African Colonization Of Africa

Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting for a land grab in the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economical, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation.

The European colonization of Africa, also known as the Scramble for Africa, Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, occurred between the 1870s and 1900s, and was the invasion, occupation, colonization, and annexation of African territory by European powers during a period of New Imperialism. European control of the continent increased from 10 percent (1870) to 90 percent (1914), with only three territories, Saguia el-Hamra, which was later integrated into Spanish Sahara, Ethiopia and Liberia remaining independent of Europe’s control. There were many reasons for the European colonization of Africa, including economic and political motives, with the Berlin Conference serving as a catalyst. Africans resisted the European invasions of their lands, with the two main methods of opposition were guerilla warfare and direct military engagement. European influence on Africa still remains today, though these influences are generally negative and hurt Africa’s overall development.

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 nineteenth century, Europe was scrambling to colonize Africa. Before the year 1880, Europe controlled only ten percent of Africa. However, due to the Industrial Revolution and its inventions, Europe obtained the means to go into Africa and take what they wanted. Some countries wanted the raw materials from Africa while others thought that by taking control of the land, it would show how they were superior to other nations and would gain respect. Some Europeans thought that because they were superior it was their duty to help the Africans. European powers scrambled to colonize Africa because they wanted respect, to strengthen the economy, and to civilize the Africans.

In the 1800’s Imperialism, an action by a strong nation to take control of another country, became prominent in Europe towards Africa. The driving forces of Imperialism in Africa were competition for land, economics, and the need for power. The “Partition of Africa, 1884-85” map demonstrates the competition related to the colonization of European colonies in Africa. There were a total of 7 European countries that imperialized Africa, but the main countries were France and Britain. The only non-colonized countries were Ethiopia and Liberia; this was because they had an established strong government.

During the 1880’s, an idea known as “new imperialism” caused most of Europe to enter a period of colonial expansion that placed parts of both Africa and Asia under European control. Before 1880, Europe had little influence in Africa. They had relations with the governments and nations that were present, trading slaves and goods between continents. However, in a period known as the “Scramble for Africa”, Africa was divvied up among the giants: Great Britain took South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya; France, North and West Africa; and Germany, East and Southwest Africa. Three main factors motivated this new imperialism. The first was a combination of racism and Social Darwinism -- the latter being the belief that, in the struggle between nations, only the strong will prevail. The second stemmed from religion, and was known as “The White Man’s Burden”-- the idea that Europeans were obligated to bring technology and order to lands that until then had not tasted the amenities of their so-called “civilization”. The third was economics, for the untapped stores of Africa would bring the nation who could take advantage of them great wealth. Were one to say, “Late 19th century European imperialism was primarily an economic undertaking”, then they would be partially correct; all these factors influenced the actions of the European nations uniquely. Late 19th century European imperialism was primarily an economic undertaking to a near-full extent because, although supporters of White Man’s

During this time a lot of new creations and useful ideas were introduced. In 1837 many new technological devices were invented. The most important ones were: The steam engine, it was a big help with transportation because it was a forceful source of power, it was a faster form of transportation. Secondly, the method of getting quinine from cinchona tree bark, this was a treatment for the disease of Malaria. Lastly, the repeating rifle, a faster loading gun that was able to fire multiple shots which gave Europeans an advantage in the African war.

Not all people could be absorbed by the new capitalist industries and way to resolve these problems in Europe was to acquire colonies and export this "surplus population" from Europe to Africa by establishing settler-colonies. (Iweriebor). The European imperialist designs and pressures of the late nineteenth century provoked African political and diplomatic responses and eventually military resistance. (Iweriebor).

The colonization brought some positives aspect to this continent because it helped the living standards with the better techniques of irrigation, medicine and hospitals , new jobs and developed trade and communication. Even though it helped the African continent by the new innovation and technology, also began the slavery and racism for the black

The history of colonization of Africa dates back to 1800’s where European nations invaded African countries due to factors such as industrial revolution, need for raw materials, and desire to expand territory. Religion played a huge role in African history since some missionaries who came to African countries to spread Christianity were working together with colonialists. The article, “Role of Missionaries in Colonization of Africans” explains how the missionaries perceived Africans and the African culture. It states, “Missionaries came with the attitude that all things European were superior to all things African…. It was their mission to do anything necessary to convert Africans who were viewed as uncivilized and barbaric” cite The view

Moreover, the infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa is inexpertly perfect, it has the world’s poorest transportation, power, and internet network. The colonial history of Sub-Saharan Africa did not like other colonies bring perfect infrastructure for them.

Many critics today find it easy to label historical novels and other pieces of literature as products of discrimination. They often think that the novels written one to two centuries ago explicitly discriminate minorities, women, and people espousing radical views on society. One critic that accused a twentieth century novel of discrimination was Chinua Achebe. In his essay “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, Achebe describes Conrad as being racist towards Africans and argues that European civilization was essentially below that of the African natives. The author of Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, explores the colonization of Africa by the Europeans and argues that imperializing Africa will incur more collateral damage towards both the Africans and the Europeans than what was originally expected. Based on a through

Modern African states have several problems ranging from corruption, to armed conflict, to stunted structural development. The effects of colonialism have been offered as a starting point for much of the analysis on African states, but the question of why African states are particularly dysfunctional needs to be examined, given the extent to which they have lagged behind other former European colonies in many aspects. In the first section, I will consider the problems with African states from the level of the state. That is, the nature of the states' inceptions and the underlying flaws may explain some of the issues that have been associated with African states today. Next I examine the development of, or lack of, civil

Effects of colonization on the Africana continent are undisputed. Valuable natural resources were exploited from the countries by the native people for profit in Europe leaving many with minimum means to survive. Lands and families that had torn apart at the hands of the colonists were trying to be rebuilt. Peoples’ culture and traditions, viewed as barbaric and backward by the powerful Europeans, were once again weaving itself into daily lives. Pride was once again among the people. Jomo Kenyatta, known as the Father of the Kenyan Nation, was a man who came from the land he was fighting to reclaim for himself and his people. Land that was simply taken from them, regardless that generations of their family had lived there. Kenyatta

“High we exalt thee, realm of the free; great is the love we have for thee; firmly united ever we stand, singing thy praise, O native land.” (National Anthem of Sierra Leone) Colonial repression has occurred for decades and has negatively impacted the countries it has tried to manipulate. Although colonial powers may have claimed they were trying to modernize or help, in reality their actions were solely to facilitate their own interests. Settler colonialism, by nature, is a genocidal and dangerous ideology. The ideas of colonists typically lead to the destruction of the land and the people of the land that was being colonized. This is evident in the Americas, Australia, India, and especially in Africa. Colonialism, in its varying contexts, has left countries in shambles economically, socially and politically. Sierra Leone in particular had a long journey down the road to independence. When looking at the country, it is evident that the colonial government, including leaders as well as the grievances the country had to face, all played a part in leading the country to independence.