Social Economic Development and Production in Pre Colonial Africa
Social organization and production
Social
organization is the way in which people in a society interact in the process of
economic production. Economic production is the process of making goods and
services to meet human needs. Example of activities relating to in economic
production are crop production and cloth-making.
Types of social organizations and
production
Pre
Colonial Africa passed through three modes of production namely: communalism,
slavery and feudalism. Modes of production are social and economic relations
that existed between people in a society as they engaged in the process of
material production. These modes of production are discussed below.
Communalism
Communalism
was the first mode of production. In this mode of production people lived
together, worked together and shared equally whatever they obtained from
nature. This mode is also called primitive communalism because of low level of
technology. All human societies passed through communalism. Up to the end of
the 19th Century the Hadzabe and Sandawe of Tanzania, the Teso of
Uganda, the Ndorobo of Kenya, the Khoisan of the Kalahari Desert and the Mbuti
of Congo forests were still practicing communalism. Now they have adopted new
modes of production as a results of interaction with other societies.
Origins of communalism
The
following are the factors which led to the existence of communalism:
1.
Low
development of science and technology
People
used primitive tools in material production and lacked skills to increase
production. As a result, they only obtained little form nature and it was only
for immediate consumption.
2.
Absence
of surplus production
People
consumed all what they got from their activities and were busy gathering for
the next meal. By being busy gathering food for the next meal, people did not
have time to organize themselves.
3.
Low
population
Low in
population in the society, made possible for members of the society to work
together and share their produce or collections.
4.
Distribution
of resources in the environment
Distribution
of resources like location of water bodies and forest with fruit trees and game
animal, made them settle in locations that were most favorable.
Characteristics of communalism
1.
Low
production
Low
production was because man largely depended on nature and when he begun using
tools, his tools were inefficient.
2.
Communal
ownership of the means of production
Means
of production such as land, were communal owned.
3.
Absence
of social classes
All people
had the same social-economic class and every one treated every other similarly.
4.
Absence
of social-political structures
There
were no social organization system and no rulers.
5.
The
major economic activities were hunting and gathering
Men
joined hunting while women gathered fruits and cared for children at home.
6.
Land
was the only means of production
Societies
conducted their activities on land. For example: hunting and gathering.
Slavery in Africa
Slavery
was the second mode of production in human history and the first exploitative
mode of production.
Features of slavery
1.
Human
being were treated as person property
They
had no right to demand. They were regarded as any kind of property.
2.
Exploitation
Slave
owners exploited the labor power of slaves and their children. Slave born
children were given the clan names of their parent’s masters. They
automatically acquired slave status and were equally exploited.
3.
Advanced
level of technology
The
level of technology was advanced compared to the level of technology attained
during the communal mode of production.
4.
Existence
of classes
The
first class consisted of slave masters. The master were economically powerful
because they owned property, especially the slaves. They also controlled
economic and political institutions. The second class was that of slaves who
were owned by the masters.
Origins of slavery in Africa
Below
are factors which led to the rise of slavery in pre-colonial African societies:
1.
Rise
of social classes
As the
level of specialization grew, certain people were viewed as more special than
others. For example, blacksmiths became more respected than other occupations.
This gave way to a higher value of what they produced and later they could
afford to take people to work under them.
2.
Emergence
of political organizations
The
rise of special group of people consisting of rulers and their immediate family
called for emergence of another class of people whose work was to serve rulers
performed other duties. This class of people ended up being slaves.
3.
The
need for warriors who could guard kingdoms settlements
This
brought another specialization of people who protected and served higher
classes.
4.
Inequality
in production
Depending
on weather conditions, soil or even individual performance, different people
harvested differently from their farms or other economic activities. The result
of this is that, some could accumulate massive surplus while others only
harvested little or none. In the time of need those who did not harvest enough
had to go to those with plenty to ask for food. Slowly, this gave in to the
exchange of material for human labor.
How the slave were used?
Slaves
were used to perform the following tasks:
i.
Domestic activities such as fetching water,
cooking and cleaning
i.
Took care of elders.
ii.
Watchmen and gate keepers.
iii.
Provided labor in farms and took care of
animals.
iv.
Provided labor for constructions.
v.
Used to carry loads for traders and rulers as
they moved from one place to another.
Feudalism
Feudalism
was the third mode of production. It was based on land and cattle ownership. It
was the second exploitative mode of production after slavery. Under feudalism
land was the major means of production. People who owned land were called
feudal lords. Those who rented were called serfs or tenants.
The
tenants paid rent to their landlords in return for protection provided by the
landlords.
There
were three types of rent: rent in labour, rent in kind and rent in cash.
Origin of feudalism
Feudalism
developed in African societies which undergone political centralization.
Powerful kings owned and controlled all land. They gave some of it to chiefs,
the chiefs provided service to the king in return for the land. They rented
some of the land to the peasant for cultivation and grazing. The peasant
provided service to the chiefs in return for the land. Rent changed as
feudalism developed. Initially peasant paid rent in term of labour, later,
landlords demanded rent in term of product produced. This type of rent is
called rent in kind. As feudalism evolved and money came into use, landlords
demanded rent in cash.
Map showing Feudal Societies in Africa
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How
production was organized under feudalism?
The interlacustrine region of
East Africa had a number of societies which practiced feudalism by the mid-19th
Century.
The Haya had feudal system known as Nyarubanja in which the king (Mukama) owned the best land and
allocated it to other members of the ruling class to control it on his behalf.
In Rwanda and Burundi and Buha, the feudal system developed was
known as Ubugabire, in which the
Tutsi owned land and cattle while the Hutu were given the cattle for them to
take care and in the end pay the Tutsi.
In Buganda the Kabaka owned
land and allocated it to the chiefs. The peasants had to cultivate the land and
pay part of their produce (Obusulu) to the landlords. They also rendered labour
services (akasanvu) in the land that was directly controlled by Kabaka. The
Kabaka received more crops like bananas and local brew while the serfs kept
fewer products for their families.
The coastal societies along the East African Coast developed feudal
system known as Umwinyi in which,
Mwinyi Mkuu owned land and allocated it to his officials known Sheha in Unguja
and Diwani in Pemba to control it on behalf. They appointed tax collector
called Shakua. They collected tax in form of millet, mangrove poles and
recruited labour services for Mwinyi Mkuu palace and landlords.
In the central and Western
Tanganyika in East Africa, Ntemiship
system was practiced among the Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Kimbu and Wagogo. The power of
the ruler was based on his control over the producers themselves.
History Form Two Topic Two Revision Questions
2. Mention
four characteristics of feudal social organization and production.
3. Mention
four characteristics of communalism.
4. Define
slavery.
5. Define
social organization and production.
