European Colonial Rule in Africa

In 1884, the African continent was the topic of discussion at the Berlin Congress. Powerhouse countries such as Britain, France, and Portugal took it upon themselves to divide the continent for conquest. These divisions were made without regard to natural barriers, ethnic divisions, or even tribal divisions. Some of the land had already been claimed by other countries that were not involved in the Berlin Congress, causing even more distress to the natives.

As with the case of the British, the land that they claimed was taken by force. Many times the invading troops would sweep into an area and capture its leaders. As is the case with the Ashanti nation, in which the king was publicly humiliated after he led his nation to surrender. The invading armies would torch houses, forcibly remove the natives from their land, and then install barbed wire to keep them out.

Tragically, such as was the case in Kenya, men were forced to pay taxes to the British government, but were not allowed to grow their cash crops because they had been removed from their land. As a result, the natives were forced to work for the European settlers for poor wages, many times on the land that the natives themselves had previously owned. This allowed the men to make enough money to pay their taxes, but not enough to provide food, shelter, and other necessities for their families. The men often times worked in inferior working conditions resulting in serious injury or often times, death. This left their families without a way to support themselves. With all of the able bodied men working for the British, there was no one to grow the food for the communities resulting in famine, and eventually death for those that lived in the area.

Taxation was also a problem for those living in Nigeria. The British had already occupied the land, but was "owned" by France. As a result, the French practiced indirect rule. In this case, all the previous government institutions were left in place but the French added taxes to the burden of the natives. This also resulted in famine and death for those living in Nigeria.