European Imperialism Dbq Essay

Late nineteenth-century imperialism to early and mid twentieth-century imperialism varied greatly from the previous form that was prominent in Europe. Imperialism is defined as “the extension of a nation’s power over other lands” (Spielvogel and McTighe 226). Prior to the 1880’s, European imperialism had mainly consisted of setting up trading posts or colonies and minor missionary activity, most notably in Africa and Asia. Past this point, however, Europe began a swift rush for more and more territory, and the reasons as to why varied from country to country. One such motive was economic, which was relatively common. This led to the taking of land and resources, especially in Africa, which was largely ravaged by the European conquerors, and

To make way for European settlers, many had to give up their farmland. They were paid less, and looked down upon by their rulers. In fact, Europeans often only referred to Africans by their first name as a sign of disrespect. In An Anthology of West African Verse, by David Diop (written in 1507), he describes a situation where a “white man” (European imperialist) kills his father and hurts his family, and then treats the man like a servant, as though just because he is African, he is a lesser person (Document 5). In addition, British colonies in Africa were often led through indirect rule, which was “a colonial government in which local rulers were allowed to maintain their positions of authority and status” (Spielvogel and McTighe 229). This, however, led to the specific oppression of the lower classes, especially the Western culture-educated generation in the early 1900s, because only the wealthy and elite remained in power. This lowered the amount of opportunities for the younger African nationalists, and created the basis for class warfare. There were many causes of oppression, but this consequence of European imperialism had many negative impacts for the African