Imperialism In The African Continent

The African Continent has a storied past that has intrigued many for generations. Africa had mostly always been a continent of ethnic or tribal culture. Africa’s history had often been passed down through the spoken word of storytellers for generations. This led many 18th and 19th Century historians to believe that Africa had no real history and that the way things were then are the way they had always been for millennia. Often times a western education creates a bias as to what can be regarded as a trusted and accurate source of information. In order to meet that criteria most often written accounts and chronological records were expected. There for the assumption often was that Africa and Africans were a wild and untamed place and people,

The French pushed in Algeria and Senegal. The British did in South Africa, Gambia and Sierra Leone. The Ottomans were known for acceptance of various ethnicities but did come to expand through Egypt and Tripoli. The Spanish held the Canaries and Portugal controlled the coast of the Mozambique Channel. All of these various colonial assets would yield varying benefits to its host nation. Some gold some ivory and certainly the Atlantic and Indian Slave trade were the largest and most profitable. The imperialism had set in for the long haul due to intensifying European continental

A great deal of European influence had occurred and led to the political boundaries of the day. This combined with increasing nationalism among major political powers in Europe helped increase the tensions not only at home but also in the respective colonies. This increased need for control in these various regions forced more government power within the colonial system in Africa. During two World Wars and the immediate period following the colonies in Africa could be considered still and economic concern especially in regards to eastern expansion of European power. This is obvious in the case of nations like England who needed to cling to issues such as the Suez Canal, which expedited their trade in