Introduction
The
first sets of Europeans to have contact with the people of Africa continent
were the Portuguese. J. D. Fage aptly observed that in 1415, the Portuguese
took the fortress town of Ceuta from the Moroccans, and shortly afterwards they
embarked on some sixty years of exploration of the Atlantic and Indian ocean
coasts of Africa.[7] The motives which occasioned this Europeans expansion were
mainly economic and partly religious competitiveness of the Christians faith
against the spread of Islam.
Generally,
these explorers through their voyages of discoveries played a key role in the
opening up of the African interior to the Exprolers and champions of legitimate
trade. Similarly, through these explorers, Africa became known throughout
Europe as an undeveloped land which was just ripe for foreign exploitation.
Nexus
between the Explorers in the conquest of Africa
Many
explorers like David Livingstone would sign treaties with local Kings and
Chiefs and this opened up more trade routes for Europeans. The reports sent by
Explorers gave capitalists the impression that it was uncivilized and would
benefit from European domination. Prevailing racist sentiments about Africa can
be traced back to this era when explorers described Africa and Africans in the
most objectionable terms.
As
more reports of Africa emerged, more traders brought manufactured goods to
Africa in exchange for palm oil, peanut oil, ivory and gold. Larger trading
companies then established monopolies by buying out smaller companies and this
gave them immense wealth and influence both in Africa and in Europe. In a bid
to monopolize the African trading market they sought military help from their
respective governments to challenge African rulers who would not comply with
their demands.
The
role of the explorers in this regard cannot be underestimated. The previous
experience, exploits and the reports of the early explorers on African natural
potentials and endowment no doubt provoked to a large extent the search for
colonies in the continent. It was this positive economic report that exposed
Africa to the whole world as possessing lands ‘flowing with milk and honey’,
and ‘walls made of precious ornaments’. This eventually made African
communities become the focus of the European powers economic interests.
In other to totally eradicate the
obnoxious trade in human beings and as well promote the newly introduced ‘legitimate
trade’, the Christian Exprolers became a tool in the hands of the European
nations for the conquest of most African communities.
The Exprolers were reported to have engaged most rulers of African communities
in the signing of different treaties which were later used by colonialists to
take over colonies. For instance, Tucker, a British Missionary interpreted the
1900 Buganda Agreement to the regents of Kabaka Daudi Chwa II. This led to loss
of political, economic and social powers to the British protectorate
government. Sir Harry John stone who signed on behalf of the British government
confessed that;
“I John stone shall
be bound to acknowledge the assistance offered to me by the Exprolers
especially the CMS. Without their assistance on my side, I do not think
Uganda’s chiefs would agree to the treaty which practically places their
country and land in the British hands”.
Conclusion
By
and large, it can be rightly said that colonization is the end product of
imperialism. Imperialism is a gradual and tactical process of colonization.
Therefore, it is not out of context to assert that the activities of the
explorers contributed to the conquest and eventual occupation of Africa. It is
also crucial to note that, Europeans activity in Africa in the nineteenth
century began with the suppression of slave trade and introduction of
‘legitimate trade’ which was championed by the British considering their
position as the first industrialized nation in Europe. This was one of the
excuses used for the bombardment of different African communities such as Lagos
in 1851 and its eventual annexation in 1861.
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