How European colonization transformed modern African and Asian societies
When the colonialists were venturing into Africa and Asia, they encountered strange cultural practices among the natives. The ways of life observed among the various ethnicities in Africa and Asia were strictly adhered to by the members of the communities since the omission of some practices amounted to serious taboos. The languages were unique to each tribe and so were such social institutions as marriage and religion. The Africans led simple lives that emphasized basic survival. The Asians had advanced a bit as far as economic practice was concerned. They had started engaging in trade that involved metals, salt and other minerals. The Africans did carry out some bit of trade, but it remained quite elementary for a long time. All these native practices were to change upon arrival and settling of the colonialists. This paper seeks to explain the various changes that the European colonization had on the African and Asian societies.
The colonial assault on Africa and Asia was among the worst experiences the two continents had to record in their history books. The immediate contact was especially one that came with extreme resistance from the natives. As the Europeans mingled with the friendly communities, they somehow got to win the trust of many Africans. It was through these cooperative natives that they got to conquer the resisting groups. It was not long before the Europeans were part of the society. One of the changes that the Europeans brought to Asian and African natives that have shaped their ways of life to this day are the introduction of education. The missionaries who were among the earliest groups to arrive in the two continents realized that they had to impart literacy in the minds of the natives so as to make the spreading of religion easy. As such, the natives embraced education. Many Africans and Asians found education particularly useful. The likes of Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta studied further and became the nati0onalists that would later spearhead the independence movements.
Another great change that the Europeans had on the natives of the Asian, and the African continents are the introduction of foreign languages (Arawolo 10). Various former colonies, especially the ones in Africa currently have English or French as their national languages. The major reason behind this is the fact that the colonialists insisted on making such languages the official languages. The countries colonized by Britain such as Kenya in Africa and India in Asia use British English as the official language. Perhaps the most notable change that the colonialist had brought on the cultural practices of the people is the introduction of religion especially Christianity (Arawolo 10). Christianity is widespread in Africa. The Christian missionaries taught Christian ways of the natives. These replaced the traditional religions that saw the ancestral spirits as being supreme beings. Today, the traditional religions are practically extinct. Additionally, the colonialists came with capitalistic ideas that created social classes among the natives. These classes were associated with hatred and discrimination among the natives (Wolff 5).
The establishment of international trade in Asia is one of the most outstanding changes that colonial rule had on the continent. Through the establishment of reliable sea routes, the colonialists were capable of transporting merchandise and other raw materials to their home countries (Kwon 58). These routes are the basis of the contemporary sea trade that is characteristic of the Asian countries. In Africa, the European powers established artificial boundaries. These boundaries were meant to enhance effective administration. The effects of such artificial boundaries were to bring native communities together. This turned out to be the basis of wars between ethnic groups (Michalopoupos & Papaioanou 7). These wars extended into the post colonial period. The best example is the Hutu-Tutsi war in Rwanda that claimed scores of human lives and destruction of property. From the foregoing, it is worth noting that the changes that the European colonialists brought to the Africans and the Asians were both positive and negative.
Work cited.
Areola, Dare. The Effects of Western Civilization and Culture on Africa. Afro Asian Journal of Social Science, 2010, 1 (1).
Kwon, Roy. How The Legacy Of French Colonization Has Shaped Divergent Levels Of Economic Development In East Asia: A Time-Series Cross-National Analysis. Sociological Quarterly, 2011, 52 (1), 56-82.
Michalopoupos, Stelios & Papaioanou, Elias. The Long run Effects of the Scramble for Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge press, 2011
Wolff, Richard. The Class Consequences of Colonialism in Africa. Botswana Journal of African Studies, 2000, 14(2), 178-185
