.
Different African societies responded to colonial rule differently depending on
circumstances on ground. Such kinds of response include:
Collaboration
Opportunistic response
Passive or indifferent response ,.
Active resistance.
1. Collaboration:
This can also be termed as copperation. These were communities or individual leaders who decided to cooperate with impostors of colonial rule. Some historians have wished to cal such a reaction as an adaptation to colonial rule eg the Baganda, Basuto, Lozi, Fante,
Masai and Shena. '.'
2. Opportunities
These were the Africans who allied with colonialists because of self centredness or selfish reasons. These assisted Europeans with ideas in fighting their fellow African resisters e.g. Semei Kakqngulu, Kabaka Muteesa I of Buganda, Al-haji Umar of Tukolor empire who assisted the. French on how to defeat Samoure Toure, chief Lewanika of the Lozi etc.
5. Passive/indifferent response:
These are communities which treated the imposition of colonial rule in Africa with the attitude of "don't care” they felt they had nothing to gain by their resisting or collaborating with colonialists,
4. Active resistance:
Some societies or individual leaders picked up arms to fight the imposition of colonial rule, This was also known as outright or primary resistance. Such societies include the Nandi led by Koitaleh, Bunyoro led by Kabalega, Mandika led by Samoure Toure, Hehe led by Mkwawa while Ethiopians led' by Emperor Menelik'II who was one of the few
African.chiefs that defeated the Europeans (Italians) in 1886 at the battle of Adowa.
It was argued that resistors were backward reactionary leaders while collaborators were progressive. enlightened leaders; On the other hand, resisters have been praised as heroes and determine nationalists, while collaborators were seen as shortsighted and traitors of their home independence.
None of the above views is true for the collaborators or resisters. This IS because to both groups they behaved or responded in such a way (resistance/collaboration) of trying to maintain their independence. They both used different means because they both experienced different circumstances towards the coming of Europeans, Therefore African reaction to colonial rule was determined by circumstances that were on the ground in a particular society at a particular time or at the coming of the Europeans.
FACTORS FOR THE COLLABORATION.
1, Some communities collaborated because they were-too weak to put up armed resistance. it was therefore regarded useless to wage wars that they couldn’t win. This was particularly true with those African leaders who knew much about European military might e.g. chief Gellele' of Dahomey believed that;
"He who makes the gun powder must win the war,"
This forced him to collaborate with Europeans, Buganda under Muteesa 1, Masai under
Laibon Lenana, the Lozi under Lewanika plus the Fante of West Africa,
'
Some African leaders collaborated as the best way of defending themselves against their hostile neighbours. This was true with Buganda and Omukama of Toro who feared the threat of Kabalega. The Fante also collaborated with the British because of the hostilities
they had with the Asante Kingdom.
3. Others collaborated because they wanted to benefit from European trade. These included Nabongo Mumia of Wanga in Kenya, Muteesa I of Buganda and chief of 1 ante. Muteesa 1 was particularly interested in acquirmg firearms to use against his enemies 10 west and east of his kingdom. Items like mirrors, beads, needles, used clothes etc also attracted the Africans.
4. Some collaborated in order to acquire some peace. Such' societies had suffered from slave trade) constant warfare etc. This was a penod when Afnca was robbed of its energetic
youths and therefore collaboration was sought of as a solution. This is why when Europeans attempted to use a claim of stopping slave trade in Africa they were warmly welcomed. They felt that it was fortune to accept the white man's rule to work against their human torture e.g. in Yorubaland, Nyasaland and in some parts of central Tanganyika.
5. Others collaborated because it could provide them unlimited opportunities in business and government e.g. the Creoles of Sierra Leone in West Afnca worked in the extension of colonial rule because they believed that European protectorates would open up large fields for trade. This would also help the spread of Christianity and provide them with wide opportunities to govern the new protectorates.
6. A number of African states had been torn apart by succession disputes. Some African leaders welcomed Europeans as allies against their nvals for the throne. This was true with chief Lenana of Masai who welcomed the British as allies against hrs brother Sendeyo who was fighting to overthrow him. In Ankole. there was a power struggle between princess Rwakatogoro and lgumira, following the death of Omugabe Ntare Therefore, It became easy for British to take over Ankole through collaboration response as a result of their power struggle Some collaborated because they were opportunists w ho jumped on to the European bandwagon for wealth and prestige. This was true with Scmei Kakungulu and chief Mbaguta of Ankole whose major reason for collaboration was to get promised political power.
8. it 1S also true that some African leaders collaborated because they were ignorant of European plans and designs. They were innocently made to believe that the white man was a humanitarian and genuine friend whose alliance they needed. This group included Laibon Lenana of Masai, chief Lewanika of Lozi and Muteesa 1 of Buganda. However, war mongers like Mwanga, Moshesheo of Gaza empire, chief Lobcngula of Ndcbcle, Jaja of Opobo and Samoure Toure realised the European hypocrisy and had to resist immediately.
9. The impact of missionary activity; Some Africans had no choice but to collaborate because of the influence of missionaries who had come to Africa. Europeans had represented some progress .and enlightenment whose resistance meant backwardness. In addition, by the time of colonialism, Christianity had very many converts who despised African ways and praised European civilisation. It was this class of converts who helped Europeans to sign treaties in which Africans gave away their independence. Good examples include Sir Apollo Kagwa, Zakariya Kisingiri and Stanilas Mugwanya who helped in signing of Buganda agreement on behalf of the kingdom.
10. Desire to acquire modem ideas. Missionaries had already instilled a sense of lack of modem ideas among the Africans and it was the white man who was more knowledgeable than others. Africans thought of whites as being commanders in their development struggles. They wished to benefit in terms of technology and culture from the whites. The most important of which was perhaps knowledge on how to make the guns. They also admired whites on how they established schools, roads, hospitals and railway lines in their territories. They thought that through collaboration, they would achieve these modem ideas without necessarily losing their independence but incidentally, the white man could only offer this to Africans at the cost of losing their independence.
11. The difference between the neighbours' opinion; Samoure Toure resisted because the head of Tukolor Empire had collaborated with the French. In the Central Africa king Lobengula resisted because the Shona, his enemies had collaborated with British. Buganda collaborated because Bunyoro had resisted.
12. Weakness of slave trade:- Some societies collaborated because they had been weakened by the slave trade of the 19th century. This was an era when Africans were tired of being used as commodities and therefore decided to collaborate with the Europeans especially the British as a solution.
13. Weakened by natural commodities: Some communities collaborated because they had been weakened by natural disasters. Such disasters included the Masai and the Kikuyu w ho were too weak to fight due to the famine brought by drought and epidemic. It IS also Slated that by the coming of the British to Ankole the people had been weakened by jigger epidemic which weakened their battle movements.
It is therefore clear that collaboration didn't necessary mean backwardness and neither did it
imply progress. What is clear is that Africans who collaborated found themselves in
circumstances where resistance could not benefit them. They therefore became partners in spreading colonisation by collaborating with Europeans and in most cases, Africans who gave in amicably stood to gain a lot unlike those who attempted to resist.
Moreover some collaborating societies had several advantages over those which resisted e.g. they acquired some social and economic infra structural developments plus other material benefits while resisters equally acquired the opposite. It is for this matter that some scholars regard collaborators as forward looking while the chauvinistic nationalists term them as traitors.
No comments:
Post a Comment