Daily Life in Colonial Africa

During the 19th century, European colonization in Africa dramatically altered the African continent and the lives of African people . As the major powers of Europe met in Germany in 1884 and 1885 to divide Africa between them, they claimed for themselves vast and invaluable reserves of natural resources, including timber, gold, diamonds, ivory, and rubber. For decades afterward, France, England, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries colonized African lands, extracting billions of dollars worth of material goods for sale abroad, and oppressing millions of Africans under colonial rule.In this addition to the Daily Life through History series, Toyin Falola, a preeminent scholar of African history, walks readers through the many and complex ways that colonialism effected the daily lives of Africans across the African continent. European Christian missionaries converted millions to a new faith, disrupting spiritual practices and sacred traditions much older than the Christian church itself. Farmers who had once planted only what they needed to sustain themselves and their communities began harvesting new cash crops, including cotton and cocoa. The radical reconstruction of local African politics shifted power from traditional leadership to centralized governments overseen by foreigners. Yet despite new challenges and hardships, Falola shows how many everyday Africans adapted to new ways of life, resisting colonial intrusion for decades until gaining their independence in the 20th century.>

Auteur

Toyin Falola is Professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Résumé

Discover how European colonization across the many regions in Africa dramatically altered the continent and the daily lived experiences of its peoples.

Daily Life in Colonial Africa explores nine facets of daily life in the European-colonized African continent, such as domestic, economic, political, and religious life. Examples of everyday peoplefarmers forced to switch to cash crops, people of faith melding native traditions and European Christian doctrine on beliefs about the afterlife, storytellers using allegory to discreetly challenge colonial ruleshow how colonialization impacted every aspect of life for Africa's indigenous people, as well as how they adapted to new ways of life while maintaining their cultural roots. Alongside the main text, helpful additional resources such as a timeline of the colonization of Africa and a glossary of terms provide useful context for understanding what life in this period of history was truly like for the many different people and groups affected by Africa's colonization.

Contenu

Preface
Introduction
Timeline
Glossary

1. Domestic Life
2. Economic Life
3. Intellectual Life
4. Material Life
5. Political Life
6. Recreational Life
7. New Forms of Songs
8. Religious Life
9. Resistance to Colonialism
10. Conclusion
    Bibliography
    Index