The Impact Of The European Colonization Of Africa

Ever heard the saying big bank take little bank ? That’s basically what imperialism is. Imperialism is a policy which a strong nation take complete control over other countries . This is exactly what the Europeans did in several different parts of Africa . Not only did the Europeans divided and colonized Africa but they took everything away ,from their culture to their independence. Why take all this away ? It’s simple , the Europeans nations was competing against each other and they thought they were superior. They noticed Africa had many raw materials and resources they could use and benefit from. The driving force for imperialism in Africa was economics , competition , and politics.

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.

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

During the European Scramble for Africa, in the early 20th century, Africans had a peaceful reaction with anti-imperialistic sentiments (docs. 2, 3, 4, and 7), peaceful actions through the approach of diplomacy (docs.1, 2, and 3) and also a rebellious anti-imperialistic reaction (docs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) towards the Scramble for Africa.

The ‘scramble for Africa’ was a phenomenon in the world between the years 1880-1914. The ‘dark continent’ was relatively untouched by Europeans up until this point, with few ports of control on the coasts in the west, which were remnants of the slave trade, and in the south, Britain held the Cape, taken from the Dutch during the French Revolutionary Wars. So, during a period of 30 years, it came to pass that almost the whole of Africa was taken by Europeans. (Except Liberia a colony for freed American slaves, and Abyssinia managed to hold out against Italian aggression). It will be my objective in this essay to analyse the economic factors which resulted in the almost complete colonisation and takeover of Africa, and also to determine to

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 has had a long and tumultuous road of colonization and decolonization the rush to colonize Africa started in the 17th century with the discovery of the vast amounts of gold, diamonds, and rubber with colonization hitting a fever pitch during World War I. However, the repercussions of colonization have left deep wounds that still remain unhealed in the 21st century. Early on, European nations such as Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium scrambled for territories. Countries wanted land so they could harvest the resources, increase trade, and gain power. The European colonization of Africa brought racism, civil unrest, and insatiable greed; all of which have had lasting impacts on Africa.

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

During 19th century Europe the Industrial Revolution was rapidly spreading through many prominent European nations, such as France, Germany and Spain. The Industrial Revolution was the name given to the period of time, around the 1800s, when many of Europe’s economies switched from agricultural economies to industrial ones. This Revolution spurred on a new age of European Imperialism, European nations set about conquering, claiming and colonising chunks of Africa. The new economic motives, technological advancements and desire for power created by the Industrial Revolution were the greatest motives behind European Imperialism in Africa.

The European scramble for Africa can be regarded as a major historical event. The scramble for Africa started off with tranquil beginnings and then eventually transformed into violent rebellions, as evident in the documents. There was opposition with instruments of war and peace, diplomatic relations with other countries, and trade relations. These all influenced Europe’s scramble for Africa.

Colonialism impacted North Africa in numerous ways. Its history is forever changed and the people of North Africa are still struggling because of the effects it had on its society. The Europeans that invaded North Africa thought of their European culture as high class and elite and looked down upon the Arab culture. Because of this, the Europeans started to build newer cities and created businesses that accommodated the European lifestyle. Building on lands that weren’t theirs to claim pushed tribes into the mountains and caused the dislocation of tribal life. Poverty was an outcome of tribe disruption because many families lost their homes, and if families had already come from poverty, then they would live around the cities in bidonvilles as well as the people coming from the cities into the bidonvilles. Because of the dislocation of families when leaving their hometown, the sense of community was also broken because families no longer lived next to each other and their neighbors might not even speak in the same dialect, making it very difficult for them to communicate with one another. This dislocation is what began to break down the cultural identity and belonging of many young Arabs, even after returning to their hometowns after independence, there was still a disconnection because the original culture had faded because of the hybridization of the two cultures.

Because of its size, surface features, climate, resources, and strategic importance, Africa became a prime candidate for conquest by ambitious European empires. Although Africa is physically remote from the power centers of Europe, North America, and Asia, it is surrounded by water and can therefore be reached easily from the other continents. This meant that the Europeans needed to establish rules for dealing with one another if they were to avoid constant bloodshed and competition for African resources. The Berlin Conference established those ground rules.

Before the Europeans began to explore Africa, little was known about the continent. However, after some initial exploration of Africa, the Europeans soon realized how economically important this area was, and how much they could profit from it. At the time, European countries had only small colonies in Africa, but after they realized that they could make money from the resources in the inner regions of Africa, they wanted to invade the African regions and assume control. This led to “ the race” and ultimately, the partition of Africa. There were many motives for the Europeans to imperialize Africa. There were humanitarian and religious goals, political goals, military goals, and most importantly, there were economic interests. During the Berlin conference, The European powers decided that they were going to spread the three C’s (Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization) in Africa. To do this, the conference had three aims “ Ensure free trade for all nations throughout the Congo, to ensure free navigation for all countries on the Niger River of West Africa, and agree to set rules by which the Europeans could proceed to divide the rest of the continent.” (Part II: The European Conquest, Pg 11). Later in the document it states that not one African representative was present at the Berlin Conference to discuss Africa's future. The European people tricked themselves into thinking that what they were doing

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.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the "scramble for Africa," consolidated at the Berlin Conference, divided the terrain of the African continent among the numerous European contenders. Fourteen countries were represented by a plethora of