European Imperialism In Malawi

Several of Madonna’s hits from 1980’s such as “Material Girl” and “Like a Prayer” have attracted prominence across the globe throughout recent decades and are some of the many features of American pop-culture and music. However, while many people can sing these songs word for word, few actually know much about the singer-songwriter’s personal life including the fact that she adopted two of her children from Malawi. On a global perspective, these adoptions can be viewed in a positive light because they have brought awareness to people in the United States and other countries about the plight of African orphans. On the other hand, this can also be viewed negatively because while the adoptions do benefit two individual children, removing these …show more content…
Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, Malawi was ruled as a protectorate under the British Empire. The Europeans’ primary efforts in this region were centered on developing cash crops and building infrastructure. In 1953, The British joined Malawi with Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, and Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, to form the Central African Federation. This was motivated in hopes that these nations would be able to compete economically with the already independent country of South Africa, which connects back to the imperialist rivalries in this region. Several Malawians were strongly opposed to the unification and believed that Malawi would thrive better as an independent nation, so this event also marked the beginning of the nationalist movement. Dr. Hastings Banda formed the Malawi Congress Party in 1953 to campaign against the CAF. Throughout the early 1960s, Banda successfully won the support of many Africans through his adamant charisma and experience as an educated doctor. This nationalism initiated independence for Malawi against a white-dominated minority government. In 1964, the CAF was finally dissolved and Dr. Banda of the MCP became the first prime minister of the nation, which marked Malawi’s independence and allowed the Africans to take complete control over their own …show more content…
Over half of Malawians live on less than one dollar a day (“A Long Way to Go”). One of the main causes for this poverty includes continuous natural disasters. Malawi’s location on the inter-tropical convergence zone makes it very prone to frequent flooding. These floods destroy farmland and crops, and since seventy-eight percent of the population are subsistence farmers, once crops are destroyed, the foundation of the economy is also ruined as people are left with nothing, which leads to increased food insecurity (“Malawi” [Vol.3]). In January, extreme flooding displaced over 200,000 people, and over half of the country was declared as a disaster zone (African Nation of Malawi). Furthermore, rural villages do not have access to the technology needed to effectively cultivate food. Therefore, poverty presents significant challenges to a nation attempting to develop a productive economy. In addition, this poverty contributes to the scarcity of resources and access to advanced