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Colonial Intrusion and Stages of Colonialism in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2019

Daniel M. Mengara
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Abstract:

Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, has continued to offer—perhaps much more than his third novel, Arrow of God—the most vivid account of the process of early colonial penetration in Africa. This study examines Things Fall Apart through an analytical and conceptual framework that illuminates the five stages of colonialism in Africa. These five stages (exploration, expropriation, appropriation, exploitation, and justification) were necessary in order for colonialism to become both an effective tool for domination and a successful tool of domination; as such, they provide powerful glimpses into Achebe’s fictional representation of the cataclysm embodied by colonial intrusion, not only within the confines of the fictional Igbo universe that he depicts, but also throughout a sub-Saharan African world whose cultural and sociopolitical ethos were shaken to their core. An analysis of these stages, therefore, leads to an understanding of colonialism that defines it not as a series of specific historical events, spaces, and places, but rather as a process or a series of psycho-historical processes with a certain number of inescapable features that conspired to make it an effective tool of and for sustained political, cultural, and economic domination in sub-Saharan Africa. Achebe’s novel can be used as a tool that can help to decipher and foreground the psycho-historical processes inherent in what, ultimately, may be called “the psychology of colonialism.”

Résumé:

le Premier roman de Chinua Achebe Le monde s’effondre [Things Fall Apart], continue d’offrir — peut-être beaucoup plus que son troisième roman, La flèche de Dieu [Arrow of God] — le récit le plus vivace des débuts du processus de pénétration coloniale en Afrique. Cette étude examine Le monde s’effondre au travers d’un cadre analytique et conceptuel qui illumine les cinq étapes du colonialisme en Afrique. Ces cinq étapes (exploration, expropriation, appropriation, exploitation et justification) ont inévitablement fait du colonialisme un efficace instrument pour la domination tout autant qu’un efficient outil de domination; en tant que telles, elles fournissent un puissant aperçu de la représentation fictive qu’Achebe fait du cataclysme que représenta l’intrusion coloniale, non seulement dans les limites de l’univers fictif des Igbos qu’il représente, mais aussi un peu partout dans un monde africain subsaharien dont les valeurs culturelles et sociopolitiques furent profondément ébranlées. Une analyse de ces différentes étapes, par conséquent, conduit à une compréhension du colonialisme qui ne le définit plus comme une simple série d’événements, d’espaces et de lieux historiques spécifiques, mais plutôt comme un processus ou une série de processus psycho-historiques avec un certain nombre de caractéristiques uniques qui ont conspiré pour en faire un outil efficace de domination politique, culturelle et économique soutenue en Afrique subsaharienne. Le roman d’Achebe peut ainsi être utilisé comme un outil pouvant aider à éclaircir, puis à mettre en exergue les processus psycho-historiques inhérents à ce qui, en fin de compte, peut être baptisé du nom de « psychologie du colonialisme ».

Resumo:

O primeiro romance de Chinua Achebe, Quando Tudo Se Desmorona, é ainda hoje —talvez bem mais do que o seu terceiro romance, A Flecha de Deus—o mais vívido relato do processo inicial de penetração colonial em África. O presente estudo analisa o livro Quando Tudo Se Desmorona, a partir de uma grelha analítica e conceptual que evidencia os cinco estádios do colonialismo em África. Estes cinco estádios (prospeção, expropriação, apropriação, exploração e justificação) foram necessários para que o colonialismo se tornasse simultaneamente uma ferramenta eficaz para exercer a dominação e uma ferramenta bem-sucedida da dominação; nesse sentido, estes estádios oferecem uma visão privilegiada sobre a representação ficcional que Achebe faz do cataclismo materializado pela intrusão colonial, não só dentro dos limites do universo ficcional dos Ibo por ele retratado, mas também em todo um mundo da África subsariana, cujo ethos cultural e sociopolítico foi abalado até ao âmago. Assim, a análise destes estádios permite compreender o colonialismo de um ponto de vista que não se restringe a acontecimentos, espaços e lugares históricos específicos, mas sobretudo como um processo, ou uma série de processos psico-históricos, com um determinado conjunto de características inescapáveis que conspiraram para fazer dele uma ferramenta eficaz de e para uma dominação política, cultural e económica sustentada na África subsariana. O romance de Achebe pode ser usado como ferramenta auxiliar para decifrar e trazer para primeiro plano os processos psico-históricos inerentes àquilo que, em última análise, pode ser designado como “psicologia do colonialismo.”

Keywords

stages of colonialismphases of colonizationAchebecolonial intrusionexplorationexpropriationappropriationexploitationjustification
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 62 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 31 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2019 

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