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Colonialism in africa and its impact
Colonialism in africa and its impact
Colonialism in africa and its impact
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British Involvement in the Partition of Africa in the Late 19th Century as a Product of Economic Interests
In the late 19th century Africa came to an end as a series of either
independent or African dominated nations. By the start of the 20th
century the continent in its entirety was dominated by Europe. The
British particularly were the 'rulers' of Africa. They definitely
carried the most influence across the continent with territories
scattered across it. Clearly Britain had occupied these territories
with good reason, but were these only economic interests? I do not
believe this to be true as though in many cases it clearly was, in
some instances Britain had other reasons for entering a nation and
imposing their rule. These include possibly geopolitical reasons or
men representing the British Empire taking their own initiative.
For example let us look at Egypt. Britain was forced to occupy her in
1882 even though the foreign policy of the then prime minister,
Gladstone was a general non-intervention one (as he was a liberal).
This was because for the last 4 years France and Britain had been
sharing a 'dual control' of Egypt to help stabilise their financial
conditions. Their policies greatly displeased the Egyptians who
suffered famines and huge pay cuts and taxes and this le to revolt.
Britain occupied her after 50 Europeans were killed in Alexandria in
riots; as Turkey couldn't control her and they did not wish any other
foreign powers (like France) to gain Egypt. This was because they did
have trade with Egypt and wished to pass through Egypt. They also
wished to have continued access to the Suez Canal. Therefore the
reasons for the expansion are partially economic but they're also
political.
In other areas there were instances where the British army were forced
to move in to protect their own people from threats emerging from
surrounding territories. An example of this would be the British East
Africa Company. By 1895 the British were in control of a large rather
unwanted territory in East Africa due to the British East Africa
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.
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.
European imperialism in Africa caused Africans to lose their independence and culture. After a long time, “the wave of Independence across Africa in the 1950s and 1960s brought to the end around 75
...help boost worldwide economy while promising a virtually unlimited growth and prosperity, if the British viewed Africa as a commerce partner instead of a source of free labor. A commercial relationship with Africa would open up doors to immense wealth opportunities for the much more industrialized Britain. As an always expanding market for textiles and other hand made goods, treated as human beings of equal worth, would become much valuable customers and many local goods could be exchanged. Additionally the African land is fruitful in mineral and resource wealth of the African continent offered vast opportunity to the more advanced economies. "The hidden treasures of centuries" would be available for European exploitation. "The manufacturing interest and the general interest are synonymous, The abolition of slavery would be in reality an universal good." (Citation)
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting a land grab on the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economic, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation. Europe in this period was a world of competing countries. Britain had a global empire to lead, France had competition with Britain for wealth and so did other nations like Germany and Russia.
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.
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.
British Imperialism in China and Africa The treatment of the Chinese by the British, during the takeover of their country, was just like that of the Africans. The British took over the land and the government, took advantage of the people and exploited them for their resources. The English accomplished these things differently in each situation, but each time, the results were the same. One of the most important aspects of imperialism is the takeover of government.
per cent for Germany, 7 per cent for Belgium and 1 per cent for Italy:
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. Britain was one of the strongest of the European countries, and had the power to take over much of the most valuable lands with the most rich and abundant supplies of raw materials and other resources. There were five main reasons for their imperialism. They were political and military interests, humanitarian and religious goals, ideological, exploratory, and lastly, but most importantly, economic interests.
Africa was divided into a series of seven colonial empires. France and Britain had the...
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. One of the main reasons was that the Europeans believed that the more territory a country was able to control, the more powerful it could become and the more powerful it would be seen as by other countries. Other reasons for the desire to control African land included the many natural resources that could only be found in Africa, such as diamonds, gold, and as time progressed, rubber. It also provided new markets in surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for a larger profit. The Europeans had many motives for imperialism in Africa. Yet the true motives were often shielded as they tried tom present themselves as humanitarians when in reality they were making Africa a terrible place to live with brutality and harsh treatment of the African natives. The ways of the Europeans had many physical and emotional costs for the people of Africa. The imperialism process also took a toll on the people of Europe. The European imperialistic colonization in Africa was motivated by the desire to control the abundant natural resources an...
The British controlled most of Africa because they wanted to get weapons from them. Africa has many valuable resources that can be made into weapons like iron. Iron can be used to make swords. After World War II ended, the whole world has entered the atomic age. That's no point using swords while bombs are being dropped above their heads. Swords are kind of pointless during this age. The British wanted to find new nations that have nuclear weapons like United States. The British could just jump to United States for nuclear weapons. They saw Africa pointless after World War II. Since Africa hs always been controlled by other nations. They didn't know how to governing a country. They didn't know what to do. This caused many conflicts with their leaders. For example, Ahmed Ben Bella was the president for Algeria. He wanted a socialist and Israel state. People disagreed with his ideas. The government and the army disagreed to
Timothy Vilgiate King-Ndaya HIST 3000 April 28, 2014 British Colonial Policy and the Ensuing Nigerian Civil War. The Nigerian Civil War lasted from July 6, 1967 until January 15, 1970. The belligerents were the Federal Republic of Nigeria, led by the military governor Yakubu Gowon, and the Republic of Biafra, led by the military governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu. After an abortive counter-coup d'etat in favor of Northern independence, General Ojukwu declared the independence of southeastern Nigeria. Each of these regions were dominated by one particular tribe, and the Hausa of the north long felt oppressed by the southerners underneath colonial rule, while during the short-lived military government from 1966 to 1967 the Igbo had been the victims of several pogroms within the army itself.1 2 To further complicate the tribal tensions already fueling the conflict, British Petroleum, and several other oil companies, had vested interests in vast fossil fuel reserves in the secessionist state, which they feared would be unfriendly to their business.3
The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914. Jeff Taylor, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.