1. Imperialism Changing Role of Labor in Money in Colonial Africa

2. In 1884, 14 European nations met at the Berlin Conference to lay claim on Africa’s territory. No African ruler was invited to attend and Europeans divided the land w/o regard to the distribution of African ethnic and linguistic groups The Berlin Conference

3. Traditional African Economy Africa before colonization had a traditional economy. – You produce enough to meet the needs of consumption with little or none left over. – If you cannot meet your need, then you trade goods with others to make up the difference. – A traditional economy is based on the production of goods, not consumption.

4. Factors of production In a traditional economy the most important factor of production (what you used to produce a good) is land. – Because most production is agricultural based in a traditional economy.

5. Loss of Land Colonization meant the loss of land for many Africans. The Europeans take land for use in cash crops and resource extraction. So the Africans no longer have access to the land to produce what they need.

6. Introduction of a Money economy When the Africans lose access to their land they must get jobs on the plantations and in the mines to get money. They then use the money to buy goods to meet their needs.

7. The Real Problem From whom are the Africans buying their goods? From the people who now control the factors of production – THE EUROPEANS. So now the Africans are working for and buying from the Europeans.

8. African Dependence This creates a cycle of dependence for the Africans on Europe. They need to work for the Europeans to make money, BUT because they spend all of their time working FOR the Europeans they don’t have time to produce their own goods. So they must also buy FROM the Europeans. This creates a cycle that prevents the Africans from developing wealth ON THEIR OWN.