European Imperialism In Africa

Imperialism in Africa began in the late 19th century. It began when King Leopold II began the Scramble for Africa. All of the major colonial powers went after Africa. Their goal was to gain the most wealth and to have the most territory. Having more territory and claiming valuable parts of the continent was a symbol of power. Imperialism in Africa had negative and positive consequences on both the Europeans and Africans, these can be shown through human rights issues, new industry and advancements, and wealth and influence.

During the late 1800’s, Europe was looking for a way to improve themselves as a whole. With growing population and a steady decline in available work, something new had to be done. Countries looked towards Africa to serve as new colonies for the Europeans in order to better their own countries. During the European acquisition of African colonies in the period 1880 to 1914 Europe’s attitude towards Africa was that Africa was the inferior race in comparison to the Europeans. With the help of a strong feeling of nationalism, Europeans were motivated to acquire new lands in order to improve their motherland’s

For the 300 years between 1500 and 1800,European nations traded for slaves,gold, and ivory along the west coast of africa, but they did not go deeply into the continent. In the 1880s Africa was under full assault as European nations competed with one another for control of the continent. The driving force behind European imperialism is power and they gain it by getting control and  resources of Africa and they justify it all by saying it was their duty as more civilised nations to make other nations as civilized as theirs.

As Europe’s economy and standard of living rose, the need for more land flourished as well. Europe sought to split the various parts of Africa during the Berlin conference (without the approval of the Africans, of course). Eventually, Europe successfully stole most of Africa from its rightful owners. The greedy Europeans showed pretentiousness towards the colonies in Africa and wanted to seize territory in order to utilize their available resources while displaying supremacy over the other races.

During the European Scramble for Africa, in the early 20th century, Africans had a peaceful reaction with anti-imperialistic sentiments (docs. 2, 3, 4, and 7), peaceful actions through the approach of diplomacy (docs.1, 2, and 3) and also a rebellious anti-imperialistic reaction (docs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) towards the Scramble for Africa.

Power and Control. These are the two big factors for imperialism.At the time period one of the most formidable empires in the world (The British empire/European empire),still wanted more ‘power’. Whether that power came from having more land,much more resources,and simply “bragging” rights,it’s very apparent that power was main influence. Europe enacted imperialism on Africa for resources,land,and power.

Between the period from 1880 to 1914, European powers went after overseas empires in Africa. The governments and political leaders of the European powers believed that this colonization of the African empires was necessary to maintain their global influence. A second group of people supposed that African colonization was the result of the greedy Capitalists who \only cared for new resources and markets. The third group of people claimed it to be their job to enlighten and educate the uncivilized people of Africa. Although the political leaders of European powers encouraged colonization of African empires to advance their nation’s global influence, others argued that it was only for the profiteering of the Capitalists who sought new

During the late 1800's the initial ideas of colonizing susceptible territories in Africa and monopolizing an area under one European colony is the main influence on European Imperialism. European countries were motivated by the abundance of new market and good, the growing competition between European countries to imperialize African countries, and the idea of social darwinism. The main European countries involved in the colonization of Africa were Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Spain. While each of the countries had their own individual motivations that contributed to their roles in European Imperialism, they were all competing against each other which

European imperialism started as a source for raw materials and a way to gain advantages over their rival countries (Spielvogel and McTighe 226). Yet, the African countries being imperialized were impacted by this settlement in many positive ways (Spielvogel and McTighe 231). Europeans brought ideas of Westernization and influenced the societies that were not yet industrialized and ones that lacked the modern elements many European countries had acquired (Spielvogel and McTighe 235). Through the spread of western ideals and democracy, the people of Africa were inspired to pursue their own self-rule and continuation of the modernization that the European imperialists left behind on the continent. When European nations first imperialized the African

Trading goods and building markets becomes important also within the communities these countries operate in because it gives the natives a way to make money on their in turn the importing and exporting distributers only see opportunities in this. With countries fighting for territory, and resources the driving force of imperialism in Africa soon loses its motivation of that and starts to become more about national pride amongst the European countries foreshadowing what will happen in the years to come.

In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons was that the

Between 1870 and 1914, European countries ceased about ninety percent of Africa. Native Africans faced political, military, and imperialism pressure from various European countries. After the end of the profitable slave trade in Africa, due to abolishing of slavery, Europeans explored for new guaranteed markets, and heavily profitable investments. In addition, European countries were under industrialization, the demand for raw materials heavily increased. Europeans as well faced power struggles with one another and competition for political influence in Africa. European power struggle ultimately lead to the “Scramble for Africa.” Europeans undertook the process of imperialism in Africa in the late 19th century by exercising political, economic, and military power on their African colonies. Some African leaders and societies welcomed Europeans in hopes to protect and develop their native land. Some African leaders and societies responded to European occupation by gathering resistance groups in attempt to fight off foreign imperialists.

     There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons may be that Europeans believed that the

The scramble for Africa represents the most thorough and systematic process of colonialism in world history. The European colonial powers managed to conquer and control almost the entire continent of Africa in a short, twenty-five year period from about 1875 to 1900. Some of the European states involved were already well-established global powers; the others were up and coming nations that desired to emulate and compete with the dominant imperial states. Various factors allowed for and contributed to the conquering of the whole of Africa by European states. The slow, but ever-growing European presence on the perimeter and the completion for dominance between the major European states acted as the platform for the inevitable quest for

What aspects do you think motivated Europe imperialism in Africa? Between 1500-1800, Europe traded along the west coast of Africa, but they were not able to reach the interior due to all the diseases they could catch. In the 1800s, European explorers had a cure for diseases and were prepared to push their way into the interior of the continent. By the 1880s, European nations competed with one another for control over Africa. With this being said, what do you think motivated Europe to imperialize in Africa? Many things contributed to the driving force behind European imperialism, such as politics, economics, and cultural attitudes.