David Livingstone was a more sympathetic missionary and once said “The English are the most philanthropic people in the world”.-David and Charles Livingstone, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi. They thought themselves better than the African’s so that made it their duty to god to impose their own religious and cultural beliefs. “Desire to bring civilisation to the African peoples, by furnishing the native with the means of instruction.” The indigenous people benefited from new ideas and technology brought over from Europe such as medicine. Some were even educated in Western ways, learning administration and English, new laws were introduced. Voting and administration were also initiated. The Africans could learn from the Europeans and become more advanced. “the most remarkable contribution of colonialism in Africa was in ideas and techniques- the ideas of justice, freedom of speech, worship, travel, the rule of law, and the techniques of voting and administration.”-Kofi Busia, a native person. Some indigenous people did benefit from the colonialisation of Africa.
Of course it was not all admirable, there were also detriments. The Africans were not treated as equals, they were exploited and were even enslaved to help the foreigners execute their desires. Infrastructure resulted in forced labour. Taxes were introduced, and so the Africans had to work. Railways were built and cities developed, all by the sweat and blood of the Africans. Land was stolen in order for the Europeans to build and mine, like Cecil Rhodes. Borders were rearranged, and so families were split and authority lost. Many died and some were forced to migrate. Only the males were educated and communicated with, the women who once played an important role in society were not equal to males.
“The white man killed my father; the white man, his hands red with black blood, with lordly voice, turned to me: hey boy, a drink, a napkin, water”-David DIOP, A Sengalese poet. The attitude that the natives had was of hate and fear. They were treated terribly worse than animals, as animals don’t have beliefs and are allowed to spend the day grazing. “We’ve become their inferiors” - from an Arabic poem. This also conveys feelings of animosity. They may have gained but they also lost. In the opinions of most Africans they benefited nothing.
Africa did benefit slightly, though when juxtaposed to the impairment, one can conclude that there was more harm than gain. For what they benefited, they lost much more and had no choice in it. The indigenous people pf South Africa had little or no say in what went on. They didn’t send for Europeans to come and design railways or tax them.
