State how the British colonial policies contributed to the rise of nationalism in West Africa.

Answer Details

Nationalism in West Africa was the organised demand by the indigenous peoples for freedom from colonial rule and for self-government. Many of the very policies of the British colonial administration provoked resentment and thereby stimulated the rise of nationalism. These policies contributed in the following ways.

1. Racial discrimination and segregation: The British practised racial discrimination in the civil service, residential areas, clubs and social life, treating Africans as inferior. This injured African pride and stirred resentment against colonial rule.
2. Exclusion of Africans from the higher civil service and top posts: Educated Africans were denied senior positions in the administration, which were reserved for Europeans. This bred discontent among the educated elite who then agitated for change.
3. Denial of political participation: Colonial constitutions gave Africans little or no real say in the government of their own countries, prompting demands for greater representation and self-rule.
4. Introduction of Western education: Colonial (and missionary) education produced a class of educated Africans - lawyers, journalists, teachers and doctors - who became aware of their rights and provided the leadership of the nationalist movements.
5. Economic exploitation: Policies of forced labour, heavy taxation, low prices for cash crops, expropriation of land and the domination of trade by European firms impoverished the people and fuelled anti-colonial feeling.
6. Harsh and autocratic administration: The arbitrary and high-handed conduct of colonial officials, and the use of unpopular measures under indirect rule, alienated the people.
7. Improved communication and transport: Roads, railways, the telegraph and a common language brought people together, eased the spread of nationalist ideas and made organisation across ethnic lines possible.
8. Urbanisation: The growth of towns brought diverse peoples together, created a working class and provided centres where grievances could be shared and nationalist movements organised.
9. Amalgamation and creation of new states: The lumping together of different peoples under one administration created larger political units within which a common nationalist consciousness could develop.
10. Restriction of press freedom: Attempts to muzzle the African press provoked resistance and turned newspapers into powerful instruments of nationalist agitation.

Thus the discriminatory, exploitative and undemocratic character of British colonial policies, together with the education and infrastructure it introduced, combined to arouse and strengthen West African nationalism.