There were two types of effects positive and negative effects.
Africans lost their political independence.(1)This means that they could no longer rule themselves as Africans because the power was handed over to the colonialist. Large tracts of land was lost because it became the settlement for the colonizers.(1) This also led to introduction of foreign diseases to animals and humans by which most of the Africans died reducing its population.(2) Forests were cleared to get timber for building homes for the Europeans.(2) In addition when the trees were cut down the countries were struck by drought because we know that trees are water catchment areas. When drought struck it dried up all water sources and this killed the fish in the water that Africans depended on for food.
This led to the end of slave trade(1). The Europeans ended slave trade because they wanted people who could work in their farms and industries. It led to the introduction of education which enhanced the spread of different religions(3). The education helped them know how to solve the different problems which occurred at different times. Also Africans were able to get employed in the different companies of the Europeans thus raising their living standards. It led to introduction advanced technology in the country.(3) Before this Africans did not have technology so this made their countries not as developed. After the introduction of technology the countries started developing one by one. It led to development of modern transport and communication systems.(3) Transport systems like railways seaports airways and other forms of transport were there to break the barriers and make transportation easy (3).
Most of the impacts were negative which affected the Africans so much and they had to fight for independence.
Hi Mary Wairimu!
Thank you for addressing one of the most topics that greatly defines our identity as a people and as a continent. Essentially, I think there are dozens of controversial debates and inquiry topics regarding the colonization of Africa. On one side, I am of the opinion that colonization had nothing but negative impacts on the African people, and whatever was deemed positive was a by-product of the things that the colonizers did mostly for their benefit. Let me explain.
African people were civilized, in that, societies were organized in all aspects. There were social and economic policies. Religion was part and parcel of almost all African communities. If you speak of trade, leadership, name it, African societies had all these. And just like any other society in the world, there were challenges, such as wars and diseases, as you would expect in any other civilization.
Everything was good, until colonization. In my opinion, the most visible effect of colonization includes the exploitation of natural resources, the imposition of European values and cultures, the disruption of traditional social structures, and the creation of artificial national borders that continue to have repercussions today.
Colonization also resulted in the displacement and marginalization of many African populations, as well as the fragmentation of African societies and cultures. The legacy of colonization in Africa has continued to shape the continent’s politics, economy, and social dynamics long after colonial rule ended, mostly in a bad way.
I wonder if Africa would be in a better position had colonization not occurred. I wonder if colonization has really ended. I wonder if the effects of colonization will cease affecting the place of Africa in the world.
What will your next round of research cover? Looking forward. Also, you can check for reviewed articles here (https://scholar.google.com/ )