African government in the 19th century. South Africa in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. New trends in the development of Asian and African countries
This long-suffering continent historically could not claim leadership in the global economy, and even today the vast majority of African countries are characterized by extreme backwardness not only in economic but also in social development. If we try to identify something common, inherent in the entire region, it is worth highlighting the agrarian nature of the economies of African countries, as well as the colonial nature of economic relations in foreign trade.
In general, the African economy is based on agriculture, mining, small-scale and subsistence farming. Another important feature of the "dark continent" is the concentration of active economic activity in large metropolitan centers, which makes a very large gap in the levels of settlement of territories and countries, as well as in the levels of their economic development.
Africa's economy in the 19th century
Let's not forget that Africa is extremely rich in a wide variety of natural resources. Mineral raw materials, fuel raw materials, copper and cobalt ores, gold, platinum, diamonds, phosphorites, uranium - all this traditionally attracted colonialists, among which Great Britain, France and Portugal were the most influential. Indeed, the main
The incentive that forced the European powers to fight for Africa can be considered the economic benefits from mining and enslaving the local population.
However, even in the south of the continent, rich in diamond and gold deposits, huge profits became possible only with large investments:
- exploration of natural resources
- creation of communication systems
- reorientation of the local economy to their own needs
- suppression of protests of indigenous people, etc.
Africa's economy after World War II
The hostilities of World War II affected only Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, however, the armies of the metropolitan countries actively recruited the military, whose number was several thousand people. These people did not fight, but rather worked for the military needs and served the troops. Immediately after the war, quite important processes began to take place in Africa. In particular, 17 new states were formed on the continent, most of them former French colonies. Of course, the destruction of the rest of the colonial regimes was a matter of time, which means that serious changes awaited the African economy.
Even in the conditions of market transformations, the African continent has not got rid of many old problems. The reason for this is extremely unprofessional and inefficient management personnel. In addition to the total bureaucracy and the complete amorphousness of any social structures, the African economy continues to be tormented by endless military coups. African dictators and contenders for their role began to fight for huge capital, while 80% of the population of the continent continues to drag out a miserable existence today.
The economies of most countries of the “black continent” are functioning poorly today, and the problems associated with illegal gold mining, the production and distribution of drugs, and human trafficking are again gaining momentum. At the moment, the share of Africa in world exports is declining, which many experts attribute to the artificial escalation of an alarming situation by some highly developed countries that have their own economic interests here.
For more than three hundred years after 1500, direct European control over Africa was limited to a few forts and trading posts, coupled with a small group of settlements in the area of the Cape of Good Hope. A major problem facing the continent, especially sub-Saharan Africa, was its very low population—in 1900, only about 100 million people lived in Africa. This, combined with poor communications and a host of illnesses, meant that the social and economic basis for building developed political structures did not exist here. When in late XIX century, Europeans began to exert a more effective influence on Africa, it quickly destroyed all the structures that existed here. For the first time in world history, Africa, with the exception of the northern regions along the Mediterranean coast, was under the control of external powers.
In West Africa, the influence of the slave trade declined during the 19th century, and gradually other goods, not so much people, began to be sold, especially palm oil. The British controlled the area around the Gambia River, as well as the colony of Sierra Leone (where freed slaves were settled), as well as settlements on the Gold Coast and further east in Lagos. The Portuguese held several islands and the colony of Luanda on the mainland, the French had Saint-Louis in Senegal and Libreville (founded in 1849). In 1822, the United States founded the colony of Liberia in order to send free blacks there, because the Americans did not want them to live in America, in 1847 Liberia became completely independent.
In the early 1970s, the British moved inland from the Gold Coast and attacked the Ashanti kingdom, destroying its capital, Kumasi, and then retreated back to the coast so as not to be bound by any obligations. The dominant power in the region during this period was the Sokoto Caliphate, founded in 1817, a loose alliance of about thirty "states" that were governed by Islamic law and recognized the supremacy of a central ruler in Sokoto. It was the last major slave state in the world. Further east, Egyptian forces advanced south into Sudan, but very soon it was captured by the British (nominally becoming Anglo-Egyptian territory).
In South Africa at the beginning of the 19th century, there were almost constant fighting among the peoples of the Nguni language group, which led to the rise in the Mtetwa tribe of the previously insignificant leader Chaka, who founded the Zulu kingdom. Although he was assassinated in 1828, the kingdom, dominated by war chiefs, survived as a major regional power. Equally important was the creation of the Swazi kingdom to the north and west of the Zulu and the Ndebele kingdom in the southwest of present-day Zimbabwe, where chieftains who had fled north from the Zulus had ruled over the local Shona people since the 1940s.
The main pressure on these kingdoms came from the south - after the British captured the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope in 1806. In 1838, before the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, the number of slaves living in this colony reached a peak of over 40,000. Even after the abolition of slavery, black unskilled workers remained only half free, and from 1828 the British introduced strict national segregation in the regions east of the Cape of Good Hope. This proved unbearable for many poor whites, especially for Dutch-born (Afrikaner) farmers. They began moving north to the Orange River region and, by the 1940s, to the Transvaal to escape what they considered "racial equality."
The Afrikaners successfully achieved independence, but their states remained very small: even by 1870, only 45,000 whites still lived in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. Further east, the British colony of Natal grew slowly (the Zulus continued to pose a serious threat to it for decades), but in general, in southern Africa, there were no major changes until the discovery in 1867 of huge diamond deposits in the Kimberley. The income from them was enough to finance the self-government of a small white community on the Cape of Good Hope.
In the late 1970s, the British tried to bring the two Boer republics to the north under their control, but failed. In the nineties XIX years century, the growing production of mineral wealth in the Transvaal prompted the British to take more decisive action. They were able to provoke a war - although it took them three years to crush the resistance of the Boers. Ultimately, the Boer republics were incorporated into the white-controlled Union of South Africa, created in 1910.
In East Africa, significant changes occurred at the beginning of the 19th century, after the expulsion of the Portuguese and the establishment of the rule of the Islamic Omani dynasty here. In 1785, Muslim rulers took control of Kilwa, and in 1800, the island of Zanzibar. Now all the ports on the mainland coast were under the rule of the Sultan of Zanzibar. Trade routes were opened to the hinterland, the main items of trade were ivory and slaves. Approximately 50,000 slaves per year were sent to the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia, on the island of Zanzibar itself there were about 100,000 slaves - about half the population. They were mainly engaged in the cultivation of cloves for marketing in Europe.
In the interior of Africa, the states that existed here stubbornly refused external contacts - by 1878 Rwanda allowed only one Arab merchant to settle in the country. Elsewhere, especially in the Great Lakes region, outside influences have been much stronger. The long-standing kingdom of Buganda collapsed, unable to withstand external pressure, the local economy was rapidly transformed under the influence of active trade: cattle were driven about 600 miles to the coast for sale; caravans carrying ivory and slaves went in the same direction, new products were brought to meet them from the coast.
As in the past, the kingdom of Ethiopia remained for the most part free from these influences. From about 1750 to 1850, it could hardly be called an organized political unit - it was ruled by local military leaders. It was reunited only in the early seventies of the XIX century under the reign of Johannes IV. He and his successor Menelik (who ruled until 1913) turned Ethiopia into a serious regional power. The city of Addis Ababa became the new capital, reflecting the continued movement of the center of the state to the south, which had already been going on for 1500 years.
In 1896, Ethiopia was strong enough to repel an Italian attack and won a landslide victory at the Battle of Adua. She, too, became an empire - and Italy recognized her full independence. From 1880 to 1900, Ethiopia tripled in size, gaining control of the Tigre, several regions of Somalia, the Ogaden and Eritrea, where under its control were completely different groups of the population that had previously formed the core of the old kingdom.
The division of Africa among the European powers reflected internal pressure from Europe, and not the action of any factors that existed within Africa itself. Until the 1970s, the coastal forts and trading posts of the European powers merely controlled the trade routes to the hinterland of the continent. Only a few regions were officially divided among the colonial countries, and with the exception of the Cape of Good Hope region (which was climatically suitable for European settlement), they all lay along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, an area of extreme importance for European states. France captured Algeria in 1830, and Tunisia in 1881, the British dominated Egypt (although the French of the year could not come to terms with this until 1904).
The division of sub-Saharan Africa was the result of the common fear among European powers that if one of them did not achieve recognition of their own zones of control, these zones would be captured by rivals. Agreement on a significant part of these sections was achieved at a conference in Berlin in 1885-1886 (the Americans also participated in it and achieved the right to free trade in key areas). The French gained a large part of West Africa, but the British expanded their colonies on the Gold Coast and in Nigeria. South Africa became largely British, as did much of East Africa. Germany received its first large colonies - Cameroon, South-West Africa and East Africa (later Tanganyika). The Portuguese greatly expanded their empire, gaining Angola and Mozambique. The Belgian monarch was given the Congo as his private domain, and it was only in 1908 that it became Belgian proper, after two decades of extremely bad government, plunder of resources, and barbaric treatment of the population. During the reign of the Belgian monarch, about 8 million Africans died in the Congo.
Diplomats, drawing lines on the map, created colonies - but they completely did not take into account the real situation in Africa. People from close national groups were separated, and tribes that were very different from each other were brought together. But in Africa, maps meant little at all, and colonial rule was still being established—a process that included decades of war. From 1871 until the outbreak of the First World War, the French, British, Germans, and Portuguese fought only during the colonial wars. Despite this, they still could not fully control their colonies. In 1900, the last major revolt of the Ashanti people in West Africa was suppressed, but only three years earlier the British had to leave a large part of the interior of Somalia and limit their influence to the coastal strip (this position did not change until 1920). In Morocco, by 1911, the French controlled only eastern regions and the Atlantic coast, it took them another three years to conquer Fez and the Atlas Mountains. In 1909, the Spanish were defeated when they tried to extend control beyond their coastal enclaves. Although the Italians took Libya from the Turks in 1912, they controlled little more than the coastal strip here.
Even when the conquest and appeasement (“pacification” is the favorite word of the Europeans) was completed, the European powers faced a serious problem: they were both strong and weak at the same time. They were strong because, in the end, they could mobilize a huge military power - but weak because in any of their colonies they usually had only a limited military force and scattered administration.
Map 73. Africa at the beginning of the 20th century
In Nigeria, the British had 4,000 soldiers and the same number of police, but in these formations all but 75 officers were Africans. In Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) - an area the size of Britain, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and the Benelux countries combined - the British had only a poorly equipped battalion of 750 Africans under the command of 19 British officers and 8 NCOs. At the beginning of the 20th century, the French forces in West Africa (whose population was 16 million people living in an area fourteen times the size of France) consisted of 2,700 French sergeants and officers, 230 translators, 6,000 armed African gardes civiles, 14,000 soldiers of African troops and one battalion, manned exclusively by the French.
Gardes civiles - civil guard. (Approx. transl.)
European administration in the colonies was equally small: in 1909, the British in the Ashanti region and the Gold Coast had five officials for half a million local population. With the exception of a few countries such as Algeria, South Africa, Kenya and Southern Rhodesia, European settlement was almost non-existent. In 1914, only ninety-six Europeans (including missionaries) lived in Rwanda. Thus, to govern these colonies, Europeans had to rely on collaborator groups to rule on their behalf at the local level. Sometimes, as in the case of Buganda, local rulers were given almost complete freedom of action. In Northern Nigeria, the structures of the Hausa (Fulani states), with a predominantly urban population, developed bureaucracy, courts, fiscal system, and an educated elite, were simply incorporated into the imperial structures.
At the beginning of the 19th century, as a result of the Fulani (Fulbe) uprising under the leadership of Osman dan Fodio, power in most of the Hausa states passed to the Fulani clan nobility. (Approx. transl.)
Elsewhere, the process proved more difficult, and often local nobles were appointed paid "chiefs" to govern artificially created "tribes."
But there was something common to all of colonial Africa: resistance to colonialism. In different forms, but it was felt everywhere, as everywhere it was accompanied by the inevitable adaptation of tradition to modern conditions of existence.
What did the adapting tradition rely on in the fight against the external invasion of colonial capital and the innovations accompanying it? In Tropical Africa - to the community in the broadest sense of the word, that is, to community as a way of life, including forms of existence, and forms of housekeeping, and forms of communication, etc., up to tribalism and compatriot associations in cities. In the north, the support was different - it went into the depths of religious civilization, the Islamic way of life, culture, principles and worldview ideas. But in relation to colonialism, these differences, in themselves very significant, receded into the background: both in the north and in the south, tradition opposed colonial capital, and, depending on the circumstances, such opposition took various forms, including tendencies towards the egalitarianism characteristic of the world of Islam. and the tendencies towards despotism of the unlimited power of the dictator, more characteristic of primitive forms of community life in southern Africa (both of these tendencies during the period of decolonization and the establishment of independence in African countries manifested themselves quite widely and eloquently).
17 New Development Trends in Asia and Africa
The main trends of Asian and African countries at the beginningXXin. Fundamentals. trend: the rise of the national freedom movement (the Ikhatuan uprising of 1900, the revolution in Iran, Turkey, etc.), the desire for modernization (formed a new layer of the ruling elite, which received a model in developed countries and strives to modernize their societies. For delivery of goods, export of raw materials and plantation products, as well as for military-strategic purposes in most colonies, a network of railways was created, certain branches of mining industry were developed, and plantation farming was a landmark for foreign markets. Yap, forming only the prerequisites for modernity, in China and Turkey, there were separate centers of industrial production.The share of the slave class, hired workers employed in industry, construction and transport, did not exceed 1%). haara-but a high degree depended on nature and the geographer of the environment (irrigation, agriculture, irrigation systems), hence collectivism, difficulties with drinking water, Close connection of the individual with his social group (castes in India), low value of human life and a high degree of subordination to authority, low level of security...
18 Asia and Africa in the early 20th century Awakening
Colonial wars at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries as evidence of the aggravation of contradictions between the great powers. The role of Japan in the struggle for the territorial division of the world. Goals and methods of economic and non-economic impact of the "center" of the MES on its non-capitalist periphery. The emergence of multi-structural structures in the countries of the East, including capitalist enclaves. The political role of social groups born of the bourgeois transformation of Eastern societies: military and civil bureaucracy, national intelligentsia, entrepreneurial "minorities". The spread of nationalistic, religious-reformist ideas among them. The emergence of public organizations and political associations (parties) that fought for the awakening of national consciousness, national revival and the acquisition of political sovereignty. The influence of the revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia and the results of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. on "Awakening Asia".
Similarities and differences in the social scale and forms of political struggle in the Asian-African world at the beginning of the 20th century: the Young Turk Revolution (1908-1909), the constitutional movement in Iran (1905-1911), the Xinhai Revolution in China (1911), the rise of the liberation struggle in India (1906-1908) and the anti-colonial movement in Egypt (1906-1910), the countries of Tropical and South Africa (1907-1912)
The First World War as an expression of the crisis of the capitalist system and the aggravation of inter-imperialist contradictions. The degree of involvement of Asian and African countries in the military conflict. Middle East theater of military operations. Japanese expansion in China, military operations against the German colonies in Africa.
The use by the warring parties of the economic and human potential of colonial and dependent countries. Changes in the economic and political situation in the Asian-African world in the context of great power rivalry. Expansion of opportunities for entrepreneurial activity and enrichment of the local bourgeoisie and other propertied strata. The use of nationalist slogans by the entrepreneurial elite in order to strengthen their economic position and expand political influence.
Features of the genesis of capitalism in Japan. Tendencies of internal political development. Japanese militarism as an ideological and political trend and its influence on domestic and foreign policy. Anglo-Japanese alliance. Russo-Japanese war and its significance for the formation of Japan as a great power. annexation of Korea. The development of socio-political movements. Struggle for democratic transformations and social reforms.
The maturing of the socio-political crisis in China at the turn of the 20th century. The failure of the policy of "self-strengthening" and the strengthening of the positions of foreign capital. The growth of the influence of national-patriotic organizations that advocated the overthrow of the Manchu Qing dynasty and against the colonial dominance of foreign powers. The three principles of Sun Yat-sen. The "new policy" of the Qing authorities and the development of the legal Reformed movement.
Significance of the Xinhai Revolution. The civil war and its consequences: the dictatorship of Yuan Shikai, the defeat of the revolutionary democrats, the collapse of statehood, the formation of militaristic regimes. Strengthening Japanese expansion. "Twenty-One Demands". Economic growth during the First World War. Search for ways to revive the country. Formation of the Kuomintang. Movement for a New Culture.
Socio-economic development of India at the beginning of the 20th century. External and domestic politics colonial authorities. Partition of Bengal. Features of the first pan-Indian national movement: Swaraj and Swadeshi. Struggle within the Indian National Congress (INC). The growth of mass demonstrations in the country and the formation of new political associations. Muslim League. Tilaka process. Morley-Minto reforms. The role of R. Tagore and Gandhi in the formation of the national identity of the Indians.
The influence of the revolutionary events in Russia in 1905 on the intensification of the social crisis in Iran. The role of the first national-patriotic organizations and the Shiite clergy in the struggle to limit the Shah's autocracy and political reform. The main stages of the constitutional movement in Iran. Constitution of 1906-1907. The composition of the Iranian Majlis and its activities. Distinctive features of mass demonstrations in 1906-1908. Disengagement of forces in the camp of supporters of the constitution. Revolutionary events in Iran and the politics of the great powers. Significance of constitutional gains for the development of Iranian society.
Turkey (Ottoman Empire)
The Eastern question in the late 19th - early 20th century. The growing influence of the great powers on the policy of the Sultan's government. Exacerbation of class, national and religious contradictions. Ottomanism. Young Turks and their allies in the fight against Abdul-Hamid's tyranny. The role of the army in the Young Turk revolution. The Young Turks are in power. further collapse of the empire. New phenomena in spiritual life: Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism.
Arab countries at the beginning of the 20th century. Socio-economic consequences of the establishment of British rule in Egypt. Formation of anti-colonial protest forces. Position of Muslim religious leaders. Mustafa Kamil and the formation of the Egyptian national movement.
Tropical and South Africa
The results of the "partition" of Africa. Organization of colonial administration and methods of exploitation. Social changes under colonial rule. Traditional and new forms of protest. The attitude of the socio-political organizations of the non-white majority of South Africa to the creation of the Union of South Africa.
19 Asia and Africa in 1918-45
During the years of the First World War, important changes took place in the countries of Asia and Africa. The countries of the Middle East ended up in the war zone, soldiers of a number of colonies participated in the armies of the Entente. The countries of Asia and Africa constituted an important reserve of raw materials and foodstuffs, as well as labor. The peoples of the colonies hoped that the post-war peace settlement would be accompanied by the granting of freedom and independence. However, these hopes did not come true. At the Paris Peace Conference, under the guise of mandates, the division of the German colonies took place. Not a single imperialist power was going to “release” its colonies, on the contrary, the victors waged a fierce internecine struggle and cynically divided the former German colonies and the Arab territories of the Ottoman Empire.
However, the process of undermining the colonial order gradually increased. An important stimulating role in this was played by the Russian revolution of 1905, the February and October Revolution 1917 The appeal of Soviet Russia calling on the peoples of the East to rise up in the struggle for independence was heard in many parts of Asia and Africa. In the colonial and dependent countries, patriotic forces were growing, advocating independence. Conditions were created for the transition of the national liberation movement of a spontaneous nature to an organized conscious struggle, in which various social strata of the population participated, from peasants and workers to feudal lords and clergy. The features of the movement were determined by the uniqueness of the situation in individual countries, regions, their historical and cultural traditions.
Africa, whose history is full of mysteries in the distant past and bloody political events in the present, is a continent called the cradle of mankind. The huge mainland occupies one fifth of all land on the planet, its lands are rich in diamonds and minerals. In the north, lifeless, harsh and hot deserts stretched, in the south - virgin tropical forests with many endemic species of plants and animals. It is impossible not to note the diversity of peoples and ethnic groups on the continent, their number fluctuates around several thousand. Small tribes numbering two villages and large peoples are the creators of the unique and inimitable culture of the "black" mainland.
How many countries are on the continent, where is the history of research, countries - you will learn all this from the article.
From the history of the continent
The history of African development is one of the most pressing issues in archeology. Moreover, if Ancient Egypt attracted scientists since the ancient period, the rest of the mainland remained in the "shadow" until the 19th century. The prehistoric era of the continent is the longest in human history. It was on it that the earliest traces of the presence of hominids that lived on the territory of modern Ethiopia were discovered. The history of Asia and Africa followed a special path, due to their geographical position, they were connected by trade and political relations even before the onset of the Bronze Age.
It is documented that the first trip around the continent was made by the Egyptian pharaoh Necho in 600 BC. In the Middle Ages, Europeans began to show interest in Africa, who actively developed trade with the eastern peoples. The first expeditions to the distant continent were organized by the Portuguese prince, it was then that Cape Boyador was discovered and the erroneous conclusion was made that he was the most south point Africa. Years later, another Portuguese, Bartolomeo Diaz, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. After the success of his expedition, other major European powers also reached out to Africa. As a result, by the beginning of the 16th century, all the territories of the western sea coast were discovered by the Portuguese, British and Spaniards. At the same time, the colonial history of African countries and the active slave trade began.
Geographical position
Africa is the second largest continent with an area of 30.3 million square kilometers. km. It stretches from south to north for a distance of 8000 km, and from east to west - 7500 km. The mainland is characterized by the predominance of flat relief. In the northwestern part there are the Atlas Mountains, and in the Sahara desert - the Tibesti and Ahaggar highlands, in the east - the Ethiopian, in the south - the Drakon and Cape mountains.
The geographical history of Africa is closely connected with the British. Appearing on the mainland in the 19th century, they actively explored it, discovering natural objects of stunning beauty and grandeur: Victoria Falls, Lakes Chad, Kivu, Edward, Albert, etc. In Africa, there is one of the largest rivers in the world - the Nile, which the beginning of time was the cradle of Egyptian civilization.
The mainland is the hottest on the planet, the reason for this is its geographical position. The whole territory of Africa is located in hot climatic zones and crossed by the equator.
The mainland is exceptionally rich in minerals. The whole world is known largest deposits diamonds in Zimbabwe and South Africa, gold in Ghana, Congo and Mali, oil in Algeria and Nigeria, iron and lead-zinc ores on the northern coast.
Start of colonization
The colonial history of the countries of Asia and Africa has very deep roots dating back to the ancient era. The first attempts to subjugate these lands were made by Europeans as early as the 7th-5th centuries. BC, when numerous settlements of the Greeks appeared along the shores of the continent. This was followed by a long period of Hellenization of Egypt as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Then, under the pressure of numerous Roman troops, almost the entire northern coast of Africa was consolidated. However, it was very weakly romanized, the indigenous tribes of the Berbers simply went deep into the desert.
Africa in the Middle Ages
During the period of the decline of the Byzantine Empire, the history of Asia and Africa made a sharp turn absolutely in the opposite direction from European civilization. The activated Berbers finally destroyed the centers of Christian culture in North Africa, "clearing" the territory for new conquerors - the Arabs, who brought Islam with them and pushed back the Byzantine Empire. By the seventh century, the presence of early European states in Africa had practically vanished.
A cardinal turning point came only in the final stages of the Reconquista, when mainly the Portuguese and Spaniards retook the Iberian Peninsula and turned their gaze to the opposite shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the 15th and 16th centuries, they pursued an active policy of conquest in Africa, capturing a number of strongholds. At the end of the 15th century they were joined by the French, British and Dutch.
The new history of Asia and Africa, due to many factors, turned out to be closely interconnected. Trade south of the Sahara desert, actively developed by the Arab states, led to the gradual colonization of the entire eastern part of the continent. West Africa held out. Arab quarters appeared, but Morocco's attempts to subjugate this territory were unsuccessful.
Race for Africa
The colonial division of the continent from the second half of the 19th century until the outbreak of the First World War was called the "race for Africa". This time was characterized by fierce and sharp competition between the leading imperialist powers of Europe for the conduct of military operations and research work in the region, which were ultimately aimed at capturing new lands. The process developed especially strongly after the adoption at the Berlin Conference of 1885 of the General Act, which proclaimed the principle of effective occupation. The division of Africa culminated in the military conflict between France and Great Britain in 1898, which took place in the Upper Nile.
By 1902, 90% of Africa was under European control. Only Liberia and Ethiopia managed to defend their independence and freedom. With the outbreak of the First World War, the colonial race ended, as a result of which almost all of Africa was divided. The history of the development of the colonies went in different ways, depending on whose protectorate it was under. The largest possessions were in France and Great Britain, slightly less in Portugal and Germany. For Europeans, Africa was an important source of raw materials, minerals and cheap labor.
year of independence
The year 1960 is considered to be a turning point, when one by one the young African states began to emerge from the power of the metropolitan countries. Of course, the process did not start and end in such a short period. However, it was 1960 that was proclaimed "African".
Africa, whose history did not develop in isolation from the whole world, turned out to be one way or another, but also drawn into the Second world war. The northern part of the continent was affected by hostilities, the colonies were knocked out of their last strength in order to provide the mother countries with raw materials and food, as well as people. Millions of Africans took part in hostilities, many of them "settled" later in Europe. Despite the global political situation for the "black" continent, the years of the war were marked by an economic boom, this is the time when roads, ports, airfields and runways, enterprises and factories, etc. were built.
The history of African countries received a new round after the adoption by England, which confirmed the right of peoples to self-determination. And although politicians tried to explain that it was about the peoples occupied by Japan and Germany, the colonies interpreted the document in their favor as well. In matters of gaining independence, Africa was far ahead of the more developed Asia.
Despite the unquestioned right to self-determination, the Europeans were in no hurry to “let go” of their colonies for free swimming, and in the first decade after the war, any protests for independence were brutally suppressed. The case when the British in 1957 granted freedom to Ghana, the most economically developed state, became a precedent. By the end of 1960, half of Africa gained independence. However, as it turned out, this still did not guarantee anything.
If you pay attention to the map, you will notice that Africa, whose history is very tragic, is divided into countries by clear and even lines. Europeans did not delve into the ethnic and cultural realities of the continent, simply dividing the territory at their discretion. As a result, many peoples were divided into several states, others united in one together with sworn enemies. After gaining independence, all this gave rise to numerous ethnic conflicts, civil wars, military coups and genocide.
Freedom was obtained, but no one knew what to do with it. The Europeans left, taking with them everything they could take. Almost all systems, including education and healthcare, had to be created from scratch. There were no personnel, no resources, no foreign policy ties.
African countries and dependencies
As mentioned above, the history of the discovery of Africa began a very long time ago. However, the invasion of Europeans and centuries of colonial rule led to the fact that modern independent states on the mainland were formed literally in the middle or second half of the twentieth century. It is difficult to say whether the right to self-determination has brought prosperity to these places. Africa is still considered the most backward in development of the mainland, which, meanwhile, has all the necessary resources for a normal life.
AT this moment the continent is inhabited by 1,037,694,509 people - this is about 14% of the total population the globe. The territory of the mainland is divided into 62 countries, but only 54 of them are recognized as independent by the world community. Of these, 10 are island states, 37 have wide access to the seas and oceans, and 16 are inland.
In theory, Africa is a continent, but in practice, nearby islands are often attached to it. Some of them are still owned by Europeans. Including French Reunion, Mayotte, Portuguese Madeira, Spanish Melilla, Ceuta, Canary Islands, English Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha and Ascension.
African countries are conventionally divided into 4 groups depending on the southern and eastern. Sometimes the central region is also singled out separately.
North African countries
North Africa is called a very vast region with an area of about 10 million m 2, with most of it occupied by the Sahara desert. It is here that the largest mainland countries are located: Sudan, Libya, Egypt and Algeria. There are eight states in the northern part, so SADR, Morocco, Tunisia should be added to the list.
The recent history of the countries of Asia and Africa (northern region) is closely interconnected. By the beginning of the 20th century, the territory was completely under the protectorate of European countries, they gained independence in the 50-60s. the last century. Geographical proximity to another continent (Asia and Europe) and traditional long-standing trade and economic ties with it played a role. In terms of development, North Africa is in a much better position than South Africa. The only exception, perhaps, is Sudan. Tunisia has the most competitive economy on the entire continent, Libya and Algeria produce gas and oil, which they export, Morocco is engaged in the extraction of phosphorites. The predominant share of the population is still employed in the agricultural sector. An important sector of the economy of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco is developing tourism.
The largest city with more than 9 million inhabitants is the Egyptian Cairo, the population of others does not exceed 2 million - Casablanca, Alexandria. Most Africans in the north live in cities, are Muslims and speak Arabic. In some countries, one of the official is considered French. The territory of North Africa is rich in monuments ancient history and architecture, natural objects.
It is also planned to develop the ambitious European project Desertec - the construction of the largest system of solar power plants in the Sahara desert.
West Africa
The territory of West Africa extends south of the central Sahara, is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and is bounded in the east by the Cameroon Mountains. There are savannahs and rainforests, as well as a complete lack of vegetation in the Sahel. Until the moment when the Europeans set foot on the shores in this part of Africa, such states as Mali, Ghana and Songhai already existed. The Guinean region has long been called the "grave for the whites" because of dangerous unusual diseases for Europeans: fevers, malaria, sleeping sickness, etc. At the moment, the group of Western African countries includes: Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Liberia, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Senegal.
The recent history of African countries in the region is marred by military clashes. The territory is torn apart by numerous conflicts between the English-speaking and French-speaking former European colonies. Contradictions lie not only in the language barrier, but also in worldviews and mentalities. There are hotspots in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Road communication is very poorly developed and, in fact, is a legacy of the colonial period. West African states are among the poorest in the world. While Nigeria, for example, has huge oil reserves.
East Africa
The geographic region, which includes the countries east of the Nile River (with the exception of Egypt), is called by anthropologists the cradle of mankind. It was here, in their opinion, that our ancestors lived.
The region is extremely unstable, conflicts turn into wars, including very often civil ones. Almost all of them are formed on ethnic grounds. East Africa is inhabited by more than two hundred nationalities belonging to four language groups. At the time of the colonies, the territory was divided without taking into account this fact, as already mentioned, cultural and natural ethnic boundaries were not respected. The potential for conflict greatly hinders the development of the region.
East Africa includes the following countries: Mauritius, Kenya, Burundi, Zambia, Djibouti, Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea.
South Africa
The South African region occupies an impressive part of the mainland. It contains five countries. Namely: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa. All of them united in the South African Customs Union, which extracts and trades mainly in oil and diamonds.
The latest history of Africa in the south is associated with the name of the famous politician Nelson Mandela (pictured), who devoted his life to the struggle for the freedom of the region from the mother countries.
South Africa, of which he was president for 5 years, is now the most developed country on the mainland and the only one that is not classified as a "third world". A developed economy allows it to take 30th place among all states according to the IMF. Has very rich reserves natural resources. Also one of the most successful development in Africa is the economy of Botswana. In the first place is animal husbandry and agriculture, diamonds and minerals are being mined on a large scale.
Although until the 70s of the XIX century. the colonialists seized only an insignificant part of African territory; by this time they had already had a detrimental effect on the development of the peoples of Tropical and South Africa. The first captures of the Portuguese disrupted the long-standing and rather intense trade relations between Africa and Asia. The capture by Portugal and then by other European powers of the most convenient harbors and the creation of colonial strongholds on the coast practically deprived many African peoples of access to the sea. The slave trade had exceptionally grave consequences for the peoples of Tropical and South Africa.
Slavery existed in Africa long before the advent of Europeans, but then it had a patriarchal, domestic character. With the advent of Europeans, human trafficking has taken on an unprecedented scale. During its heyday, in the 17th-18th centuries, almost all countries Western Europe explicitly or secretly participated in this profitable trade. The loss of tens of millions of people by the African peoples could not but have a sharply negative impact on the development of the productive forces. The slave trade had an extremely negative impact on the political development of the African peoples. In the pre-colonial period, slaves were replenished mainly at the expense of prisoners of war. The massive slave trade led to a sharp increase internecine wars. The colonialists pitted some tribes and peoples against others in order to increase the number of slaves. The squads of leaders began to make sudden raids on neighbors specifically for hunting people. Often leaders began to sell their subjects into slavery.
At the beginning of the XIX century. weakened the interest of developed capitalist countries in the slave trade. In 1807, the British Parliament passed a law forbidding British subjects to practice it. But this did not lead to an end to the hunt for people. The legal slave trade turned into smuggling. When the slave ship was discovered by British navy patrol boats, the owners of the ship, in an effort to destroy the evidence of the crime, ruthlessly dumped the shackled Africans into the ocean.
In the depths of the deep sea
Buried in the shifting sands
Lying forgotten by all human skeletons in chains wrote the poet Longfellow.
The disastrous consequences of the slave trade continued to affect the middle of the 19th century. In addition, the British government used the "fight against slavery" to cover up colonial aggression. Often the result of "expeditions to eradicate the slave trade" was new colonial conquests.
State formations and social system of the peoples of Tropical and South Africa in the XVIII-XIX centuries.
Colonial seizures and the slave trade consolidated a certain stagnation in the development of the peoples of Tropical and South Africa. The great unevenness in the development of different peoples and regions.
Ancient and medieval states and state formations by no means covered the entire territory of Tropical and South Africa. Tribes and peoples of vast, mainly forest, regions of the "middle belt", modern Nigeria and Cameroon, river basins. Ubangi and the middle course of the river. Congo, a number of regions of East Equatorial Africa, the entire south of the continent continued to live in a primitive communal system. Some Bushmen tribes that lived in the Kalahari Desert were at a stage of development corresponding to the Upper Paleolithic. The territories that were part of the once strong and relatively highly developed states (mainly in Western Sudan) have returned to a state of political fragmentation.
Creation of new state-political associations in the XVIII-XIX centuries. took place under difficult and challenging conditions. Nevertheless, even during this period in Tropical and partly in South Africa there were a number of states and state formations.
At the beginning of the XIX century. between the river Senegal and the lower reaches of the Niger formed a relatively large state with its capital in Segou. In the middle of the XIX century. its ruler was Al-Haj Omar. At the same time, as a result of the conquests of the small states of the Hausa people by the leader of a small tribe of the Fulbe people, Osman dan Fodio, another large state of Western Sudan arose, which was called Sokoto after the name of its capital. The conquerors quickly merged with the Hausa, adopting their language and culture. To the south of the mouth of Senegal, the state of Kayor was formed, created by the Wolof people.
In the interior of the Congo Basin, which were later and to a lesser extent subjected to the destructive effects of the slave trade, in the 17th-18th centuries. the states of Luba, Lunda and Cuba experienced a period of short prosperity (sometimes they are called Baluba, Balunda and Bakuba by the name of the respective peoples). At that time, a trade route connecting the western and eastern coasts of Tropical Africa passed through Luba and Lunda. Here was also the most economically developed region of the Congo basin - Katanga (Shaba), which has long been famous for its salt and copper deposits.
Strengthened in the 18th century. the state of Vadai, which arose in the area of Lake. Chad in the 14th century
The political center of the federation of Yoruba states, located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea (coastal regions of modern Nigeria), in the XVIII century. remained Oyo. It was the residence of Alafin - the head of the Yoruba. Alafin elected a council of seven representatives of the highest nobility from members of the reigning dynasty. The enslavement of the free population, constant wars with neighbors, and Fulani invasions from the north contributed to the decline of Oyo. In the first half of the XIX century. the process of disintegration of the Yoruba state association has already gone far. Weakly interconnected states only formally recognized the supremacy of Alafin Oyo.
Constant wars with Oyo were waged, in particular, by neighboring Dahomey. She had a combat-ready army, the core of which was a regular army, which included detachments of female warriors.
At the end of the XVII - early XVIII in. north of the Gold Coast, the Ashanti state strengthened. It was a federation of principalities grouped around the most powerful of them - Kumasi. In the first half of the XIX century. Ashanti tried to unite under its hegemony the peoples of the central and western parts of the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
The most significant state of East Africa (excluding Ethiopia) in the late XVIII - first half of the XIX century. there was Buganda, the ethnic basis of which was the Baganda people. At the head of the state was a hereditary monarch with the title of "tavern".
In addition to those mentioned above, there were a number of other states and state formations in Tropical Africa.
The social and political structure of the state formations of Tropical Africa has not yet been sufficiently studied. Their socio-economic structure was different, but with a great variety of specific forms, they all experienced the formation or development of feudal relations that grew directly out of the tribal system. Wherein feudal relations, as a rule, coexisted with a relatively strong and stable slave-owning way of life, the preservation of which was facilitated by the colonial slave trade. It must be assumed that the rapid rise of the states of the Guinean coast (Oyo, Dahomey, Ashanti), the enrichment of their ruling elite were also associated with the European slave trade.
The most important distinguishing feature of all the state formations of Tropical Africa, no matter what stage of feudalization they were at, was the preservation of many institutions of the tribal system. Everywhere the collection of feudal rent was combined with communal forms of land ownership and land use. Ancestral survivals had a strong influence on the organization of social life. The functions of the state apparatus were often performed by tribal self-government bodies.
Soviet Africanists define the class societies of African states as feudal-patriarchal. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that in the neighborhood with these societies, and sometimes on the territory of their state formations, peoples lived at various stages of the decomposition of the tribal system. Sometimes there was a kind of "restoration" of tribal relations during the collapse or weakening of state formations. On the other hand, among some peoples who were at the tribal stage of development, in the first half of the 19th century. there was a rather intensive process of unification of tribes and the formation of a state (for example, among the Zulus of South Africa). The need to repulse colonial aggression accelerated this process.
Colonial conquests of the era of pre-monopoly capitalism and the resistance of the African peoples
During the period under review, the main bases of colonialism in Tropical and South Africa were the colonies that arose at the turn of the new era.
Portuguese possessions in Angola included coastal areas from the mouth of the Congo to Capo Negro. In the first half of the XIX century. these areas remained places of exile for criminals. In the hands of the Portuguese officials, who ruthlessly robbed the local population, was the full power. The leaders of the tribes gradually turned into agents of the colonialists. Slavery and the slave trade played a very important role.
In Mozambique until the middle of the XIX century. the control of the colonialists was also limited to the coastal strip. In the XVII, XVIII and even in the first half of the XIX century. Mozambique was the scene of human hunting and the main base of the slave trade in Southeast Africa. From here the slaves were taken to Brazil to work on the sugar plantations. The penetration of the Portuguese colonialists in the XIX century. in the interior of Mozambique led to a long war with the local population.
The exploitation of the population of Guinea (Bissau) has intensified. A system of forced cultivation of export crops was introduced - peanuts, etc.
In South Africa, the Cape Colony, established by the Dutch in the second half of the 17th century, was a stronghold of colonialism. The Huguenots who fled from France also moved here, leaving
tsy from Germany and other emigrants. The descendants of the Dutch, as well as French and German colonists began to call themselves Boers. Capturing the lands of the Hottentots, the Boers created their farms in the area of the Cape of Good Hope, on which slave labor was widely used. Subsequently, the Boers proceeded to seize the lands of the Xhosa - tribes belonging to the Bantu group of peoples.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Cape Colony passed to the British. At first, the British authorities maintained the old order established by the Dutch East India Company. The inhabitants of the colony were officially divided into "Europeans" and "slaves", the latter numbered 30 thousand. However, in the future, relations between the Boers and the British became tense. An influx of colonists from England began. Everywhere was introduced English language. The British liquidated the local self-government of the Boers. But the 1833 law on the emancipation of slaves in the British colonies caused especially strong discontent among the Boer colonizers. After that, the mass exodus of the Boers from the Cape Colony began.
By that time, the Bantu tribes, whose territory was the scene of Boer and English colonial aggression, were undergoing unification processes and the formation of nationalities. They were especially intense in the territory of modern Natal. Already at the very beginning of the XIX century. here the unification of numerous Zulu tribes and the formation of the Zulu state went quite far. It was successively led by the prominent chiefs Dingiswayo, Chaka and Dingaan. Under Chaka (1818-1828), the state association of the Zulus covered about a hundred tribes. The Zulu army included all able-bodied men between the ages of 20 and 40. They formed detachments with a permanent commander - an induna. In peacetime, only a small part of the soldiers was, as it were, in the barracks position, located in the border areas and monitored the actions of enemy tribes. Most lived in their villages, doing agriculture. The Zulu warrior was armed with a short, strong striking spear - the assegai, with which he acted as a bayonet. The Zulus fought in close formation, detaching detachments to bypass the enemy from the flanks and from the rear. A unified army was one of the foundations of the state association of the Zulus that was being formed at that time. Over a vast area, the power of local tribal leaders was undermined. Under Chaka, each of the territories subject to him was ruled by the Indian detachment stationed on it.
The caravans of the Boers, moving from the Cape Colony to the north and northeast, began to seize the lands of the Zulus. On December 16, 1838, the Zulus were defeated in a decisive battle. This day, called "Dingaan Day" (after the then ruler of the Zulus), has been celebrated annually in South Africa ever since. For racists, this is a public holiday, the day of the triumph of whites over Africans. Progressive forces consider "Dingaan Day" their holiday - a symbol of the heroic resistance of Africans to the colonialists
In 1840, the Boers, using the separatism and betrayal of some of the Zulu leaders, finally defeated the armies of Dingaan. The Zulus were left with only a strip of land in the north of Natal, declared independent state Zululand. But the Boers failed to create their own republic in Natal, it was included by the British in the Cape Colony, and later separated into an independent British colony of Natal.
After that, most of the Boers left Natal and went to the basins of the Orange and Vaal rivers, to the areas inhabited by the Bechuana and Basotho. If the Bechuana acted in isolation, then among the Basotho the invasion of the colonialists gave rise to a strong desire for unification. A French missionary who lived among the Basotho wrote: “In last years the continuous onslaught of the whites, it seems, opened the eyes of the natives ... The idea of \u200b\u200bunifying the tribes to repel foreigners is becoming more and more embedded in their consciousness every day. The struggle to unite the Basotho and protect their independence was led by Moshesh, who was recognized as the supreme ruler of all the Basotho. The mountainous, inaccessible region, where the state of Lesotho is now located, became the stronghold of the independence of the Basotho. Moshesh appealed to the leaders of the Zulu and Xhosa with a call to unite to fight the colonialists. Under his leadership, the Basotho successfully resisted colonial aggression for a long time. However, the forces were unequal. In 1868, the Basotho country became a British protectorate (Basutoland).
As for the Boers, they created in the middle of the XIX century. two public education colonialists - the Republic of South Africa (the British usually called it Transvaal) and the Orange Free State (Orange Republic), - whose independence was recognized by England. These events contributed to the strengthening of Boer nationalism. The Boers lost their former connection with Holland. Gradually they began to call themselves Afrikaners. Differed from the Dutch and their language, which later became known as "Afrikaans".
While the Boer colonialists were advancing on the Zulus, Bechuan and Basotho, the British were moving east, seizing the lands of the Xhosa. As a result of a whole series of "Kaffir wars", the Xhosa tribes were enslaved by the British.
Thus, by the 70s of the XIX century. a significant part of South Africa passed into the hands of the colonialists. Two British colonies and two Boer republics were established on its territory. The Zulus, Basotho, and Xhosa courageously resisted colonial aggression, but the English and Boer invaders were stronger. By this time, only the Zulus of Zululand and the related Swazi people (on the territory of modern Swaziland) managed to maintain independence.
If South Africa by the 70s of the XIX century. had already been largely captured by the Europeans, then in Tropical Africa, England and France by this time had only slightly expanded the territories of their bases. Relying on previously captured points on the Gold Coast, England launched an offensive against Ashanti. However, the staunch resistance of the Ashanti people delayed the advance of the colonialists. The British had to conclude treaties with the Ashanti, recognizing the independence of their state and its sovereignty over the coastal regions. In 1831, after another bloody war, the Ashanti state renounced control over the coast, and England confirmed its independence. The British greatly expanded their colonial possessions on the Gold Coast. New war with Ashanti in 1863 did not bring them success. The Ashanti ruler Kweku Dua then said: "A white man can bring cannons into the jungle, but the jungle is stronger than the cannons."
On the west coast, the British captured Sierra Leone and expanded their holdings in the Gambia. From the middle of the XIX century. One of the main objects of aggression of the British colonialists was the Niger Delta. To the island of Lagos, which occupied a key position there, English warships were sent several times. The population bravely defended their island. Nevertheless, in 1852, the British managed to impose a protectorate on Lagos, but the Yoruba rebelled more than once. Only in 1861, after another operation of the navy, did Lagos become a British colony.
The corresponding treaty can serve as an example of the hypocrisy of the colonialists. It was issued in the form of a statement by the ruler of Lagos, Dosemo: “In order that the Queen of England may better help the people of Lagos, protect them and put an end to the slave trade in Lagos and neighboring areas, in order to stop the destructive wars waged by Dahomey and other countries with for the purpose of capturing slaves, I, Docemo, by this document bring to the attention of everyone that, with the consent and recommendation of my council, I forever transfer to the Queen of Great Britain and her heirs the port and city of Lagos ... "
France expanded its possessions of Senegal and the Ivory Coast. In Senegal, the French colonialists met with strong resistance from the Wolof people, led by a determined opponent of the colonialists, the ruler of Cayor, Lat-Dior. Several French military expeditions were unsuccessful, and in 1871 France made peace with Cayors, recognizing his independence.
In the first half of the XIX century. economic exploitation of the peoples of Tropical and Southern Africa by England and other European capitalist countries is beginning to
some new features. There is a growing interest in obtaining raw materials and cheap foodstuffs. The export of palm oil and valuable wood species is growing especially rapidly. The French create in the lower reaches of the river. Senegal cotton and indigo plantations. The beginning transformation of Tropical and South Africa into one of the sources of raw materials for capitalist Europe engendered in the elite of England, France, and other European countries a craving for the "development" of the interior regions of the Black Continent. Numerous researchers, travelers, missionaries, merchants sought to unravel its mysteries. Among the travelers and researchers, along with the obvious colonizers, there were many honest, courageous people who selflessly served science. But under the conditions of capitalism, their discoveries were used in the interests of the colonial enslavement of the peoples of Africa.
During the period of pre-monopoly capitalism, the European powers carried out a series of colonial conquests, mainly in North, West and South Africa. However, by the end of this period, they had captured no more than 10% of African territory. At that time, the vast continent was open to all colonial powers. For the time being, their rivalry did not cause armed conflicts.
Education of the Republic of Liberia
The creation of Liberia was associated with some aspects of the fight against slavery in the United States. Supporters of the gradual emancipation of slaves and the eviction of freed blacks from the United States created the American Colonization Society. From the 20s of the XIX century. it began to establish settlements south of Sierra Leone of American Negroes, freed, ransomed from their owners or fled from them. With the help of deceit and under the threat of the cannons of the warship, the Americans forced an agreement on the concession of more to the leader of the local tribes. 13 thousand sq. km of coastal territory for six guns, a box of beads, two barrels of tobacco and other goods worth $ 50. Monrovia (named after US President John Monroe) and other settlements were founded here. By 1847 there were already 13 settlements of former slaves. In July this year, the Constitutional Convention they elected adopted the Declaration of Independence and the constitution of the Republic of Liberia.
The adoption of an advanced democratic constitution for its time by yesterday's slaves of the American planters undoubtedly had a progressive significance. An American officer stationed in Monrovia at the time wrote: “It was highly unusual to watch these freed slaves make laws, freely, if not skillfully, discussing the issue of human rights on the same continent.
and perhaps in the same place where their ancestors were sold into slavery. The creation of the Republic of Liberia underscored the untenability of the colonizers' claims of African racial inferiority.
At the same time, the creation of Liberia showed the desire of the American elite to obtain a base for navy The United States and a stronghold for the penetration of American capital into Africa. American Negro settlers, having taken over new homeland privileged position, exploited the natives. Only male settlers enjoyed civil rights.
