Cultural Imperialism In Africa

In the Mid-1800s the Europeans Imperialised Africa for three main reasons. Those reasons being Cultural, Political, and Economic. The Europeans were encouraged by all the resources, and a way to find a peaceful way to divide Africa up. What motive did the Europeans have about taking over Africa? The best motive for the Europeans was economic because they needed the natural resources for the benefits.

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.

Africa was a nation that was based off of selling slaves in which the Europeans were familiar with but by 1807, slavery was abolished which made King Leopold II move onto a different resource to line his pockets. The resource he started production on was rubber because of the widespread want for rubber for tires and other manufactured goods. Around the 19th century when Leopold acquired even more land and expanded his production on rubber and sometimes ivory his managers proceeded to force labor and strip away daily cleanliness which eventually led to the widespread disease of malaria which killed as many as 10,000,000 people. With a absolute infectious disease clouding Africa and the seemingly brutal army brought up by Leopold, what really was the driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa?

European powers shamelessly exploited the people and resources of Africa in the 19th century. They often tried to justify their actions by using ideology, religion and moralism. After the end of the African slave trade, the development of steam power, and medical discovery, European nations started exploring not only the coast but also the unmapped interior of the continent. In this essay, I will explain the main driving forces behind African Imperialism. The Western europeans countries all competed for land and resources because of their self interest. They sought natural resources, and technology gave them the ability to exploit them. The philosophy of national pride however, was the primary reason. (Main document) (Doc C, D & B)

European imperialism in Africa Occurred between 1871-1914. Imperialism is the domination by a powerful nation over the political, economics and cultural affairs of another nation or region. The industrial revolution was the primary cause to imperialism while political causes were the the secondary causes. The military and technology are the third cause to African imperialism.

Africa was a country on the rise of becoming a full-functioning country. Africa was on the road to success with its large amounts of ethnicity, religion, and shared power. However, this was prevented by the European countries who imperialised in Africa. What is imperialism exactly? Imperialism is the basic act of taking total control over another country.

The desert-rich country of Mauritania has a complicated history. They have been controlled by various countries throughout their history. The country was originally inhabited by Black Africans; they date back to the Stone Age. They were quickly inhabited by Sanhaja Berbers who were Caucasoid people from North Africa. This society is dated back as far as the 3rd and 4th century. Therefore, most native people from Mauritania are of Berber descent.

Amidst the thriving chaos of the Industrial Revolution and subsequent to the politically volatile French Revolution, Europe in the 1800s was an ever-changing realm of new systems, machines, methods of transportation, ideas, and leaders. Those leaders faced a plethora of challenges both internally and externally, as both their subjects and other countries were angry with them for various reasons. One of the problems these rulers faced was the matter of imperial power on other continents. So, the more relevant European leaders met at the Berlin Conference to decide what each country was allowed to colonize. In doing so, the rulers they legalized the Scramble for Africa, therefore allowing colonization

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.

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.

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.

In the Season of Migration to the North, Tayeb Saih portrays the heavy issues of sexism and colonialism through the role of women. The book not only informs its readers of the stereotypical gender roles, but it also illustrates the truth behind colonialism as a conquest of a people often enslaving them mentally and leaving them empty. According to this lens, the gender roles of men like Mustafa Sa’eed and Wad Rayyes represent the colonizers who ravish the colonized (personified by the female characters). Salih’s men are primarily sexual beings who see women as theirs to conquer while the women are meant to be subservient to sexual conquest.

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

Sa’eed’s aptitude for the English language, and western thought in general, inspires envy on behalf of his schoolmates. He is ostracized and thought of as different. His intellect “would fill” the other students “with annoyance and admiration at one and the same time. With a combination of admiration and spite we nicknamed him ‘the black Englishman.’” Sa’eed’s transition to the “other”, to a lighter gradation of “blackness”, began even before he traveled to England. “Isolated and arrogant,” he spends his time “alone” (43).

Globalisation is the process of interconnectedness and the integration of national and regional culture, economies, and society through the global network of communication, immigration, transportation and trade (Financial Times Lexicon, 2017). According to Reiche (2014), globalisation did not mean much in the past fifty years. It could be primarily focused on the trade and also foreign direct investment which are the economic side of the world but it has been expanded to a broader range which including media, culture, technology, trades and political factors nowadays. Although globalisation is considered as a wide range nowadays, it still can be classified as four main characteristics which are stretched social relations, intensification of flows, increasing interpenetration, and global infrastructure (Held, 2004). However, cultural imperialism has the most typical impacts on globalisation. This essay will define and explain cultural imperialism and its impact from the pessimistic globalist and transformationalist perspective.