German Imperialism Essay

Resources,they carry a country financially.A big driving force for imperialism at the time was resources,and Africa just so happened to have an abundance of them.Ranging from diamonds to slave labour ,Africa was a gold mine in the eyes of the Europeans.Proof of this is the

After the civil war, United States took a turn that led them to solidify as the world power. From the late 1800s, as the US began to collect power through Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines, debate arose among historians about American imperialism and its behavior. Historians such as William A. Williams, Arthur Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer provides their own vision and how America ought to be through ideas centered around economics, power, and racial superiority.

The motivation behind conquering colonies in Africa starts with the opportunity to thrive economically. In document 9 from the Resolution of the German Social Democratic Party Congress 1900, it states that acquiring new lands, “…corresponds…to the greedy desire of the bourgeoisie for new opportunities to invest… [in] new markets. This shows one of the motivations for colonization; to invest and open new markets in the new lands in hope to make a profit. The desire for new markets in Europe was getting bigger and bigger now that the population was rising and jobs were becoming scarce. Colonizing new areas in Africa would lead to more imports and exports leading to more jobs which seemed appealing to most people. Supporting the idea of creating a better economy is document 4, which is a speech in 1888 by Joseph Chamberlain. In his speech he says, “We have suffered much in this country from depression of trade. We know how many of our fellow-subjects are at this moment unemployed.” This quote shows that Britain’s trade is declining with other nations and many of the people are unemployed. This is motivation for the British to colonize in Africa because with new colonies in Africa, trade would

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

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.

time period in which we talk about. Germany, a late participant in the Scramble for Africa, only

This can be shown in Document C, which features excerpts from one of John Ruskin’s novels. “(T)his is what [England] must either do or perish: she must found colonies as fast and as far as she is able, formed of her most energetic and worthiest men;—seizing every piece of fruitful waste ground she can set her foot on, and there teaching these her colonists … that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea” (Ruskin). From this, the reader can understand what European’s primary motives were. This excerpt illuminates the fact that European countries took over the country of Africa to harvest their own profits and succeed economically, and would take down other European countries for their own

From 1880 to 1914, Industrial European countries favored the idea of Imperialism in African colonies which motivated them to acquire resources, riches, and territory which eventually led them to seemingly have an attitude in which their race was superior. Even before Imperialism became popular, England had colonies such as the American Colonies which spread their ethnicity and race as well as their power. Europeans countries began to comprehend and understand that they could use the resources for their operations and expansion toward their country. The De Beers Mining Company was a prime example of how Imperialism allowed European countries to obtain resources and territory which made them stronger and richer. Africa was the motherload,

Africa were mainly, hunters, so they used agriculture to their full advantage. However, Africa’s resources were left untouched by the natives, so this gave easy access to the imperialists. Germany was in desperate need of fuel, before imperialism started, which was available in Africa. Gold and diamonds were (and still) the two most valuable resources, which were abundant in Africa, “The discovery of diamonds and rich gold deposits brought… European settlers” to Africa” (5). So, when imperialists came to German E. Africa, they took all of their available land. For all of the citizens in German E. Africa who needed the money had to work as slaves. In fact, most of them were forced to work for the German imperialists. There was a discrimination pattern of labor recruitment. While immigrants were skilled and paid relatively high. African migrants were unskilled and low paid, “Earning about 1/9 of the wage of white men” (6). Specifically, German E. Africans were forced to plant peanuts, cocoa and other cash crops. Imperialism destroyed German E. Africa’s economy and depleted their resources. After Imperialism, exportation of raw materials caused shortage in resources. So, German E. Africa was then a more dependant on an industrialized economy. By the end of Imperialism, the natives were put to work as cheap labour. Which affected their health since, most of them were restless, exploited, weren’t taken at their free will and the Germans took

Imperialism was one of the four contributing factors to the cause of World War One, along with secret alliances, militarism, and nationalism.  It is the most important cause of WW1, because it created a build-up of tension in Europe and outside of Europe, and through imperialism, the three other causes were able to affect the beginnings of the war. Imperialism is defined as the governing of one people by another country, which was a recurring dilemma prior to WW1 due to the industrialist movement. Although not all events that fall into the imperialistic category were about controlling another country, they contributed to the war, and imperialistic events were the foundation of the cause of WW1.

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

In the late nineteenth century the European powers of the world began imperializing Africa. This annexation, occupation, and division of African territory has since led to much strife within the continent and has caused many struggles politically. This period known as the “Scramble for Africa” has led to the many problems that Africa faces today and has been the root of several wars in Africa to assume control. After World War II many European imperialists began to give African nations autonomy. This seemed like a step forward for African nations, but without any plan to transition into self governance many African nations have faced bloody civil wars and corruption. Along with political struggles, numerous African nations face rising debt and other economic problems. Many of these political and economic issues stem from the “Scramble for Africa”. Once the European countries left Africa had very little to support itself. To explain the issues left by imperialism the three African nations of Rwanda, South Africa, and Sierra Leone will be put under the scope.

     Throughout American History the U.S. has sought to expand its boundaries. This need increased greatly during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century with the start of the industrial revolution. This Expansion was a big departure from earlier attempts to expand the boundaries of the U.S. The needed for Natural resources forced the U.S to look for places that could supply them with the natural resources they needed and markets where they could sell their goods in. The need to imperialize caused the U.S. to look to foreign places to gain resources to better the nations industries.

In disputing some of the main accusations and so-called “evidence” presented in the Blue Book, the German Colonial Office argues that Germany’s African protectorates were acquired by peaceful means and were built upon by German enterprise and industry under a colonial policy of liberality towards other nations. They claim that, since Great Britain declared willingness to recognize German territory in African, the British cannot make the argument that South-West Africa shouldn 't have fallen into German hands, since they initially supported it during the Berlin Conferences. Prior to the war, there were multiple British and American sources that praise Germany’s development efforts in Africa. The White Book even claims, “many eminent English

France, like Britain, saw the advantages of having colonies in Africa. Their reasons, unlike Britain's, were more of a political nature. The political reasoning of developing colonies abroad began with the Franco-Prussian war. This war resulted in France losing its prestige and the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, and Germany becoming the mover and shaker of Europe (Wessling 10). After this, the idea of revanche was