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Imperialism On The African Continent
Africa and European imperialism
Nature of European imperialism in Africa
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Some of the driving forces behind European imperialism in Africa was Competion, economy, and cultural belief.
Economy played a large part in imperialism in Africa. African natural resources were used in factories of the European countries. Africa was rich in natural resources that the countries needed. For example there is a chart on document D that shows the natural resources that each African colony had to offer. An example being, Tanganyika was controlled by Germany, Germany shipped off the cotton and made clothing and money out of it. Another way this could be seen is that Britain had control of Rhodesia and South Africa both of those colonies had valuable resources, gold, silver, diamonds, lead, zinc and copper. Britain made a lot of money off of these resources. The African countries from which these things came from, did not receive anything in return. In document E, proves my point, in a matter of forty - six years britain's sales went up millions.
Competition and power were the main reasons for imperialism in Africa. European countries went to war over these colonies. The only reason the countries wanted these colonies were for the natural resources, to better themselves and have top
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The African colonies and the British. The british thought they were better than the ¨barbaric¨ Africans. The British thought of all this as helping the Africans. In reality they were hurting them. In 1899 a british writer came out with a poem called the ¨White Man's Burden¨ in this poem they talked about how they fed the Africans and took care of them. In document F they show two excerpts, one from the ¨White Man's Burden¨ and one from an African Tribe, they both talk about the british. The british talk about how they do for the African countries, whiles the other talks about how bad the british is and how they have treated them so horribly. This goes to show how they had different cultural
Throughout the 19th century, European Imperialism had a major effect on Africa. As countries expanded in terms of wealth, resources, and innovation, more territory and workers were needed. The first solution to solve these problems was to begin colonizing in Africa. The driving force for imperialism in Europe and Africa was mainly economical. This economical approach was established through many ways including cultural and nationalistic ideas.
Another reason that European imperialism in Africa was justified, is the fact that Europeans did not take over Africa solely for their self interests. As plainly stated in excepts from Lord Carnarvon's records. "...it is certainly not a desire of selfish interests..." Clearly, those who argue that Europeans just wanted to benefit themselves through the imperialism of Africa, are incorrect.
One of the main reasons Europeans colonized Africa was for their useful resources. There are countless assets in the African landscape that were wanted by other nations. The European countries had access to some of the worlds most needed resources such as cotton, oils, coal, gold, and diamonds because they controlled Africa. This is shown on a chart of African colonies and their exports. ("Selected African Colonies and Their Exports" 269). This shows how the European countries carefully selected the land they did, to get certain resources they needed or wanted to use to benefit from. Another chart from a book by Trevor Lloyd, (Lloyd, The British Empire), displays the large jump of exports to Africa from 1854 to 1900. What that means is once Great Britain established complete control of South Saharan Africa, they began to export the resources they found that they could use. These charts are proof of how the European's wanted resources, and that is one of the main reasons for the imperialization of Africa. Not only did the European nations want the continent's resources, but they had an equal hunger for power.
When the Age of Imperialism began in 1875, it effected Africa in many ways. Nowhere was the competition for colonies more intense than in Africa. Europeans went after North and South Africa splitting up the continent. Egypt and Sudan were taken over by Britain to obtain the Suez Canal. Imperialism helped to develop Africa’s economy and turned it into a continent of colonies.
Imperialism in the late 19th century became a competition among European countries to take control of as many areas in Africa before the others did. For the most part, France, England, and Germany competed for bragging rights to these countries. They thought at the time that the more colonies a country had the more prestigious and noble that country looked. European countries were in pursuit of demonstrating their power. Not only this, but imperialism helped build a strong economy in the mother country because they could invade their colony and strip them of their natural resources in order to produce goods with. In turn, that country could then sell these good to the colony in order to make money. Rudyard Kipling talks about this fierce competition in “The White Man’...
Imperialism is the act of a larger more powerful country taking over a smaller weaker country. Imperialism was very evident in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Africa, an up and coming country was a gargantuan country and just waiting to be taken over. At one point in time the entire continent was taken over by imperialist nations. The novel "Things Fall Apart" written by Chinua Achebe tells about the trials and tribulations of African people and their country during imperialist times. There are a number of primary sources that I have read that talk about imperialism throughout Africa. This essay will be a comparison between the primary sources I have read and the novel by Achebe.
During the 1800’s imperialist European powers such as England invaded Africa and captured slaves. They took the slaves and traded them to the Americas and other countries in return for various goods. African tribes were not equipped with the proper materials and resources to be able to fight back, in result they were taken. Some of the Africans helped the English and other European imperialists to capture their own people.
One of the reasons for imperialism was the demand for industrial items. “demand for raw materials and heated business rivalry for new markets fueled competition for territory in Africa and Asia” (Hunt, p. 761). Then, there were the missionaries that wanted imperialism to help others, they thought it would benefit them
“seizing every piece of fruitful waste ground she can set her foot on, and there teaching these her colonists… that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea” (Doc B). The increase of land and power also increased the status of said country who is gaining this land. Pride in a country comes from what others think of the country and it’s status. The British gained seventeen colonies in Africa in the dividing of its lands in 1884 and 1885 (Doc A). This shows that when more land is gained, countries around you respect your abilities and standing amongst other countries. This connects to Europe’s desire to take over Africa because it gains respect from others. Although cultural spread and power were tempting reasons to take control of Africa, the main source of appeal were the
In conclusion, the motives concerning imperialism in Africa are a matter of expanding empires, helping natives, and natural resources. Europeans countries constantly tried to compete with their neighbors in fair ways to become the most dominating country. Just as much as they took possession of Africa, their will was also to assist Africa on their right path and put an end to any dilemmas they may be
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, almost every country in Africa was imperialized by other countries in Europe. To imperialize is to conquer another country, whether it be in the means of politics, economics and/or culture, and control that land. The aftermath for the imperialized country was either beneficial or harmful. The amount of African countries that a European country imperialized varied. Great Britain imperialized fifteen countries in Africa, including Egypt in 1882, Sierra Leone in 1808, and the Union of South Africa in 1910. Although Great Britain’s reasons to imperialize were selfish, Britain helped each country progress afterwards.
Imperialism is the domination by one country of political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region and occurred during the 1800’s in Africa. Imperialism in Africa was caused by four factors in Europe: economy, politics/military, humanitarian/religion, and Social Darwinism (Ellis). The Industrial Revolution in Europe caused the need for oversea expansion because the manufacturers needed things like: rubber, petroleum, and palm oil all of which Africa had. Europe moving into Africa was also caused by nationalism, when France went into Africa so did Britain (Ellis). The difference between France and Britain was the way of rule they used. There are four different methods of imperialism: direct, indirect, protectorate, and sphere of influence. The most popular were direct and indirect. The French used direct, they sent officials and soldiers from France to administer their colonies and their purpose was to inflict French culture on their colonies and make them into French provinces (Ellis). The British, however, used indirect, they used chiefs to oversee their colonies and encouraged the children in the colonies to get education in Britain. The British “Westernized” their colonies and only used military force when threatened (Ellis).
New Imperialism began in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and was a time when European powers began to pursue a structured (more formal) political control over other areas. Yet it is important to keep in mind that informal empires tend to have an expiration date. As time progresses, history shows us that one of the parties involved will start pushing for change, whether that change is for power or independence is based on the side that provoked the change. In this case, the party that pushed for change was the superior one. The push for power was motivated by greed and an overwhelming desire to control every aspect of valuable foreign areas. One of the biggest moments in the history of colonization was the ‘Scramble for Africa’, as historians (and Professor Hopkins) refer to it as. As slaves were the biggest resource of the time, the banning of slave trade in Africa in the early nineteenth century caused European disinterest in continent that they were once heavily dependent on. Although there were localized replacements, like ivory trading, they were not as effective in keeping Europe’s interest. As a result, Africa was desperate to be relevant again, their economy depended on it. Because of the ban on the slave trade, there was a sudden demographic collapse of middle aged persons, which was also counterproductive to the growth of the continent. Before the scramble, Africa was naturally
In the late nineteenth century, early twentieth century, western nations wanted to expand their territory. After the industrial revolution provided western Nations wealth and technology that could be used to take over less advanced societies. European powers proceeded on building empires in Africa. They found Africa to be home of many valuable natural resources they needed to fuel they industries, and supply cheap raw materials for factories. They wanted new markets where they could trade good produce by factories, and a place to invest profits. European Nations also wanted to spread Christianity, and though themselves to be superior. Meanwhile, powerful industrialized European countries wanted to gain powers by building overseas Empires. Through economic and military powers, European was able to colonize, and dominate Africa. European Imperialism had a negative impact on African’s culture; environment and was racist to African while trying to make them adapt to western manners.
Throughout history, imperialism has led countries to extend their rule over weaker countries and then colonized those countries to expand their own power. Imperialism allows the ruling countries to use the weaker countries for their resources. Colonizing other countries would then lead to growth and a better reputation for the dominating country. There are many examples of imperialism throughout European history. When many European countries “scrambled” for Africa, it seemed as though Africa had no say in anything. During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for their own growth and power. Using Africa for their resources, the Europeans colonized Africa without a second thought. European imperialism in Africa had a negative impact because of social disarray, cultural loss, and death it caused.