Based on a careful reading of the documents, it is clear that some Africans opposed the efforts of European powers massacring their people and conquering their land and they tried to make peace with them. That is portrayed through Documents 2 and 3. Some Africans even conformed to the Europeans and participated in their colonization, as shown in Documents 1 and 9. Documents 6 and 7 give another, which was to urge other Africans to fight back as well. They tried to be diplomatic but when that failed, they were required to resist the European efforts with violence, as shown in Documents 4 and 5. Documents 3 and 8 show that Africans used cultural traditions to stay strong in order to maintain their country’s independence. Africa is shown turning …show more content…
They still were victorious over the Italian troops, as stated in the source, a primary source from an Ethiopian painting. The audience could have been to the Ethiopian people as a sense of confidence to reassure them that they can fight off the European powers. Another possible audience could be the other European powers. It could be viewed as a warning, that they are not underdeveloped or barbaric and they do have modern weapons and are powerful people. Document 4 provided a primary source of Ndansi Kumalo, an African veteran of the Ndebele Rebellion in 1896, discussing the effects of their surrender. The Africans surrendered to the British during the Ndebele Rebellion. He says the Africans “were treated like slaves” and characterized the British as “overbearing”. He also says “They harmed our wives and our daughters.” Because of his vagueness, a document from the point of view of an average woman telling her experience of being under European rule would have been more specific of the abuse on the women of Southern Africa by the British. A document in the form of a photograph, recording the harm done by the Europeans upon the Africans in a visual form would have been helpful to see how to Africans coped and …show more content…
Document 1 was a standard form from the Royal Niger Company, which was commissioned by the British government to develop the Niger River delta and surrounding areas. Many African rulers signed the form in 1886. African chiefs may have given up their land because of the money they would receive for handing it over. The form says, “The said Royal Niger Company agree to pay native owners of land a reasonable amount for any portion they may require.” It shows the greed of the chiefs who were willing to sell out their tribe for money. It is possible that they did not want to give up their land, but were tricked into signing the form, or had no choice and didn’t want to see their people massacred by the British army. The purpose of this document was to legally bind Europeans to the African land. Document 9 is a primary source from Mojimba, an African chief, describing a battle in 1877 against British and African mercenaries. It was told to a German Catholic missionary in 1907. Mojimba was resentful towards the Africans who betrayed them and had hateful words for them. He mentions to the German missionary, “you call us wicked men.” This meant that the white people called the Africans wicked because they were fighting each other, but Mojimba goes on to blame the white men for taking their land and being unjust. A possible document could be from an