10. Colonial Africa: Conquest & Resources
1. How events unfolded
European powers imposed control across much of Africa, particularly during the late nineteenth-century scramble. Borders were negotiated by foreign governments with limited regard for existing political communities. Conquest often secured access to minerals, agricultural land, labor and strategic routes.
2. The costs & gains
In the Congo Free State, coercive rubber extraction produced extreme violence and demographic harm. Elsewhere, railways and ports were built primarily to move goods to export markets. African workers, farmers and political movements resisted through uprisings, negotiation and new forms of organization.
3. What endured
Independence movements inherited economies structured around a narrow set of commodities and borders that could intensify political disputes. Colonial experiences differed considerably by territory; evidence is strongest when particular policies, archives and local testimony are examined rather than treating the continent as one case.