Imperialism in Africa Essay

The main reason for European imperialism in Africa was for political reasons. According to Document A, the purpose of the colonization of African countries was for political competition between European countries (Doc. A). The partition of Africa in 1884 through 1885 showed that France and Britain were the biggest winners in seizing Africa. The British took most of north and south Africa, when the French took most of western Africa. According to Document B, John Ruskin said,” This is what England must either do or

Lastly, South Africa benefited from its own farming exports with the beginning of the diamond industry, followed by the Rand gold discoveries. Furthermore, the development of these industries and discoveries made South Africa an important producer of minerals and stimulated the world

South Africa has diamonds and gold. The Boers settled in Africa long before the British came there to colonize. The Boers were Dutch and come over to Africa in 1652. The Boers and the British did not agree with British policies including land and slaves. The Boers had no where to go but north. Which later became known as the Great Trek. When they were heading north they got in fierce battles with the Zulu and many other African groups as they were attempting to take land. The Boers didn't want outsiders coming in when gold was discovered. The Boers did t want any of the people coming to seeks fortune to gain any political rights. People tried to rebel against the Boers and failed. The British were blamed, and the tension was greater than ever.

Not only did South Africa contain gold and diamonds, but there was also iron, coal, and various other minerals

The production of resources such as gold, diamonds, and cobalt skyrocketed during the early 1940s, as each were required to make more durable war equipment. For example, ‘The Big Four’ producers, all of which were owned by European and American based companies, dominated the diamond industry. The war increased the demand for industrial diamonds as stronger metals were being used in the production of weapons and ammunitions. Unlike gem diamonds, industrial diamonds were quickly worn out and demand for them nearly tripled throughout the war. In some natural resource industries, the war created a boom and international demand that would put African colonies on the map even after the

Africa has been at the margins of the global economy for much if not all the post-independence period. This is despite having sixty five percent of the worlds diamonds, thirty percent of the world’s oil and in 1976, seventy nine percent of the worlds gold. Africa’s rich mineral basins and numerous tourist attractions left the rest of the world shocked when Africa 's share of world trade has dropped from four percent to one and a half percent over the last forty years and its growth rates were down through the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Some experts averred that all this happened because African countries failed to attract private capital as most investors

Africa is the world’s second largest continent, over three times the size of the United States. Africa has always been blessed with rich natural resources. The problem is that thus far African nations have not been able to benefit and protect their natural wealth. Resources like gold, oil, diamonds, gas, iron and coal have been discovered throughout the

Africa has not been benefitting from its vast mineral resources. All the illegal selling of Conflict diamonds is not helping the situation either. They cannot control the prices of the minerals on the global market. Many of the mining companies are owned by foreigners that means that mining employs less workers than either agriculture or services, it is also more expensive to operate. In addition to the loss of wealth, all the mining has contributed to the environmental destruction and helped fuel political conflict. It has caused many problems for Africa Sierra Leone during the 1990’s being one of the worse ones. The civil wars in Sierra Leone get their money illegal diamond trades. Smugglers from other countries such as Europe would come in come in to Africa and sneak diamonds out. Smugglers sometimes even go as far as to put the diamonds under the skin of goats just to get through. Consequences for getting caught trying to smuggle diamonds is jail time. Smugglers usually work for big diamond business. They get paid a lump sum of money to give businesses usually keep the diamonds in a stored away room on reserve. The reason they keep them on reserve and not put them on the market is because the less diamonds there are, letting big businesses go up on their prices. It is a strategy used by many companies trying to comply with conflict minerals. Many people don’t know this information

In 1869, one of the largest diamonds of 83 ½ carats was discovered near the Orange River in South Africa. Both Botswana and South Africa produces 60 percent of the world’s diamonds. When Prime Minister Stevens took office, the fall of Sierra Leone began with the spread of corruption. Botswana and the government are known to provide the schooling, better built roads, and healthcare in the nation. Although democracy was strong programs that were in place to support and build up education, healthcare, and social services, quickly

The African continent is one of the most diverse places on the planet, filled with numerous different rich resources; diamonds, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, silver, petroleum, cocoa beans, and wood. But, for some reason the whole entire continent shares the same problems of poverty, droughts, diseases, failing government systems, corruption, greed, exploitation of the people and resources. Furthermore, to understand why Africa is the way it is, one has to go back and look into the history of the continent. Unlike other countries in the world where a group of people in any given area were able to create a means for themselves, to learn to govern themselves, and to progress in different stages, which would then lead to industrialization,

African blood diamonds have been the focal point of many African country’s civil wars. This is due to the high demand for diamonds that Susan Falls says has been since the “N.W. Ayer agency was hired to market engagement rings…[that] laid the foundation for a market dominance” for diamonds (443). From this high demand for diamonds since the marketing campaign in 1938, and many citizens’ need for jobs after Shumirai Nyota and Fortune Sibanda report that the African countries’ unemployment rates reached an all time high in 2009 at an alarming “94 percent”, has subsequently lead to conflicts over the race between “Zimbabweans flocking to Chiadzwa in their thousands” for these precious gems (131). Due to these gems

    European powers wanted to colonize in Africa due to cheap labor and raw resources available which led to many enslaved people brutally dieing and territory being dispersed between other countries.The resources found in Africa were diamonds, jewels, and copper which were being mined out by the native enslaved people. Ivory and hides of animals were popular for colonists to have. Normal citizens of tribes were dieing due to forced labor and native animals were dying due to hunting. Colonists didn’t even see imperialism as a bad thing to the native people of Africa, seen in the poem “A White Man’s Burden.” Scientists saw Africa as an opportunity to expand knowledge in the

The DeBeers Group, a South African diamond mining company, began in 1871 with the discovery of diamonds in a mine owned by two Afrikaner farmers named DeBeers. Unable to handle the rush that followed, they sold two mines, one named “DeBeers”, the other “Kimberley.” An Englishman named Cecile Rhodes arrived with the intent to farm the land, but instead bought a claim to one of the mines. Rhodes joined Barney Barnato, who owned stakes in the nearby Kimberly Mine, and The DeBeers Consolidated Mines Limited was founded in 1888.

South Africa is a country found at the southern tip of Africa that boasts of a relatively rich history. Dutch traders arrived at the south most tip of present day South Africa in 1652 and built a stopover point on the path that was used to transport spice between Holland and the Far East, consequently instituting the town of Cape Town. After the British captured the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch residents fled to the north to institute their own republics in areas taken from the indigenous African populace (Beck, 2014). The exposition of gemstones and silver stimulated prosperity and immigration and increased the subjugation of the local population. The Afrikaners opposed English encroachments but were beaten in the Second South African War (1899-1902); nonetheless, the English and the Afrikaners, continued to rule over South Africa in 1910 under the Union of South Africa. Following a whites-only referendum, South Africa became a republic in 1961 (Thompson & Berat, 2014).

May 2000, governments and diamond industries collaborate in South Africa in the town of Kimberley to try to put a stop on the diamond trade; trying to get rid of conflict zones