Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay

One of the different ways Africans reacted was their way of resistance against the Europeans. Various political leaders would rather have themselves

A political map of Africa shows that a total of seven different European countries claimed African territory and selfishly divvied up the land for themselves (Document 9). They took advantage of their weapons and technology that the Africans didn’t possess in order to conquer all of the land shown in document 9. Europeans would often create treaties to be signed by African rulers once they were basically in control of their territories. One specific treaty administered and written by the Royal Niger Company mentioned how they would “agree to pay the native owners of land a reasonable amount” for their territory (Document 1). But, the currency in Africa and Europe were different, so it is unlikely that the African chiefs knew how much their land was worth when Europeans paid them in foreign currency. In addition, it’s doubtful that the African chiefs signing these types of treaties spoke or were literate in English; therefore, important points could have been lost in translation and the leaders wouldn’t know exactly what they were agreeing to. Since the Europeans were the ones coming up with the terms of the treaties, it would have been in their best interest to benefit as much as they could, making these treaties biased towards the Europeans. This lead to African societies being subject to unanticipated unfair treatment that disrupted their daily

During the European age of expansion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, various European nations were colonizing the newly discovered Americas. Spain and France would become prominent players in the Western Hemisphere, both conquering and colonizing new territories. However, each country had different methods of developing their colonies in the New World. Spanish and French settlements contrasted greatly with one another in terms of economic development and Native American relations.

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

The fifteenth century is when the first round of colonization began. The real goal was to find a new route to Asia to buy cheaper spices, but a byproduct of wanting to reach this goal was finding new land. It was realized that this new land was useful and profitable, so countries in Europe started claiming pieces of the Americas. Although Africa was needed for salt and refueling posts, traders did not go further in because there was nothing else that they wanted, and they were discouraged by the multiple diseases they could get. Then, medicine advanced, technology started to advance, and new goods were need.

As previously mentioned, there were independent or free states in Africa during European occupation. One of these free states was Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia was economically and socially free, it rightfully still disagreed with the injustice that occurred in Africa (Document 2). Moreover and more specifically into the injustice that occurred, slave ships embodied this very damage to Africa and its people. Through this European network of trade, they were prospering.

(Document 7). This shows that the Europeans tried to show the Africans that they are stronger than them and that they rule over them. This is a bad thing because it was the Africans land and the European people came and took it as their

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.

In 1886, the British commissioned the Royal Niger Company to administer and develop the Niger River delta. Majority of the African rulers signed their land away (Doc. 1). This shows that the Europeans wanted to work with the Europeans, so they can obtain their land. An assumption I made is that the Africans were afraid of the British, and that resulted in the elimination of many African lands. Prempeh I, Ashanti Leader, responded by turning away from the offer of protectorate status in West Africa, 1981 (Doc. 2).

The time period of 1492 to 1750 was an era of conquest and innovation. Arounnd this time was when there was more interactions between the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world. These interactions had major impacts on the world as a whole at the time, both good and bad. During this time in the Atlantic world, European dominance and the demand for God, gold, and glory remained constant, while there were significant social changes in the Native American population and the attitude that native had towards the Europeans.

As we fast forward in time we go back to the Christopher Columbus era. Europeans came to Africa and their mission was to erase all of the knowledge and power we had before their arrival.

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 abundance of resources, especially salt, gold, and slaves in Africa, especially after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, was too much for Europe to ignore. Most European countries, Italy

The classic African literary tale Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a brilliant account of historical African culture and the destruction colonialism can cause upon such cultures. As the reader follows the narrative and complexity of the characters through the novel, a sense of pride, trust, and faith in history emerges. Yet, with the introduction of colonialism the characters must learn to embrace and adapt to a new culture and set of beliefs or face termination from society. The novel explores the troubles of African cultures and their adaptation to colonialism. As the novel progresses, one can also observe the influence of religion throughout history and how it has changed the face of many societies. Although many