AFRICA AND EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM WHERE LIES LEGITIMACY IN THE EUROCENTRIC OR AFROCENTRIC VIEWS

AFRICA AND EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM:
WHERE LIES LEGITIMACY IN THE EUROCENTRIC OR AFROCENTRIC VIEWS
(BEING A PAPER SUBMITTED FOR ASSESSMENT TOWARDS PUBLICATION IN A JOURNAL)
By
J.E.T. Babatola
(M.Phil/Ph.D Student)
Department of History and International Studies, Faculty of Arts,
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
Email: jbabatola70@gmail.com; jbabatola@unad.edu.ng Tel: 08034084969
-
(c) September, 2012

Abstract:
This paper reviewed the concept of Imperialism and her inherent features in the theme of modern
history. It attempted a balanced appraisal of the original notions of Imperialism to aggregate value-
facts from empirical study of European Imperialism in Africa. It also reviewed existing works and
aised i ui ies o the e pi i al atu e a d o se ue es of Af i a s Colo ial e pe ie e. It
highlighted the causal factors of Imperialism and colonialism in Africa and how it influenced the
direction of historical development and strategies for political economy. It noted that the notion of
Imperialism was to advance European Diplomacy for territorial incursion into African territories as
sphe es of i te est though it also s ste ati all laid the fou datio fo do i atio a d exploitation
of the colonised African States. It observed that subjugated and subordinated African states and their
economies were held to whims and caprices of Western world. The paper concluded that the
weakness of the structure of emerging African States and her economy is a reflection of how western
economic interest is set to perpetuate Africa in the prevailing world politics and economic diplomacy.
1.0 Introduction
Going through historical works, Imperialism is a term largely applied to political and economic
notions of Western countries (Europe) in the 19th
and 20th
centuries. It situates within the context of
events – the empirical nature of the goals and analysis of economic and political history of the
nations who experienced European conquests in that era and the contradictions that marked the
theories of those European conquests particularly in Africa and the Third World countries.
Notable historians that postulated the ideas of imperialism during the 19th
centuries were John
Gallagher and Ro ald ‘o i so ho o ei ed Eu opea I pe ialis as a sphe e of i flue e
which can be built without necessarily creating or establishing a formal, legal control by one
government over another country, though the idea of an empire can be extended i fo mally if
possi le a d fo all if e essa 1
. This is why scholars who attempted to distinguish the
differences between Imperialism and Colonialism drew a differentiation thus: imperialism operates
from the centre as a state policy developed for ideological and financial reasons, whereas
colonialism is a state policy conceived for development of settlements or commerce purposes.2
1
Wikipedia Online Resource, Imperialism (2012) Google docs.
2
Gilmartin, Mary. Gallaher, C et.al., Key Concepts in Political Geography, Sage Publications:
Imperialism/Colonialism pg. 116

The implication from the foregoing is that writers attempting to distinguish the differences between
Imperialism and Colonialism attempts to give credence to one while at the same time justifying the
other. If imperialism was conceived with the aim to foist modernisation and financially engage in
overseas development, it should not be seen as exploitative and domineering unlike colonialism
which is designed with the intent to invade and overrun other weaker territories in order to create
new settlements or dominate the economic resources of those weaker states.
Going from the above assertions, European scholars sharing similar perspectives on the motive
behind European incursion into Africa to justify such positions as imperialistic attempted vigorously
to create a focal point around views of creating spheres of influence. This re-echoed in several
writings of earlier European historians, regarded as Eurocentric views, where they justify that
European Imperialism in Africa was as a result of the fact that Europeans were ee es e ized
formal empire and maps of the world with regions coloured red. The bulk of British emigration, trade
and capital went to areas outside the formal British Empire... 3
If the foregoing assertion is true, then the basis of imperialism was to merely expand British
influence to other nations, with the aim to help develop their potentials and bring modernization to
other parts of the world. By so doing, the people and societies of those continents are bound to be
enlightened and be integrated as part of the growing modern world.
On the other part, writings drawn from scholars regarded as Afrocentric in nature proved from
existing historical value-facts that the assertions of earlier scholars of European Imperialism in Africa
was fraught with misconceptions, misinterpretation and misgivings. They attempted a
reconstruction of African history by providing empirical data and historical facts that undermines the
intent of European Imperialism in Africa by her goals and prosecution, the structures and levels of
development attained and what the colonizers turned Africa towards at the time of independence.4
Many of the scholars regarded as perpetuating Afrocentric views went further to examine the
e pe ie e of Af i a so ieties a d the state of hu a de elop e t i the da k o ti e t efo e
her imperialistic conquest by Europe. They were able to establish the historical value-fact that most
of the African colonized territories and societies had experienced different stages of development
closer to or in same layer of experience as found in the modernisation process of Middle East and
3
Louis, Wm. Roger. (1976) Imperialism pg. 4
4
Boahen, Adu: African Perspectives on Colonialism, Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press (1987) pg. 1-14

the East (Asia) before European incursion, except that they had not reached the same technological
development and industrial growth witnessed in Europe5
.
The European imperialistic ambition or aspiration to conquer and develop the so-called backward or
primitive African societies is therefore rhetoric filled with dishonest gains than the realities of
territorial imperialism and conquest, as shown in various works, even in the writing of Sir Frederick
Lugard, the Governor General of Nigeria in his book titled - the Dual Mandate and his famous quote
which is reproduced below:
...For two or three generations, we can show the Negro what we are: Then we
shall be asked to go away. Then we shall leave the land to those it belongs to,
with the feeling that they have better business friends is us than in other white
men... 6
Many writers of modern African history holding Afrocentric views have insisted that the
consequences of European (Imperialism and) colonialism of Africa actually disorganized, disoriented,
displaced and disunited the African continent and disrupted her age-long mode of development and
approach to modern life. Ethnographic and historical studies of pre-colonial Africa showed stages of
development of the African Continent before 19th
Century.7
Eu ope s Be li Co fe e e of 4-85 to scramble for and partition Africa therefore remained a
balkanization of Africa that left the continent with indelible marks which underscored the goals of
European expansionism towards fostering their economic and trading interest rather than
modernization and development of world society, because Europeans sought raw materials such as
dyes, cotton, vegetable oils, and metal ores from overseas, having being transformed into the
manufacturing centre of the world.8
At best, the motive behind European Imperial conquest and colonization of Africa can be drawn
f o t o u , e o o i oti es p i a il a d p estige oti es se o da il .9
A good inquiry to
underscores the motives of the Europeans lies in the reasons for the British bombardment and
5
Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Howard University Press, 1972 ISBN 978-37049-2-3
6
T. Pakenham, The Scramble for Africa 1876-1912, Abacus Book, George Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1991
7
Ibid.
8
Adas, Michael; Peter N. Stearns (2008), Turbulent Passage – A Global History of the Twentieth Century (4
th
Ed.), Pearson Education Inc., pp 54-54 ISBN 0-205-64571-2
9
D. T. Osabu-Kle, African Blood for Imperialist Interests: The First and Second Scrambles for Africa –
Imperialism, Colonies and Neocolonies, Carleton University, US

annexation of Lagos in 1861, the British unilateral occupation of Egypt in 1882 and the French
retaliatory Blockade and claim over the mouth of Congo, among others.10
Many inquiry into African history showed that foreign contacts, exploration, trade cooperation and
military conquest of some part of Africa from the Nile to Congo basin, the West African hinterland
and the East and Southern parts of Africa predated the rise of the capitalist state in Europe11
. Yet, it
is also clear that the evolution of imperialist theories to justify the conquest and colonisation of
Africa is not farfetched from the multi-facet benefits and resources of virgin Africa which was
achievable and bound with colonialism.
Goi g e o d the a o e, o e eeds to a tuall o side if Eu ope s te ito ial i pe ialis o
expansionist motives depleted her resources as advanced by Eurocentric Scholars or whether it
brought her greater economic benefit through the collection of resources from colonies in
combination with the assumption of military and political control of those territories.
African experience of European imperialism is not the beginning of imperial tendencies around the
world as shown in the stages of human and social development12
. Walter Rodney was able to
surmount and achieve in a clear cut terms, an analysis of the exploration and consequences of
imperialism in Africa within the parameters of factors of modern development and the causes of
underdevelopment. He noted thus:
the e o o i a k a d ess of a gi e Af i a atio ...the s pto s of
underdevelopment and the secondary factors that make for poverty...lies in seeking out
the relationship between Africa and certain developed countries and in recognizing that
it is a relationship of exploitation...More far reaching than just trade is the actual
ownership of the means of production in one country by the citizens of another...So long
as foreigners own land, mines, factories, banks, insurance companies, means of
transportation, newspapers, power stations etc, then for so long will the wealth of Africa
flo out a ds i to the ha ds of those ele e ts 13
.
10
Candice Goucher, Charles LeGuin, Linda Walton, The Tentacles of Empire: The New Imperialism and New
Nationalism in Asia, Africa, and the Americas In the Balance: Themes in Global History, The Annenberg
Foundation, McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1998
11
M. Mushkat, Some characteristics of Colonialism and Its Product African Nationalism, African Studies
Review, Vol. 14, No. 2, Sept. 1971, pp. 219-241, 238, 393.
12
Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Howard University Press (1972:1-35)
13

2.0 Background of Study and Generalization of Concepts – The Notion of Imperialism
The definition of Imperialism as an economic phenomenon abounds within Eurocentric and
Afrocentric views. Each sides of the historical divide have invented or applied basic theoretical
concepts to their empirical analysis to facilitate the basis for imperialistic tendencies and activities
through all ages. A generalization of those concepts may be necessary or essential here to
understand the basic ingredients that justify positions taken on the divide in addressing the subject
and validating her definitive terms within intellectual analysis.
There exist two standpoints of the generalization of the notion of Imperialism in this paper. The two
concepts are borrowed from the notion of Imperialism as the process of establishing colonial and
neo- olo ial elatio ships 14
. The second concept is drawn from the notion which described
Imperialism as a eatio a d o ai te a e of u e ual e o o i , ultu al a d te ito ial
relationship usually bet ee states a d e pi es ased o do i atio a d su o di atio .15
Both terms infers that Imperialism is the characteristics of powerful states that adopt and commonly
use military powers and political strategies to achieve and process their economic domination and
exploitation of foreign lands in order to acquire, manipulate and control access to the resources of
other states with lesser military powers or political resistance. Hence, where an imperial power
exploit unequal, dominant force or political power to superimpose itself on other subservient
(dependent) states, it creates an imbalance in relationship, while serving as a superstructure with
irresistible military might and potentials to exploit and extract the economic resources of the latter
largely unhindered for the accumulation of capital and expansion of her economy in the global
competitive market.16
This is why Imperialism is globally associated with monopolistic privileges and preferences, plunder
of raw materials, seizure of territories, enslavement of the indigenous population, nationalism,
racism and militarism17
.
14
Imperialism, Colonies and Neo-colonies, Carleton University, US (1990)
15
Johnston, R.J. The Dictionary of Human Geography (4
th
Ed.), Wiley-Blackwell pg. 375 (2000) ISBN 0-631-
20561-6
16
C. Ake, Political Economy of Nigeria
17
Daniel Offing Imperialism and Dependency Fourth Dimension Publishers, Enugu 1980

An implied notion of Imperialism draws on the dependency theory advanced in the study of
underdevelopment by Walter Rodney, D.L. Johnson and Claude Ake among others. These theorists
ge e all o ede to the fa t that a i pe ial state eates st u tu all u e ual e o o i
elatio ship et ee itself a d othe ilita il i fe io states usi g he ilita ight to
do i ate a d gai a ess i to thei te ito ies to s ste ati all oo di ate the p o esses of
extracting resources and raw materials in those territories for her economic benefits.18
This in itself
is akin to the interdependence of state system and the capacity to appropriate influence within the
concept of balance of power and other theories of international diplomacy.
Many civilization and societies have experienced imperialistic conquest and domination as found in
histories of Japan, the Assyrian Empire, China, Byzantine Empire, Persian Empire, Ottoman Empire,
ancient Egypt, Mongol Empire, Ethiopian Empire, Oyo Empire and so many others.19
Hence, the
European incursion into Africa through the adoption of colonial and territorial policies and the
assertion of military dominance and influence is a relative economic phenomenon in human history,
hi h o all should ot ha e suffe ed o al e su e its iti s as ei g a pejo ati e fo
e pa sio ist a d agg essi e fo eig poli ,20
if not for the consequences of European imperialism in
Africa.21
One need to ask such questions that: Are those conquered African empires, kingdoms, states and
nations without history, values, culture, personal liberties and arts worth mentioning before the
Europeans invaded and dominated them?22
This is an inquiry to re-examine various Eurocentric
views in the construction of pre-colonial African histories, among which include the prominent book
of Lady Lugard titled – A Tropical Dependency. 23
What could have turned those nations into inferior races before other technologically advanced
states beyond the existing social structures? How beneficial would the master-servant relationship
propounded in the colonial enclaves improved on social values of the Africans already tested and
moderated over ages based on cultural beliefs, traditions and a well organized way of life! The
inferiority complex pervaded by imperialism through her colonial structures and institutions and
which gave room for adoption of a lingua franca, the division and evolution of new African States
18
19
Wikipedia Online Resource, Imperialism (2012)
20
I pe ialis , I te atio al E lopaedia of the So ial S ie es,
nd
ed.
21
22
Basil Davidson, F.K. Buah and J.F. Ade-Ajayi, The Growth of African Colonisation: History of West Africa:
History of West Africa 1000-1800, London, 1965, p.285
23
Michael Crowder, West Africa and Colonial Rule, p. 3-22

along boundary lines carved in Europe from 1885 and subjugation of the Africans to European
domination suffice.
Closer to the existing theories of imperialism are the more damning theories of Apartheid and
Nazism, which exploit racial supremacy of certain races above others and each created the idea of
second class and third class citizens as well as modern slavery through colour bar, discrimination and
segregation of access to public life, aspirations and the society.
It behoves on the writer to ask many unanswered questions thus: If African continent was so dark,
primitive, barbaric, backward and evil or out of place in the world map, one wonders and endlessly
asked why and how would Europeans find pious, beneficial, competitive and adventurous to
conquer with the aim of changing it to give hope to the continent? What is the attraction in Africa
that the earlier European explorers recorded that gave Europeans the impetus to explore further,
trade with and even decided to settle in Africa, not only Livingstone or Stanley, but many others?
Does the good nature of East Africa or the great weather of South Africa with the comfort of the sea
shores, those hinterland trade tributaries and the mines from North Africa through Central to East
Africa and the forest belt of West Africa never provided the much needed and craved convenience
fo Eu opea s? Would the settle s do t i e of E pt La d terra nullius) hold waters for long in the
vast arid African Deserts unlike the equatorial belt and forest vegetations with pasture land across
West Africa coast? Would land be less efficiently used by Blacks in the snowing ridges of the Cape or
the vast Zulu-land and ranges of Kenya and Uganda? Why it is impertinent for Europeans to enslave
Africans, pillage their territories and eventually build Empires in Rhodesia and Boers Republics where
they explore the mines, graze and forcefully acquire land and dominate the original owner-settlers, if
those Imperialistic aims were to serve the African interest?.
A cursory look at the conquest and colonisation of African states has shown that the drive behind
European imperial invasion of Africa from the mid 1850s was as a result of renewed interest in Africa
due to exploration of the vast continent and economic potentials that the continent serves in
alternate to other European loses in the Americas and her impenetrable and costly encounters in
Asian territories where age-long political system and social structures had lasted for centuries.24
This is made obvious in the early works on African history where writers severally noted that Europe
desires to create overseas empires was not merely to control land and access to raw materials
24
J.H. Franklin, From Slavery To Freedom (A History of Negro Americans), 3
rd
Ed., Vintage Books, NY, 1969

needed for her industrial economies, but to establish markets for her goods and improve the
measure of her greatness within existing global relevance. A good reference point here suffices in
competition between European and African traders over jurisdiction and method of sanctions which
la a sea h fo autho it hi h t a s e ded the sea h fo t ade .25
Racist notions for the need of
e lighte e t of the sa age o p i iti e ati es o the issio a d i e to e a gelise Af i a as
therefore the least of the goals of European imperialism.
This ho e e did ot e ode the fa t that the ode it o ept of Eu opea I pe ialis i the
then world political system and international diplomacy did not bring structural changes and
developments to the continent of Africa, even when it disoriented the African mass structurally by
drying up her potentials or milking her resources as engine oil of development in Europe,26
the basis
for critique of the notion and validity of Eurocentric views by Afro-centric views.
The sharp contrast inherent in the Eurocentric and Afro-centric views shows that European
Imperialism in Africa goes beyond relationship and expansionism27
of sphe e of i flue e . I deed,
Europe wanted to control the conquered African territories and organized them in such a manner
that resulted into the following aggregated political process and economic structures:
a. Economic imperialism – A situation where European merchants and colonial trading houses
controlled part of the African State instead of a foreign or national government
b. Sphere of influence – A situation where European powers claimed some African territories
as their exclusive investment realm or trading posts
c. Protectorates – A situation where European powers colonised certain part of African
territories but allowed its own government or government foist on it to operate under
foreign powers
d. Colony – A situation where direct European Administration is created over a colonised
territory with or without direct participation of the local people.
The consequence of these above expansionism constitute the basis of imperialism and the
colonisation of Africa and shows that Imperialism was conceived to aid the economic exploitation of
the weaker states by the technologically superior and militarily advanced state – a trios of territorial
25
C.W. Newbury, Trade and Authority in West Africa From 1850 to 1880 in Colonialism in Africa 1870-1960,
Vol. I, L.H. Gann and Peter Duignan (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 1969 p.84
26
Imperialism, Colonies and Neo-colonies, Carleton University, US (1990)
27
Adas, Michael; Peter N. Stearns (2008), Turbulent Passage – A Global History of the Twentieth Century (4
th
Ed.), Pearson Education Inc., pp 54-54 ISBN 0-205-64571-2

imperialism, capitalistic exploitation and military supremacy despite resistance of the Africans. It
further shows that with ownership of means of production and capital in an international economic
structure dictated and driven by those economically developed nations, the weaker states would
continue to remain under the influence of Imperialists whose aim is to exploit rather than develop. 28
Indeed, European Imperialism was conceived to create the sphere and system of dependency
needed to dominate the weaker states who invariably adopted a new structure of development and
was tied to the apron strings of the advanced economies, by which it survives and exist. Hence, the
coinage of this topic - AFRICA AND EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM: Where lies the legitimacy in
Eurocentric or Afrocentric Views!
3.0 An Appraisal of the Theoretical Framework in the Study of the Concepts of Imperialism
Classical writers on the notion of imperialism in the study of human history are namely Hobson, V.
Lenin and Schumpeter. The imperative of their generalization of the concept lies in the value-facts of
historical experience which sees imperialism as an exploitation of economic interests for capital
accumulation at the height of capitalism.
Consideri g the dea th of lite atu es o the theo ies of I pe ialis , C. Ake s i his stud of
the Political Economy of Africa reviewed the works of classical theorists of Imperialism and gave
deepening thoughts on their conviction of her historical consequences particularly on Africa.29
In articulating the notion of Imperialism, J.A. Hobson asserted that psychological motivation was
ehi d the otio of I pe ialis . He a gued that It is desi a le that the ea th should e peopled,
governed, and developed, as far as possible, by the races which can do this work best, i.e. by the
a es of highest so ial effi ie 30
whose aim consist of the following ingredients:
a. National pride
b. Quest for glory
c. Bellicosity
Beyond these psycho-behavioural analyses lay elements of dominant economic motivations which
Hobson also identified as follows:
a. Development of capitalism and tendency for production to outgrow consumption
28
Edward Morel, The Bla k Ma s Bu de in The Age of Imperialism, 1850-1914, Chp. 11, Google docs.
29
C. Ake, The Political Economy of Africa, 1980
30
Hobson, J.A, Imperialism – A Study, Cosimo Inc, 2005 pg. 154

b. Industrialization and creation of massive production lines in West industry which facilitated
need for imported raw materials
c. Domestic and social developments in Europe in areas of growing urban population, need for
more food and rising cost of standard of living which increased demands for luxury goods
d. Opportunities for higher returns on investments and the quest for markets
e. The control, collaborations and eventual cooperation of the political machineries of the
modern state system to protect the European economy by increasing purchasing power of
the working class through introduction of production quotas, tariff barriers, taxation of
goods and safeguarding of investments with acquisition of overseas market
A general assumption propounded by J.A. Hobson was that in as much as Imperialism brought higher
taxation to the European domestic economy, it increased the wealth and foreign investment of
Europe as well as her militarization of the world through conquest and occupation. Imperialism
eventually became a vehicle of the growing cosmopolitan of capital, though it was regrettably seen
by Europe at an inevitable aspect of industrial progression in human history.31
Ho so s defi itio of I pe ialis is like ed to hat so e s hola s pa tl efe to as elfa e
i pe ialis .
Joseph S hu pete essa titled Zur Soziologie der Imperialismus The So iolog of I pe ialis
dwell extensively on the motivation of European Imperialism as an aggressive expansionism and
ilita ad e tu is a ata is ithout a atio al logi . He oted that i pe ialis is a
heritage of the autocratic state...the outcome of ore-capitalist forces which the autocratic state has
reorganized and would never have been evolved by the inner logic of capitalism.32
He argued that it
was an attempt that did not go beyond the habit and instinctive mode of Europeans to struggle for
survival and supremacy in a world of wars and pressures where situation of threats and dangers of
survival persists. Conquering the world and expanding sphere of influence was the best
alternatives.33
Schumpeter disagreed with the notion that Imperialism was basically fuelled by economic desires
since capitalism is much more concerned with promotion of individuality and rationalism,
31
Hobson, J.A, Imperialism – A Study, Cosimo Inc, 2005
32
Hobson, J.A, Imperialism – A Study, Cosimo Inc, 2005
33
J. Schumpeter - Zur Soziologie der Imperialismus The So iolog of I pe ialis t a slated i to E glish
by Heinz Nordon and titled Imperialism and Social Classes, Peter Sweezy (ed.) Harvard University Press, 1951.

democracy, innovative, mechanized and specialized world system, all which does not naturally allow
for wasteful and risky adventurism. However, many scholars have rejected that position, noting that
most nations in history do not engage in costly military adventurism unless economic interest is
involved from the sharing of spoils of war, occupation of foreign lands to acquiring of slaves and
cheap labour since the days of Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Grecian and Roman Empires. The
failu e of S hu pete s otio of I pe ialis to sta d as a atio al i telle tual assu ptio lies i
the very attempt to dissociate it from the goals of capitalism as a basis for economic expansionism.
A widely acceptable fundamental appraisal of the goals of imperialism is embedded in the works of
the Karl Marx.34
Marx saw the Imperialism thrives through a process whereby surplus value is
converted to capital accumulation. The need to use the profit to profiteer leads to surplus value and
capitalisation.35
With generation of wealth from capitalisation, a progressive use of surplus value
produces commodities which require the intensive use of labour or higher employment ratio. The
inescapable consequences are the production of bigger capitalism which inherently is expansionism.
Marx however abhorred the gap that usually exist between the capitalist producers and the workers
leading to dictatorship, poverty and oppression in the extreme with possibility of a revolt in the
positive to eliminate the injustice in the capitalist system while using productive forces to transform
the society into a more egalitarian socialist state.
Advancing the learning curves in the Marxian theories, another scholar and follower - V.L. Lenin
described Imperialism within the context of economic processes as:
...Capitalis at the stage of de elop e t at hi h the do i a e of monopolies and
finance capital is established, in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced
importance; in which the division of situation, in which a certain group of countries have
their economics conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy, in
which the former is subject. The relation of interdependence between two or more
economies and between these and world trade, assumes the form of dependence when
some countries (the dominant) can expand and give impulse to their own development,
while other countries (the dependent) can only develop as a reflection of this expansion.
This can have positive and or negative effects on their immediate development. In all
cases, the basic situation of dependence leads to a global situation in dependent
countries that situates them in backwardness and under the exploitation of the
dominant countries. The dominant countries have a technological, commercial, capital
34
35
Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Moscow, 1970

resources and social-political predominance over dependent countries (with
predominance of some of these aspects in various historical moments). This permits
them to impose conditions of exploitation and extract part of the domestically produced
su plus... 36
From the popular theoretical and empirical assumptions stated above in the works of V. Lenin on the
study of imperialism, I identified the main ingredients of imperialism as follows:
1. Dominance of monopolies
2. Creation of finance capital
3. Export of capital
4. Conditioning and subjugation of economic development and expansion of colonized
territories as imperial subjects.
5. A relationship built on interdependence between two or more economies
6. A relation between imperial and colonial economies and world trade forming dependency
when imperial state can expand and give impulse to development, while dependent
countries can only develop as a reflection of this expansion.
7. A global situation where dependent countries situates in backwardness and under the
exploitation of the dominant countries.
8. A situation where dominant countries have a technological, commercial, capital resources
and social-political predominance over dependent countries
9. The conditions of exploitation and extraction of the domestically produced surplus is
undeniable
Pat he a d Geo ge Li htei e e oted as leadi g s hola s ho opposed Le i s otio of
e o o i i pe ialis , hi h the des i ed as a u te a le ki d of e o o i dete i is i
a hie i g sta tli g heto i al effe t , ut faili g to p odu e e theo ies of i pe ialis 37
. If
therefore those conditions highlighted from empirical and causal factors of imperialism in economic
history remains in sight, one can assume that any critique or inquiry on European Imperialism in
Africa which does not extensively examine or validate her findings beyond these parameters of
modern economic theories, would rub off the value-facts and consequences of the evolution of
modern African states in the development process, by taking a lone or erred path.
36
V.L. Lenin, - Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Moscow, 1965
37
Imperialism - 2012 Online Resource, Google docs.

4.0 A Brief Intellectual Appraisal of European Imperialism in Africa from the Perspectives of
Notable Pan-African Economic historians
Looking at the origins and contemporary forms of underdevelopment and dependence in Black
Africa, the striking features of artificial and geographical division of African continent by European
colonizers was seen as factors of their social, cultural, economic and political conditions, regardless
of their diversity.38
The Europeans shared Africa in a manner that left each region as an area
providing some forms of economic activities for the European economy as summarized below:
a. Traditional West Africa constituted the Africa of the colonial trade economy
b. Traditional Congo River Basin became the Africa of the concession-owning companies
c. Eastern and Southern Africa became Africa of labour reserves and gave rise to Apartheid or
colour bar in mining regions and plantations where European Settlers expelled land owners
d. Remaining African regions served dual purposes and some regions retained their autonomy
until the incursion of colonial era
Amin traced the economic history of Africa from the existing trading culture between North and
West Africa and the Arabs and the notable features of those trading system up to the 16th
century.
He also observed the subsequent shift in gravity of European trade from Mediterranean seas to the
Atlantic sea with the demand and impact of European mercantile capitalism on the changing
economic phase of African continent, the worst part being slave trade which also changed European
perception of the status of Africans even when it was nailed by the rise of industrial revolution in 18th
centuries.39
He asserted that the change in world economic order by the 19th
century fostered the
creation of new periphery for the supply of commodity, products and markets to the centre in forms
of raw materials, agricultural and mineral produce while exploring a theory of unequal exchange in
legiti ate o e e , hi h late ga e ise to Eu opea I perialism and the colonisation of Africa.
Amin concluded on the pattern of colonial trade economy (and European imperialism) that the
structure was created to achieve the following:
38
S. Amin, Underdevelopment and Dependence in Black Africa – Origins and Contemporary Forms in Dennis L.
Cohen and John Daniel (ed), Political Economy of Africa – Selected Readings, Longman, London, 1981 ISBN 0-
582-64285-X p. 28-42
39
S. Amin, Underdevelopment and Dependence in Black Africa – Origins and Contemporary Forms in Dennis L.
Cohen and John Daniel (ed), Political Economy of Africa – Selected Readings, Longman, London, 1981 ISBN 0-
582-64285-X p. 28-42

a. Organization of a dominant trade monopoly - colonial import-export houses and a pyramid
shape of trade network where African traders at the lower rungs operated domestic trade
for exports outflows and imports dissemination as subordinate primary collectors
b. Monetary taxation of monopolised peasants forced to exchange goods at set rather than
settled prices
c. Creation of political platforms to support the social strata and classes for the organization of
tribal lands and internal migrations to occupy labour reserves in plantation zones
d. Political alliance with social groups involved in commercializing tributes levied on peasants
where they operated the domestic trade between herdsmen and crop farmers
e. Forced labour in areas where the above practices failed
The ensuing colonial practices to advance the goals of European Imperialism and in particular, the
role of British Imperialism in Africa resorted to the further disorganization of traditional African
society and impoverishing of the population in the transition from traditional to modern system of
social dependence barely providing opportunities for Africans to survive in a colonial-type trade.
To further buttress the historical facts inherent in European Imperialism in Africa, other sets of
European scholars had admitted that the distribution of European-dominated territory on the West
and Central African Coast was more scattered than other regions while European trade competition
was fiercer.40
This as sho pa ti ula l i the uest of F e h pa ifi atio th ough the t oops
expeditions and annexation of North Africa starting with the campaign of Algeria in 1830 and down
to Tunisia in 1881 and the Island of Madagascar in 1896.
The historical inquiry also showed that the era of colonial rule was fundamentally different from
what earlier exist in independent Africa because Africans trading partners and producers operated in
an unequal scale with their European partners whose aim was to establish western based capitalism,
whose attainment simultaneously reduced the power and economic opportunity of the African
participants while it ensured that:
Europeans controlled colonial credit and trade tariffs. Few Africans prospered during
this era; colonial controls hampered the development of free enterprise, and European
governments offset the high coats of extracting raw materials and transporting them to
European-based manufacturing centres by providing price supports...African colonies
supported many European industries that otherwise could not have been profitable. For
40
C. Goucher et al, The Tentacles of Empire – The New Imperialism and New nationalism in Asia, Africa and the
Americas, The Themes of Global History, (1998, Ch. 17), Google docs

example, the textile industry of France depended on the cheap cotton supplied by French
West African colonies to remain competitive with technologically more advanced
manufacturing...Africans became dependent consumers of European textiles, iron pots,
ag i ultu al i ple e ts, soap a d e e foodstuffs... 41
A othe ota le s hola of Af i a s e o o i histo , Walte ‘od e , e aluated the olo ial
economy and her consequence on the development of Africa and then asserted thus:
Af i a e o o ies a e i teg ated i to the e st u tu e of the de eloped apitalist
economies; and they are integrated in a manner that is unfavourable to Africa and
ensures that Africa is dependent on the big capitalist countries. Indeed, structural
dependence is one of the characteristics of underdevelopment...the underdeveloped
countries are dependencies of the metropolitan capitalist economies...it is also true that
metro poles are dependent on the wealth of the exploited portions of the world. This is a
source of their strength and a potential weakness within the capitalist/imperialist
system...The capitalist countries are technologically more advanced and are therefore
the sector of the imperialist system which determined the direction of change...It is for
this reason that a formerly colonized nation has no hope of developing until it breaks
effectively with the vicious circle of dependence and exploitation which characterises
i pe ialis ... 42
‘od e s ie o elates a d oi ides ith popula Af o e t i ie s that see I pe ialis i itself
as any organized domination and subordination with an imperial centre (metropole) and a periphery
(colonies). This view amplified Imperialism as capitalist expansion, a situation whereby Western
imperial powers are compelled by the logic of their competitive socio-economic system to explore
newer opportunities for the control of raw materials, creation of markets and profitable fields of
investments abroad.
Rodney observed how human development affected social advancement and how demands of each
society and her socio-political and economic system rubs on her fortunes and failures. He then
pointed to two general rules. The first being that the weaker nation with less economic capacity is
bound to be adversely affected and the bigger the gap between the two societies, the more
detrimental the consequences.43
The near extermination of Red Indians in Americas was cited as
41
ibid
42
Walter Rodney, (1972:30-31)
43
Ibid.

plausible examples. The second subsist on the fact that where the weaker state survives the
onslaught of the imperial powers, its survival and development requires moving above the economic
plain created by the imperial powers.44
Here he used Russia, China and Korea as examples. He
concluded by attempting to underscore the fact that failure of African states to develop beyond the
colonial structures were inherent in the making of the African society, rather than the constraints of
the world economic order perpetuated by European imperialism.
Claude Ake, a othe ele ated s hola of Af i a s politi al e o o follo ed a si ila path like
Rodney in validating the premise and effect of European imperialism in Africa. As a determined
s hola , he felt the eed to ut th ough the o fusio o e the oti es of este olo isatio i
Af i a ut also to shed light o the olo ial e pe ie e i Af i a a d its effe ts o Af i a s
develop e t 45
, arguing that it is crude to reduce colonialism of Africa to a single motive of
European imperialism when the central role was contributed by economic factors.
Borrowing ideas from Hobsbawm notes, Ake observed that changing character of the relation of
Western Europe and Britain to the wider world economy originally intensify the concept of
imperialism as the need arose for Europe to find market for overseas products for everyday use,
market that could be expanded in larger quantities and more cheaply and the creation of economic
system to produce abroad, while conquering colonies to serve the economic advantages of their
European conquerors.46
Ake traced the events arising from industrial revolution in Europe, the effect of competitive
superiority of Britain on their economies, the influx of British goods and effect on infant industries
with the need to create protective tariff barriers, the idea of laisse-faire (free trade), British export
market and fierce battle with other European economies as the remote cause for British imperialism
in Africa, and a causal factor for European Imperialism. He finally set his intellectual conviction on
subsequent historical events drawing upon the European incursion in the African continents from
the mid 1800s through the years to the formation of 1876 African International Association by King
Leopold II of Belgium, the 1882 British occupation of Egypt and French expansionist annexation of
Congo and finally the 1884-85 Berlin Conference for the Scramble for and Partition of Africa.47
44
ibid
45
46
ibid
47
ibid

C. Ake inter alia in his historical analysis of economic domination of the Africa stated that
i pe ialis as fuelled o petitio a o g the Eu opea po e s fo olo ies; the o petitio
was fuelled by a heightened consciousness of the economic advantages of colonies and the declining
o petiti e supe io it of B itai elati e to othe Eu opea ou t ies .48
5.0 Conclusion – Definitive Terms and Consequences of European Imperialism in Africa
The theoretical application and realities of modern economic theories goes beyond the foundations
laid by Adam Smith Free Market economy or Karl Marx economic assumptions. Hence, no economic
theory can constitute the basis of finality in the review of economic histories. However, the empirical
nature of economic theories and her impact in shaping society and human activities have shown that
theories premised on human economic activities should not be set aside without evaluating their
goals to validate their role and reliability in shaping the course of human society and gaining an
understanding in reconstructing those histories.
Looking through the eyes of history, J.H. Franklin noted that American Imperialism was a:
logi al culmination in the disintegration of national isolation and the pursuance of an
imperialism similar to that which was characteristic of a large number of European
countries. It was with considerable interest that the United States observed the increased
imperialistic activities of France and England and of the newcomers in the field, Belgium,
Italy and Germany. David Livingstone, Cecil Rhodes and Henry M. Stanley did much to
dramatize the importance of Africa to an industrialized world, while Leopold of Belgium,
Wilhelm of Germany, and Victoria of England became political instrumentalities in whose
names the Dark Continent was divided...As Americans watched developments in Africa
and in other parts of the world, they began to regard the activities of Europeans
suspi iousl . 49
Admittedly, Franklin stated that the United States was not passive to imperialism in the post-Civil
war era because industrial revolution spurred American Manufacturers to begin a search for new
markets and new sources of raw materials. He noted further that those armed with surplus capital
were willing to invest their profits in new areas which invariably increased production and exports as
well as foreign investments. He therefore asserted that America embraces the need for Lebensraum,
48
ibid
49
Looking through the eyes of history in his book titled From Slavery to Freedom (A History of Negro
Americans), J.H. Franklin (1969)

hi h is tu i g he e es out a d, ... ead to assu e a ole i o ld affai s... ,50
a situation which in
itself can be described as the rise of American Imperialism. United States of America however sought
for colonies through 1898 possession and acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine
Islands after the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of Hawaii as a US Territory.51
Marion Mushkat also reviewed the imperial aspirations of Tsarist Russia and USA regardless of their
colonial experiences on how to advance imperial causes without embarking on large scale conquests
like European powers where imposition of over lordship on other people and expansion of their
territorial supremacy (imperial frontiers) occurred in the last century.52
He concluded by looking at
the differentiation in historical facts between imperialism and colonialism thus:
i pe ialis should ot e o fou ded ith olo ialis e ause the latte ep ese ts
only a special form of expression of the former, which is not a consequence of the mere
conquest of a foreign territory and the loss of its national independence, but comes into
existence only if the conqueror explicitly or implicitly asserts his superiority over the
conquered people, if he considers it as an inferior race, upon whom he imposes his will
not only in the political and economic domain, but also in the social sphere by a policy of
discrimination and segregation, sometimes even by measures liable to cause it
a ihilatio . 53
The above notion implies that imperialism is a two edged sword, being in the first instance, the
economic control and exploitation of foreign lands arising from the necessity for counteracting the
impediments to the accumulation of capital engendered by the internal contradictions of the
domestic capitalist economy. In the latter, Imperialism is the outward drive of certain peoples, to
build empires – both formal colonies and privileged positions in markets, protected sources of
materials and extended opportunities for profitable employment of labour; an unequal economic
relationship between states, not simply the inequality of large and small, rich and poor trading
partners, but the inequality of political and economic dependence of the latter on the former.54
The implication is that if scholars of history, whether holding Eurocentric or Afro-centric views fails
to dissect the nature and scope of European Imperialism in the context of African experience, they
will unwittingly or wrongly misses the propellant or motivation in historical inquiry. Since
50
J.H. Franklin (1969) p. 414
51
ibid
52
Review, Vol. 14, No. 2, Sept. 1971, pp. 219-241
53
ibid
54
ibid

imperialism is founded on the premise of economic interest and exploitation of other states, any
premise of historical analysis that fails to teach history in that context is subjective and inadequate.
European imperialism in Africa gave rise to other forms of international politics and diplomacy like
colonialism, neo-colonialism, new world economic order and theories of interdependency while
making room for balance of power and new concept of globalization as we have today.

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Ed.), Pearson Education Inc., pp 54-54
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R.I. Onwuka and O. Aluko (ed.), The Future of Africa and the New International economic Order,
Macmillan, London, 1986
S. Amin, Underdevelopment and Dependence in Black Africa – origins and Contemporary Forms in Dennis
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Elizabeth Colson, African Society at the Time of the Scramble in Colonialism in Africa 1870-1960, Vol. I,
L.H. Gann and Peter Duignan (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 1969
Michael Crowder, West Africa and Colonial Rule, p. 3-22
Basil Davidson, F.K. Buah and J.F. Ade-Ajayi, The Growth of African Colonisation: History of West
Africa: History of West Africa 1000-1800, London, 1965, p.285
J.H. Franklin, From Slavery To Freedom (A History of Negro Americans), 3rd
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I, L.H. Gann and Peter Duignan (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 1969
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London, 1991
Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Howard University Press, Washington, 1972
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A. Southall, The Impact of Imperialism Upon Urban Development in Africa, in Colonialism in Africa 1870-
1960 Vol.III, Profiles of Change: African Society and Colonial Rule, Victor Turner (ed), Cambridge Press,
1971
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Geography, Aberdeen, 1988 pg. 57-64
Candice Goucher, Charles LeGuin, Linda Walton, The Tentacles of Empire: The New Imperialism and New
Nationalism in Asia, Africa, and the Americas In the Balance: Themes in Global History, The Annenberg
Foundation, McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1998

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