Migration and Disease in Africa during European Imperialism Essay

The years between the 1870’s and 1910’s brought a tremendous amount of change to Africa. This time period, known as the Scramble for Africa, was when Europeans invaded and colonized the African continent. Europeans at the time were much more technologically advanced than the natives because of the many revolutions that took place in Europe. Thus, they were for the most part very successful in their colonization; they were able to take over the entire continent, save Ethiopia. During and after this period of colonization, Europeans were as present and powerful as they’d ever been, thus inflicting their unfamiliar practices and ideas on societies in Africa. Even though Europe brought over their foreign knowledge and technology (like guns), they

Social Upheaval and Low Self Worth was another one of the major impacts of the European commercial activities on West Africa. As a result of the slave trade through raids and trade, there is no doubt concerning the social ills that plagued Western Africa. Many Africans were betrayed by their own political leaders

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.

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

In this episode of “Guns, Germs & Steel”, the audience learns about the European colonization of Africa. Each continent has African and European influence still today, and this episode walks us through how the world sees present-day Africa based on its history. To me, one of the more interesting pieces of Africa’s colonization was how disease affected the people involved.

In the 19th century Europe underwent imperialism, Europe wanted to take control of different continents one of which was Africa to gain power, civilize the African people and grow the economy of Europe. With intentions to help, the Europeans moved to Africa in order to get the resources that were grown there forcing the Africans native to those regions to move to North and South America (Document 9). By 1885 the amount of people living in Africa had increased due to the amount of Europeans (Spielvogel and McTighe 234). The Europeans took resources and goods from Africa to sell and increase their capital. These reasons changed the way of life for the Africans making them adapt to the changes without being able to fight back. While imperialism

European Imperialism and Colonization of Africa created many social and economic changes including superiority over different people, technological advances, and new territories for European countries.

As a result, the diseases that were transferred from Europe decreased a large amount of native Americans’ populations..

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

The indigenous people of Africa suffered many setbacks, when the Europeans arrived. When the Europeans arrived in Africa they made the indigenous people feel inferior, lack self-confidence, and be stripped of their responsibility. As shown by Document 2, when it says, “...convince us that our civilization was nothing less than savagery, thus giving us complexes which led to our being branded as irresponsible and lacking in self-confidence.” Some people may agree, that this seems like something out of a genocide. Originally the indigenous people of Africa were supposed to be cheap labor. However, this soon changed when the Europeans enslaved the African people. This is portrayed in Document 6, when it says, “...Beneath the noonday sun, My brother was strong…” By doing this they stole all of the human rights from the Africans, who had done nothing wrong. This is shown in Document 3, when it says, “Whereas fundamental human rights...are denied to Africans.” During this extremely horrific time in African history men were worked to death, and women were raped. This is found in Document 6, when it says,”The White Man killed my father,My father was proud, The White Man seduced my mother, My mother was beautiful.” This shows the negative effects are much worse for the Africans, than for the Europeans. But, there are some positives in this dark hour. When the Europeans arrived in Africa, they provided the

The proximate reasons behind the outcome of Africa’s collision with Europe are clear. Just as in their encounter with Native Americans, Europeans entering Africa enjoyed the triple advantage of guns and

Beginning in 1880, there was a growing desire for European countries to expand and control their rule. The only continent at that time that was left uncontrolled and, in the European's eyes uncivilized, was Africa. This was the start of Western Imperialism. All European countries wanted their piece of Africa and to get it, they would let nothing stand in their way. They would change the entire government, religion, market, and behavior of most of the African nation and affect almost every person living there. An account of the impact of Imperialism is given in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. This book shows the changes that occurred in Africa during Imperialism and its affect on the community and the people

Human African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the tsetse fly. The main symptom, disruption of the sleep-wake cycle, occurs in the second stage of the disease. For this symptom, the disease is also called “sleeping sickness”. Mainly, it is prevalent in the Sub-Saharan African region. According to the World Health Organization, there are two types of the sleeping sickness. There is West African trypanosomiasis which is caused by the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense parasite, as well as East African trypanosomiasis caused by the Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense parasite (University of Chicago Medicine, 2015). West African trypanosomiasis occurs in over 98% of cases of sleeping sickness (WHO, 2015). East African trypanosomiasis is considered and acute disease, lasting only a few weeks, while West African sleeping sickness is chronic, lasting many years.

Human African Trypanosomiasis is a disease sweeping across the Sub-Saharan Africa. Until recent years, Human African Trypanosomiasis is now on a downward decline. Even with the significant declines in cases, Human African Trypanosomiasis is still considered a neglect tropical disease. Human African Trypanosomiasis is known, as the sleeping sickness, which is caused through parasite transmission from bites of the Tsetse flies when picked up from human, or animal hosts (World Health Organization, n.d.). When over coming neglected tropical diseases culture is of the utmost essence when incorporating change.

In 2014 MSF admitted 330 people for the african sleeping sickness. Tsetse flies are carriers of the parasite human African Trypanosomiasis. There are 65 million people at risk in 36 countries where tsetse flies are found. If not treated the disease is fatal. T. Brucei Gambiense is responsible for the reportings of more than 98% of human trypanosomiasis. Only 2% of reported cases come from T. Brucei rhodesiense. There are 3 kinds of trypanosomiasis but T. brucei brucei does not affect humans. (“What Is African Sleeping Sickness?”)