The Psychological Impact of Colonization.

The Westerners in one way or the other has had a major part to play in our civilization today because of the result of colonization. This article, is talking about the impact of this colonization particularly in Africa. The Westerners, when they came to Africa to take over, had to force a lot of their disciplines on Africans basically in the areas of cultural elements. This included changing the way Africans do things, the food they eat, the language they speak, and even the language they spoke. Doing this was not going to be as easy as they thought due to the resistance which was put up against them. They had to enforce certain rules and regulations and even also applying their technology to express their superiority over the Africans. The article makes us understand that some Africans actually adopted the western culture and abandoned theirs and also, some other Africans still practiced their traditional cultures while they also tried to make others have impression that they were westernized.

Moreover, the article shows areas in which this westernization process had great impact. First, it all started with colonial conquest. The westerners had a very strong army which did not find it difficult to defeat those of the Africans. As a matter of fact, Africans had great fear in the army of the westerners because they had been defeated quite a large number of times and not just a mild defeat, a very merciless one. It is quite obvious that without the colonial conquest which involved the westerners using their army to conquer the Africans, it would have been difficult for them to build colonies in Africa. The colonial conquest also explains areas in which there was great opposition to the western army. The resistance which the Africans were leading was always headed by religious leaders who had an adamant belief in their traditional rituals. They always impacted the idea into their army that the bullets of the westerners could not harm them. Most times, they failed. They were still always defeated by these Europeans. As a result of these, the traditional leaders lost their positions and were often punished by their new colonial leaders. It is important to note that when the resistance of the Africans was conquered, the westerners don’t leave; they always stay and rule that area. As a result of colonial conquest, African leaders lost their social status and income, military positions and they were often restricted from getting new positions in the new government.

The mode of dressing and the names which Africans have is a strong reflection of their culture. This article makes us understand that the westerners made most Africans loose this aspect of their traditional culture. First of all, the westerners made Africans feel that their dressing has no sense of civilization (barbaric). Africans were made to wear western clothes rather than their traditional ones. The westerners also tagged the African attire as “costume”. No matter how good it looked, Africans could only wear it during a special occasion to represent the traditional background. In conclusion, most Africans agreed to the belief that dressing like a westerner was the proper way of dressing and wearing African costumes just made everyone laugh. Also, the names which were given to Africans were also altered by these westerners. Traditional names were no longer acceptable. The westerners believed that African names were not Christian. These Christian names could be obtained through baptism. As we read further, we understand that Africans no longer had a first name but a Christian name and a surname. Some Africans completely adapted the western naming system and felt going against it was unprogressive.

Furthermore, another important area in which the westerners gained control over the Africans was in the area of language use and education. Western language had to be learned so that you can acquire jobs to work to feed your family. Because of a little level of difficulty in learning the language, it was pidginized. As a matter of fact, in schools and other areas of learning, local languages could not be spoken. Therefore, it was difficult to acquire knowledge if you could not speak or understand the western language because it was the only language spoken there. Moreover, the article covers an area where the western language was used by missionaries to further expand the spread of the Bible and also translate the Bible into African languages.

Finally, speaking about African nutrition, it was tagged unfit for classy occasions. African dishes was to be eaten in homes and western dishes used for special occasions. Also, African music was said to be loud and noisy. The westerners always had a way to degrade the value of African tradition. All these change that was introduced by the westerners had a significant effect on Africans. Africans now had the strong feeling that they were no more inferior to the westerners. Also, traditional African beliefs started getting dumped and most people started picking up the western civilization. To be seen as westernized, Africans started distancing their selves from their fellow ones. They entered the cities and urban areas and started looking for jobs. Though the establishment of colonies in Africa helped to lead to our civilization, it is shameful that even we the Africans begin to forget our traditional background and adopt the foreign one. Also, we should not forget that the westerners would not have gained control over the Africans if not for their colonial conquest.