African Imperialism Dbq

The European imperial powers met with mixed reactions from the people they attempted to exert their control over. The scramble for Africa was accepted by the people that gave in peacefully but rejected by the people that fought violently against the European for their right to be free and independant.

From 1914 to the present, one of the most powerful trends of the postwar era was the importance of the developing world and their desire for independence. Nationalism was an important factor in the growing independence movements in Sub- Saharan Africa. Regardless of political changes, social conflict and tensions remained a problem. Tensions between Europeans and Africans, which had been a problem since the Europeans’ arrival and social unrest in communities didn’t change.

A. Adu Boahen's African Perspectives on Colonialism neatly classifies African responses to European colonialism during both phases of invasion and occupation during the 19th century with precise labels according to their nature or time period. However, the reactions can also be loosely grouped into two diametric characterizations: peaceful and violent. Although creating this dichotomy seems a gross generalization and oversimplification of the colonial African experience, it more importantly allows for a different perspective- one that exposes the overwhelming success of the typically peaceful or pacifist reaction in contrast to the little gain and large losses of the violent response.

During the year of 1881, Europeans imperialist wanted to invade Africa and control the territories from the native African people. The occupation of an African person during this time is to work under the European control and they were to obey Europeans orders. An African person would live in a small house and close by the Europeans settlers that way they were nearby if needed. Africans during this time were seen as laborers in the eyes of an European imperialist that used to help imperialist gain success. There was not much practice of the African culture or religion since Africans were forced to focus and assimilate to communicate with the Europeans.

In the late 19th century the “scramble” or “grab” for Africa was at its pinnacle of the imperialism standpoint. Several European powers were at the starting gate readying for the luxurious riches at the end of the tunnel. These powers’ only mindset was to receive some sort of monetary gain for the advancement of their countries to the continent of Africa. After reading the book The Scramble for Africa by M.E. Chamberlain she makes an inadvertent point of view to the reader about the real savages during this evil imperialistic time period.

Some tribes rose up against the Imperialists but were eventually put down. Africans desired to keep their way of life but the Imperialists had other ideas. Although having Africans attend school and helping the poor helped some, forcing a people group to change the way they operate is usually not successful (Smith 64). Today, African countries still struggle with the repercussions of oppressive European rule (Smith

Europeans held the Berlin Conference and determined which part of Africa they should take. As shown in Source 4, the cartoon depicts Africa as a piece of cake being split by the Europeans Africa was being split by the Europeans in which the Africans couldn’t say anything about it. The cartoon shows men, representing the Europeans at the Berlin Conference, and a cake that has”Afrique”, representing Africa being split. The unfair ruling of the Europeans is causing Africa to tear apart from each other. This impacted the future by how the Africans are now fighting each other when they should be helping each other after the effects of the

The following essay will describe the history context of the “scramble for Africa”. It will describe the causes for scramble for Africa and mention the wars by Africans against imperial powers (resistance). Scramble for Africa is also known as the African race or partition of Africa which was about European power heads battling to take control of African territory in the late nineteenth century.

During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the Scramble for Africa was a predominant objective of the most powerful European countries. Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and France embarked in the acquisition of Africa by using a variety of methods such as brute force, cruel deception, false promises through treaties, and more. In response, some Africans embraced the interference of the Europeans, whereas other Africans tried to protect their sovereignty and resisted with all their might. Some resistance movements were successful, while others were not and faced detrimental consequences. Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia led one of the few successful rebellions in the whole of Africa.

Land was taken from the Africans by force. Natives were killed, their rights were taken away and taught to believe that they were lesser people than those that came to take over their land. “Most of these wars have been caused by the attacks of white races upon so-called “lower races.” They have resulted in the taking of territory by force....The white rulers of the colonies live at the expense of the natives.” (Document 1) This quote, written by a British scholar, is important because it shows that even some of the Europeans recognized the negative effects of imperialism. Those that did survive ended up living in poverty and lost their basic rights. “...thus reducing Africans to poverty in the midst of plenty...Whereas fundamental human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom of worship, freedom to live a full and abundant life...are denied…” (Document 3) This quote, from the All-African People’s conference, is important because it recognizes that the negative effects of the new imperialism by the people that it was hurting. It shows that the Africans didn’t want to continue to live in such a way that was killing their people, taking their lands and making them feel that they were not valuable as human beings.

“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter” (Achebe 1994). Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart does a great job in giving the audience an idea of what was going in Africa; the traditions and the complex social institutions, before Colonialism and once the Europeans arrived in Africa. The colonization of Africa by the imperialists was due in part to the abundant resources on the continent, which created a rivalry between European nations known as "The Scramble for Africa"; deleterious effects on their systems and the African people continue to this day.

In order to understand the process of African colonisation, and independence, one must start not with the introduction of European colonialism in the 19th century, but with the existing political landscape of formed nearly six-hundred years earlier. In describing

Europe was experiencing a few financial and political changes that forced the major European forces to investigate abroad regions to add to their resources during the seventeenth century. In order for the European forces to settle in Africa, it was important to apply finish control over the African lifestyle. Political and social control would be essential for the Europeans to build a supporting domain for acknowledgment of their interests. One of the most intense difficulties to accomplish such control was to embrace the resistance that Africans had against control of their territory by white men. (European Colonization of Americas, 2015)

After discussing the ‘Scramble for Africa’ in class I decided that I wanted to do more research on the subject and thusly having this be the general focus of my essay. The following source provides another perspective on the European’s motives for conquering Africa. Essentially, Barnhart is arguing that the fate of one’s status relative to others is the main cause for asserting their authority onto other states. While this argument stands it cannot be the main focus of my paper as concluding that there was only one cause takes away from the complexity of the situation. Therefore, this source will be used as an example of one of the possible reasons for the sudden Scramble, in which it will be followed by an argument that general conclusions do not tell the whole story of a situation.

During the Scramble for Africa in the late 1900s, European powers divided Africa and its resources into political partitions at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85. By the early 1900s, African soil was almost completely controlled by European rule, with the only exceptions being Liberia (which had been settled by African-American former slaves) and Ethiopia (which had successfully resisted colonization by Italy). As a result of colonialism and imperialism, Africa suffered long term effects, such as the loss of important natural resources, economic devastation, cultural confusion, geopolitical division, and political subjugation (Lecture). It was for this cause that Africans sought for their independence. Therefore