French and British Colonialism and Imperialism in Africa
Africa is home to countless cultures that all have their own unique ideas and customs. During the past couple of centuries, these cultures were threatened to the point where they almost ceased to exist. The Berlin Conference was a very important occurrence in Africa and Europe's history. It legitimized what the European powers, mainly France and Britain, had been doing for the past hundred years, without the approval of any African country. During the late nineteenth century, France and Britain began imperialistic ventures into Africa, which eventually led Leopold II to conquer the Congo. It was Leopold's II presence in Africa that to led the Berlin Conference.
The Berlin Conference took place first and foremost to legitimize what was already taking place in Africa (Berlin). Africa had recently experienced the European countries' greed. The British and the French, along with a few other European nations, had started to carve up Africa however they pleased. By 1880, about half of the coastal countries saw some type of European presence (Wessling cover). The French began to take control of Algeria and parts of Gabon and Senegal. The British occupied much of Southern Africa and parts of the western coast. Until 1884, no one could encroach upon inner Africa. Before this, the imposing countries had mainly concentrated on the coasts. By 1884 there was road connecting the Congo River to the coast, and the remaining European powers wanted in a piece of the action. The disagreements that resulted from this sudden urge to conquer Africa were what made the Berlin Conference so important (Part IV).
Many reasons beyond the obvious also existed. The Berlin Conference was ...
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... to an African nation.
Works Cited
Bennett, Norman. Africa and Europe: From Roman Times to National Independence. New York: Africana Publishing Co, 1984.
"Berlin, Conference of." Vers. 3. 1994. The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 5 Mar. 2000
With their extensive knowledge in technology and well built government, Europeans countries were superior to the rest. Following the Berlin Conference, in which European countries discussed on colonizing the rudimentary tribes and kingdoms of Africa, was the Scramble for Africa. As a result of the European impositions, colonized Africans either formed alliances, started rebellions, or compiled to the implications to prevent further destruction.
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting for a land grab in 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 economical, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation.
Football is an extremely violent game not only in the physical part but also in the mental part of the game. Players are coach to be vicious on the field. they are taught to get mad and take their aggression out on the other player. Which can be dangerous when two or more players are trying to hurt(intentionally or not) the other player by hitting them hard. High school sports are dangerous because rese...
"The DBQ Project." What Was the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism in Africa? (2012): 257. Print.
One of the biggest controversial topics going on today is should children still be aloud to play football, knowing what we know about serious injuries? The article that I chose ( “Don’t Let Kids play football”) is about the consequences that could occur playing such a contact sport. The debate is that some people believe that football teaches important life lessons and others believe that it can cause serious life changing injuries.
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
Despite some greed that the attendees had, the decisions that were made at the Berlin Conference reflect the sense of compassion that the European colonial powers had for the African populace. The powers wanted to make sure that the rules set in place would help the people of Africa, and it would help assist the people in Africa in becoming civilized. The humanitarian mission that each country had is reflected in the Treaty of Berlin, a set of rules that all attending powers came up with. According to Article Six of the Treaty of Berlin, the European powers decided that they should try and enhance the lives of African citizens as much as possible.
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.
The choice of popularity, or being a normal kid, is a predicament a lot of young teens find themselves in nowadays due to high school football. Football seems to be the biggest and coolest sport in most high schools. Some schools go as far as having parades and pep rallies before games. While other sports just get a morning announcement. But what comes along with the popular high school sport, isn’t so great. Football should be banned from American high schools because it comes with a lot of pain both physically and mentally, it puts loads of pure pressure on incoming students, and it promotes pain over pleasure.
The heart of America revolves around sports, which includes college football. Many individuals argue whether football at that level truly has anything to do with academics. Banning college football is a shocking debate that has been around for many years that most people do not think about. Football is a very brutal sport and the injuries that come with it are worth considering a change. Fully banning the sport at the college level will not do any good; however, we should take into account the changes that should be made to prevent long-term injuries. Individuals who play the sport of football will agree there are dangers that come with playing the contact sport – but they also say it is worth it. Football is a contact sport, so it will never be a completely safe game to play.
Not only were colonies a vital source of cheap labor and the importation of raw material, they also represented the expansion of trade and additional areas for commerce. However, economic mercantilism soon evolved to include forms of political imperialism. While the Berlin Conference of 1884 and its partitioning of Africa provided new resources of growth and riches for rulers like King Leopold II of Belgium, it also served as an opportunity to advance political interests and rewrite the world order. With little regard for existing cultures and social structures, Leopold forced much of the indigenous population to extract ivory and rubber in the Congo and used the newfound wealth to fund military ventures and other political projects. Similarly, other nations like Japan sought to conquer and annex different areas of the globe in hopes to capturing more economic and political influence. Soon, countries were locked in a battle to outdo one another. The fight for new resources created a vicious cycle in which competition and imperialism reinforced each
Colonial conquest began in the late 19th century for most of Africa. The “scramble for Africa” was a meeting known as the Berlin Conference in 1884 between 14 countries who decided how they would split up Africa. Europeans were interested in raw materials for industrialization from Africa, a place for exploration, and a chance to widen Christianity. The European claim of African territory had multiple effects on women in Africa such as having their voice silenced by colonial officials, having their bodies exposed to the public, and the increase of labor hours.
Herbst, Jeffrey. "Chapter Three: The Europeans and the African Problem." In States and Power in Africa. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. 53-96.
The Berlin Conference was started in 1884 by German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck and lasted through February of 1885. It was designed to assist the European countries in developing themselves as a stronger force among world powers to allow them to overtake more unknown territories. “The motives for what became known as the ‘scramble for Africa’ in which Europeans began slicing up that cake, were political, economic, and cultural” (Nardo). King Leopold II, from Belgium, showed the strongest interest in the conference as he was strategically planning the capture of a colony to finally expand his empire. He felt that without the possession of other territories that Belgium held a lower status politically and economically than the countries that had already captured new lands.
An overwhelming majority of African nations has reclaimed their independence from their European mother countries. This did not stop the Europeans from leaving a permanent mark on the continent however. European colonialism has shaped modern-day Africa, a considerable amount for the worse, but also some for the better. Including these positive and negative effects, colonialism has also touched much of Africa’s history and culture especially in recent years.