Like other Europeans, the Germans did not have respect for the African customs and traditions. The African traditional practices like local religions, wearing styles and many others were interfered by the whites. Thus Africans aimed to maintain their cultures.

· Harsh and cruelty of German administration. During the short time of their administration Africans experienced heavy corporal punishments. They always employed the use of military to enforce law and order. They were severely beaten for not working. Akidas and their local police treated African people brutally. As People hated harsh punishments of the Germany administrators, the rebellion was unavoidable. Generally, the colonial treatment towards Africans was inhuman.

The end of majimaji.

By the early 1907 Majimaji revolt had ended, and the German east Africa had claimed victory. Majimaji resistance had several effects to both Africans and Europeans. Some of these effects were:

· It led to the destruction of property. Fightings involved burning of villages and crops in different areas. For instance Cotton plantations and houses.

· Death and depopulation occurred. A large number of Africans, including their leaders and soldiers, were killed by the German forces while other people died of diseases and starvation. A large part of the southern Tanganyika became depopulated

· Separation of families was the other impact of the war. The resistance led to the displacement of many African families during the war. This was due to fear and insecurity, where many people escaped to different directions to look for other areas of settlement where they thought to be peaceful.

· The Majimaji resistance led to the emergence of severe famine. Since the fighters destroyed farms and granaries during the war, the end of the war was followed by a period of famine, known as the Great Hunger (Njaa).

Why Majimaji resistance failed?

· Low level of science and technology. While Africans employed poor weapons such as arrows and spears, their enemies used superior automatic machines like machine guns. Probably this was the chief factor for their defeat.

· Poor army. While the Germans employed trained and professional soldiers, African utilised local soldiers who lacked fighting skills and were poorly organized. It was very unlikely to defeat them.

· Local beliefs. The Nwale’s magic water did not work but people still had faith on it. Failure of magic water 'Maji' to turn German bullets into water and protect the African fighters. A large number of the warriors were killed during the war.

· Lack of strong unity. Though covered large area, the rebellion failed to cooperate a number of African powerful communities, like the Nyamwezi and Hehe in the interior. These powerful communities could bring support to African forces.

However, though defeated, the movement had significances in the Tanganyikan history.

It taught the colonial Government a lesson. Resistance made Germans ruler change their attitudes towards Africans, to reform their administration so as to avoid, another uprising in Tanganyika. These reforms were made under Governor Lord Rothenberg.

The resistance remained a symbol of unity for Tanganyikans. It brought together many African communities such as Ngindo, Zaramo, Ngoni and Matumbi to resist against their common enemy

The war laid the foundation for nationalism in Tanganyika, because after the uprising Africans learnt a lot and adopted a new method of resistance against colonial in Tanganyika and disregarded their ethnic differences.

MANDINKA RESISTANCE (WEST AFRICA 1883-1898) 

The story of the West African resistance centres around Samori Toure against the French colonizers. One of the very strong states ever existed in west Africa was Mandinka. Under the leadership of Toure, Mandinka was very vast kingdom the coverage of which included parts of present-day Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone and Northern Cote d'Ivore (Ivory Coast). In the second half of the nineteenth century, French were in the process of establishing colonies in West Africa thus could not tolerate strong states like the Mandika. Toure who was very ambitioned to defend his position as leader of Mandika Empire began to resist against French domination, opposed very strongly the French ambitions to build an empire in West Africa. He first fought the French in 1883, when they occupied Bamako on the Niger River. After the French carried out a successful offensive in 1886, Samori accepted their protection with the Niger as his frontier. In the late 1880s, after failing to expand to the east at the expense of Tieba, the king of Sikasso (in present-day southern Mali), he renewed his war with the French in 1891. Thus the Mandinka uprisings were a series of wars from 1883 to 1898 between the Mandinka people against French aggressions. The wars lasted for sixteen years, and the French were ultimately triumphant and established their dominance

Why Samori Toure Fought Against the French

Samori Toure wanted to protect the independence of his empire. One of the reason for Samori Toure to resist the French is the fear of being crushed from the leadership hence he resisted them to maintain his status. He was determined to maintain and preserve his independence in the eyes of Europeans aggressions.

Samori wanted to safeguard trade. The French were very interested with the monopolisation of trade so as to exploit wealth. For example, they attempted to seize valuable gold area of Boure in 1885. Thus Toure was determined to defend commercial centres and the trade routes

The French ambition to weaken Mandinka Empire. French had been supplying arms to Samori's enemies, such as Tieba of Sikasso so that they could defeat him, this alarmed Samori Toure. The French' aimed at weakening the Mandika so as to acquire it smoothly.

Why Samori Toure Managed to Contain (Fight) the French Forces for so long? 

He was successful for sixteen years in preventing his own state from being colonized by the French. Although he was ultimately defeated, the duration of his resistance was in itself a victory, which can only be understood by looking back to the earlier period of his life. Following were the factors enabled him fight for long time.

A disciplined and well organized army. Unlike other African societies Samori’s army was powerful, disciplined, and trained in modern day warfare. Furthermore, they were equipped with modern arms that he had acquired from the coastal traders that he had been friend with them.

Samori Toure had a lot of wealth which enabled him fight for long time. For long time he had been trading in slaves, gold and colanuts, which in turn made him acquire enough wealth. This was utilized in rewarding his workers and soldiers for their services

Availability of enough food. Samori Toure established state control of agriculture -and markets to ensured regular food supply for the army. Availability of food to the soldiers encouraged them to fight for long time.

Very strong leadership. Toure illustrates for many people the courage and determination of African resistance to European conquest. He was a very strong leader who could not easily surrender his empire to the French, thus organised very strong army and stood strong against the French.

Strong unity among the Mandika people. Samori Toure had a vision of unity for his people, and thus he effectively organized the Malinke chiefdoms into a powerful single state. Ultimately, he got full support from the Mandika people in national war of defence. This support helped Samori Toure to resist for a long time.

SHONA AND NDEBELE RESISTANCE (ZIMBABWE 1896-1897)

Shona and Ndebele rebellion derives its name from the two tribes known respectively as ‘the Shona’ and ‘the Ndebele’ that were at the core of the resistance. The two are the societies that are found in Southern Rhodesia (current Zimbabwe). Shona carry its origin In Southern Rhodesia while Ndebele were originally immigrants from Southern Africa. Europeans arrived in southern Rhodesia and started to collaborate with Shona while being against Ndebele. They established their settlement in Mashonaland in 1890. Hence Ndebele under were the first to start a rebellion against the Europeans (BSACo) 1893–1894. Between 1896-1897 the Shona in alliance with the Ndebele caused a revolt against the British occupation, which had confiscate the local population's most valuable assets especially land and livestock. This resistance was called Chimurenga war. In 1887 both Ndebele and Shona were defeated (therefore they agreed to be under the British Colonial rule).

What Factors prompted Shona-Ndebele or Chimurenga resistance?

Land alienation - The first reason was the land questions. The Ndebele had been deprived of the ownership of land; while the white settlers had appropriated the best plots of land. British under BSACO confiscated and gave the white settlers the better and more fertile land of the natives without even consulting the local chiefs, and the natives were pushed into the reserves of the Shangani and Gwani, which had water shortages and were infested with tsetse flies respectively. Worse still, the Ndebele's population was too high to inhabit this barren land.

Forced labour with less pay- Africans was forced to work on colonial economies, without being paid or with. Whites opened big investments in which Africans in both Matebeleland and Mashonaland were compelled to supply labour. Labourers were recruited by armed forces or by police who went around into villages to seize people by force. This was done against their will and hence the resistance.

Introduction of tax – the natives refused new systems of taxation introduced by the british. For example in 1894, the Hut Tax was introduced, and those who didn’t pay were crucified, jailed or inflicted to manual labour. Thus, the nature of taxation policies, plus other discontents, prompted the Chimurenga uprising.

Cattle confiscation- Cattle were the backbone of people's livelihood. It is believed that Lobengula possessed 250,000 cattle before his death. The Natives were only permitted to keep small number of cattle. The others were dispatched to South Africa. There were also cases of officials' grabbing cattle, goats, and grains from the people who could not manage to pay taxes. This was not accepted with the natives, hence the rebellion.

Missionaries disregarded the natives’ traditions and customs. It has been argued missionaries wanted the Ndebele to alter their culture, ignoring especially their local religion based on the Mwari cult. That was the reason probably why the mission stations were attacked during the uprising.

Desire for their lost independence: The Natives resisted in the hope of repossess their lost independence. None of the Nduna was appointed in any responsibility of administration. Their own discipline was extremely brutal. The uprising therefore wanted to re attain the pre- colonial administration.

Effects of Chimurenga resistances

It leads to the destruction of properties to both. Since African properties were destroyed, Africans decided to destroy infrastructure built by the British colonialists.

Death and depopulation. It led to death for both Africans and Europeans even though the death toll for Africans was much higher.

It led to the eruption of hunger for the Africans. For a while Africans stoped production and concentrated in fighting. The war left them with severe famine and hunger.

It resulted into the decline of economic activities for both sides, for Africans (Ndebele and Shona) and for the British.

Chimurenga war ended with natives being defeated. The failure of Ndebele and Shona was due to the same factors which caused majority Africans in other places fail. Lower technology levels, lack of experience in fighting, disunity among the Africans (while at first [1893] Shona collaborated with the British) and many others were responsible for their failure.

NAMA AND HERERO RESISTANCE (SOUTH-WEST AFRICA 1904-1907)

South-West Africa (Present day Namibia) was once a part of the German colonial empire. Before their intrusion the region was inhabited three main ethnic groups; the first and second group comprised Bantu people of Ambo and Herero who engaged in crop cultivation and livestock keeping. The other group comprised the Nama who were pastoralists. Nama was under the leadership of Hendrick and Herero under Simon Maherero. As was common in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the area was scrambled for and occupied by Germany. Like In other areas, their rule was oppressive and the indigenous lost everything they previously had. Thus a rebellion by natives broke out in 1904 and continued until 1907.

Causes of Nama and Herero Uprising

The imposition of forced labour. Germans wanted labourers to work in plantations and in the construction of infrastructures such as roads, railways as well as public buildings. Moreover, the government used a lot of force to obtain labourers. This discontented the Africans, thus deciding to take up weapons against Germans.

Cattle confiscation. Another reason for Nama and Hereto uprising was the cattle raiding that was done frequently by the German traders and settlers. As they were most of them pastoralists, cattle was the most treasured commodity among the Herero and Nama communities. Thus robbing of cattle threatened the economic interest of these African commodities.

Land alienation. Obviously the whites conquest of Africa was for their economic interests, thus their administration included grabbing much of the best grazing land in the central plateau of Namibia which was reserved for white investors, where the natives were thrown out to unfertile lands. As Nama and Herero depended on land for both cultivation and pasture, this created hostility between African communities and Germans.

Imposition of taxes. Wherever the colonial governments depended much on taxation, to run their colonies. They therefore imposed taxes that had to be paid by Africans, and in order to make effective collection of taxes, Germans used force. Thus the natives resisted by taking up arms against Germans.

The destruction of traditional authority. After they had established their control over Namibia, Germans did not recognize the traditional rulers as they considered them as illiterate. They became the complete controller of these areas, and paid no attention to the native traditional authorities. Having been discontented with this situation, the Nama and Herero decided to resist against Germans so as to restore their traditional practice and their independence.

Cultural interference. The whites wanted to alter the cultural life of their subjects, thus they disregarded the natives’ religions and cultures. The Nama believed on their traditional religions and trusted their religious' leaders like chief Witbooi. When their beliefs were threatened by the Germans, Chief Witbooi organized and motivated his subjects to resist.

Effects of the rebellion.

In the course of Nama-Herero uprising Chief, Witbooi, was killed. The Nama leadership was succeeded by Morenga, but he was also killed. He was succeeded by Chief Simon cooper who continued the resistance until 1907. At the end of the uprising, the remaining Nama and Herero independence was destroyed' by the Germans forces. They confiscated their cattle and deposed all their chiefs. The African were forced to work in German farms and mines. This created hatred between Germans and African communities up to the period of the first word war. Shortly, the rebellion resulted to;

Loss of properties. After the uprising, the Nama and Herero lost their cattle and land to Germans. They became very poor and lived in severe life.

Death and depopulation. As the Germans used advanced weapons over Africans’, the life of very many Africans was claimed during fighting.

Eruption of hunger for the Africans. For a while Africans stopped production and concentrated in fighting. The war left them with severe famine and hunger.

German administration continued to be strong. For this reason, the Nama and Herero uprising did not materialize and had very minimal effect compared to that of Majimaji in Tanganyika.

Why majority of African resistances failed?

Although Africans in different parts of Africa resisted colonialism, by the beginning of twentieth century, all of Africa with the exception of Ethiopia and Liberia only, had been put under colonial rule. This means that all African resistances, except Ethiopian, failed. Following were the reasons responsible for their defeat;

Disunity among Africans. Although they all fought against the same enemies, African resistors were unable to come together for common goal of fighting share enemies, they separately fought against whites in their tribal groups. Here it was easy for European colonialists to win their battles against Africans.

Poor military technology. Africans had lower technology levels compared to whites, hence they used poor weapons while Europeans used much better and more powerful weapons. While Europeans used guns, Africans used local tools like spears and arrows, which obviously means nothing to he who caries gun. Furthermore, Africans lacked experience in fighting compared to the Europeans. This was very responsible factor for their failure.

Poor economic base. Africans had a weak economic base so they failed to resist for a long time. For long time resistance, then against Europeans who were powerful both economically and militarily, such a resisting society must have enough food, and generally be economically stable. Majority African societies were not economically stable to handle long-time resistances. Most of them managed to fight only for short time and found themselves defeated because of shortage of food.

Some Africans collaborated with Europeans. While some African societies were fighting against whites’ domination, others welcomed hem and collaborated with the in their activities. This was serious disappointment to those who were militarily fighting, and eventually led to their failure. For example, when Hehe were fighting against Germans, Bena and Sangu who had for long time enmity with Hehe, welcomed Germans and collaborated them against Hehe. This enabled Germans easily win her enemies.

Superstitious or Local beliefs. In many places Africans failed because of the local beliefs developed by their rulers when started fighting. For example, kinjeketile of majimaji rebellion started to mobilize people under the use of local belief; he introduced the use of water as a weapon in war against the Germans. People believed that the magic water “maji” which they were persuaded to drink and sprinkle, could protect them against whites’ bullets, something that was not true. Because of this, many and many Africans lost their lives.

Natural calamities such as famine, drought and constant epidemics. Most of the african societies were so much affected with these, something which made it hard for African to maintain effective resistance against the Europeans.

AFRICANS’ COLLABORATION WITH EUROPEANS.

Collaboration is basically not a foreign concept in our minds. It is the practice of two or more sides cooperating each other in performing a certain task. Collaboration in so far as the African colonization is concerned, refers to the act of Africans welcoming, and cooperating with Europeans colonialists during the establishment of colonial rule. Under this, several African chiefs cooperated with whites during the establishment of colonialism. For example, Kabaka of Buganda kingdom collaborated with British against Kaberega of Bunyoro Kingdom.

The need to defeat their rival neighbours. Existence of enmity between two local African tribes, forced some African chiefs to seek assistance from foreigners to defeat their rivals. It was from this surroundings that Europeans-African alliances existed. For example, Buganda would have welcomed foreign allies and treaties of Protection from Bunyoro's aggression, As a result, Buganda collaborated with the British to defeat Bunyoro. Asante collaborated with the British to fight Ashante 

Some Africans collaborated because of their military weakness. They realized that European had better weapons and methods of fighting. They feared that fighting Europeans would put their independence at risk. Some had seen how their neighbours suffered when fought whites.

Natural calamities also forced Africans to collaborate. For example, the Maasai had been weakened by smallpox, drought and internal conflicts. Others were weakened by epidemics of jiggers and rinderpest. These societies were therefore weak to fight the Europeans, instead, they either passively resisted or collaborated.

Some Africans collaborated because they wanted to acquire wealth. Africans liked European goods because they thought they were better. Such goods included clothes, beads, guns, mirrors, and wines. Being interested with Europeans’gifts, African chiefs sought to have alliance with Europeans.

Influence of the missionaries. Existence of missionaries who brain washed the African to accept colonialism through Christian indoctrination and missionary education that softened African hearts. They convinced Africans that accepting colonial rule would protect them from enemies. Through bible teachings, they made Africans less-resistant, through the common verse that “if one slapped you on the cheek, you should not fight”. They also told Africans that all authority comes from God, and thus they had to accept colonial rule.

How Ethiopia succeeded to escape colonialism?

Of the European imperial powers colonised Africa, Italians became the first European loser in colonial wars. Soon after Berlin conference Italians made an attempt to have Ethiopia as their share of Africa. They invaded it in 1893 but were shamefully defeated by the Ethiopians. The defeat of Italy in the battle of Adowa made other European countries to fear to colonise it. Italy’s fascist regime led by Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia for the second time in 1930’s. By the spring of 1936, the Ethiopian military was defeated and Haile Selassie was driven into exile in England. The Italians won control of the Ethiopian kingdom, but their colonial control of the region was relatively short-lived. The Ethiopians Patriots continued to resist Italy’s regime coupled with assistance from British troops and eventually freed Ethiopia from Italian control, and Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia in 1941. The Ethiopians victory over Italians in the battle of Adowa was due to a number of factors;

The geographical location of Ethiopia was a first factor for their victory. The military strategic position of Ethiopia as she is a mountainous country, made it strategically able to defend herself from any intruder

Strong leadership. The existence of powerful Emperors like emperor Theodore who once proposed to marry the queen of England, Emperor Yahannes 1867-1876, and more important Emperor Menelik II. These powerful leaders consolidated Ethiopia and made it strong enough to resist any foreign invasion.

Strong unity among the Ethiopians. Unlike other Africans, the Ethiopians were united. Christianity and the use of common language (Ahamaric language) acted as unifying factor, thus made it solid able enough to resist the European powers from colonizing her.

Strong army. Ethiopia had very strong army equipped with modern weapons. Her relations with the bigger powers like Britain and Belgium managed to get more weapons to defend herself.

The weakness of Italian army. Italy that had just unified (1870) was not strong enough, this enabled Ethiopia to defeat her at the battle of Adowa in 1896.

Though almost all initial anti-colonial movements failed and Africa was eventually put under foreign domination, Primary resistances were of vital importance to the African history. Primary resistances for example helped to change Europeans attitudes towards Africans. Again they showed Europeans that Africans were not happy with every what they were doing, and general not willing to be colonized by Europeans. Furthermore, these resistances had great impact to the rise of mass political nationalism in African continent around 1940s.