The second footstep is the colonial period. In layman's definition, Colonialism is where a superior nation or country takes governship of another country through the use of power and control. Interestingly, the history of colonialism began decades ago during the times of ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt taking popularity over other areas. Colonialism heightened during the age of discovery. African colonialism is not any different as many countries in the continnet became dominated by the Europeans. It is here that literature is shaped by ‘open quote ‘the colonial experience of direct rule and domination by the imperialist power’ end quote. It was a time that is still very vivid , to some very livid , where Africa experienced several hardships in its long history that has left a strong impact on the theme of its Literature. African literature at this time took a different turn where authors, poets from all the corners of the continent…began writing and exploring issues on slave narratives, protests against colonization, calls for independence, African pride and hope for the future. All these led to the rise of African resistance and rebellions of all nature to bring forth independence. Examples include Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya; Maji Maji rebellion in Tanzania; Lamogi rebellion in Uganda; Malagasy Uprising in Madagascar; Boussa rebellion in Nigeria, Simba rebellion in Congo ; Angolan war and Algerian war just to name a few. Being one of the most pronounced literary periods in Africa; the concept of colonization and the traumas it ingrained in Africa people, there are many African literary texts on this discourse that are readily available at anyone’s disposal. Nonetheless, some of the best books that clearly and meticulously examine the Colonial Africa in depth are: Travels into the Interior of Africa by Mungo Park; The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham ( not African though); The Will to Die by Can Themba; Petals of Blood by Ngugi Wa Thiongo; and ofcourse, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe just to name a few.
