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Colonialism and Land Conflicts in AfricaConflicting Perspectives on the Uses and Views of African Land

Tongkeh Joseph Fowale

May 7, 2009

The colonial period marked a dramatic turn in the use of land in Africa. Thisrevolution is responsible for the recurrence of land crises throughout post-colonial Africa.

Irrespective of the period in history or the mode of production in question, lan

has always held a central position in the production process. In Africa where

agriculture has always been the dominant economic activity, land has directl

accounted for the survival of generations. However, as a result of European

penetration and conquest of Africa, the land tenure system in Africa changed

significantly.

Colonialism and African Land

European colonialism triggered one of the most dramatic revolutions on

African land. The colonial period was a time of rapid and drastic change,

says anthropologist Elizabeth Colson, never more so than with the use and

view of land. Under colonial rule, land which Africans considered as sacred

became an object of economic value that could be bought and sold. Under

British colonial rule for example, African land was partitioned into three

categories Crown land, Native land and Reserves.

Based on such alien conception of land, the Europeans tended to define land

from a very materialistic perspective to meet with the goal of exploitation.

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Early European governments, intent on rapid economic development throug

European enterprise, recognized African land only with respect to land unde

obvious occupation thereby leaving large areas free for possible alienation to

European companies, observes Colson.

Such narrow definition, categorization, partition and misconception of the

notion of land had a triple impact. Firstly it kept Africans off the most fertile

lands. Secondly it limited

development to crown lands reserved for whites. Thirdly, it sowed the seeds of

segregation throughout colonial Africa especially in settler colonies as large Europea

populations placed a high demand on the land for agriculture, settlement, industrial

and mining activities.

The Land-labor Combination under Colonial Rule

The communal economy of pre-colonial Africa relied entirely on an efficient

land-labor combination for its success. The coming of European capitalism

completely destroyed this link because colonialism placed a high demand on

African land and labor. New plantations, mines, roads and railways meant th

labor had to be diverted from food production to meet the demands of a cash

crop economy founded on capitalism which was of little benefit to Africa.

It was in settler colonies that the worst abuses took place on African land.

Besides the establishment of mines and plantations, the most climatically

favorable sites were used for the establishment of European Quarters. In

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many cases, these involved the most ventilated coastal lands. African labor

was used for the construction of communication facilities in these settlement

African workers in the domestic service of Europeans were required to carry

badges in these quarters.

Working Conditions in European Mines and Plantations

Before colonial rule, the land was still the main source of livelihood for Africa

despite the ravages of the slave trade. Colonialism, however, reversed this

trend. The exploitation of land and labor is essential for human social

advance, says historian Walter Rodney, but only on the assumption that th

product is made available within the area where the exploitation takes place.

In Africas case, this exploitation simply meant the development of Europ

as part of the same dialectical process in which Africa was underdeveloped.

In Rodneys words, the African farmer entered colonialism with a hoe and le

with a hoe. Exploitation of African labor in the plantations and mines of

colonial Africa was cruel. The employer under colonialism paid an extremely

small wage, usually insufficient to keep the worker physically alive.

The capitalist economy implanted in Africa during colonialism continues to

shape the economic and political life of modern Africa. Africa entered theglobal economy as a producer of raw materials whose prices were (and still

are) determined by the powerful forces of the capitalist west. The Structural

Adjustment Programs of the IMF and World Bank have exposed the extreme

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brutality of capitalism on African land. It is against this background that the

current land crises in Africa should be seen.

Rustam.Kubwa