ShmoopTube

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Colonialism is like the sad, gray foundation of world history.

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You can't understand modern Africa or the contemporary world without understanding its [World history resting on a foundation]

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effects. [The foundation is removed and world history smashes]

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For starters, colonisation literally redrew the political map in Africa, with many modern African countries, [Painter working on an easel]

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like Zimbabwe, having the same basic borders as their colonial predecessors.

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In a way, most modern African states are like… tribute bands to former colonies. [African band playing]

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Which is sad.

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Since most former colonies didn’t have very many good songs….

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The modern world has also been shaped by all the natural resources stolen from Africa. [Man in a mask stealing metal ores]

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We would never have had cars, airplanes, tanks, skyscrapers, or lasers without all the stuff

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that Europe snatched away.

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That's right, almost all advances of the 20th century were built upon some O.G.-style thievery [Stolen materials from Africa turn into a car]

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over in Africa.

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All that said, don’t go thinking that colonialism was bad for every African. [Africans protesting about colonialism]

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In fact, the classic colonial strategy was to make one native ethnic group more wealthy [Money is dropped to one group of Africans]

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and powerful than others.

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This created a middle class of Africans that would actually defend the European colonial [Group of people holding guns]

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states.

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Why do all the work yourself when you can brainwash others to do it for you? [People walking like zombies]

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Tensions between the chosen ones and the underclass still continue in some nations to this day.

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And let’s just say the aftereffects of creating massive cultural rifts in a society aren’t

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so great…

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The issue with colonialism…uh, besides the fundamental concept of colonialism…is that

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it takes more than it gives. [Man takes two glasses of lemonade from a stand and only pays 1 dollar]

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Colonial states’ main purpose was to extract wealth for companies. [Money is stolen from a mans back pocket]

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That’s all good for the companies.

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But the colonized ended up doing a bunch of work, handing over all the proceeds, and getting…nothing

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in return. [Man doing work gets paid and then his money is taken away]

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Colonial governments did invest in infrastructure that helped them get their hands on raw materials,

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like roads and railroads… [Car crashes into a hole in the ground]

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…but they invested almost nothing in infrastructure that helped Africans get ahead. [A school is bulldozed]

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Universities were pretty much nonexistent in colonial states, high schools were rare,

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sanitation was neglected, and social security...

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Well, let's just say you really didn't want to lose your job. [Closed signs cover up all of the institutions]

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Or get old.

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OK, so Africans didn't get education or toilets, but… at least they were kept well fed, right?

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Wrong.

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Food was not a priority in colonial Africa. [Man looking hungry]

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Colonial governments stole land and gave it to large companies who chose to grow cash

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crops for export rather than food. [Ships take produce away from Afirca]

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The result: widespread and continuing famine.

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Sounds like a brilliant strategy to us—don't feed the guys doing all the work for you. [Man with his thumbs up]

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Seriously.

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It’s hard to imagine that even being effective.

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Anyway, this depressing tale...

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Although people think that starvation is a big deal in Africa today…and it is…the

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malnutrition rate in colonial Africa was insanely higher back then than it is today. [Graph showing malnutrition increasing with colonialism]

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One French doctor in the 1930s estimated that about half of all children born in the French

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colonies would die before their fifth birthday, mostly due to hunger. [Man writing on a blackboard]

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These days, Africa has a child mortality rate of about one in twenty.

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Which is still plain awful.

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And whom does the world have to thank for all these dying babies? [Man looking shocked sat at a desk]

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You got it.

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Our sadistic Uncle Colonialism. [A thank you card to 'Uncle Colonialism']

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He’s probably the kind of guy who takes kids’ candy at Halloween. [Man taking sweets off a kid]

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