Question

Write a note to explain the effects of the following:

The coming of rinderpest to Africa.

Answer 1

Rinderpest arrived in Africa in the late 1880s. It was spread by sick livestock sent from British Asia to feed Italian soldiers attacking Eritrea in East Africa. Rinderpest entered Africa from the east and spread west ‘like a forest fire’ until it reached Africa’s Atlantic coast in 1892.

It had a terrifying impact on people’s livelihood and the local economy, as mentioned below:

1. On the way, it killed 90% of the cattle.
2. The loss of cattle destroyed African livelihoods.
3. Planters, mine owners, and colonial governments monopolised the remaining livestock resources, consolidating their authority. They forced Africans into the labour market.
4. Control of the remaining cattle supply allowed European conquerors to conquer and subdue Africa. The introduction of rinderpest demonstrates how, in a period of conquest, a disease affecting cattle transformed the lives and fortunes of thousands of individuals, as well as their relationships with the rest of the world.