Development of modern transport systems:

The development  of transport  systems  was one of the important  colonial economic  policies. Reads,  railways,  ports  and harbours  were put  in place  irrespective  of  the colonial  power whether  has Britain, France,  Germany,  Portugal,  Italy or otherwise.
Reasons  for  development  of Modern   transport    System in
   Colonial   Africa.
1.     For strategic  reasons,  as for example,  Uganda  railway  was built  to confirm  and improve British commercial  and strategic  reasons in Uganda  (the source of River Nile) which  Egypt survived on.
2.    Promotion  of missionary  activities:
Roads  and  railway   network  systems   in  Africa  were  built  to  enhance   the  spreading the gospel.  This  was  because   the' first  group  of  missionaries    (1840s)   could  not  do  much, because of communication   problems.
3.    Effective occupation:
The Berlin  conference   had  dictated  that  for the  recognition   of colonial  power  in a given African   territory,   there  had  to  be  effective   occupation   of  the  colony   i.e.  develop   the infrastructure  facilities  like schools, roads, health  centers  etc
4.            The exploitation  of Agriculture  and mineral wealth:
The  f~    produce  included  cash  crops  such  as coffee,  cotton,  sisal,  cocoa  and  palm  oil while the minerals  included copper, gold, diamond  and iron.
5.       Humanitarian  grounds:
The  transport   system  was  developed   in order  to assist  in elimination   of slave  trade  and support the development  of legitimate  trade.
6.        Roads  and  railways   were  built  to  open  up  interior   of  Africa   for  overseas   countries purposely  to serve as market  for their manufactured   products.  This led to the construction of  many  railway  lines  connecting  West  African  States,  Central  Africa,  East  Africa  to the coast.
7.       Development  of colonies:
The  road  network   was  established   in  order   to  make  colonies   self  reliant   through   the cultivation  of cash crops which  they could sell to foreigners  and be transported  to the coast. Such  crops  include  rubber   in  Congo  and  West  African   territories,   Palm  oil,  Coconut, Cotton and Coffee.
8.      For effective  administration  of colonies:
The   transport    system   was   constructed     in  order   to  ease   the  mobility    of
Colonial economy:

Added on: 09 Mar 2016
Last Modified on: 09 Mar 2016
After scrambling, partitioning.  imposition and colonisation  of African continent,  there
followed the establishment of colonial administration with an efficient colonial economy to support it by African indigenous economies to those of metropolitan countries.
As already observed that the most overriding motive for partition of Africa was economic, this colonial economy therefore, was designed in a such way that it solved the economic interests of the colonising powers, for example, it could provide them with raw materials, market  for their manufactured  goods  and also land  for  their  surplus  investments.  To achieve  these  properly   the  colonial   governments   had  to  build  strong  exploitative institutions backed by a good infrastructure to make colonies self sufficient and reduce the costs of administration.
1.     Taxation:
Characteristics  of Colonial   economy  in Africa:
This was one of overt features of  colonial economy.lt was the main method of generating revenue needed to run costs of colonial  administration.The  commonest were the hut and gun taxes.The method of collection was brutal and harsh at times thus making taxation a sound cause for African resistance wars.For example, hut tax war of 1898 in Sierra Leone.
Taxation was also important to compel or condition Africans either to grow cash crops or to  work on European farms. This was because in order to get money for paying taxes these were the only possible alternatives. In some areas such as the Congo Free State and Angola taxes were paid in form of Natural products (in kind) and animals. Failure to pay taxes in
these areas would tantamount to confiscation of property and sometimes mutilation..
2.      Forced labour:
Africans were unconditionally  made to work on European  farms, mines, construction of
colonial  offices  and roads. Their  labour was either  paid  cheaply  or not paid  at all.  In Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique  there was a unique form of forced labour called contract labour. Africans could be rounded up and taken to islands of Principe and Sao Thome in the Indian Ocean to work in sugarcane plantations.But unfortunately they would die there quite often ..
3.      Development of Legitimate trade:
This was developed to replace slave trade. This new trade is said to have brought peace and stability as it eliminated the raids and accompanying  miseries of slave trade. Moreover
. some African traders profited a lot in this new trade. For example, in Nigeria the selling of palm oil made many African traders quite rich.
However, this trade was monopolised  by Europeans who transferred or repatriated all the profits to their mother countries. On top of this they paid low prices to African products and charged highly their exports to Africa. Worse still, this trade involved the exchange of high valued African products like gold, copper, diamonds, cotton, coffee, rubber, palm oil etc. while their exports to Africa included beads, used clothes, necklaces, bangles, spices,
glassware   items  etc.  This  is why  so  many  scholars   doubt  whether   legitimate   trade  was legitimate  since it served  to underdevelop  and exploit  African  economies.       .
4.       The creation  of the Import-Export   Economy
The colonialists   emphasised   vertical  division  of labour  that  installed  vertical  exchange  of their products.  Africans  were made to consumewhat   they do not produce  and produce  what they do not consume.  Cash  crops were introduced  and Africans .encouraged  to produce  and export  them.  In tum  they would  import  European  manufactured   goods.  It should  be noted that  exports  were  under-priced    while  the  imports  were  overcharged.   This  kind  of  trade
.dependence  stopped  African  economies  from being  integrated  and self-sustaining.
5.        Forced  cultivation  of cash crops
To  meet  the  primary   demand   for  colonisation    of  Africa,   cash  crop  growing   had  to  be boosted.  Some crops  were  grown  traditionally   like rubber  at start, some by whites  such  as pyrethrum   while  others   by  Africans,   for  example,   coffee   and  cotton   at supervision    of whites.   These  cash  crops  were  important   to boost  the  industrial   revolution   that  was  at climax by 1880 in Europe.
It should  be noted  however   that  no  attempts   were  made  by  Europeans   to encourage   the production  of food crops  and forced  labour  undermined   the production  of food  crops   and this led to famine  in African  societies  which  traditionally   had been  self sufficient  in terms of food.  The African  economies   were  developed   as producer   of raw materials  in form  of cash crops plus minerals  and consumer  of European  manufactured   goods .
       Domination  of trade:
In almost  all the African  colonies,  Africans  were discriminated   against  both in commercial production,   home  trade  and  export  trade.  For  example,  with  the  construction   of Uganda railway,   the  whites   dominated   trade.  In  Senegal   and  Algeria   the  French  controlled   the trade.  The British  got  involved  directly   in the Niger  Delta  States  thus  removing  African middlemen.
In some  countries   like  Algeria  and  South  Africa,  Africans  were  discriminated   against  on the grounds  that they  were  inferior.  African  monopolies   formerly  enjoyed  by Delta  States and the coastal  leaders  of East Africa  came  to an end with  the coming  of European  trading companies   such  as the  Royal  Niger  Company,   the  Germany   East  African  Company   and IDEACo.  This brought  to an end of African  economic  independence.
Discouraged   industralisation
To  control  monopoly   for source  of raw material  and market  for their  manufactured   goods in  Africa,  Europeans   extremely   discouraged   the setting  up of manufacturing   industries   in Africa.  For example,  in Egypt,  Lord  Crommer  just  established   processing  plants  for cotton raw  material   while  corton  cloth  textile  industries   remained   a monopoly   of metropolitan British.
He set up tariffs  on locally  manufactured   foods and on imported  coal. He also put up heavy fines  on smokers  to kin  the  tobacco  industry.   Consequently   Egypt  which  was  one  of the producers  of best quality  cotton  of the time,  continued  to import  cotton  cloth from Britain.
Important  to note  also  was  Lord  Crommer's   construction   of Aswan  High  Dam  which  he never used to produce  vower  for industralisation   except  for cotton processing  industries.
                               .
In Senegal,  for example,' the French  never-set up any industries  to the extent  that even   groundnuts    were   exported    in  their   shells.   The   only   industries    set  up:: were   primary processing  industries  which  were  aimed  at reducing  the bulky-raw  materials,  The .p.j;iqesat  r which  these  raw materials  were sold were very low while  the manufactured   goods  Imported
were at very high prices  to Africans.  This 'was a clear indication  of colonial  exploitation.
8.       Land alienation.
This  was  the  worst  form  of African  exploitation   of natural  resources   in colonial   Africa. Africans   in  settler   colonies   were  hit  hardest   by  this. exercise,   for  example,   in  Kenya   . highlands:   South  Africa,  Rhodesia,   Algeria,  Angola  and  Mozambique.   Africans   could  be settled  in reserve   camps  leaving   fertile  and  mineralised    plots  of  land  to whites.    At  the signing  of treaties  in Africa,  white  men  aimed  at taking  over  African  land  especially   We plots  which  were  mineralised-  and  fertile,  for  example,   the  1887 Globler,  Moffat  treaties
and the Charles  Rudd  concession   of 1888, Cecil Rhodes    aimed  at clearing  off the rumour about presence  of minerals  ill Ndebele  kingdom  by conqeuring  Matebeleland.
9.    Another   important   aspect   on  the  nature   of  colonial   economy   was  the  manner   in which African  technology   was  interfered  with. For  example,  before  colonialism,  Africans  used to produce  most of their domestic  needs such as bark  cloth, hoes,  spears, knives,  axes etc. The coming    of  colonialism     saw   the   introduction     of  better   tools   and  commodities.     The acquisition    of  these   items   forced   African   to  abandon   their   own  skills.   On  this  note, Mohamood  Mamdani  had  this to say;
"the  African   entered  colonialism   with  a hoe  he had manufactured   himself  and came out with an imported  one".
This  shows  that,  if Africans   had not  been  colonised,   Africans  would  have  developed   the
technologies  further.
10.    Development    of road  and railway  transport:  
    For   colonial    development     of  legitmate    trade,    road   and   railway    transport    network.
establishment   becatne  paramount.   Tqis network  connected   the interior  ofcolonies    to  the,
coast.  More  to this,  these  roads  and railways  were  mainly  established   in resourceful   areas- where  colonialists   had  direct  gains.  For  example,   in West  Africa  Togo  land,  Germany.  s; constructed  railway  lines  and 'named them after  the produce  they Were meant  to carry suct~- as Cocoa nut line, Cotton  line,  Palm oil line and Iron line
11.    Education  system                                                                                                    
Education  institutions   were  manned  by mainly  Christian  missionaries.   In these  institutions Africans  were   given  skills  to serve  as lower cadres  of colonial  rule. The main products  of this educational  institutions  best suited  the posts of houseboys,   house girls and clerks. They could not make Engineers;  Doctors  and other professional.  careers.
Their curriculum  was dominated  by the teaching  of the. Bible  and did not involve  practical skills.  The  weakness   with  this  education   is that  it created   people  who  were  intimate   to European  ways  of life,  a factor  that made  them  exploiters   of fellow  Africans  on behalf  of
the colonialists.  In Ugandathe   priority  was offered  to the sons  and daughters  of chiefs.  In
French, Portuguese  and Italian colonies education  served purposely  assimilation  aims.          .
Nationalistic   subje .ts  such  as pyschology,   political   science,literature     and  history   were neglected   in order  to keep   Africans  away from forming  revolutionary   movements  against exploitative   ,oppressive   and  suppressive   policies   of colonialists.To    colonialists   the  best subjects fit for Africans  was Bible study.Reading and Writing  oflangUa~es.
12.     Exploitation  of minerals:
It    has  been  claimed   that  the  exploitation   of mineral   wealth  had  some  advantages.   e.g. Africans  were  employed   in the mines,  it lea  to urbanization,   for example,  in Congo  and South Africa plus the general  improvement  of their standards of life.
However,  Africans  in the mines  were underpaid,   as for instance,  in South  Africa,  Congo and  Togo  mines  Europeans   monopolised   all  the  benefits   from  the  mining  activity.   All mineralised  lands were taken free or by force from the Africans.  The conditions  of workers in mines  were  quite  miserable  as a result  of poor  wages.  African  skilled  and semi skilled geologists  especially  those  in GoldCoast  (Ghana), Nigeria,  Togo-land,   South  Africa  and Zimbabwe  were  ignored  in terms of sufficient  wages.  Hence the exploitation  of minerals  in colonial Africa held a strong element  of underdevelopment.
All in all, it is clear that colonial  economicpolicies    were designed  primarily  to benefit  the colonial   masters.   Many Africans  'however   accidentally    benefited   as  a result   of  these policies  which   were  purely  designed   to benefit   the  colonialist.   Colonial   economy   was therefore  more exploitative  than developmenta1.
Revision  questions.
Discuss the role of Africans  in the colonial economy.
Assess the impact of colonial  economic changes  in either Nigeria  or Congo.