Colonialism is one of the most actual issues of the modern historical science. The formation of colonial regimes entailed profound changes in the economic situation of the African population and reflected in the nature and way of their management. The British and French colonial models were quite different, but I am not sure whether it will be correct to say that colonies were only raw appendages of the empires and got nothing in exchange.
The process of colonization of Africa has become widespread in the second half of the XIX century, especially after 1885 and the beginning of the so-called “Scramble for Africa”. In 1885, the sphere of influence in Africa was divided according to the decisions of the Berlin Conference. By the beginning of XX century, 90% of the continent was in the possession of the European powers. France lost its colonies in India, so French government decided to capture the vast territories in Africa. French colonies were located mainly in West and Central Africa, having occupied about 38% of the continent. French Empire captured the territories of Algeria, the coastal areas of Somalia, Comoros, Madagascar, Western Sahara, Tunisia, French West Africa, and French Congo. Eastern Sahara also was under the sphere of influence of the French Empire (“A Short History of Africa”, 31). British colonies occupied approximately 30% of the continent and were located mainly in East Africa. Great Britain controlled almost all territories from Cairo to Cape Town. They held the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, British East Africa, British Central Africa, Ascension Island, Gambia, Egypt, Zanzibar and Pemba, the Gold Coast, Cape Colony, Libyan Desert, Mauritius, Natal, Nigeria, Rhodesia, St. Helena, Seychelles, British Somalia, Sierra Leone, the island of Tristan da Cunha and Uganda. At that time, England had the largest and fastest growing economy in the world. However, gaining the new territories, they did not seek to the total elimination of the traditional system of the African society. The British had not destroyed the institution of hereditary chiefs that had lost much of their powers, but still were spiritual leaders of their tribes and clans. The British, for the most part, kept the old generic hierarchy, having subordinated it to their interests. Since the XVIII century, the Crown formed the general separation of all colonies on “conquered” and “resettled”, and gradually elaborated two types of British colonial administration. The “conquered” colonies, mostly with the “colored” population, had no political autonomy and were guided by the Crown on behalf of the metropolitan authorities by the British government. The senior government officials – Governor-Generals - concentrated all legislative and executive powers in their hands. The representative bodies in these colonies, actually, represented only the local residents, but even in this case, they played the role of the advisory bodies to the governor. Usually, a regime of national and racial discrimination was established at the “conquered” colonies.
England have not only changed the traditional management system but also the organization of land tenure intruded into a religious sphere and even in interpersonal relationships. The main purpose of the agrarian reforms of the second half of the XIX century was reducing of the work force in agriculture for the benefit of the industrial sphere. However, the colonial authorities sought to preserve the principle of separation of Africans and whites. English colonies in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, and Zanzibar) were mainly the suppliers of agricultural raw materials, which were produced on large plantations owned by white settlers. The English colonial system changed traditional African society, due to the interests of capitalist economy and the white population of the colonies.
Evaluating and comparing the activity of the British colonial administration with the French, it should be noted that the formation of the institute of political control in the form of colonies and protectorates was most popular in the new territories. The clash of British interests with the interests of the Boers and Germans eventually led to major international conflicts. The aggressive policy of England aggravated its relations with other powers. Thus, for several times, Britain and France were on the brink of armed conflict over Egypt, New Zealand, and so on. The period of the English colonial domination had dual consequences for the Africans. On the one hand, they lost their independence; most of their lands and the economic base of their communities were virtually destroyed. On the other hand, England brought qualitative changes to the traditional African society, which had been caused by their inclusion in the scope of the European social and economic system (“Living in the British Empire: Africa”).
The expansion of colonial possessions increased the role of the bureaucratic command-based system, with its central unit and the local colonial administration, which was headed by the ministry of the colonies. The so-called old colonies were allocated to the special group: Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Senegal, and Reunion. The French government pursued a policy of violent assimilation in all these colonies, as well as in Algeria. Dominion regarded their territory as part of the France. The legislation of the metropolis acted on all territories of the old colonies. The management of colonies was divided between three ministries: Algeria was in charge of the Department of the Interior, Tunisia and Morocco - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the rest colonies were at the responsibility of the Ministry of Colonies.
Unlike England, France carried out its economic exploitation of its colonies through the public sector in the form of state loans. However the internal political instability, weak trade-economic infrastructure and actual failure of the resettlement colonialism model, pushed France into the second place in the colonization of Africa.
Africa was the continent of colonies until the second half of the XX century. The main differences between Britain and France colonies consisted in the following: Britain carried out its policy relying on traditional social structures and tribal leaders, and France was trying to adapt the local African population to their traditions, and familiarized it to the French culture. France introduced the French language in its colonies and carried out extensive work of missionaries among the local population. The population of both colonies had racial prejudices, but the British abolished slavery 15 years earlier than the French did. For the France as well as for the England colonies were the most important source of goods and human resources.
Works Cited
“Africa under Colonial Rule”. The Mapping History project, University of Oregon. Web.
Accessed 05 Apr 2016 at <http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/AF/AF01-03.html>
Ali-Dinar, Dr. Ali B., Ph.D. “French in West Africa”. University of Pennsylvania, African
Studies Center. Web. Accessed 05 Apr 2016 at <https://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/French_16178.html>
“A Short History of Africa”. Stanford University. Web. Accessed 05 Apr 2016 at
<http://aero-comlab.stanford.edu/jameson/world_history/A_Short_History_of_Africa.pdf>
“Living in the British Empire: Africa”. The National Archives. Web. Accessed 05 Apr 2016
at <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/g2/cs3/background.htm>
