Colonists did more good to Africa than harm?

[Tekee]

I recently learned that Zimbabwe had an inflation rate of 89.7 sextillion percent (Is this even possible :O), prices double roughly once per minute.
And it was caused because of the land transfers of the early 2000's where they took land away from white minorities and gave it to black majority. Suddenly the "Breadbasket of South Africa" could not feed its population and was in famine for so many years.

This is interesting because I read in an old encyclopedia from the 1950's that was not politically correct that said that ignorance is the cause of most famines.
This is no longer a politically correct view but I think that Zimbabwe's troubles after it kicked out the whites farmers is because they were replaced with more ignorant farmers who could not use modern methods to produce food?

ISn't this what happened with Haiti? My 8th grade teacher said that it was slaves who rebelled but they did know how to run a country so they ruined their own country.

 

[Mowque]

How old are you, my friend? Since your quoting your 8th grade teacher.

 

[LightFang]

Let me take a wild guess and say: eighth grade.

 

[Dachs]

Is this going to be like that Fagel book that said that slavery apparently made economic sense and was more efficient than free labor?

 

[Godwynn]

We're marching to a faster pace.

 

[lolcats]

Look out! Here comes the Master Race!

 

[Bigfoot3814]

I'm also going to hazard a guess here and infer that you've never worked in a diamond mine or on a rubber plantation.

 

[Synobun]

Uh, no. Take a look at Rwanda.

 

[Trajan12]

ISn't this what happened with Haiti? My 8th grade teacher said that it was slaves who rebelled but they did know how to run a country so they ruined their own country.

Haiti was embargoed immediately upon achieving independence by the United States, fearing similar revolts at home. Also, they had to agree to pay a huge sum of reparations to France which put them in debt many times over. And since they had no money themselves, they had to borrow this money from...French banks. Not to mention the political instability that inevitably follows revolutions.

 

[Nordstream]

The Russian education system has changed these days they were anti-imperialist back in the good old days.

 

[luiz]

The Russian education system has changed these days they were anti-imperialist back in the good old days.

Anti certain forms of imperialism, for sure. I doubt they learned to condemn the imperialism of a certain superpower over much of Eastern Europe and other places, though.
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More on topic, colonialism varies greatly from place to place. On the whole it's pretty clear that it produced more bad than good, but fact is some countries got essentially raped while others inheritted pretty valuable infra-structure (both physical and institutional).

 

[Arwon]

Oddly enough... what Luiz said.

Some of the important variables are: what era colonisation happened in, who did the colonisation, why the colonisation happened, the products of the place in question, whether there was settlement from the metropolis, how the colonisers changed land-ownership and land-use, whether there was wholesale genocide and slaughter, and whether there was direct or indirect rule.

 

[Formaldehyde]

My 8th grade teacher said that it was slaves who rebelled but they did know how to run a country so they ruined their own country.

Wow. Some teacher. You might want to read this to get a bit more balanced perspective:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti

You might want to take a look at the Zimbabwe entry too. While it is true that they tried to get some of the white farmers to come back to help bolster the economy after it was too late, there was a lot more problems going on that not knowing how to farm as efficiently as possible. As with most complex issues, there really are no simplistic answers.

 

[Sharwood]

Oddly enough... what Luiz said.

Some of the important variables are: what era colonisation happened in, who did the colonisation, why the colonisation happened, the products of the place in question, whether there was settlement from the metropolis, how the colonisers changed land-ownership and land-use, whether there was wholesale genocide and slaughter, and whether there was direct or indirect rule.

This. It's also a question of better for whom? Australia's not that bad for whites compared to some places, didn't work out too well for the Aborigines though. Especially the Tasmanians.

 

[Trajan12]

On the whole it's pretty clear that it produced more bad than good, but fact is some countries got essentially raped while others inheritted pretty valuable infra-structure (both physical and institutional).

Yes. This would be the reason why Botswana, which gained independence peacefully and inherited a relatively stable government, shows consistent economic growth. As opposed to the DRC which was ruled rather brutally or Angola/Mozambique who had to fight first for independence and again in civil war that followed. Not all colonies got the same treatment so viewing them all from the same perspective wouldn't make much sense.

 

[Camikaze]

Hmm. That's a slightly revisionist theory, don't you think, Tekee?

 

[Death_Machine]

You might want to take a look at the Zimbabwe entry too. While it is true that they tried to get some of the white farmers to come back to help bolster the economy after it was too late, there was a lot more problems going on that not knowing how to farm as efficiently as possible. As with most complex issues, there really are no simplistic answers.

It is not complex. The racism of their leader (supported by the ignorant masses) caused the problem. Nothing complex about that.

 

[Japanrocks12]

It is not complex. The racism of their leader (supported by the ignorant masses) caused the problem. Nothing complex about that.

uh, there was deep seated animosity among the populace from during Smith's tenure in Rhodesia. I would argue that Mugabe was the spark, not the cause, of the ensuing conflagration.

 

[Agent327]

This is interesting because I read in an old encyclopedia from the 1950's that was not politically correct that said that ignorance is the cause of most famines.

That is interesting, because it is our ignorance that is the cause of most famines.

Fact: There is enough food to feed the world's population.

Fact: While some people suffer from undernourishment, other people have obesitas - which is only possible with surplus food being available.

It would seem then that the food does not get where it's most needed.

The same applies to your question: Colonists did more good to Africa than harm?

Where colonists were present, the result in most of the cases was the creation of fragile, one-crop (or product) economies. Were there were colonists present, they resisted independence (most infamous example: the Algerian War of Independence) and for a large part resulted in the creation of instabile regimes (there are exceptions, ofcourse), with just as little regard for the population as their former colonizers.

 

[HannibalBarka]

I recently learned that Zimbabwe had an inflation rate of 89.7 sextillion percent (Is this even possible :O), prices double roughly once per minute.
And it was caused because of the land transfers of the early 2000's where they took land away from white minorities and gave it to black majority. Suddenly the "Breadbasket of South Africa" could not feed its population and was in famine for so many years.
This is interesting because I read in an old encyclopedia from the 1950's that was not politically correct that said that ignorance is the cause of most famines.
This is no longer a politically correct view but I think that Zimbabwe's troubles after it kicked out the whites farmers is because they were replaced with more ignorant farmers who could not use modern methods to produce food?
ISn't this what happened with Haiti? My 8th grade teacher said that it was slaves who rebelled but they did know how to run a country so they ruined their own country.

Hummmm, if you let the German colonize Russia, they would make as rich as Germany, and not the craphole it is today (well at least compared to Western Europe). I am sure your 8th grade teacher would be the first to support this, go and ask him