Role Of Colonialism In Africa

While many African states such as the Congo and South Africa are rich in natural resources such as diamonds and rubber, the media continues to depict Africa as a very poor continent in need of assistance from western civilization. This depiction stems from the stereotype of a “helpless African” and the ban on industrialization created by the colonial powers during colonization, along with the economic exploitation of Africa’s resources during and after the colonial period. Most of Africa is rich in natural resources; however, many of its countries have remained underdeveloped due to internal and external factors. One of the main arguments in favor of colonialism was the “white man’s burden” (“The White Man’s Burden”). The colonial powers promoted taking over Africa by framing it as the western countries having an …show more content…
No one was allowed to start or own a business; therefore, the industrial revolution of Africa was delayed by colonization. The Africans became completely dependent on the colonial powers. One of the arguments against ending colonization was that the way in which it had been carried out forced the African states to be too dependent on their colonial power to function as independent states. Walter Rodney refers to western powers as a “one-armed bandit” because of the way they robbed Africa of much of their natural resources and trade (Rodney 108). He goes on to describe the ways in which the western states set up Africa to fail after colonization by describing the lack of internal trade, no roads that connected different colonies, and forcing many of the states to be a mono-crop nation (Rodney 110). The African workers were either paid little or nothing, but very few of the profits gained during colonial times were invested back into the colonized countries unless, however, it benefitted the