Essay on The Negative Effects of Imperialism in Africa

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

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.

As Europe’s economy and standard of living rose, the need for more land flourished as well. Europe sought to split the various parts of Africa during the Berlin conference (without the approval of the Africans, of course). Eventually, Europe successfully stole most of Africa from its rightful owners. The greedy Europeans showed pretentiousness towards the colonies in Africa and wanted to seize territory in order to utilize their available resources while displaying supremacy over the other races.

Q6. In my opinion, without the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution, conquering Africa would have been a much harder goal to achieve for the Europeans. The Industrial Revolution brought many new advancements for the Europeans, it gave them an edge over the Africans. I believe that if the Europeans had tried to take over Africa it would've been a much harder and longer process. Many different aspects would be changed without the Industrial Revolution.

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

Throughout our world history, many people and countries respond differently to change. Most often when change is forced on a group of people their response is not always affirmative. This would be the case for what the World considers the Scramble for Africa. Various European powers quickly tried to occupy and colonize land in Africa. European imperialists took control of Africa and made many of its economic decisions.

Imperialism drastically changed the political, economic, social, and cultural landscape of Africa indefinitely. Europeans built various forms of infrastructure and implemented several technological advancements in Africa in order to expand the economy. Additionally, many Africans lost their sense of self identity as a result of the Western culture that the Europeans imposed upon them. Lastly, Africans lost control of their lands and their independence due to European imperialism. There are three main reasons why the Europeans imperialized Africa: 1) political competition, 2) cultural motives, and 3) economic interests.

Africa had undergone many difficulties within their nation. I believe the more smartest thing the Europeans could have done before proceeding would be to think about the transitions and the aftermath of their actions before they took action. If only they put to mind that their real goal was to get the independence these nations needed, the transition would have been so much more simple, it would have helped a lot with the process. If they were to thoroughly think it through, they could have put a huge impact on the rise of education so that the people CAN get more involved with the government, and with that would mean a rise in economy. With proper education means everything, because the more educated africans, the more they could have placed

During the late 1800s; European powers, such as France, Germany and Britain were the main powers in Africa. Many countries were in competition for high power and land resources in Africa. African groups were very small when Europe came there. This profusion of weak and small tribes made overtaking easy for the more advanced and experienced Europeans,

Africa faced many serious negative consequences because of imperialism. The resolution of the All African People’s Conference held in Ghana in 1958 said, “...Whereas fundamental human rights… freedom to live a full and abundant life… are denied to Africans through the activities of the Imperialists,” (Document 3). This resolution said that human rights, which are rights entitled to all humans regardless of any difference, were taken away. Because of this, the Africans were made to feel inferior which is not healthy for people and can cause serious consequences like the Africans assimilating to the European culture instead of preserving their rich, diverse culture. Sekou Toure, an African nationalist, had similar ideas, he said, “Our continent possesses tremendous reserves of raw material… with its potential sources of power, give it excellent conditions for industrialization,” (Document 2). So as well as the Africans being stripped of their basic rights

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

The colonization of Africa by European nations in the late nineteenth century brought many changes from. Different nation took hold of various countries in Africa, which created a diversity among African nations. European colonization effect Africa socially and culturally. Colonization brought many conflicts between Africa nations due to be colonization by different European countries. African were stripped of their culture because of colonization and had to deal with mistreatment.

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.