Europe’s imperial ambition that resulted in many deaths, corrupted states, famines and genocides
During approximately the 1860’s the competitive Western Nations were in desperate need of domination and therefore started the expansion of their territories overseas. On account of the fact that they finally gained the essential privileges and advantages for a “successful” colonisation, for instance steamships, weapons and quinine medicine, they decided to place their countries’ individual interests in front of the importance of several nations’ futures.
In the end of the 19th century (in 1870s) more than 10% of the African territory, mostly around the coastal lines, was controlled by the power-hungry colonial powers who saw this domination
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As the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish manufacturers and their businesses became more and more prosperous, the native Africans continued to be impoverished. Although this wasn 't the beginning of a racial inequality, it sure was a continuation. This consequently developed into something that still affects our daily lives today, more than 100 years after the beginning of this brutality against humanity that we today refer to as racism. The Oxford Dictionary defines racism as
“Cecil John Rhodes was a British businessman, mining magnate and politician in South Africa. He served as the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896”. (Wikipedia) “The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” This can certainly be used to describe the exploitation of people and their labour during the colonialism, as many were forced into slavery, which often involved many
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Domiciled armed and non-armed conflicts are a vital problem in several countries that are located in the area at the moment. I chose to emphasise this fact because it affects many innocent people while the division of Africa during the Scramble of Africa is one of the causes to this.
I also mentioned how the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and means of production were exploited and how this affected the population back then, but also the present population and what it did to countries’ present economies. This was done to emphasise the fact that Imperialism did affect the general situation in the country and why this was
The main reason the Europeans imperialized Africa were their cultural and social beliefs in ethnocentrism. They believed “[the natives] needed European help, reform, or civilization” (Document K). The Europeans considered the Africans savages
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries can be regarded as the height of European New Imperialism. This movement can be regarded as the time when an insatiable European need for more land and colonies occurred, and the time when European intrigue with owning more than the motherland was present. The New Imperialistic actions of the European states arose after the World, to the extent that concerned the European interests, had been reasonably chartered and understood by the expenditures taken by the Europeans in the Age of Discovery. In a sense, once the European knew what was there, they wanted to own it and claim it as there own. Once the Cape of Good Hope had been passed, and the shores of Africa were chartered and recognized, the Europeans began to claim Africa to fulfill their thirst for more, as their initial desires for knowledge had been fulfilled.
Imperialism, as an irrevocable phenomenon, facilitated the expansionism, conflicting interests, intense nationalism, and seething competition that enveloped the European continent at the beginning of the 20th century. Characteristic of the movement, imperialism fostered policies of colonial expansion and conquest, exemplified by the evidence of Source B. The German imperialistic career, beginning after the events of the Franco-German War in 1884, swallowed almost a million square miles and governed an additional 14 million people; the French Empire, after a revival of ‘the old colonial spirit’ conquered an area of over 3.5 million square miles and brought under its protection over 37 million indigenous peoples of these colonies; Italian, Russian,
European countries tried to civilize Africa and succeeded in their movement on trying to imperialize them but only lead the Europeans to making a profit and nothing for the African workers. The only independent African states were Ethiopia and Liberia, the rest was ruled over strong European nations, like Britain and France. European nations ruled over Africa from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, King Leopold was one of the most notorious rulers over the African estates, Leopold ruled over the Congo free state and was considered to be one of the richest near his death. What motivated European nations to imperializing Africa were, money, resources, and nationalism.
During the 15th century, the world was caught in the age of exploration. After Columbus, everyone realized that there were still undiscovered land masses that held numerous resources and extreme profit. Due to the fact that the Americas were occupied by Spain and Portugal, much of Europe turned its eyes to Africa. Consequently, Africa was a huge land mass that was just waiting to be explored, especially since Portugal hadn’t gone beyond the outer edge. The reasons for European imperialism in Africa were due to the want for more resources to boost the economy, the advantage of better technology, and a need to establish a position of power.
One main driving force behind European imperialism in Africa is resources. Resources were very valuable back then. Someone couldn't just go to the grocery store and buy what is needed. They had to find it and process it by hand. Africa is rich in resources.
Colonization was rebirth if you will in the later 19th century through the wake of industrialization which gave Europeans a new desire to conquer and established the need to go and claim natural resources to be used in the factories. Many of the larger nations joined in this rebirth with the most notable actions being the Scramble For Africa which showcased the most rapid expansion of European influence ever seen before. " The effects were profound. In 1875, 11 percent of the continent was in European hands.
As the world approached the 20th century, several powers grew desperate far more land and more control. Between the 1870 and 1900 years, Africa and Asia faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasion, and eventual conquest and colonization. The event that happened in Africa and Asia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had pushed African and Asian to make important political decisions in order to properly respond to Western imperialism. In that period, neither African people or Asian had the power to stand against to the Western imperialism, and eventually both continents had to sign unequal treaties that forced them to open their ports and cities to foreign merchants.
What was the driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa? Between 1500 and 1800 the Europeans knew little about the interior of Africa their presence was to buy and sell slaves for pots, cloth, and weapons and set sail to America. Late as 1870 ten percent of Africa was under Europeans control and most was along edges by 1914 ninety percent of Africa was in control four years later. Due to the countries that held African colonies in 1914 that involved the British, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spain, and Belgian. France and Britain were the main conquer in African colonies, because there conqueror of land in Africa.
In the race of European imperialism, European countries dominated innocent African colonies. The driving force behind this? Africa’s bountiful resources. Before Africa’s colonization, the European presence in Africa was extremely limited, mainly due to lack of exploration and diseases (Background Essay). However, this changed as European prominence became largely influential through the discovery of Africa’s resource rich lands.
There have been various perceptions concerning the history of Africa, and some of these have portrayed Africa in more negative than positive ways. In an attempt to examine the historical aspect of Africa through various lenses, this essay presents an analysis of evidence that have been brought forth towards understanding Africa’s role in world history, as well as reasons and lessons from the negative portrayal of Africa. The history of Africa has been viewed and understood through a variety of lenses in the past few hundred years. To begin with, the origin of the name Africa in itself has drawn a number of controversies that stem from the different perspectives through which the name has been examined.
In the 19th century imperialism was an important part of building European empires. The four major motives for imperialism are economic, strategic, religious and political. These motives helped great empires expand their territory and brought new cultures and languages to both the colonised countries and the countries colonising them. European countries such as Britain and France would use their colonies in Africa for economic gain. They would be able to exploit the country’s natural resources and bring them back to the “mother country” to sell and use.
The only thing Europeans loved more than political power was increasing their trade. In the 1800’s European nations had a desire to get a lead to widespread imperialism in Africa. With the end of slavery in 1833, European interest in Africa shifted to seizing colonies. King Leopold of Belgium acquired a private country in Africa that was 95 times bigger than Belgium and his purpose was to make money by taking out ivory and rubber.
During the period of imperialism in Africa all of the countries were competing for the title of being the richest and the strongest. In fact, the whole scramble for Africa was an opportunity for countries to enhance their overall economy. For example, King Leopold II of Belgium was determined to get the area of land so he can become more wealthy. France’s politicians thought that an overseas company would strengthen the country when it came to wealth, prestige, and power, so as a result they invested in land more toward the west and north-west. Britain wanted to protect their trading routes which required them to purchase land in East Africa, and they they soon discovered the rewards of the land so the were determined to obtain as much as possible.
The main cause of world-wide racism is the European colonisation of the world. One of the prime of examples of racial discrimination is between the whites and the coloured (commonly; the blacks). It dates back to when the Europeans colonised the Americas by massacring the natives in the late fourteenth century. An estimated hundred million natives died due to the diseases brought by the Europeans. They transferred millions of black Africans from their homeland to America, forcefully, as slaves.