ABSTRACT
EFFECTS The effects of imperialism on the people of Africa were devastating. In particular, colonial powers forced Africans to abandon food crops, such as yams and grain, and grow cash crops, such as peanuts, coffee, tea, rubber, cotton, and cocoa, for export. The family farm became a thing of the past, and African laborers, mostly men, left home to work on large plantations. Those who could not or did not farm also left home to find jobs in the brutal and backbreaking mining industries. Ultimately, women were left to grow food crops on their own, and they were often unable to grow enough.
