Why did the Africans lose against the British in the rebellion? 

Why did the Africans lose against the British in the rebellion? 

  • Europeans were military superior compared to Africans they had better guns while Africans used traditional weapons like spears, bows and arrows.
  • Disunity among African societies also weakened their struggle against the imposition of colonial rule and therefore they could not form a united front against the colonialists.
  • The teachings of the Christian missionaries weakened African societies. They softened the hearts and minds of Africans to the extent that some could not see the need to fight the whites.
  • Collaborators who supported colonial powers also weakened those resisting because they used to leak information to the colonialists.    
  • Many African societies were hit by diseases The Kikuyu, Maasai, Nandi were for example hit by rinder pest, long periods of drought and famine that weakened them and therefore made their fights against European rule ineffective.
  • Poor military tactics. African societies lacked military strategies.
  • Many African chiefs were ignorant of the intentions of the Europeans. They thought that the whites were just visitors who were here for only a short period and as such took them to be their friends.
  • The Spirit of nationalism was lacking in many African societies at the time. Many rebellions were therefore tribal or regional wars, lacking the support of their neighbours.
  • The weak economies of many African societies contributed to their defeat. Many of these couldn’t support full- scale wars.
  • Too much belief in superstition and traditional religion also blind folded Africans.
  • The death and imprisonment of inspirational leaders also undermined African rebellions.
  • The Europeans also employed the divide and rule policy whereby they played one society against the other.