Was the scramble for africa positive or negative for the continent?

In the end, the European rule over Africa only ended up stunting the continents development. The combination of badly drawn-up boarders and resource stealing made a chain reaction that the continent is only just rising out of. To this day, there continues to be ethnic strife all over the continent due to the carelessly drafted boarders of the nations of Africa.

Early in the story when tom finds an indian skull in the woods which he kicks in temper. the devil then makes his appearance and, as tom surveys him, he notices that the devil is neither "negro" nor "indian." in fact, he has a "swarthy" complexion and is "begrimed with soot."