“Economic imperialism” can be broadly defined as occurring whenever an outside power takes over local resources and uses them mainly or exclusively for its own benefit. But this definition is so general that it covers nearly the entire history of man. Imperialism in this sense begins with the tribe. When a more powerful group finds itself short of land or hunting grounds, it overruns its neighbors, either wiping them out or reducing them to slavery. Throughout Africa today we can see the traces of this most primitive form of imperialism–in Nigeria, for instance, where Fulanis are overlords of the Hausas, or in Ruanda-Urundi where the race of Watutsi-men seven feet tall–are the feudal rulers of local cultivators. If imperialism is a fact of our most ancient history, it reappears under the most modern guise. In this essay, Barbara Ward explores the aftermath of economic imperialism.
