Why Colonialism Was Actually Good for Africa – Part 3
By Michael Chishala, 2nd May 2025
There were several important benefits of colonialism that are not immediately apparent. The “Scramble for Africa”, driven by selfish economic motives by the European colonial powers had many unintended positive consequences. Rival African tribes that fought bloody wars for many decades were now forced to stop fighting. The Bisa vs Bemba, Zulu vs Ndwandwe, Ngoni vs Chewa and Ndebele vs Shona are a few examples.
Colonialism stopped all these long-running conflicts because slavery, which had become the main driver of endless tribal wars, was eliminated by the colonialists. Colonial rule did not tolerate tribal warfare, as it would take away labour that was needed for mining, infrastructure building and farming. The peace and certainty that came out of this was invaluable for trade and commerce, transportation, human population growth and perhaps most importantly, increasing agricultural output because men were no longer needed to fight wars with other tribes. It now made sense for people to invest in commerce and long term agriculture and adopt modern farming methods since they were no longer under the threat of attack. This led to much faster economic growth, higher incomes and increased life expectancy for Africans.
Another massive benefit was the introduction of modern medicine alongside basic education in hygiene, including boiling drinking water. Before that, Africans died like flies from malaria, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, yellow fever, etc. Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by a Scottish Physician and French Chemists synthesised Quinine from the Cinchona tree of South America in 1820. These two were a game changer for both Europeans and Africans by making malaria and other diseases more easily treatable. Ironically, Europeans failed to colonise Africa in earlier attempts precisely because of malaria.
Average life expectancy in Africa in 1900 was around 30 years but in Europe, it had already risen to 40 years. Africans adopted modern medicines. Colonial mass vaccination programmes for under 5 children increased African life expectancy. By independence in the 1960s, many African countries were already at around 50 years. This rise from 30 to 50 years was a nearly 70% increase within a generation! Millions of African kids survived childhood and millions more lived longer better lives.
Then there was education, originally introduced by Missionary Societies to get Africans to read the Bible and learn Western customs and values. The motivations were mixed; the desire to civilise the “savage” Africans, introduce Christian morality, hopes of ending slave practices as European values were adopted, a ploy to create soft power for Europeans, preparation for colonialism, etc. Mission schools provided education for black kids for decades before colonialism, alongside ad hoc educational arrangements for the early white settlers. Then the European colonialists introduced public education. In Northern Rhodesia, the British built well funded public schools for the children of the white settlers and most of the education budget was spent there as educating the natives was not a big priority, not to mention segregation. However, they gave grants to mission schools and they eventually built public schools for blacks with Munali, Livingstone and Chikuni Secondary Schools being among the earliest efforts.
By the 1950s, Northern Rhodesia had more than 1,000 Primary Schools with over 100,000 black kids in them. The numbers for Secondary education were dismal, with just about 10 schools for the entire black population. Higher education was worse with zero institutions. Nevertheless, the education introduced by the missionaries and colonialists was a game changer for Africans to bring them into the modern global economy and increase opportunities for upward financial mobility over generations.
Zambia’s first president Kenneth David Kaunda and much of his first cabinet were educated at Munali Boys Secondary School at colonial government expense. They could never have taken over Zambia in 1964 without that colonial education. Even Zambian independence itself would not have succeeded had there not been a pool of an informed, educated, literate, leadership that could engage with the colonialists at their level and organise resistance to oppressive rule.
The first black members of the Northern Rhodesia Legislative Council – Henry Kasokolo, Nelson Nalumango, Dauti Yamba and Pascale Sokota – could never have taken up their positions in 1948 without being able to read, write, and speak English, courtesy of British education. The first two Speakers of the Zambian Parliament, Wesley Nyirenda and Robinson Nabulyato went through Munali Boys, as did the first Secretary to the Zambian Cabinet, Valentine Musakanya.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Malawi’s first president was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland with his monthly stipend paid by the British Nyasaland government. Seretse Khama, Botswana’s first president was educated at Oxford University using funds from what was then the colonial Bechuanaland Protectorate administration.
To be continued…
Michael Chishala is a Zambian analyst with interests in Philosophy, Law, Economics and History.
Email: [email protected]
This is why we should never allow imperialism to take hold of our continent ever again. When you look at history from the perspective of the victor and assume Africa’s evolution dates back 100 years you do yourself an injustice. The author assumes the invading foreigners never fought themselves in their respective continents. Please read European history and learn how barbaric and primitive these invading forces were. If the Europeans arrived in Africa more than 400 years ago, then why did they only introduce schools as you put it, by the early 1950’s? The negative impact of colonialism on Africa is how it’s devastated our freedom to express ourselves due to decades of suppression and rewiring for generations.
He has no idea that in colonial times everything was segregative.In schools,colonists children were taught science and technology while natives were taught how be good laborers;speak good english but don’t ask too many questions
Europeans have done more harm to us than we did to ourselves. yes every society on this planet has it differences, but if really Europeans wanted to help us they wouldn’t have colonized us, instead they took advantage of the issues we had. China, Japan, most of Asia had similar issues like us including the Americas all societies have differences. What we forget is that colonizers murdered millions of Africans during the partitioning of Africa. The European and the Arabs had the market for slavery paid strong African tribes to capture slaves. We have lost a lot of things because of colonization it has done more harm than God. I respect the writers opinion, but i think he’s forget the implication and the price we paid to be where we are as Africans in the name of civilization.
Walasa! Ubututu bwaba so-called Zambian analyst is so shameful I stopped reading after 3 sentences
Africa has a rich history dating back thousands of years and yet we assume history started when the colonisers arrived more than 400 years ago. It’s interesting how we view and measure success of a species based on lies and greed. Europe and North America are on the decline simply because their lifestyles are unsustainable. As Africans we should cherish and value our village setups which have sustained our people and cultures for thousands of years. Changing this setup for sky ghettos will simply signal the beginning of the end for Africa as we know it.
The fact you have migrants risking their lives day and night to leave Africa is a clear sign that African self rule is a failed project. However it doesn’t mean it cant be fixed.
How do we fix it? We outsource the management of govt to the same nations that have better and we’ll managed economies. People crying that this is subject to neocolonialism are the same clowns that are ready to leave the motherland to go and clean toilets in Europe, Dubai and USA.
That narrative of using people traff1cking as an excuse to self h@te will not deceive anyone anymore. We have seen how immigration is used as a stick by the immigrants themselves. Colonisation in fact is a classic example of illegal immigration and occupation. Neo-colonialism did not only rob Africa of it’s identity, it ensured that future generations would continue as enablers. When the Chinese come and sell in Zambian markets, you don’t say someone needs to fix the Chinese economy do you? Trumps own mother left Scotland for better pastures in America and yet we don’t hear cries from the American people for Britain to go back and colonise the US do we? I bet you didn’t even know that the US was once a colony of Britain.
And when we had European migrants risking their lives coming to colonise Africa it didnt mean European self-rule had failed? ?
@future zed and field negro, some comments are the exact reason why we have been making the same mistakes and expecting a different outcome. Such thinking is very akin to madness. 63 years of self rule has done what exactly for us? Yet we are here using our former colonizers language.
Not all of America was a British colony FYI, the States of Louisiana, California, New Mexico were French and Spanish respectively, Alaska was a Russian territory until it was sold to the Americans sometime in the 1800s. Can you compare the status of Africa to Europe at the time those explorers and colonizers came to Africa? In terms of technology how and where do you even start from? Them migrating here was under a different context.
Ctn…We need out if the box thinking to progress and not the same madness of doing the same thing over and over again, I also blame IMF, World Bank for being perpetual sadists who have encouraged this mindset of fake Aid which leads to dependency and corruption which they know very well and yet continue to allow our govts to accrue unsustainable debts.
History of Colonialism is very dark, its a painful picture full of bloodshed some of us who had a chance to see our grandfather who were born before the first world war would share the dark days of how they lived under white gods. We didnt read books for some of us we heard it directly from the horses mouth. Colonialism freed our hands and enslaved our brains.
Muntu oral history and education was the norm and you would be amazed at the ernomity of it before literal education arrived. Modern Africans can’t believe that their ancestors had so much knowledge and are amazed at how it was passed on via song, poetry what you now call rap and various dramatic performances.
I do feel like most commentators here are already appalled at the title and therefore are quick to add their own emotion without fully analysis of the content.
It remains true that the process of colonialism was brutal. The Europeans did fight their own tribal wars and they had developed weapons capable of mass murder. Our skirmishes in Africa were meele using handheld spears and we were no match for the Europeans who were were trained for killing each other as a result of the many wars Europe engaged in.
Why would they be appalled at the title? Ask yourself.
Bola, because colonialism doesn’t seem to sit well with development or anything positive prima facie
Did we live normally before whites came? Yes (since that was our standard and quality of life).
If I challenge you and ask if there is anything positive about colonialism (after effects perhaps and not the process), what would your answer be?
Continued. The author is simply challenging us to see whether the process of coloniazation was all bad. He gives his reasons, stating the positives that came as a result of colonialism. It is difficult to disagree with him really.
Also, a side note. African history is as old as every other history. But to ignore the fact that only parts of northern Africa have a written history is being unfair to this discussion. What do we know about southern Africa prior to the arrival of the missionaries? We can’t rely on oral history.
The author is NOT simply challenging us to see whether the process of coloniazation was all bad. He could have dwellt on Positive criticking if he was
Chanda, I am not in the mind of the author. Was just spit balling, but I do find some points that one cannot argue against. Oddly enough, he does state that western education allowed our founding leaders to fight colonialists. It is funny since they colonized us in the first place.
However, it doesn’t take away some of the merits of this piece.
Europeans actually found a civilised Africa and looted it’s wealth and resources. There are no merits to colonisation regardless of how you attempt to package it. As Africans we should demand the truth about who we really are and perhaps when you discover that truth, you will understand why we have suffered so much till this day.
’Another massive benefit was the introduction of modern medicine alongside basic education in hygiene, including boiling drinking water’
How brainwashed! How uneducated!!! So this “analyst“ thinks hygiene (and education) was brought to us by Europeans! Ask your dumb self, How did a massive settlement like Zimbabwe exist without residents going extinct if the residents had not known hygiene?
And…So the “analyst“ thinks Modern equals Western medicine !! What is Modern? Dr Rodwell Vongo please educate this African! The Chinese for example practice, in 2025, traditional medicine alongside Western medicine which one is modern? Africans of the modern era do practice traditional medicine. Dr Vongo And What do you think initiation camps were for? EDUCATION you d**** Know that, Education is not restricted to what the white man brought to brainwash you.
Wowzers ! that’s so true .
Let’s be honest guys. If it’s true we were just fine without modern Western medicine, then why don’t we close these hospitals down and go back to what we had before? Why do we consider it “development” every time we take a modern hospital to a village?
This is a very weird set of articles by this rather short-sighted researcher or writer… my opinion obviously.
Researcher?? Copying stuff from the internet and regurgitating it is not RESEARCH !
Give your counter-argument. Not just insulting. We will all learn by hearing your counter-argument, not your insults. Unless may be you have nothing else in your brain besides the insults?
Muzungu anikonde type of article. So sad that the author such tunnel vision.
The epidemic is that there are many who think like him. The challenge for African leaders is to unbrainwash their population via education