CHARACTERISTICS {FEATURES} AND AIMS OF COLONIAL ECONOMY IN AFRICA
Colonial economy was an aggregate for all economic activities established by the European colonialists in Africa for the purpose of suiting their economic interests. They were interested in finding the new sources of raw materials, markets, investment areas and cheap labor.
They established various activities such as agricultural activities, processing industries, transport and communication, mining industries trade, social services etc.
The main aim of establishing colonial economy in Africa was to solve the challenge facing the Capitalistic production in Western Europe in the 19th century. These challenges included:
Shortage of Industrial Raw material,
Markets for industrial products,
Cheap labor and
Investment areas.
CHARACTERISTICS {FEATURES} OF COLONIAL ECONOMY.
Export oriented economy: What was produced in Africa was intended to develop the European mother lands. They exported raw materials and other benefits resulted from their investments in Africa.
Dependent economy: The colonies were operated using the budgets set in Europe, the wealth obtain in the colonies was not used in developing the particular colony.
The use of foreign currencies: In the colonies, the Europeans and the natives used the currencies of the colony powers and not natives (local) currencies. The system was monopolized by European coins or bank rules e.g. Franca, shillings, etc.
It was exploitative economy: The Europeans maximized their profit by exploiting the natives through land alienation, forced labor, taxation, low wages, and low prices for African each crops etc.
Small and weak manufacturing sector: The European established few processing industries in Africa so us to minimize the explanation of raw materials. They did not build the manufacturing industries so as to prevent the market of European commodities in Africa.
Mono cultural economies: In most colonial, the Europeans uplifted one cash crop or activity e.g. mining as the main source of export trade for instance copper production in Zambia, Sisal production in Tanganyika etc.
Colonial infrastructure: Most of the transport infrastructures were built to connect the production areas to the coasts so as to soften the easy exportation of raw materials and importation of manufactured goods.
Insist on cash crop production: The natives were forced to produce cash crops so as maximize the exportation of raw materials from African to Europe. In most cases food crops were produced for subsistence not for sale.
The colonial government favored the European investors: The government prepared conducive premises which favored European settler’s production than the natives produced e.g. In Kenya, the establishment of the natives registration act “Kipande system” the master and servant act in favor of the European settles.
Preference of cheap labor: The colonial government created the premises in which the natives subjected to cheap labor of the migrant labor, the contracts labor system through which authorized agencies such as SILABI (Sisal Labor Bureau) in Tanganyika, SWANLA (South West Africa Natives Labor Authority) etc. the natives workers received low wages from investors.
It was accompanied by coercive measures in its implementation. The natives were forced to perform the economic activities. For Example, in some areas, they were forced to grow cash crops, to pay taxes, to be employed by the Europeans, to receive low wages etc.
THE AIM OF COLONIAL ECONOMY
The purpose of colonial economy was to solve the question posed by the European industrial revolution in the 10thCentury. The Europeans demanded for the
• Markets.
• Cheap labor.
• Raw material and the
• Investment areas.
The colonial governments established various colonial administration systems bureaucratic system and so on as to protect the imperialist’s demands.
