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. One of the ways the Africans responded to the European occupation of Africa, was through their reactions in a resistant state of mind. This is shown in document 2 when Prempeh I, an Ashanti leader, replys to a British offer by saying that Ashanti must “remain as of old and and at the same time remain friendly with all White men” (Doc 2). Prempeh’s purpose was …show more content…
Most reactions are seen through letters written by African leaders to these European powers. An example of this is in document 3, where the emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II, writing that he does not think that God will “divide Ethiopia among the distant powers” (Doc 3). The audience he writes to contains powers such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia because he wants to show them that they are hopeful and have faith that their land won’t be taken because of Jesus protecting them. It seems like he is asking for Ethiopia to be spared because they have been protected by the Christian faith since then and remain in denial of the the idea that their land can be taken. Lastly, not all reactions by the Africans were as calm and collected. In document 6, the polar opposite is seen by the Ashanti queen mother, Yaa Asantewa, who delivers an aggressive and fiery speech to the chiefs of the region. She wants the men to wake up and realize the importance of the situation, saying, “If you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then… we the women …show more content…
Document 1 is one of the rare occasions where the Africans took action in a peaceful manner. The Royal Niger Company writes a form to multiple African rulers, stating they would not enter any war with any tribes and “bind themselves not to interfere with any of the native laws or customs of the country” (Doc 1). The African rulers, being the audience of this form, are told that when their lands are being entered, there will be no issues or unnecessary havoc caused. This was their purpose, to assure them that it would be a safe and peaceful encounter in order for them to gradually take control of the territory for the power they desire. The action that the African rulers take is to actually agree by signing the form and to not defend themselves with fear. On the other hand, in document 4, a different approach is seen through an African veteran, Ndansi Kumalo, who took part in the Ndebele Rebellion against the British in South Africa. He states that they were treated like “slaves” and continues by saying, “How the rebellion started I do not know; there was no organization, it was like a fire that suddenly flames up” (Doc 4). His purpose of writing about this is to show that physical action in an aggressive manner is sometimes necessary and often inevitable when people are treated wrong, like him and the others that were forced to
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.
Both Africa and India were invaded by the English Empire during the period of imperialism but the attitudes of the native towards the colonizer are different considering in the books. In Things Fall Apart , the native tribe of Africa or “ Igbo”, which is separated into many villages seems to be violently opposed to the coming of the colonizer and the colonizer too reacts violently.Foe example,when English government had known that his missionary was killed in Abame village,They massacred the village “ …until the market was full and they began to shoot. Everybody was killed ”or Okonkwo, who was a leader of the African Igbo community of Umuofia couldn’t stand the coming of the Christian religion so he suggested Mbanta , the village of his mother to fight against the Whites “ Let us not reason like cowards…If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor,what do I do?Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head.” And the situation that was most severe was when Okonkwo killed the head messenger who was sent by English to stop the congregation of Igbo. After that he hanged himself because he knew that the District Commissioners wouldn’t let this pass and they would dishonor him as they had done when they caught him and his friend for destroying a church by whipping him and shaving his head.
Introduction: The epoch of imperialism cannot be defined simply as a proliferation of inflated egos tied to the hardened opinions of nationalists, but also a multi-faceted global rivalry with roots of philosophies tainted with racism and social Darwinism. The technique of each imperialist was specific to the motivations and desires of each combative, predominantly Western power and subsequently impacted the success of each imperialist and its colonies. Driven by industrialization, Europeans are aware of the urgent need for raw materials and new markets to maintain a constant rate of expansion and wealth. Imperialism became a competition; in general, the European countries led with fervor while the non-Western regions deemed likely to be stepped on.
The colonization of Africa officially began in 1884 with the Berlin Conference. Western European powers began to split up the land and resources in Africa among themselves. This period of history became known as the Scramble for Africa. The Scramble for Africa occurred because as the slave trade ended, capitalists saw Africa as a continent that they could now exploit through legitimate trade. European capitalists found new ways to make money off of the continent. With greater exploration of the continent even more valuable resources were found. The encouragement of legitimate trade in Africa brought Europeans flocking to colonize Africa. Africa lost their independence, and along with it, their control over their natural resources. Europeans used the term the "White Man's Burden," a concept used by white colonizers in order to impose their way of life on Africans within their colonies, to ...
This quote from page 70 points out the futility of the European’s presence in Africa. This is caused by the Europeans taking away from the people of different races and “flatter noses.” These people journey to other parts of the world, then take their resources and possessions, and ultimately claim it as their own. The Europeans go to other countries looking for easier routes, resources, and trade. However, when they stop on foreign lands, they change the way of life for the native population. They bring disease, customs, religion, et cetera, which is then forced onto the natives. This quote highlights the meaningless presence of Europeans in Africa.
Imagine a group of foreign people invading your home, disavowing all your beliefs, and attempting to convert you to a religion you have never heard of. This was the reality for thousands and thousands of African people when many Europeans commenced the Scramble for Africa during the period of New Imperialism. A great fiction novel written by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, highlights the responses to missionaries by African people. The African natives responded to the presence of white missionaries with submission to their desires, strategic responses to counteract them, and with the most disruptive response of violence.
Prior to the 19th century, the Europeans traded mainly for African slaves. It turns out they were not immune towards certain diseases and therefore had an increasing risk of becoming sick. For years to come this continued, but not much land was conquered. Eventually, conference between only the Europeans was held to divide up the land appropriately, and the scramble for Africa began. The driving forces behind European imperialism in Africa were expanding empires, helping natives, and natural resources.
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...
Prior to the arrival of European traders, the continent of Africa had developed sophisticated society as it demonstrated its ability to maintain advanced civilizations, withhold three major empires, and gain wealth through trade. Although European traders did advance organized society in Africa, it would be false to say that prior to their arrival Africa was underdeveloped.
By 1885, little to no independent countries existed throughtout the whole African continent. This was due to the imperialism done by strong European countries. Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, and Spain are to blame. There are many possible contributing factors as to why the European countries decided to completely carve up Africa, split it up, imperialize the whole of the continent. Because of the need for resources Africa could supply, the European desire for power, and the European's reaction to the White Man's burden, they took control of almost every square mile in Africa through imperialization.
The first Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain. It led to a dramatic increase in factories, therefore a vast amount of manufactured goods. The demand for goods created by the Industrial Revolution helped clear the way for the Age of Imperialism because Great Britain and eventually all of Europe sought after more natural resources and raw materials. Imperialism is the policy in which a stronger country seeks to dominate a less developed country both politically and economically. Although the European imperialism of Africa was exploitive and self seeking, it was justified because it ultimately enhanced the growth and development of the African nations through new laws, government, well ordered finance and freedom form oppression.
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.
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.
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
In order to properly understand the effects of colonization, one must look at its history. Most of Africa was relatively isolated from Europe throughout early world history, but this changed during the 17th to the 20th centuries. Colonization efforts reached their peak between the 1870s and 1900 in the “Scramble for Africa” which left the continent resembling a jigsaw puzzle Various European powers managed to colonize Africa including Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain. This intense imperialist aggression had three major causes. The primary reason was simply for economic gain. Africa is refuge to vast, unexplored natural resources. European powers saw their opportunity and took it. Another motive was to spread the Christian religion to the non-Christian natives. The last major incentive was to demonstrate power between competing European nations. African societies did try to resist the colonial takeover either through guerilla warfare or direct military engagement. Their efforts were in vain, however, as by the turn of the century, only Liberia and Ethiopia remained not colonized. European powers colonized Africa according to the guidelines established by the Berlin Act (1885). Many of the colonized nations were ruled indirectly through appointed governor...