Isabella Draack Hour 2 World History William Kvebak The Conquest Of Africa As the world came upon the start of a new century, more and more powers grew desperate and hungry for land and more control. As more and more people wanted more land, Africa became available. Between 1450 and 1750 the Europeans traded with Africa. By the 19th century, the Europeans began exploring the lands of Africa, looking at all Africa had to offer. Henry Stanley, a journalist, is one of the people that sparked an interest in Africa.
Was the British Empire a force for good? The British Empire brought many changes to the world, good and bad, to many people in different countries e.g. Africa and India. Some of these changes involved innovations in medical care, education and railways. The British Empire profited from slavery in the eighteenth century, but fought to abolish slavery in the nineteenth century.
(Primary Source) He gave a speech in 1872, June 24th at the Crystal palace, in which he describes the British empires colonies as “a millstone round our necks.” However by 1880 shortly before his death in 1881, he had changed his stance on colonies. He now almost felt it was Britain’s duty to garner control and almost give support to less developed countries, in particular Africa. This brought forth the concept of new imperialism, where countries now wanted to exert influence of colonies past the norm of economic factors. By the 1900’s almost eighty percent of the world was colonised by Europeans, with new imperialism in motion, industrialisation and nationalism was at the forefront of this European machine. There were deemed to be four types of imperialism, in which the major European powers carried them out.
In chorus, societies present in Africa put several kinds of resistance in opposition to colonize their countries and compel distant domination (Bell Albert, 2008). In the early part of 20th century, except for Liberia and Ethiopia, the majority parts of Africa had been colonized by the powers of European States. The European imperialist thrust into Africa was aggravated by means of three major factors, economic, political, and social. It further developed in 19th century along with the breakdown of the effectiveness of the slave trade, its elimination, and repression, along with growth of the European capitalist Industrial Revolution. To look for a new homeland, there are several reasons for early settlers.
Towards the close of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century, European imperialist governments in their quest to expand their territories for various reasons aggressively scrambled and invaded the African continent. Initially, the gullible African societies, most of which were decentralized, welcomed the foreigners but after realizing the stakes some mounted resistance (Johnston,43). As expected, the more sophisticated imperialist governments prevailed in most of the colonies and subdued the natives. The effects of the foreign presence were monumental, and it would take more than half a century for these colonies to free themselves from the oppressive rule and become independent governments. Until the late 1800’s, European traders had been occasional visitors at the coastal regions of most the African continent.
The bloodshed that has littered the history of African nations throughout their independent existences has often been considered a direct consequence of the forcible and careless unification of tribes into nations without any understanding of the politics that govern their relationships. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) is a historical novel, set in the British colony of Nigeria at about the turn
The industrial revolution propelled African imperialism to a level the world had never seen before. During the late 19th century, borders in Europe became difficult to alter and the only way to expand was in other continents like Africa. Europe exposed Africa’s weakness and preyed on them, leaving the continent in disarray. The industrial revolution induced African imperialism for economic prosperity, the rise in cultural and social power, and political motives. Economic prosperity had a major impact on the advancement of African imperialism.
For one thing, the raging flame of nationalism and the spread of the Industrial Revolution throughout the European Continent forced major European powers such as Germany, France and Britain to vie for more resources to fuel their industrial manufacture and compete for new markets for their factory products. As such, these nations had their eye on Africa as a source of raw materials and as a market for their industrial products. To achieve their objects, the European powers occupied immense areas of Africa during the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, which heralded the era of European imperialism in Africa. During the imperial period, the European nations with strong political, military and economic power muscled their way across the African Continent and shouldered the weak ones aside, completely dominating every aspect of the African people. Strategic motivation also played an essential role in the scramble.
Nasrin Pourhamrang, Chinua Achebe states: “Things Fall Apart, I believe, now has a life of its own. I think it is now more famous than I am! The fifty plus translations are a big indication of its impact. I feel like a parent watching a child succeed from the sidelines.” Things Fall Apart, as a story about a culture on the verge of change, is translated to more than 60 world languages including Persian. This post-colonial novel is ideologically written to represent African colonized culture to the world; it outlines the aspect of the colonial and post-colonial condition and also its many consequences particularly the loss of the many traditions of Africa.
reason behind their success is trade. At the time of 16th century, there were many regions of the Africa which were governed by the Sultan of Turkey. At the end of 16th century, there were many problems such as assaults and anarchy and due to these problems, there were huge damages to the African nations and as result foreign nations obtained a foothold in different part of the regions slowly and later on result in the form of colonization of European countries. French and British activities started in Africa in the 18th century. Later on in the middle of the 20th century, an end of colonial period resulted in the independence of many nations.