Scramble Of Africa Research Paper

Between the years 1881 and 1914, African territory was being invaded by Europeans during the New Imperialism period. Before Europe’s invasion, Africa consisted of various tribes and had no central government due to this during the mid nineteenth century. Europe attempted to colonize Africa using harsh military force and resulted in the European Scramble for Africa. The European Scramble for Africa caused African leaders to have different reactions such as some wanting to have no conflicts, but peace, surrendering to the Europeans due to fear, and also attempting to fight back against the Europeans.

During the late 1800’s, Europe was looking for a way to improve themselves as a whole. With growing population and a steady decline in available work, something new had to be done. Countries looked towards Africa to serve as new colonies for the Europeans in order to better their own countries. During the European acquisition of African colonies in the period 1880 to 1914 Europe’s attitude towards Africa was that Africa was the inferior race in comparison to the Europeans. With the help of a strong feeling of nationalism, Europeans were motivated to acquire new lands in order to improve their motherland’s

Europeans were able to colonize Africa because of the many advantages they had over them. Firstly, the Maxim gun had been acquired. This was the first automatic machine gun to be produced. The Europeans were able to travel much more easily due to the steam engine.

     There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons may be that Europeans believed that the

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.

For centuries, European nations had been trading slaves, gold, ivory, and more with the west coast of Africa. Throughout the early 1800s, Europeans barely knew anything about the rest of the country of Africa. This quickly changed as Europe grew a sudden interest in exploring the rest of the country and taking advantage of their many valuable resources. Many wonder what motivated Europeans to Imperialize Africa, or extend their country’s power throughout Africa. The driving forces behind European Imperialism in Africa were the strive for ultimate power in Africa between competing countries, the need for money and technological advancements in European civilizations, and the constant attempt for Europeans to spread their cultures throughout

Africa was an essential for Europe to gain power in economics and trading position and land. It was a great leap in the civilized world as said by Beaulieu “This area of the world [Africa] needs civilized people to intervene.”(Document S). The Imperialism of Africa was a success in the eyes of Europe, them walking away with the goods of the new land, but was a step back for the people in Africa them entering a cycle of slavery and unjust rule as talk about in Document

One such invention was quinine: “Until the mass manufacture of quinine, the Europeans possessed little defence against the malaria that raged throughout the ‘dark continent’” (Document F). Before the Industrial Revolution, many of the potential European colonists in Africa died to the many diseases there. However, the discovery of quinine meant that the European settlers could survive a lot longer in Africa, and therefore colonise more of it. Also, major advancements in military technology, such as “The invention of the machine gun” (Document F) and “A[nd]... innovation[s] in field artillery gave the Europeans the lead over others.” (Document H). Pre-Industrialisation, the native African armies could easily defeat any force the Europeans sent at them. However, after the invention of the machine gun and advancements in artillery, the European armies, small though they were, could now stand a chance against the larger native armies. Finally, the new steam engine made long ocean voyages affordable, and allowed the Europeans easier access to farther parts of Africa; “The combination of iron hulls, high-pressure steam engines, and screw propellers guaranteed the preponderance of steam over sail on almost all long-distance ocean routes.” (Document H). The European nations that had industrialised could now easily transport goods to and from their colonies, cheaper than before. Imperialism in Africa could not have happened without these major technological

When the Europeans scrambled to colonize Africa, the reactions of the natives was progressively more apprehensive. At first the natives found that they could be peaceful with this strange new white man. Soon after, though, they found that these new men mistreated and cheated them greatly, and had superior military technology. Given these new conditions of the relationship the Africans decided it was in their best interest to take up arms against the Europeans and try to rid themselves of the harmful White Man.

Originally, the Europeans wanted little to do with Africa; that all changed when they found slathers of natural resources. Natural resources were very appealing to greedy Europeans, so naturally they would try to go to, or colonize, areas with them. "At the same time, the nature of European interest in Africa changed dramatically. Impressed by the continent's abundant supply of natural resources, Europeans sought to exploit* the potential wealth. To achieve this goal, they attempted to overpower African peoples and force them to accept foreign rule," (Colonialism in Africa). These resources were worth a lot, and if they had the areas with such resources the Europeans would be very wealthy.

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

diplomacy or military force. In the 20th century many European countries attempted to colonize the great continent of Africa. Europeans saw Africa as an area they would be able to profit from, as it had a great climate, good size, and some phenomenal natural resources. While the Europeans divided the continent of Africa they failed to see the possible negative effects on themselves, and the indigenous people of Africa. Their foresight was limited to only the positive outcomes.

Africa had good intentions to help with industrialization in other countries, but those other countries became power hungry and turned on Africa. Those countries had bad intentions towards Africa, it was a race for territory. The Europeans didn 't help reconstruct the countries in Africa and they created ethnic tensions; Africa was left in a mess of different colonial powers. Africa was rich in the natural resources Europe was looking for such as gold, platinum, chromium, cobalt, oil, coffee and diamonds. European countries took part in the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885; the agreement was you could have any land in Africa as long as you showed sustained control over it.

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.

The scramble for Africa was the fast paced invasion and division of the African continent by European powers during what is today known as the time of “New Imperialism”. Most people would date the start of the scramble for Africa in 1881-1882 when