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Effects of Colonization on Africa’s Culture and Environment Degradation

The Imperial power in Africa was the cause of the change in culture and current way of living of the continent’s people. Their power over African countries is evident in Africa’s Environment. The objective of this study is to define the role of colonization of Africa on Africa’s culture and, ultimately, the adverse effects this had on the environment. It is a case study of Nigeria’s colonization and the diversification of African communities’ culture, and environmental damage done through these changes.

This project is essential as it will give an in-depth look at how things went wrong through colonization. The bitter fruits reaped through colonization how those wrong decisions could be rectified to fix the environment. The power of preservation of culture and its link to the preservation of the environment will be put into perspective. The transformation of African economic, social, and political activities had significant impacts on the environment, and data supports this. Lessons from Africa’s former cultures before infiltration by the imperial government can be applied in contemporary culture and help environmental preservation.

Methods

The primary data source for this research will be secondary data from books in the library, journals, internet sources such as online scholarly articles and journals. An interview was also carried out on a section of staff and students from Africa. These interviews were carried out to know if their culture or their knowledge of their origin’s cultures were aware of environmental preservation and whether the imperial rule impacted environmental change.

Sociological Theories

Ogburn’s Cultural lag and Park and Burgess Concentric zone theories are two of the most applicable sociological theories in this project. Ogburn’s cultural lag theory states that there is a link between material and non-material culture. It supports the idea that culture is slow when catching up to technological advances, and there are problems attached to that. This study will look at the link between African Traditional culture and their methods of environmental care and the effects of adopting western ways that changed those methods. Their heritage got lost, and this erosion of culture altered their natural habitat. Changing the culture from modern ways to the ays of their forefathers may be the route to solve its current environmental crisis, but the change to those ways may take time. It helps us understand the drift as well as the connection between material and non-material culture concerning time.

Park and Burgess’ Concentric Zone Theory will also be applicable in this study. This theory explains how urban areas are organized. It states that cities grow in concentric rings around their core while values and intensive uses occur and reduce outwards. This gives us a clear picture of the imperial urban setups in the middle of the cities. We have the industrial and business areas where the environment is most degraded. Towards the outside, we have the suburbs and the residential areas, where the environments are more sustainable for occupation. This form of the organization came with colonization and the imperial methods of organization. It will help study how urbanization and these setups had adverse effects on the environment, how industrialization and this form of urban organization altered the environment within and outside cities.

The focus of the study

The study will be focused on the Nigerian culture and how it dealt with issues of the environment. The following areas of environmental degradation will be the prominent focus of this project:

British empire’s role in creating human-induced climate change.

Resource extraction by the British government

Introduction of cash crop farming and its impact on the environment

Negative social, economic, and political heritage adapted by Africa from the Europeans and how they continued environmental degradation in the country after independence

Imperial powers Role in Introducing Manmade Climate Change Factors in Africa

After the industrial revolution in European countries, they went on a mission to expand their territories and industries. Africa presented itself as a viable source of land, raw materials, and human resources, all relevant factors for industrial success. The goal of colonial governments was to enrich themselves ( Wood 5). They introduced runs on steam engines, built industrial plants in African states, and recruited natives. This introduction of fossil fuels and the use of machinery resulted in an adverse increase in carbon emissions in African countries. As reiterated in the article, Colonialism took countries to look for new lands and companies, and states scrambled to gain control of land (Voskoboynik).

Colonial governments introduced new lives into the African communities. They brought industrialization, which was not in existence. Their presence in Africa was immense in the industrial and post-industrial periods; their presence reduced after setting up their industries as per the research done (Wood 4). Dequette, in her article, gives the term “ Environmental colonialism” or “Ecocolonialism” to how these practices impacted the environment. Scholars cite that the current increase in climate change as being an unintentional consequence of industrialization and a project that has continually been in play (Voskoboynik)

Resource extraction by the British government

Africa held rich resources, such as valuable minerals, including gold, silver, diamonds, and other precious metals. These minerals still exist but not in rich deposits as they did during the precolonial era. The catastrophic effects on the environment are still unknown to many the extraction of precious minerals such as bauxite, ivory, timber, and oil (McQuade). The continent still supplies the tremendous global demand for these minerals.

The extraction of minerals for industrial and large-scale economic use came as something new for Africans. They were accustomed to only using these minerals as cultural artifacts, as cited by Abubakar Mahmoud, one of the African students we interviewed. This view of natural resources was introduced and only harmed the environment. Overexploitation of these minerals is still significant in today’s world, and environmental degradation has worsened over the years. The vast presence of minerals presents a substantial economic growth for African countries and is a disadvantage due to environmental degradation (Edwards et al., 303).

Introduction of Cash Crop Farming and Its Impact of Environment

The colonizers introduced deforestation and cash crop farming into Africa. These were practices that were not indigenous to the African natives. These led to the displacement of many and inherent environmental degradation. Timber was a significant raw material in many factories set up by the colonialists. “Before the industrial period’s utilization of coal and later oil as highly efficient fuel sources, the European colonial empires were powered by wood” (Wood 20).

Deforestation and the introduction of cash crops present a new rule and power over the Africans. The Europeans’ planting of cotton, coffee, tea, pyrethrum, maize, and wheat introduced new ways of life for African. The natives had to adapt to these new means of life, whether working for the white man or relocating (Wood 20). They were forced to work in the fields and factories. These activities were a means of soil erosion and land degradation, and oppression of the African people. Scholars described this as ecological domination, which left Africans with no alternative but to exploit their lands and leave them vulnerable to abuse and work under their oppressors (Wood 20).

An excellent example of this is the deforestation that occurs in the Congo Forest. It began during the industrial period, and the forest keeps decreasing in size to date. Research proves that Industrial logging, subsistence farming, and urban construction have been the leading cause of deforestation and the 60% decrease in elephant population in the Congo Forest (Buttler)

Negative Legacies Left by the Colonial Powers Significance in Todays’ Environment

Neo-colonialism is a well-known concept. It implies that the colonial powers still played a role in the colonizers’ countries even after gaining independence. Colonial geopolitics are still in play today and have rendered some colonized states unable to develop (Wood 34). Colonial powers imposed their philosophies as the countries adopted western philosophies. Africans still carried on these ways of life, adopting cash crop farming, industrialization, construction, and governance. The continuation of these practices proves to be more detrimental to the environment of the African States.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the findings gathered from the journals, books, and articles prove that colonization and practices introduced by the colonial powers are a significant cause of environmental degradation in Africa. The impact colonization had on African states had diverse effects on the continents and, ultimately, the environmental degradation experienced in the continent. There is room for Africans to go back to as the damages cannot be undone, but at least by learning from past cultures, the present environmental issues can be reduced. Their original practices and that could heal their ecological issues faced presently.

Works Cited

Wood, Lawrence. The Environmental Impacts of Colonialism. Massachusetts, Bridgewater State University,17 Dec. 2015. 1-50.

McQuade, Joseph. “Earth Day: Colonialism’s Role in the Overexploitation of Natural Resources.” The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2019, theconversation.com/earth-day-colonialisms-role-in-the-overexploitation-of-natural-resources-113995.

Voskoboynik, Damien. “To Fix the Climate Crisis, We Must Face up to Our Imperial Past.” OpenDemocracy, Open Democracy.net, 8 Oct. 2018, www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/to-fix-climate-crisis-we-must-acknowledge-our-imperial-past.

Kelly, Dequette. “Environmental Colonialism – Postcolonial Studies.” Scholarblogs, 21 Jan. 2020, scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2020/01/21/environmental-colonialism.

Butler, Rhett. “Congo Deforestation.” Mongabay, 9 Feb. 2020, rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/deforestation.html.

Edwards, David et al. “Mining and the African Environment.” Wiley Periodicals, 18 Oct. 2013. Pg300-350.