The Pros And Cons Of Imperialism In Africa

Ever since the Europeans first made contact with the indigenous population of Africa, the excuses of civilizing their “barbaric” ways, spreading Christianity, and educating the African people, were used as a way to justify imperialism and colonization for monetary gain. However, this way of thinking was ultimately hypocritical, especially when the opinions of the indigenous population are taken into consideration. The Portuguese were some of the first Europeans to travel to the “Dark Continent” of Africa ( Representations). They were in search of the riches said to be hidden by the mythical christian figure, Prester John (Hochschild 9). Prester John had been rumored to be hidden in Africa for centuries and is credited with being one of the

Europeans had never truly interacted with Africans before, in the past they had lacked medications to stop malaria and the technology to pass through and navigate the strong rivers in the area. However, once the discovery and production of Quinine, a drug that stops the symptoms of malaria, was produced (Representations), along with steamboats (Hochschild 4), European explorers were able to get further into the continent than any other explorers had before. Eventually, these explorers came in contact with the African people and were disgusted by their culture. They viewed the African’s ritual sacrifice, cannibalism (Representations), and polygamy as barbaric (Hochschild 9). Due to this, the explorers claimed that Africans had no morality or intelligence (Representations). In fact the European explorers were so confused and disgusted by this behavior that they began to believe that it was caused by the foods and spices the Africans ate (Hochschild 9). Although the Europeans may have believed the indigenous population was far less civilized than they were, the African’s also had a king who in many ways mirrored the Kings of Europe (Hochschild 8-9). The African’s King sat on a large throne in extravagant clothing, just like a European king, the king also checked on his troops and doled out justice to those who committed crimes (Hochschild 8-9). In

In terms of religion, missionaries traveled to Africa and built churches to spread their religion (Hochschild 9). One man, Dr. Hopkins, actually had the idea of sending freed African Slaves back to Africa as missionaries to help spread Christianity because it would allow for the indigenous population to become “civilized” and “happier” (Alexander 55). Back in Europe, the people viewed any missionary who traveled to Africa as a person who was willing to spread religion to even the darkest and most dangerous places on earth (Representations). This view was mostly due to the European’s racism and belief that Africans were chaotic savages (Representations). However, this did not stop others from journeying to Africa to educate the people. Once again, Dr. Hopkins believed that sending educated, freed African Slaves was the best way of achieving the education of the African people (Alexander 49). Religious missionaries began educating the African people on non religious topics to achieve the goal of education as well (Alexander 49). However, not everyone was trying to help the Africans. As stated earlier, although some may have traveled to Africa to complete the goals of education and spreading Christianity in order to civilize the