Colonialism is an important determinant of post-independence degree of political stability, economic growth, and development as well as the provision of public goods. African connection and relationship with the western countries is asymmetrical that deprived the African continent its positive and sustainable development in politics, economic and social sphere. Though it is arguably true that African poor leadership coupled with corruption, greed and embezzlement of public resources has contributed to its poor performance, colonialism effect is still present over fifty years after the independence of most states. International factors affect the governments, states and the politics in the continent and play a significant positive and negative impact on the African socio-economic and political developments. Colonialism changed the history of Africa by altering its modes of thought, patterns of cultural development, and the ways of life as well as its political structure. This paper explores the impact of colonialism on the social and economic development of Egypt. First, the paper looks at Egypt’s post-colonial social and economic level and then focuses on its position after colonialism to the modern day.
Egypt was an African economic hub and participated in international trade long before the other countries of Africa and the coming of the european. Egypt took part in trade with the Europe and Asia long before colonialism began in the world. It was on Egypt's water that British traders loaded and unloaded their cargoes as it was an important point in the trade between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal was an important source of economic prosperity propelled and maintained by the working and owning class (Settles, 1996, P. 5). The coming of the British took this important source of economic growth from the Africans and the colonial power imposed heavy taxes on the ships using the Suez as a source of their resources (Esmeir, 2011, P. 237). The take-over of the Suez handicapped the economic progress of the Egyptians.
The correct definition of development takes different approaches both social and economical in this paper. Social development looks at the human progress in achieving social well-being such as the fight against illiteracy, poverty and diseases by the establishment of schools, irrigation and related projects, as well as education institutions (Willis, 2011, P. 12). Economic well-being on the other hand looks at the national income, and the social standard of the country. Colonization is one of the earliest implications of globalization and has a direct influence on the social and economic development because of its impact on the social and economic institutions (Haynes, 2008, P. 14). In Egypt as it was with other African states, colonization altered the social structure and economic institution for their betterment of the British nation. The introduction of international economic system had a positive and negative implication on the financial position and structure of the African state.
The history of Egypt's economic supremacy dates back to the ancient time during the reign of the Pharaohs. Its trade with foreigners from the East and West provided it with adequate revenue to run the government as well as in building the historic pyramids. However, the coming of the European deprived its commercial sources such as raw materials and revenue from the Suez Canal damaging her economic capabilities (Settles, 1996, P. 9). The British economic system was alien to the African nation and resulted to its poor performance. The colonial exploitation nature corroded the African trade as Africa became a new market of western products. The British's goal was to control the industrial production of her colonies to her advantage. As a result, the African economy declined and the stable and wealthy nations such as Egypt lost their share in the great Atlantic trade. The financial loss of her revenue sources affected the national social and economic development.
Colonization exploited African’s raw material for its emerging industries during the industrial revolution. The British used the fertility of the Egyptian soil and climate for the production of cotton for the manufacturing industries back at home. Coupled with the seizure of the Suez Canal, the British colonial power hindered the development and performance of the Egypt's financial industry. The colonial power not only seized the prospect of Egypt's economic growth but also took over the control of the Egyptian domestic economy (Ziltener, & Kunzler, 2013, P. 306). The colonial powers limited the freedom of trade enjoyed by the Africans by limit trade with other states from the West or the East. As a result, the economic performance worsened compared with the prior state. The limitation of trade negatively impacted on the traditional leadership and also on social progress associated with the Egyptian as the nation fell under the colonial system (Haynes, 2008, P. 28). The system defined the traditional multi-agricultural practices by insisting on a single crop and made the country rely on the Europeans for their economic destiny. The economic dependency lowered the countries national income as all the revenue went to the British government. Consequently the Egyptian social welfare worsened.
Colonialism destroyed the traditional Egyptian education system. The British and other colonial powers had little concern with providing education for the Africans as they aimed at maintaining law and order at the lowest possible cost. As a result, these changed the traditional education progress of Egypt to a large extent. The social development of the country was poor according to the measures of development. Colonialism disturbed the three critical social sectors as shown by the indicators of development namely; health, education and the general economic status (Willis, 2011, P. 14). As a result, the social development retrogressed from the pre-colonial success following the occupancy of the nation’s economic hub as well as the restriction of the agricultural production, trade and the destruction of leadership. The introduction of the Marxist capitalism that exploited African labor came at the expense of the African social and economic welfare. The capitalism system impeded the socio-economic development as it used the African human and natural resources for the development of its state and levied high taxes in order to force the African into labor (Settles, 1996, P. 11). The socio-economic effects of colonialism are still experienced in the modern era through neo-colonialism and direct interference on the African internal affairs.
The African political institution was disrupted by colonization and has never stabilized since the colonial period. In countries such as Somalia, Sudan and Egypt, there has been occasional repletion of political unrest that results in loss of life, destruction of property and poverty (Burnell, Randall, & Rakner, 2011, P. 86). These effects do not only affect the socio-political stability but also have an adverse impact on the national economic development. There is political unrest in Egypt that affects its socio-economic growth, and associated with the colonial disruption of the Egyptian traditional leadership system of the Pharaohs. The ill effects of colonialism manifest themselves by the destruction of the national political system that in turn affect the social and economic development through the disruption of the economic activities and destruction of social institutions such as hospitals and schools.
Despite the many negative effects of colonialism in Egypt and most of other African states, there are positive impacts associated with the same. First, colonialism is responsible for the development of transport and communication system in the interior (Burnell, Randall, & Rakner, 2011, P. 48). The establishment of the cotton plantation within the interior regions of the colony fostered the construction of railway lines as well as roads to enhance the transportation of the produce. The construction of such systems enhanced the economic development of the country. Secondly, the demand for cotton in Europe created a market for the country’s product, though the revenue benefited the colonial power; it introduced the country to the global financial market. The benefit accrued from the export trade benefited the country in its re-entry in the global market and international trade (Ziltener, & Kunzler, 2013, P. 308). As a result, the participation in this trade has increased economic efficiency of the country by facilitating the movement of capital, labor and goods across the boundaries. Economic globalization is an unstoppable process characterized by irreversible development trends; however, the case might be different for Egypt do to the political instability in the country that has affected the countries social, political and economic system.
In a recap, colonialism is a system that had an adverse impact on the economic, social, and political history of many countries. The principal characterizing traits of the institution were industrial takeovers and exploitation of the native human and natural resources. In Egypt, the British were mostly attracted by the significance of the Suez Canal on the Trans-Atlantic Trade. Consequently, the invaded the country and disrupted its economic and social development. The destroyed its indicators of progress such as the education system by exploiting the native labor through imposing taxes that forced them to work on the whites' cotton plantations. Despite the negative effects of colonialism, there were positive impacts such as the introduction of foreign trade and economic system as well as development of transport and communication system. Nevertheless, the political adversity is persistent to the current day with the various political unrests experienced in the last decade.
References List
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Ziltener, P., & Kunzler, D. 2013. Impacts of Colonialism - A Research Survey. Journal; of World-System Research, 19(2), 290-311.
