Psychological Effects Of Colonialism

Register to read the introduction… Canisius, an American businessman working for a rubber concession company, presents a first-hand account of the mistreatment of Africans inherent within the exploitative industry of rubber. Evidence of the system of racial hierarchy permeates the text, from the selection of native headsman to the identification system of tags. Canisius recounts that since each village had to collect a quota of rubber, a native headsman was chosen to ensure that the quota was reached. Europeans selected a native from the village and assigned them the responsibility of delegating the rubber collection and imparting punishment on the villagers who failed to reach their quota. Evidence of this hierarchy is also witnessed in King Leopold’s Ghost when Hochschild describes a rebellion by the Budjas, an African tribe. He states that the European force assigned to quell the rebellion contained fifty African troops and only two white officers. The harshest treatment came not from the white officials, but the African troops who were in charge of instilling discipline and order. Due to their higher position, the ethnic kinship that connected them to their rebellious kinsman was gone. They began to see the rebels through the lenses of Europeans, viewing them not as tribesmen, but as insurgents and lawbreakers who needed to be punished. By assigning these titles and roles, Europeans thus created a system of superiority and inferiority, allowing Africans to be placed in a subordinate position within their indigenous …show more content…
Identified by one of the newspapers as a, “striking example of the perfectibility of the negro race,” Shanu grew to become a successful businessman, affording his children a good education and European luxuries. Suddenly, his attitude changed from a staunch supporter of the European empire to an advocate for the anti-Congo campaign. However, after he was exposed for releasing court documents that displayed the brutality of European treatment towards Africans, society ostracized him, causing his business ventures to fail. His story elucidates the malleable nature of the African psyche and how susceptible it can be to foreign influence. From the inception of colonialism, Shanu was straddling between two cultural identities; however the strain it placed on his psyche consumed him, ultimately leading to his suicide.