“New Imperialism” is a term that characterizes the time period between 1881 and 1914 of the second half of European colonial expansion and conquest. Over the course of this period occurred long occupations, divisions, and the colonization of African territory by European powers known as the “Scramble for Africa” due to competition between countries such as Britain, France, and various other European countries for colonial expansion. Because of European intervention and imperialism in Africa, there is no doubt that an effect would be generated, whether it be violent or non-violent, against European power. Due to Europe’s “Scramble for Africa,” African’s took a wide range of action such as allowing European colonization (Docs 1, 9), rebelling …show more content…
The Ethiopian painting, created in 1896, of the Battle of Adowa portrays two armies (Ethiopian and Italian) that were both equipped with plentiful weapons and defense mechanisms. Surprisingly, the Ethiopians were victorious over Italian troops (Doc 5). In Ndansi Kamulo’s account of the Ndebele Revolution against the British in southern Africa, it was explained how that particular African army was no match against the power of Britain and how they failed to uphold an uprising against the British for how they were treated (Doc 4). In addition, a German military officer’s account of the Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa references violent African rebellion in the form of gunfire and attacks (Doc 8). All three of these situations imply that violence was an option for some African countries even if victory was not the end-result. However, these attacks and uprisings reflect how some African fought their fate and took a stance for the future of Africa against European …show more content…
Samuel Maherero’s (leader of the Herero people) letter to another African leader explained how other chiefs needed to put their foot down and call their people to stand up as one and battle the forces of Europe (Doc 7). Menelik II’s (emperor of Ethiopia) letter to the distant Powers (Britain, France, German, Italy, and Russia) uses Ethiopia’s and the Power’s common religion through text to prevent them from colonizing Ethiopia given that Ethiopia was on the same page as European powers which implies a notion that they should be exempt from colonization (Doc 3). Prempeh I’s (Ashanti leader) response to a British offer of protectorate status in 1891 flat-out rejects the British’s offer, however, it was rejected within a cordial manner and they hoped to remain friendly with all White men (Doc 2). Yaa Asantewa’s (Ashanti queen mother) 1900 speech to chiefs in West Africa emphasizes that the Ashanti women will unite and stand up if the men do not work hard enough to stop European forces (Doc 6). These African reactions mirror an effect of combining African unification with measures of peace to combat imperialism and portray how using these organized tactics called for the gathering of many people to seek the result of one thing which was to stamp out Europe’s
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.
The Scramble for Africa was essentially driven by the idea of “New Imperialism.” “New Imperialism” started the era of colonialism amongst the European powers – specifically Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Portugal. It was driven by the idea of Social Darwinism, to aid the “dark people” on the “dark continent” of Africa because they were in need of “saving.” Imperialism became the primary focus through the late nineteenth century, and into the twentieth century; dividing the African continent into areas to be colonized under European rule. Although the countries primary focus was to spread Western religions and culture to the African continent, violence was used amongst the native peoples to further successful developments of the new European colonies.
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.
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
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.
This piece of history is written by Menelik II, the emperor of Ethiopia, in 1891. He writes to the European nations of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, saying, “I have no intention at all of being an indifferent spectator, if the distant Powers hold into the idea of dividing up Africa.” He tells the European superpowers, “For the past fourteen centuries, Ethiopia has been an island of Christians in a sea of Pagans...Since the All-Powerful has protected Ethiopia until now... I do not think for a moment that He will divide Ethiopia among the distant Powers.” Also in this letter, he calls upon the “distant Powers” to consider helping Ethiopia recover their “seacoast boundary...or give...at least a few ports along the coast.” According to Document 4, however, only five years after that letter was written, a land battle struck out in the Ethiopian town of Adowa between Ethiopia and Italy. This painting depicts what looks to be a fight over Italy attempting colonization over Adowa, which supports the claim that some African nations refused European involvement. According to the painting, both sides of the battle had fairly equal artillery, but the Ethiopians seemingly greatly outnumbered the Italians. The source of the document tells the observer that the Ethiopians were victorious in this fight, so one may
A. Adu Boahen's African Perspectives on Colonialism neatly classifies African responses to European colonialism during both phases of invasion and occupation during the 19th century with precise labels according to their nature or time period. However, the reactions can also be loosely grouped into two diametric characterizations: peaceful and violent. Although creating this dichotomy seems a gross generalization and oversimplification of the colonial African experience, it more importantly allows for a different perspective- one that exposes the overwhelming success of the typically peaceful or pacifist reaction in contrast to the little gain and large losses of the violent response.
In the first segment of his film series, Different but Equal, Basil Davidson sets out to disprove the fictitious and degrading assumptions about African civilization made by various Western scholars and explorers. Whether it is the notion that Africans are “savage and crude in nature” or the presumed inability of Africans to advance technologically, these stereotypes are damaging to the image and history of Africa. Although European Renaissance art depicts the races of white and black in equal dignity, there was a drastic shift of European attitudes toward Africa that placed Africans in a much lower standing than people of any other culture. The continent of Africa quickly became ravished by the inhuman slave trade and any traditional civilization
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...
New imperialism was the mid nineteenth and twentieth centuries cultural equivalent to a modern day mafia, its roots entangled in the economic, cultural, and humanistic aspects of life. The sole objective of the nations entailed the exploitation of their controlled state. Gestating from the change in control of Asian and African nations to the Europeans by means of political deviance, malicious sieges, and strategic military attacks. The juxtaposition to the modern equivalent endures as the aforesaid is sheltered by the fairytale that these nations were in need of aid and by doing so the Europeans were the good guys. The ideas of new imperialism are greatly influenced by those of the enlightenment. Taking place during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the enlightenment was an intellectual movement with the goal of social progress (Genova, 1/11). Armed with scientific thought and reason, enlightenment thinkers set out to explore the fields of science, economics, and human nature. Brilliant minds such as Voltaire, Kant and others all across Western Europe collaborated to further knowledge. The enlightenment laid the foundation on which new imperialism sprung, embedding the ideas of an incessant need to explore not only the scientific world but the physical world as well. The enlightenments goals and ideas significantly influenced new imperialism, because the enlightenment created a need for new means and a purpose to accrue them.
The "DBQ Project" What Is the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism in Africa? (2012): 257. pp. 177-177. Print.
Adas, Michael. 1989. “Africa: Primitive Tools and the Savage Mind” In Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology and Ideologies of Western Dominance, from Historical Problems of Imperial Africa. Edited by Robert O. Collins and James M. Burns, 30-39. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers.
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 ...
The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914. Jeff Taylor, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
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.