Comprehensive Study Notes: The Scramble for Africa, Resistance, and the Ashanti Kingdom

Loss of Land, Resources, and the Transition to Wage Labor

• Wealth of the African Continent: Africa is exceptionally rich in raw materials and minerals. Historical and contemporary evidence shows that Europeans targeted the continent to gain direct control over specific resources that were not available in Europe. These materials included:

  • Cotton

  • Wood

  • Sugar

  • Ivory

  • Tea

  • Rubber

  • Diamonds

  • Gold

  • Vegetable oils

• Economic Exploitation and Forced Labor: Colonizers established legal frameworks within their colonies specifically designed to force indigenous Africans to work.

  • Terms of labor: Africans were forced to work for extremely low wages.

  • The Economic Cycle: Raw materials extracted from Africa were railed and shipped to factories in Europe. In these factories, the materials were manufactured into commercial products.

  • Profit Extraction: These finished commercial products were then sold back to Africans at enormous profits for the European colonizers.

• The Cartoon "Gold Diggers" (Source D): This visual source illustrates the colonization of Africa. It depicts the extraction of wealth and the imperial motives behind the scramble for African land.

Artificial Borders and the Political Landscape of Africa

• The Origin of Current African Boundaries: The unusual shapes and sizes of modern African countries—ranging from large states like the Belgian Congo to smaller ones like Uganda—are the direct result of border lines drawn during the colonial era.

• Legacy of Colonial Borders:

  • As of $2024$, there are $54$ African countries formally recognized by the United Nations.

  • Most African states share borders with multiple neighbors.

  • These boundaries are considered "unnatural" because they were imposed by external powers without regard for indigenous ethnic or political groupings.

  • Consequences: These inherited borders have led to long-term economic and political instability. They remain a frequent cause of wars and continue to shift or change over time.

Resistance Against Colonization: Namibia and the Herero People

• Nature of African Resistance: Africans did not surrender their land passively. Resistance was widespread, making the process of colonization long, slow, and characterized by extreme cruelty.

• The Herero Resistance (Namibia): The Herero people viewed German actions as provocative and hostile. Tensions culminated in an outbreak of hostilities and a wave of violence radiating from Okahandja.

  • Military Actions: Brandishing clubs, knives, and guns, the Herero attacked isolated German farms and homesteads. Settlers were killed in their homes, sometimes by their own Herero servants.

  • Targets of Violence: The Herero targeted men who had murdered or raped Herero people and whom German authorities had failed to punish. They also targeted traders who had exaggerated debts and exhorted cattle.

  • Reclaiming Resources: During the conflict, the Herero seized back large numbers of cattle from traders and settlers.

The Maji-Maji Rebellion of German East Africa ($1905$–$1907$)

• Context: German East Africa was colonized by Germany. In $1902$, Governor Karl Peters introduced forced cotton plantations in the south-east. This was a failed economic policy because the soil was unsuitable for cotton, and local people were forced into "back-breaking" labor for very little pay.

• The Prophet Kinjikitile: The rebellion was sparked by a prophet named Kinjikitile, who claimed to have discovered a spring of "magic water."

  • The Myth: Kinjikitile asserted that anyone sprinkled with this water (Maji) would be immune to German bullets; the bullets would simply have no effect.

  • Spread of the Rebellion: Messengers carried this water throughout the region, uniting the people of the south-east against German rule.

• Military Conflict:

  • The rebellion began in Kinjikitile's village. Although the Germans captured and hanged Kinjikitile early in the conflict, the rebellion continued to spread.

  • Rebels attacked German missionaries, burnt down trading posts, and targeted colonial administrators.

  • In $1905$, thousands of Maji-Maji soldiers attacked a German stronghold but failed. Later that year, Germans conducted a surprise attack on a rebel camp, killing hundreds of men, women, and children.

• Total Casualties and Suppression: By the time the rebellion ended in $1907$, approximately $75,000$ Maji-Maji participants were dead.

  • German Tactics: The German military used a combination of superior firepower and "scorched earth" tactics, such as burning villages and destroying crops. These tactics resulted in a massive famine that killed thousands more people.

• Historical Legacy: Today, the Maji-Maji Rebellion is taught to every Tanzanian child as a symbol of resistance against colonial control. German East Africa eventually became Tanganyika and finally Tanzania in $1961$.

The Role of Christianity, Culture, and Racism

• Missionaries and the Colonial Structure: Christian missionaries were integral to the colonizing process. While they brought the Christian message, they also acted as agents of European cultural imposition.

  • Cultural Erasure: Missionaries often ignored the history and richness of indigenous cultures, treating African religions as inferior. They believed that to become Christian, Africans had to be removed from their indigenous cultures.

  • Introduction of European Values: Missionaries taught European languages, the alphabet, writing styles, clothing styles, architecture, furniture, music, and food.

• Defining Racism and Racial Prejudice: The colonization of Africa fostered a belief in European superiority.

  • Rationale for Superiority: This was initially based on the fact that Africans were not Christians and did not follow European customs, but it evolved into a prejudice based on skin color.

  • Social Consequences: Settlers began to view people with white skin as naturally superior and regarded anyone who was not "white" as a servant. Racism is defined as the attitude of judging someone based on the color of their skin.

Case Study: The Ashanti Kingdom of West Africa

• West Africa Before Colonization: West Africa was a hub of a thriving trade network involving the Sahara Desert, Europe, and the Middle East.

  • Exports: Millet, sorghum, wheat, kola nuts, livestock, ivory, ostrich feathers, cloth, and gold.

  • Imports: Salt, copper, brass, silver, tin, lead, tobacco, dates, textiles (wool, silk, velvet, satin), books, writing paper, cowrie shells, tea, coffee, sugar, spices, jewellery, perfumes, bracelets, mirrors, carpets, and glass beads.

  • Gold Production: Between the $11^{th}$ and $17^{th}$ centuries, West Africa was the leading supplier of gold in the world, producing two-thirds of all gold ever mined.

• The Ashanti (Asante) Kingdom: By the early $18^{th}$ century, the Ashanti kingdom emerged as the dominant power among the Akan states, controlling rich gold mines and trade routes to the coast.

  • Asantehene: The title for the King of the Ashanti.

  • Asantehemaa: The title for the Queen Mother, a symbol of the region's wealth. Historical Queen Mothers wore such heavy gold jewellery that they required two assistants to carry their hands.

  • Gold Craftsmanship: Akan goldsmiths were highly skilled, creating items like gold glasses for the Queen Mother to prevent subjects from looking her directly in the eye.

• The Slave Trade: Portuguese traders established a base at Elmina Castle in $1482$.

  • Human Captivity: Africans were kidnapped by other Africans and marched to the coast to be sold. Captives were held in "barracoons" (prisons) in Elmina Castle before being shipped across the Atlantic.

  • Motivation: The text notes that individual greed and the promise of wealth motivated African traders and rulers to participate in the supply of slaves. In exchange for humans, they received horses, guns, cloth, and metal manufactured goods like water jugs, barber's basins, and kettles.

The Legend and Power of the Golden Stool

• Definition: The Golden Stool is a sacred symbol of Ashanti unity and nationhood.

• The Myth of Origin: In $1701$, during the reign of Asantehene Osei Tutu I, a priest named Anotchi (who possessed expertise in medicine and magic) conjured the stool from heaven.

  • Descent: According to legend, amidst thunder and darkness, the stool descended from the sky and landed on the lap of Osei Tutu I.

  • The Soul of the Nation: The stool is believed to contain the soul or spirit of the Ashanti nation. No one is permitted to sit on the stool, not even the King. It is never allowed to touch the ground and is placed on its own chair.

• Political Legitimacy: No one can be considered a legitimate ruler without the stool. New kings are raised and lowered over the stool without actually touching it.

The War of the Golden Stool and British Colonization

• Conflict with Britain: Between $1824$ and $1901$, the British fought four wars against the Ashanti. The Ashanti won the first three, but eventually succumbed to British power.

• Exile of King Prempeh I: In $1896$, the British occupied Kumasi and exiled King Prempeh I along with several chiefs. The Golden Stool was hidden in a secret location to prevent its capture.

• Major Hodgson’s Provocation: In $1900$, British Governor Major Hodgson demanded that the Ashanti hand over the Golden Stool so that he, as the representative of the Queen, could sit on it.

• Leadership of Yaa Asantewaa: Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother, challenged the men of the Ashanti council to fight when they hesitated. She led the "War of the Golden Stool."

  • Outcome: The British used local allies (enemies of the Ashanti) to win the war in $1902$. Yaa Asantewaa was exiled, and the Ashanti kingdom was incorporated into the British colony of the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana).

Perspectives on Colonial Results

• Kwame Nkrumah's Perspective (Resistance Leader):

  • Argued that Africans could rule themselves and had done so before European arrival.

  • Contended that while Europeans brought technical progress, they did so for their own benefit ("they have had their pound of flesh").

  • Stated that Europeans "grown fat on the riches of Africa."

• Sir James Robertson's Perspective (Former Governor-General):

  • Argued that Europeans established a civilization and infrastructure (roads, railways, hospitals, schools) that did not exist before.

  • Claimed these services were provided in less than $50$ years.

• General Results of Colonization for the Ashanti:

  • Loosing of independence and political rights.

  • Loss of treasures: Many gold items were seized by British soldiers and remain in British museums today.

  • Forced Labor: Ashanti were forced to work for low wages to enrich Britain and had to pay taxes to the colonial government.

  • Resource Extraction: Railways and roads were built primarily to move wealth and resources to harbors for shipment to Europe, rather than for the general welfare of the community.

Questions & Discussion

• Major Hodgson's Demand (Source J):

  • Question/Statement: "What must I do to the man… who has failed to give to the [British] the paramount power… the stool to which she is entitled? Where is the Golden Stool? Why am I not sitting on the Golden Stool at this moment?"

  • Context: This demand was considered an ultimate insult and a primary cause for the final war.

• Yaa Asantewaa’s Address (Source K):

  • Question/Statement: "Is it true that the bravery of Ashanti is no more?… If you, the men of Ashanti, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will… We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields."

  • Significance: Her leadership is celebrated in Ghana as a prime example of female-led resistance against imperial powers.

• The Significance of Learning History:

  • Discussion points suggest that even failed rebellions like the Maji-Maji are taught today because they serve as symbols of national identity and the spirit of independence.