African American Colonialism

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I INTRODUCTION

This review will critically evaluate the book ‘African Perspectives on European Colonialism’ by A. Adu Boahen. Boahen’s book seeks to give an African angle on colonialism. This is relevant in the field of third world politics as it evaluates the Western form of colonialism from a different viewpoint. Boahen wrote this book with the intention of giving a much needed African approach to colonisation, which is still dominated by Western literature and ideologies. This book review will evaluate the extent to which Boahen’s account of decolonisation is truly African by evaluating in detail his points regarding the precolonial situation in Africa, the acceptance and resistance of the colonial system and the inferiority complex which …show more content…
Boahen successfully demonstrates that the situation in Africa prior to colonialism was not barbaric and primitive (Boahen, 2011: 23). This is a very different view to the accounts in Western literature, which describe Africa as a barbarous and underdeveloped place. In Joseph Conrad’s novel ‘Heart of Darkness’, the protagonist refers to Africa as one of the ‘dark places on earth’ (Conrad, 2009: 8). Lord Fredrick Lugard, who was the governor of British Nigeria, stated that it was the duty of the ‘superior white races’ to pass on culture and civilisation to the ‘dark continent’ of Africa. Rudyard Kipling’s controversial poem ‘A White Man’s Burden’ states that it is the duty of the civilised societies to help the ‘undeveloped’ African continent and “bid the sickness to cease” (Spielvogel, 2011: 521). These three primary accounts of the Western views of colonisation create the idea that Africa was undeveloped and barbaric, and in need of Western ‘help’ to civilise the continent. Boahen successfully dispels the idea that Africa was barbaric and underdeveloped (Boahen, 2011: 23). Boahen quotes Edward Blyden who stated that the African people had enormous potential, and likened this to the potential of the Romans in the Augustin period (Boahen, 2011: 21). Furthermore, Boahen quotes John Horton who stated that every kingdom evolved at its own pace, from a system of …show more content…
Boahen uses quotes from various African rulers to validate this point. He quotes Machemba, the king of Yao in Tanzania, who stated in 1890 that he would rather die than become a subject of the British people (Boahen, 2011: 23). This demonstrates his pride and dignity and shows that he did not feel inferior to the colonisers. In addition to this, he quotes the last king of Dahomey who stated in the late 19th century that black and white people are similar in that have their own issues and concerns, and that one racial group must not do harm to the other (Boahen, 2011: 25). These quotes demonstrate the inherent dignity and human value that the African people had before the period of colonialism. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the idea of inferiority is a notion that was enforced by the colonial leaders who felt that their culture was superior to their ‘less developed’ African counterparts. It is clear from this account that the idea of inferiority was something that was enforced by the Western governments. In a speech from the French Prime Minister Jules Ferry in 1884, he stated that the superior races had a right and duty to civilise the lower races (Barnes, 1980: 274). This is a clear example of the Western feeling of superiority which led to the situation of inferiority amongst African people. Boahen
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