MP Board · Class 10 · Social Science · History: The Making of a Global WorldWhat was the impact of the Rinderpest (cattle plague) in Africa in the 1890s?

Rinderpest, a devastating cattle plague, arrived in Africa in the late 1880s. It was carried by infected cattle imported from British Asia to feed the Italian soldiers invading Eritrea in East Africa. Entering Africa in the east, rinderpest moved west like forest fire, reaching Africa's Atlantic coast in 1892. It killed about 90 percent of Africa's cattle. The loss of cattle destroyed African livelihoods, which were traditionally based on land and livestock. Africans had rarely worked for wages, but the loss of their cattle forced them into the labour market. European colonizers used this opportunity to monopolize the remaining cattle resources and force Africans into wage labor, thereby establishing their colonial control over Africa. This shows how a disease could pave the way for European conquest.