Resistance and Collaboration
 Primary Resistance- Initially slowed down effective
occupation.
 Passive resistance- Non cooperation
 Active Resistance –take up arms.
 Conquest was gradual.
 Africans were not docile they took up arms to defend
their values, culture and sovereignty.
Primary Resistance
 Took Place in all the regions.
 East Africa- Nandi resistance- Kenya.
 Kabarega of Bunyoro-Uganda,
 West Africa- Lat Diop Senegal, Samouri Toure of
the Mandinka, Dahomey- Amazons resists the
French invasion for along time .
 Jaja resists the British so were the Asante.
 South Africa –The Ndebele Rebellion.
 Horn of Africa Menelik Defeats Italians in the
battle of Adowa.
Collaborators
 There were groups that collaborated with the
invading European forces e.g.,
 East Africa-Maasai and Wanga of Kenya.
 Buganda Vs Bunyoro in Uganda
 West Africa- Fante Vs Asante, Fulani Sokoto
Caliphate and Nana of Itsekiri in Nigeria.
 South Africa- Lewanika.
 Collaborators had stake in it such as to settle old
time scores or other gains such as sustaining their
rule e.g. Buganda
Case studies –Jaja of Opobo
 Was an ex-slave, earned his freedom, successful trader –wealthy.
 Established his Kingdom on the Opobo River near the Niger Delta.
 Wanted to maintain his middleman position in palm oil
 trade with European traders who wanted to get rid of him.
 Jaja was a shrewd businessman - employed the services
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of African America woman –Emma Jaja Johnson as his
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secretary, adviser, nanny and later married her.
 His shrewdness in trade made him fix prices at which the
 European merchants could buy goods from him and refused to be dictated upon
Jaja of Opobo
 He was friendly to the European traders –often made
 feasts for them. Was hospitable and intelligent.
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Tension emerged due to control of the Palm oil trade in
his region, between him and the Miller Brothers of
Glasgow, and the Five Liverpool firms. The two
companies wanted to get rid of Jaja as a middleman and
get the palm oil directly from the source.
Jaja responded by blocking the Cross river and erecting
barriers by digging canals that could allow only small
boats.
He threatened the Igbos not to trade with the Europeans.
Conflict.
 Jaja had about 4,000 rifles and many warriors who
patrolled the river mouths of Opobo and cross
rivers, hence blocked the way for European traders
forcing them to trade with him.
 British traders saw him as a stabling block that
needs to be removed. Hence had to call on their
home government to intervene.
 Feared Jaja strength hence was tricked to go to
Accra where he was seized and deported to St.
Vincent for 5 years but released after 4 due to poor
health and died on his way back home.
Samori Toure of the Mandinka.
 Built his Mandika empire by 1875,was a strong ruler
and had an army of about 30,000 men both infantry
and cavalry.
 Converted to Islam as a youth and used Islam to unify
the Mandika people so during partition they were
united.
 Bought riles from Sierra Leone and had is own factory
where he manufactured and repaired guns.
Samori Toure
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Fought the British in 1887 and both parties sued for peace each with
different intensions.
Fought again in 1891 and Samori used Scorched –earth Policy to
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avoid the French artillery and machine guns. This method slowed
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withdrawal. Crops animals and Villages were destroyed. Forced
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French to stop invasion in 1892.
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1893 Fighting started again he had to conquer other people to get
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land so he divided his army into 3 divisions the Front ,the rear and
the middle.
Tried to collaborate with the British but they turned him down, tried
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to forge an alliance with other African rulers they too turned him
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down too scared of the French so Samori had to fight alone
the French advancement, He adopted surprise attack and
Samori
 Scored several Victories against the French but as he
retreated to barren lands famine greatly weakened his
soldiers and he gave up fighting in 1898.
 He was exiled to Gabon where he died in 1900.Samori
resisted the French for over 10 years again here it was
the Maxim guns that won the day.
The Ndebele Rebellion
 Ndebele had fled from Shaka and his wars in
South Africa in 1820s and moved to the Limpopo
river in modern Zimbabwe.
 Their king was known as Lobengula on the eve of
Scramble
 The British were interested in gold and feared
other powers such as Portuguese and the Germans
 They also feared the Boers
 So Rev Moffat convinced Lobengula to sign a treaty
of trade and not to engage with other countries
 He was cheated by a missionary Rev. John
Moffat and Rev. Helm who interpreted the
treaty wrongly that Lobengula that he had
signed off his land.
 This was the so called Rudd Concession of
1888 that gave Cecil Rhodes permission to
minerals in his land.
 The treaty was in two parts written and
verbal. Verbal favored Lobengula while
written favored the BSA
 Europeans started to move to Matabeleland
in 1890 to establish their homes.
 Activities of rival miners and educated Africans alerted
Lobengula who realized that there were two treaties
and Rev Helm had cheated him
 He summoned the Indunas (council)
 The pro- British induna who advised him was killed
together with the family
 Wrote to Britain to denounce the treaty
 Sent a delegation to meet the queen in 1889 but to no
avail.
 There was no repudiation of the treaty so he resorted
to fight
Ndebelle Rebellion
 Having realized that they had been swindled of
land and they are pastoralists, they also resented
British taking their Land & cattle so they took up
arms and fought in 1893 and 1896 in both wars
they were defeated due to maxim guns.
 100 British troops were killed and hundreds of the
Ndebele warriors
 Ndebele were driven out of their land
 Rhodes negotiated for peace as Ndebele were still
fighting since people were dying on both sides so
the rebellion ended in 1896.
Primary resistance,
 In these armed conflicts Africans were defeated due to
the following:
 Superior Weapons.
 Divide and rule policy.
 Use of African auxiliaries.
 Enticing collaborators by promising them loot such as
land and cattle e.g. Buganda that was given Bunyoro
lands