Contract Between African Chiefs And The British-Lead Royal Niger Company

European Imperialism in Africa

In the late eighteenth century, a movement sparked in Europe that would completely change the world. It would push the human race forward and the very idea of progress would never be the same again. This event, comparable to the earlier Scientific Revolution, brought on innovation that would simplify the way man worked and lived. The Scientific Revolution occurred in response to the Enlightenment where the eyes of man were opened to the notion of scientific exploration and invention. People began to work on progressing the mechanics of society and reality themselves instead of relying on a government or religious group to do it all for them. Likewise, this aforementioned movement, which can be realized as a response

This is shown most blatantly in Document 1. The document provides an outline of a contract between African chiefs and the British-lead Royal Niger Company. The chiefs, “with the view to the bettering of our country and people, do this day cede...forever, the whole of our territory…” They would agree to such terms as long as “...The said Royal Niger Company [would] bind themselves not to interfere with any of the native laws or customs of the country…The said Royal Niger Company agree to pay native owners of land a reasonable amount for any portion they may require…,” and, “of their own free will and consent…” they would sell their people off to European imperialism. This form of compliance, though seemingly agreed to be peaceful, often ended in harsh conditions. For example, Document 3 displays the viewpoint of an African colonial who was involved in a rebellion against the British in southern Africa. The speaker, Ndansi Kumalo, says, “...we surrendered to the White people and were told to go back to our homes and live our usual lives and attend to our crops. We were treated like slaves. They came and were overbearing.” This document explains how the idea of peace between colony and colonizer was often not the reality at all. A similar opinion of African colonization is exhibited in Document 6, where an African leader, Samuel Maherero,

This piece of history is written by Menelik II, the emperor of Ethiopia, in 1891. He writes to the European nations of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, saying, “I have no intention at all of being an indifferent spectator, if the distant Powers hold into the idea of dividing up Africa.” He tells the European superpowers, “For the past fourteen centuries, Ethiopia has been an island of Christians in a sea of Pagans...Since the All-Powerful has protected Ethiopia until now... I do not think for a moment that He will divide Ethiopia among the distant Powers.” Also in this letter, he calls upon the “distant Powers” to consider helping Ethiopia recover their “seacoast boundary...or give...at least a few ports along the coast.” According to Document 4, however, only five years after that letter was written, a land battle struck out in the Ethiopian town of Adowa between Ethiopia and Italy. This painting depicts what looks to be a fight over Italy attempting colonization over Adowa, which supports the claim that some African nations refused European involvement. According to the painting, both sides of the battle had fairly equal artillery, but the Ethiopians seemingly greatly outnumbered the Italians. The source of the document tells the observer that the Ethiopians were victorious in this fight, so one may