When European cultures brought Christianity to Africa, they taught Africans math, science, and European languages. Although the partition of Africa caused a numerous amount of problems for Africa, it also brought wonderful technological advancements that modernized Africa. There were many driving forces behind the scramble for Africa, European imperialism being one of them. The partition of Africa resulted in many changes to the continent of Africa. Economically, European countries colonized for trade purposes and natural resources.
This is shown in Document 4, when it states, “For all its faults, colonial government provided security of person and property in lands…” This turned what used to be a uncivilized place, into a place in which had many rules to help the citizens. The European also opened many industries in which were new to the continent. This provided many jobs to the natives. We can understand this when Document 4 states, “...who were largely responsible for the for the opening of the region to the lumberman, miner, planter, and other means of wealth.” As you can see, The Scramble For Africa had many effects. Both positive and negative for the Europeans and the indigenous people of Africa.
When the European countries and empires, such as the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, interest in Africa increased, they began to impose their rule on Africa. Europeans saw an opportunity for personal benefits in Africa because of its plethora of natural resources. These empires practiced mercantilism. European nations were the mother countries of Africa. The Europeans would use the colony for natural recourses and once these resources were obtained they would produce goods to sell back to the colonies.
The historical significance is that the scramble presented new social and economic opportunities for Africans during this stressful period in time and used it to their advantage. According to Parker and Rathbone, some of the people that took advantage “ranged from humble ex-slaves who were in the colonial armies, clerks and interpreters who used literacy as a method of social and economic advance, onto kings and chiefs who consolidated their political positions in alliance with European power” (102). With this, kings and chiefs were able to strengthen their role in politics that was par with Europeans. An example of this is Sir Apolo Kaggwa, who was an essential part in “negotiating British overrule in the Buganda kingdom in modern Uganda” (102). In addition, the misuse of Africa’s resources and manual labor created rampant social change.
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. A... ... middle of paper ... ...r 1885. Works Cited The DBQ Project.
In the early 19th century, the British East India Company established more trade warehouses and thoroughfares in the Indian subcontinent. This occupation of Indian lands that was welcomed by some groups and fiercely opposed by others. While met by more opposition, the British Empire expanded into the other Indian Ocean territories up to the end of the century. Because the trans-Atlantic slave trade was profitable for African elites and brought western many valuable goods to West Africa, when it was effectively shut down after 1808 by British patrols, people along this coast were eager to keep the European trade lines alive. The imposition of this “legitimate trade” (any non-slave trade) saw a huge rise of African export of gold and palm oil.
The Scramble for Africa was a competition between European imperialists to get various territories in Africa, seeing that Africa had many raw materials and natural resources like ivory, coal, iron, and rubber to aid the Europeans with trade and manufacturing. Freshly entering into the industrial revolution, new products were being made with manufactured machinery and being transported by steam-powered ships across Europe. Since Africa had a large territory that could be used to establish naval bases and build transport systems for trade, Africa was the ideal place for imperialists. Imperialists believed that they were superior to the lesser nation... ... middle of paper ... ...and society was shaped. For some countries like India, Imperialism was good because it brought about change in every area politically and economically.
Great Britain wanted to spread its culture and religion (Butler). As a result, Christianity was dispersed imperialized countries under the name of Great Britain. Another major reason Great Britain imperialized in Africa was because other European countries that were participating in the “Scramble for Africa” (Berard). This was the time period where certain European countries fought over what countries in Africa to imperialize. Britain wanted more power, and therefore, more land as well.
European Imperialism in Africa was Justified 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.
In return, countries in Africa and Asia gained the technology and capital that, over a period of time and development, improved their quality of life. Justifying imperialistic actions often caused tensions in political, economic, and social spheres of influence during late modernity. By the end of the nineteenth century, those who desired to validate imperialism and the colonial regimes it fostered in Africa and Asia found pseudoscientific validity from the concept of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism maintained that only societies that moved aggressively to adapt to changing circumstances would survive and prosper in a world governed by the Darwinian law of “survival of the fittest” (SAY, 1105) Some people, however, were uncomfortable with such a brutal view of the law of nature and sought a moral justification that appeared to benefit the victim. Here again, the concept of social Darwinism pointed the way.