Essay Sample on Colonization of Niger by Europeans in 19th Century

Introduction

The contact between the Europeans and the Niger people began in the 19th century when Explores Mungo Pack and Heinrich Barth visited the region looking for the origin of river Niger. The French effort to subdue the area started at the beginning of the 1900s but the native groups such the Tuareg were only conquered in 1922. It was at this time that the region became a French Colony. The reason that the Europeans colonized the area was because of the slave trade in the region (Cooper, 2019). The slaves were a critical element in the business that the Europeans engaged in West Africa. However, their interest in Niger and other regions was on groundnuts, gum Arabic, and other raw material that was in the area.

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The Development of the French Colony

The occupation of the French in Niger was quite different as compared to the other West African nations. The French administered it west colonies thorough a governor-general that was situated in Senegal while there were still other governs in the individual territories. Besides, the people of the region were given French citizenship. The French also provided for a decentralized power were the local were giver limited political participating in the regional advisory assemblies.

Niger Achieves Independence

In the year 1956, there was the passage of the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) that was also accompanied by the passes of the reorganizational measure in the French parliament. The adoption of the laws removing the voting inequalities in their overseas territories also allowed these territories some level of self-government and set the stage for the independence of Niger. Besides, the laws allowed for the creation of governmental organs in the colonies (Bergh & Fink, 2018). In 4th December 1958, there was the creation of the Fifth French Republic that allowed Niger to become an autonomous state with the French colony. However, it was only until 1960 that the country gained full independence.

One of the impacts of the colonial system in Niger is that it led to the adoption of the French culture among the locals. Until today the French language remains to be the official language of the Republic of Niger. Besides, several cultural centers in the county still promote the French culture among the people of Niger (Charlick, 2019). While it might seem like a positive impact, most scholars have argued that the system led to the erosion of the African culture among the Niger people. Besides, the colonization led to the Niger people being allowed to get French Citizens. The colonial system allowed the country to operate as an autonomous state with the French community, and thus the people of Niger could move to France.

The occupation of the French in Niger did not take such a long time. However, within the years that the French occupied this region, there, the impact was quite significant. While in some cases it seemed positive, it was still detrimental. One of the effects is that it led to the loss of African culture. However, on the positive, the people of Niger were given French citizenship. It might be hard to entirely look at the French occupation of the Niger as detrimental. There were still some positive impacts. However, there is no good reason that one can give about colonization. Despite having some positive aspect, it was not warranted.

References

Bergh, A., & Fink, G. (2018). The French Curse? On the Puzzling Economic Consequences of French Colonization. On the Puzzling Economic Consequences of French Colonization (September 25, 2018). IFN Working, 1234. :https://ssrn.com/abstract=3373314Charlick, R. B. (2019). Niger: personal rule and survival in the Sahel. Routledge.

Cooper, B. M. (2019). "Our Anglo-Saxon Colleagues": French Administration of Niger and the Constraining Embrace of British Northern Nigeria. In British and French Colonialism in Africa, Asia and the Middle East (pp. 35-64). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-97964-9_3