The Scramble for Africa Essay

Imperialism in Africa began in the late 19th century. It began when King Leopold II began the Scramble for Africa. All of the major colonial powers went after Africa. Their goal was to gain the most wealth and to have the most territory. Having more territory and claiming valuable parts of the continent was a symbol of power. Imperialism in Africa had negative and positive consequences on both the Europeans and Africans, these can be shown through human rights issues, new industry and advancements, and wealth and influence.

Europeans bought and sold slaves and traded with Africa before the 19th century. Then they took over Africa and imperialized their weaker nation. The Europeans brought together a group of people and held a conference to split up the part of Africa to the colonies of Europe. They called this the Berlin Conference, held in Berlin in 1884. They brought this group together to try and avoid conflict between the colonies.

In the Mid-1800s the Europeans Imperialised Africa for three main reasons. Those reasons being Cultural, Political, and Economic. The Europeans were encouraged by all the resources, and a way to find a peaceful way to divide Africa up. What motive did the Europeans have about taking over Africa? The best motive for the Europeans was economic because they needed the natural resources for the benefits.

European Imperialism began because there was a need for natural resources and for new markets to sell European manufactured products. The Industrial Revolution created this need for natural resources, and because of the steadily increasing population in Europe and the limited land, expansion seemed necessary. One of the places Europe expanded was Africa. Africa was a very attractive continent because it had large deposits of natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and rubber. Africa’s people were also very primitive in relation to the Europeans after an Industrial Revolution, which made taking control of them even easier.

Furthermore, Africa was rich in natural resources, but all the colonies wanted a piece so they could make a profit and not miss out on anything. Along the lines of land and property. Document B identifies the driving forces behind Imperialism in Africa, which were driven by the power and competition with other colonies. This document states that England must have the most powerful men, sea power, and land power; they believe that if they had control over land, sea, and trade they would be unstoppable, which is partially true; they also believe that they needed to have competition with other countries to remind them just how powerful their country can be. Another primary reason for European imperialism in Africa was their desire for technological advancements that would not only benefit them but also the entire world.

The Europeans colonized colonized many parts of the world but the most colonized was the continent Africa. The European explorers started imperializing Africa after exploring into the interior of Africa and finding the resources that African countries had. What is imperialism? Imperialism is the policy of taking control of another country. There were three main reasons for European imperialism in Africa: Political reasons, technology, and economic reasons.

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

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

In a family of six you can be assured that when dessert comes out after a homemade meal that you better be fast so you can get your own share of mamma pecan pie. Even if it is cut into equal pieces there are motivations for wanting more than your fair share. Motivations such as, you missed out on seconds during the main course, you just love her cooking, or you don’t want your siblings to get more than you. These motivations create havoc until mom instructs everyone that, “there will be no fighting over my pie”. It is so interesting that in terms of the fight for a piece of pie, similarities can be drawn to the scramble for Africa. Though there was no one that stood in the place of a mother to tell the European powers that they needed to

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.

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 dispersal of different ethnicities and the conflict that ensued because of the colonization of different countries, by Europeans, changed the culture and boundaries, set previously, by many overthrown nations. Africa was one of the biggest targets for European colonization and colonialism. The spread of the ideals that sprouted out of the 1884 Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa later spread to African American and Cuban culture. The ideals that were brought forth during this time broke apart the heart of Africa and many other countries, and by doing so also developed the concept of and ideals for White supremacy.

Africa is home to countless cultures that all have their own unique ideas and customs. During the past couple of centuries, these cultures were threatened to the point where they almost ceased to exist. The Berlin Conference was a very important occurrence in Africa and Europe's history. It legitimized what the European powers, mainly France and Britain, had been doing for the past hundred years, without the approval of any African country. During the late nineteenth century, France and Britain began imperialistic ventures into Africa, which eventually led Leopold II to conquer the Congo. It was Leopold's II presence in Africa that to led the Berlin Conference.

There are many reasons why Europeans colonized Africa. One reason why they colonized Africa is so they could take people and use them as slaves. Europeans got slaves by either, buying people from their tribes or, using force and taking them. The Europeans did this so they could take the slaves to mines and farms in Africa or they took them back to Europe and use them as laborers for themselves or they would sell the slaves to other Europeans and make money off of selling them. They did this because people needed slave laborers to manage their farms or help work in their mines. Another way Europeans wanted to colonize Africa was for economic reasons like new markets, trade and they wanted raw materials. They took

The scramble for Africa represents the most thorough and systematic process of colonialism in world history. The European colonial powers managed to conquer and control almost the entire continent of Africa in a short, twenty-five year period from about 1875 to 1900. Some of the European states involved were already well-established global powers; the others were up and coming nations that desired to emulate and compete with the dominant imperial states. Various factors allowed for and contributed to the conquering of the whole of Africa by European states. The slow, but ever-growing European presence on the perimeter and the completion for dominance between the major European states acted as the platform for the inevitable quest for