Imperialism? What is imperialism? Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. However, do you think Imperialism is a positive or negative method? Africa was divided by their religions and different languages they spoke. Europeans tried to come to Africa and spread their religion, such as David Livingstone, who tried to spread Christianity. American newspaper reporter Henry Stanley went to look for Livingstone because he had not return to Africa. Stanley had explored the Congo, which interested King Leopold II of Belgium. By 1882, King Leopold II had control of much of the Congo lands. Many Congolese died because of Leopold, so they took the land from Leopold.
Because of Industrialization,
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They had a meeting called the Conference of Berlin which was with 14 European countries but no Africans were at this meeting. This meeting was to set rules; any country could claim land by first telling other European countries that it controls the area. Liberia and Ethiopia were the only countries not controlled by Europe.
Three groups fought for South Africa: Africans, Dutch, and British. The first Europeans in South Africa were the Dutch because they wanted to make a stopping station for their ships. Boers settled on the land to start their farms and often collided with British about their land and slaves when they took over in the 1800s. So, the Boers moved north and in 1899, they had a war with the British called the Boer War. It was a long crucial wore but the British won the
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The Berlin Conference made Britain a protectorate over the Niger River delta and in 1914, Britain claimed all of Nigeria as a colony. Britain ruled Nigeria indirectly.
Many Africans resisted European colonization, but they lost most of the time because of the advanced weapons the Europeans had. Africans had a rebellion against Germany in east Africa called the Maji-Maji rebellion . There were 20 ethnic groups that came together to fight the Germans, although they still did not come out successful.
Ethiopia was the only one successful. Italy had claimed Ethiopia as a protectorate, which caused the Battle of Adawa. Emperor Menelik II bought weapons to defend Ethiopia, which were purchased from France and Russia. Emperor Menelik II defeated the Italians in 1896. European countries started to invade the Pacific Rim in South Africa because of the sea route it had to China and its minerals,oil, and agriculture such as sugar cane, coffee, and cocoa. They were all big products in the trading
While Portuguese power declined, the British, Dutch, and French powers rose due to firmly standing footholds along the coast. In 1652, Dutch immigrants sailed to the southern tip of Africa and established Cape Town, which was the first permanent European settlement to supply ships sailing to and, from the East Indies. Boers, Dutch farmers, settled in Cape Town and believed they were superior to the native peoples; there, they ousted, enslaved, and killed the people who lived there. The migrations of the Boers “… would eventually lead to battle with several African groups” (455). By the seventeenth century, British and French presences had both reached present-day Senegal. The French established a fort in this region by 1700. After hearing stories about British explorers’ quest for the Nile River’s source, the French and British were intrigued and set off to find this source. These forts led to the continuation of European exploration during the next century in Africa.
When one thinks of imperialism they often refer to the concept with very strong feelings. The general population will either agree with it or disagree. There tends to be no middle ground. The best way to look at imperialism is with an impartial mind. If one looks at imperialism with an open mind then they are able to see both the strengths and the weaknesses that it harbors. Throughout history one is most likely able to name several circumstances where imperialism took place and also point out the obvious aftermath of. Imperialism tends to have a greater good behind it, but unfortunately may have been executed poorly.
At a glance Imperialism is seen as a horrendous practice that many European nations practiced at the turn of the century. With Britain at the top and many other nations coming up behind them Imperialism seemed to be the way to go. But why would such a practice that involved exploiting the natives and harming both the land and people be so appealing to the public? The profits offered by Politicians and Officials hid the truth behind Imperialism, swaying the opinion in favor of money, goods, and a sense of moral duty. Imperialism was a great example of ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’, its promise of greatness for everyone involved outweighed the hardships many endured from it. The pros and cons of Imperialism
In the mid-1800’s Africa south of the Sahara contained more than seven hundred different ethnic groups. Most were organized into communities based on ties of tradition and family. Occasionally, a powerful group formed a state that was strong enough to conquer neighboring groups and form an empire. Europeans had already moved into North Africa. The once-powerful Ottoman Empire had become too weak to prevent local rulers from taking control in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. These countries were no match for the Europeans bent on conquest.
Beginning in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, modern imperialism included not just the colonization of an area of land but also the domination of the society, economy, and military. European countries, especially Britain, France, and Germany, as well as Japan, the United States, and Russia, all eagerly snatched up pieces of land. Africa was one area of imperialist interest. After the Berlin West Africa Conference from 1884-1885, the claiming of land intensified in the scramble for Africa. In three decades, most of Africa had been divided and controlled by imperialistic powers. Some African leaders were passive toward European control, peacefully accepting foreign rule or diplomatically refusing imperial control. Most Africans,
One way to gain power is to imperialize other, more weaker and nations. Europe decided to do this with Africa. Freidrich Fabri, a German author, was inspired and impressed by England colonizing so many nations, and supported Germany following in their footsteps. He was quoted saying “Should the New German Reich wish to prove and maintain its newly won position of power for a long time, it will have to… delay no longer to acknowledge its colonial task anew” (Document B). Freidrich and many people in other countries believe that by going into Africa and taking it over, the strength of their country will continue to grow. Their power did grow, and it also grew when they came up with new inventions to make imperialism an easier process for them. Europe used things like the maxim gun and the repeating rifle for the first time, both of which made it easier to kill because they shot more bullets faster than muskets (Document C). Not only did they grow in power by colonizing Africa, but grew in power with their
In three decades after the Berlin Conference on Africa (1884-1885), European powers occupied and colonized areas in Africa, a process later termed the Scramble for Africa. One of the ways the Africans responded to the European occupation of Africa, was through their reactions in a resistant state of mind. Another way was by their actions in an aggressive and sometimes peaceful manner.
What do you know about imperialism? Imperialism can be defined as a strategy for outspreading a country 's power and effect through diplomacy. Many people know it as a force to spread ideas or gain power. This is consequently how the West was named as mother nations. When studying this topic many focus on the West, including Europe and North America. When discussing Imperialism it is important to discuss how it is justified, how the West engaged in it, and the advantages and disadvantages.
Africa is a land of riches like no other, so as expected, European countries would have some sort of desire to conquer properties in whatever way they did. As stated in African Colonies and their Exports Chart, countless of natural resources are found in different areas in Africa. Not only does the data show plenty of resources, but also a variety (Doc D). This confirms that Africa is a wealthy land that Europeans grew fond of and hoped to take over. Specified in Imports and Exports Graph, following the 1900’s, after the conference to divide up Africa was held, Britain decided to use Africa’s natural resources and specialize in many industries. The imports doubled from 4 million pounds, while the exports boosted from 2.5 million all the way to 21 million pounds (Doc. E). With this lucrative increase in trading and selling, it is fair to conclude that not only were resources a factor of beginning imperialism in Africa, but also a successful result.
Beginning of the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans began to explore in the Atlantic Coast of Africa. They were mainly lured into the excessive trade in gold, spices and other goods without knowing about slaves in Africa. Nonetheless, Europeans had no success of taking over these African states to achieve all of these goods but later they did take over various regions in other areas. Africans seems to be willing to sell as many as 11 million people to the Atlantic slave trade to the Europeans. Thus, this makes them the first people to have slaves not the Europeans that forced them into this trade. Furthermore, at the start the Africans seems to have full control of the slave trade, but the Europeans came in and slowly dominated the trade without the Africans knowing. Later on, the trade was overturned and everything went back orderly.
In many accounts of the Africans, the Africans were in disagreement with the European's Scramble for Africa. Ndansi Kumalo an African veteran wrote in 1896 if many of them to give or keep their land. In a distrustful and agony tone he spoke of how the poor treatment of the Africans in the Ndebele rebellion against the British advances in South America to convince many others not to stay because it has impacted many Africans and many died in the process of it. He says “So 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. They came and were overbearing. We were ordered to carry their clothes and bundles (Doc.4).” A German military officer in 1896 wrote in a newspaper article about the reactions of the Africans about the white settlers. In an awed tone he wrote about the 1906 account of the Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa and to give an example of how the Africans believed in a magic medicine would help them defend themselves against the white settlers (Doc.8). Mojimba an African chief in 1907 described a battle in 1877 on the Congo River against British and African mercenaries to a German catholic missionary. In an appalled and hateful tone he used this description to show that these whi...
Motives for British Imperialism in Africa Before the Europeans began the New Imperialism in Africa, very little was known about the inner parts of the continent. However, after some explorers delved deeper into the heart of Africa, the Europeans soon realized how economically important this area was, and how much they could profit from it. At the time, Britain had only small occupations of land in Africa, but after they realized that they could make money from the rich resources from the inner regions of Africa, they wanted to invade the African countries and take over. This led to the scramble and ultimately, the partition of Africa. During the Age of Imperialism, from 1870-1914, Britain was a major country, which proved to be true in the “carving up” and division of Africa.
In terms of political changes, European imperialism negatively affected Africa. Firstly, European colonization created enormous conflict between colonists and the African people. African resistance to “The Scramble for Africa” lead to the instability of Africa’s political structure. There was ineffective resistance of the African people against the Europeans. In an attempt to regain their independence, Africans took up arms against their colonial masters as soon as they perceived them to be at a disadvantage. In southern Africa, in The Republic of Namibia, the Herero people rose against German rule in 1904, killing over 100 German settlers and traders. German commander, General von Trotha, retaliated with a war aimed simply at extermination. This resulted in the decline of 70% of the Herero population.1 Nowhere else was colonialism quite so brutal, but almost everywhere it tended towards unrestrained brutality as soon as it was challenged.2 Warfare created considerable unrest among African people. Afterwards, the people of Africa came to the realization that the consequences of resistance against European colonists could be devastating. As well, the Europeans demonstrated that they had the technology and resources to gain control. Secondly, colonial expansion changed the face of Africa’s political structure. The Berlin Conference of 1884-85, attended by 13 European nations and the USA, set the ground rules for partition of Africa. When the conferenc...
Africa has had a long and tumultuous road of colonization and decolonization; the rush to colonize Africa started in the 17th century with the discovery of the vast amounts of gold, diamonds, and rubber, with colonization hitting a fever pitch during World War I. However, the repercussions of colonization have left deep wounds that still remain unhealed in the 21st century. Early on, European nations such as Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium scrambled for territories. Countries wanted land so they could harvest the resources, increase trade, and gain power.
In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa.