NEGATIVE EFFECT OF COLONIALISM

Colonialism is a disease by its creation, even colonialist already believe and was of the opinion
that there never be an amicable acceptance by the colonies which made them (colonist) choose to
get what they want with any possible means. The Europeans were at first instance seen to be so
superior due to the level of understanding and development. At the origin of colonization, the
colonial mothers of west Africa has already developed their industry to the level at which only
raw material were greatly needed African soil and some other concerned continent were spotted
to be able to supply their needed raw material for production into finished goods. At this
junction, African lands, material and human resources were exploited.
Effects of Colonialism on West African Economy
Various dimension may be used in assessing the impact of colonialism on the economic
development of West African state.
 Psychological inferiority
 Social declination
 Man power reduction
 Monotisation of transaction

Inferiority complex

The native people having their homes and land taken away from them by another people.
This has two major negative effects one short term one long term mainly.
Short term: if the natives are not just imprisoned and enslaved they would be forced from the
area they have may be called home for hundreds or thousands of years, they were settled and
would rely on their land for food, building materials, medicines, etc. if you force them to leave
they will have to travel to find another similar place which would probably already be populated,
turning themselves into invaders. In short very destructive to their society if it survives long
enough to fully recover.
Long term: It creates a deep hatred which will only be fuelled by time. Turning peaceful people
into vengeance hungry warriors (examples of this are plain to see today all over Africa and
Middle East).

Colonialism is also harmful to the invaders society, it instills a very harmful feeling of
superiority over others which can prove to be disastrous to global harmony,
A recent example of this would be the Nazi ideal directly responsible for the murder of millions
and in more modern times the Taliban of the Middle East. Essentially colonialism is a breeding
ground for fascism, oppression and genocide. Lists also simply unfair to take what belongs to
another for your own gain.

One of the main objectives of imperialism and colonialism was to exploit the colonies and their
inhabitants to generate economic wealth for the mother country and her corporations. As a result,
large numbers of people were forced into slavery or the system of indentured laborers, and vast
areas of natural habitats were cleared and converted to mono cultural plantations. Another impact
of imperialism was the export of Western values - resource exploitation, consumerism and
materialism to the colonies. In the meantime, the Enlightenment began to shift West societies
towards values such as democracy, independent judiciary, free press and escape from religious
tyranny. These, when well-developed offer checks and balances against excessive concentration
of power and corruption, and some safeguards against environmental predation. After the
colonies gained independence, the newly independent citizens uncritically embraced most of the
negative values and have vigorously continued the practices of their early colonial masters. One
man who fought against the blind adoption of materialistic values was of course Gandhi. Alas,
no one can be a prophet in his own land. As a result, in the former colonies, the environment,
especially natural habitats and their species, is being destroyed at a scale that is unprecedented in
history