The Advantages and Disadvantages of Colonialism

Colonialism has a lot of advantages and disadvantages which will be explored in this essay but before going to that let know what colonialism is a lot about. Colonialism is the total control or governing influence of nation over a dependent country or people or condition of being colonial. The colonized countries were mostly Africans because of the way they lived and behave so the colonizers were using the excuse of them not civilized and religious. But the colonial master’s aim was to exploit the colony economy and move them to their country making the colony depend on them. The disadvantages of colonialism is far more than its advantages, the main advantage is the civilization while the disadvantage is the economic dependent. But let talk of the advantages before its disadvantages.

Advantages of Colonialism

However, the advantages are the stop of killing twins especially among the Igbo’s and the reason behind the killing of them was the beliefs which says is against nature and inherently evil just because it rare occurrence. So when the colonial masters came it was seen as an act of early age practice, which needed to be stopped because, is in human. Also the equality among the men and women in a public opinion with education for everyone in Christian theology and academic field. In particular the education because is the best aspect of the colonialism, most of early age people were not educated, dress themselves with leaves hunt food in forest and so on. Why education is important part of colonialism is that it brings about civilization because when the people are educated they will definitely be civilize and the country too because they both work together. Also the newborn and toddler deaths that were dealt with because the death of young children and infants were seriously occurring and the Africans do not know the cause of them more or less prevent or cure it because of lack of education, so the coming of the colonizers help the Africans to solve the problem.

Also, the way women were treated by sexism and violence was stopped, they were treated like property to the men, they were not allow to speak in public nor listen to their opinion and they were harass by the men. So when the colonial maters came they saw that as an act of immorality because both men and women are humans with equal rights and they stopped it too. Another advantage is the development from the colonizers such as infrastructure that is electricity, telecoms roads and water which impacted a lot to African people because all this were not in advanced in the country. And in the field of medicine is was very important because the infant’s death was cure through it, the African people now buy preserved food which are manufactured with development in agriculture, mining and manufacturing which stopped the hunting of food because they hunt before they can eat. All this happen with the help of modern farming methods and food security that were invented to the country. There was also development in politics bringing democracy system of government which is to make everyone vote and be voted for. There were trade opportunities making the African people to have access to external trade around the world which expose them to other ways of trading. There are advantages but some of the important ones were explored in the essay.

Disadvantages of Colonialism

Moreover, the disadvantage are far more than the advantages been through with the advantages let move on to the disadvantages. There was loss of culture because the colonial masters were trying to bring their ways of life, behave and culture making the African cultures to go down living their own ways. The African way was the loyalty to the royal rulers with members of parliament and followers among the ethnics groups but the coming of the colonial masters made them to have complete loss of culture. With that happening it brought about lack of respect for Africans traditions with submission to the colonizers ways and behavior. Another disadvantage is the lost of land which were forcefully collected from Africans with guns on their heads making them to have nothing on their own and some of them are with families to feed but for their lives they have to let go of the land which were given to the Europeans un Africa. On snatching those lands making them homeless and struggling to survive the colonial masters imposed tax on them which forced the Africa to work for some of the colonizers settling in Africa to enable them pay the taxes which made them loss ownership in general of their land. With that there were more and more settlers in Africa which was making them to be exposing to new diseases such as ablepsy, malarial fever, yellow fever, malnutrition and so on. Those diseases were also killing the Africans because they are yet to develop medically to know what those diseases are and to treat them. There was economic dependent; before the colonial masters came they were managing their economy and the recourses the way they came without having problem but when the colonizers came they started exploiting the recourses to their country.

Furthermore, the Africa’s economy was very good but they do not exploit what they cannot use, knowing this by the colonial masters they decided to come and exploit using the excuse of not civilize and religious on doing that it makes the Africans to depend on them when the land is owned by them. There was also the dominant class that is the ones to rule them with the aid of the rulers and also spy on Africans to know whether they are doing what they are asked which made them called the natives savages that is uncivilized people. At that time the living conditions in Africa changed a lot with the forced culture imposed on them bringing their own ways making the people to be westernized that are dressing, clothing, behavior and act of doing everything in their ways. There was also slave trading; Africans were carried from their homes to the colonial masters country to go and work for them and also fight in wars for them which when they will come back they will only given recommendation but if it is their countrymen they were treating them like they fought actively than the Africans while they know it was not so. Also lack of moral compass that is not been concern with rules of right conduct within the determined directions by colonial masters and paying allegiance to them.

Finally, some of this disadvantages are still in existing in Africa especially Nigeria because we are still paying the loyalty to the colonial masters. There are more disadvantages but the little of them was explored in the essay and as for the advantages it really has impacted a lot on African people. In medical field; the African people are trying their possible best to be like the colonizers, most of the diseases in Africa are from them such as measles, malaria and recently Hiv/Aids but both the colonizers and their colony are working on the treatment. In Nigeria colonialism ended when it got is independent which a lot has improved such areas are industries, mining, agriculture and so on but the first two are the one focused on making agriculture to go down which is not suppose to be so because Nigeria is a fertile land. So if agriculture is given attention too will also improve the economy of the country because there are both political and economical instability in the country so the only way is to improve in more aspect of the economy and they should also be a nationalist in whole Africa to make it a better continent. The advantages and disadvantages of colonialism is a very good aspect of history because it made someone to know what happened in the past and what is still happening in the country.