Failure of African resistance movements

Failure of African resistance movements

Although Africans resisted the colonial conquests, they were not successful. Africans were defeated. The following are the reasons for their defeat:

1. Disunity: Africans did not fight as an organised force. Each African hero organised his people or society and army to fight against the invaders and protect his territory. Thus, it was easy for the invaders to defeat them.

2. Poor weapons: Africans used military weapons which were technologically poor when compared to the European military weapons. They used spears, stones, bows and arrows. Europeans used guns and bullets. It was difficult for Africans to compete against the colonialists who had more powerful weapons. Consequently, Africans were defeated.

3. Traitors: Some Africans sided with the colonisers to fight their fellow Africans. This happened in areas where there were hostilities between African groups. Weak societies helped the Germans to defeat their strong neighbouring enemies.

4. Weakened societies: Some African societies had been weakened by the disasters and crises of the late 19th century, and therefore they could not effectively resist the Europeans. Some societies such as the Maasai had their cattle economy disrupted by the rinderpest pandemic. Other societies had been weakened by the slave trade, disease and famine. Thus, they could not effectively resist colonial rule.