How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

Expatriation of African Surplus Under Colonialism

Chapter 5 focuses on Europe’s exploitation of Africa during colonialism. It starts by addressing wage disparities and the exportation of African surplus to Europe. Statistics shows that African labor was cheap compared to European labor, especially in the mining and agricultural sectors. For example, Nigerian coal miners at Enugu made a fraction of what Scottish and German miners earned: one shilling per day for underground jobs, and nine pence per day for surface work. Europeans earned seven times that amount per hour. Several factors contributed to this disparity: (1) The colonial state had a monopoly on political power, making it impossible to pass laws protecting workers; (2) the African working class was small, dispersed, unstable, and unable to organize; and (3) white supremacy justified paying Africans less than their European counterparts and kept Africans out of senior positions. Low wages in Africa supported the rising standard of living in Europe. Mining company shareholders benefitted most of all, collecting annual dividends from gold, diamonds, manganese, and other materials from African soil and labor. Colonialists also profited from African agriculture by keeping wages low and imposing harsh work conditions. The agricultural sector required little investment, as colonial powers seized land from Africans and sold it to Europeans at a nominal price.