The Effects of the Berlin Confernece on Africa Essay

Africa faced many serious negative consequences because of imperialism. The resolution of the All African People’s Conference held in Ghana in 1958 said, “...Whereas fundamental human rights… freedom to live a full and abundant life… are denied to Africans through the activities of the Imperialists,” (Document 3). This resolution said that human rights, which are rights entitled to all humans regardless of any difference, were taken away. Because of this, the Africans were made to feel inferior which is not healthy for people and can cause serious consequences like the Africans assimilating to the European culture instead of preserving their rich, diverse culture. Sekou Toure, an African nationalist, had similar ideas, he said, “Our continent possesses tremendous reserves of raw material… with its potential sources of power, give it excellent conditions for industrialization,” (Document 2). So as well as the Africans being stripped of their basic rights

European Imperialism began because there was a need for natural resources and for new markets to sell European manufactured products. The Industrial Revolution created this need for natural resources, and because of the steadily increasing population in Europe and the limited land, expansion seemed necessary. One of the places Europe expanded was Africa. Africa was a very attractive continent because it had large deposits of natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and rubber. Africa’s people were also very primitive in relation to the Europeans after an Industrial Revolution, which made taking control of them even easier.

For example, Europeans benefited a lot from their colonies. A chart shows the resources Europeans received from their colonies. South Africa, a successful Great Britain colony, exported gold and diamonds to England, (Doc D). Africa is filled with treasures and resources. Europeans colonized Africa so they could get their hands on the valuable riches in Africa.

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.

Another reason why the British owned the most land was because they held the strongest cultural and political influences and structure over Africa. However, trade and markets are more important reasons for European imperialism in Africa than others like politics, nationalism, or technology. This is because trade and markets have the largest impacts on the economy and can affect a country’s needs to survive. After the trans-Atlantic slave trade was outlawed, the only British colony in Africa was the Cape Colony, which sharpened Europe’s interest in African exploration. Although, as late as 1870, only 10% of Africa was under European control- mostly around the edges.

European imperialism in Africa was lead because of Africa’s raw materials and exportations and importations of the raw materials from Great Britain. Various African colonies, such as Angola, Congo-Free State, French West Africa, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Tanganyika contains useful resources, such as “palm oil” and “cotton” that are obtained for the manufacturing of “food products”, hygiene products, and textile. (Document D) Trevor Owen Lloyd demonstrates graph of the importations and exportations of the resources from south of the Sahara in Africa from Great Britain. And the increase in demand of the resources from “1854 to 1900”. (Document E) The raw materials and it’s importations and exportations of Africa has driven to European imperialism by creating connections from Europe to Africa, cause a more strategic way of recognizing Africa’s geography for colonization.

One of the main reasons behind imperialism in Africa is to get materials. In the chart from Document D, a document showing colonies land and resources that came with, Great Britain went after South Africa for the gold and diamonds. Great Britain got those resources because they were the most valuable resources over any other. Portugal went after angola because of its specific materials. Angola has clothing materials which would also sell high in the market back then.

During King Leopold’s time he was scrambling for a way to create wealth, but could not dabble in the trade of Africans because of new abolition laws, then he got lucky. In the Berlin Conference held by Otto Von Bismarck, Africa was divided like a cake; pieces were given to European countries. While they had decided that they were “respecting” human rights, it was also believed that Africans needed to be governed. Through this Leopold gained the territory of the Congo, marking the beginning of colonialism, an era of unequal wealth and poverty.

Different countries in Africa have different resources that helped European nations increase their wealth. By the 1854, exports used to be low as about 3 million of British pounds for exports but imports were a bit more higher. Despite having low exports, the exports have increased drastically by the 1900. In order to get these wealth, all these resources from these countries helped increase this exports. Such as rubber, ivory, and palm from the Congo Free State had a big impact. Resources had a huge impact in economy it became one of the reasons for Europeans to control parts of

The abundance of resources, especially salt, gold, and slaves in Africa, especially after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, was too much for Europe to ignore. Most European countries, Italy

After the 1881 elections, his party no longer controlled the Reichstag (The German House of Representatives). He had to do something to regain some of the lost power since the elections (Sempell 148). Bismarck did not see the need for colonies in Africa, but public opinion forced him to enter upon the global game of imperialism (150). This pleased Germany's constituents, and it eventually led to the obtainment of many valuable resources.

Africa had many resources that could not be found or grown in Europe. By colonizing these territories, Europeans had control over these resources and could use them to improve the European economy. Document D shows a list of resources exported from Africa and what these materials were used for. For example, in the French colony of French West Africa, oils, cotton, peanuts, bananas, coffee, and cocoa were all resources that were exported to France. The various items can be used for soap, candles, fabrics, and food. France was able to transport these items from Africa at a very cheap price, but they could also sell these items for more. This system allowed for more money to go to the government which greatly improved the economy. Also, European countries hoped to colonize Africa for the possibility of creating new markets. European countries controlled the trade in and out of the majority of African countries, which meant that Europeans often introduced mercantilism into the African countries. However, “Mercantilism… forced the colonies into a dependent relationship in which they were economically weaker than the ‘mother country.’" (ABC-CLIO). After colonizing, European countries had complete control over the economies of African people, and the African economies were ruined in a way that made it almost impossible for them to break away from the Europeans. Consequently, Europeans were able to use African colonies to improve their own economies and ruin the African

King Leopold’s actions were appalling, even to his own people and as a result he was removed from the throne and the land was annexed by Belgium. Another result was several countries taking notice of Leo’s exploits, and the “Scramble for Africa” Began.

The imperatives of capitalist industrialization, including the call for guaranteed sources of raw materials, especially copper, cotton, rubber, tea, and tin (European consumers had become accustomed to, and thus depended on these resources), and the search for guaranteed markets and profitable investment outlets, which territories like the gold and diamond-rich Egypt and South Africa provided, caused the European conquest for Africa. Therefore the primary reason for European colonization in Africa was

Africa has had a long and tumultuous road of colonization and decolonization the rush to colonize Africa started in the 17th century with the discovery of the vast amounts of gold, diamonds, and rubber with colonization hitting a fever pitch during World War I. However, the repercussions of colonization have left deep wounds that still remain unhealed in the 21st century. Early on, European nations such as Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium scrambled for territories. Countries wanted land so they could harvest the resources, increase trade, and gain power. The European colonization of Africa brought racism, civil unrest, and insatiable greed; all of which have had lasting impacts on Africa.