Africans achieved a lot before the Europeans arrived. Aksum, Ghana, and Mali are examples of well supported empires. In Aksum they developed a trade route, in Ghana they had advanced political structures, and in Mali there is evidence of a wonderful society. Trade and wealth were important parts for all three of the empires. The achievements of the people of Africa before the arrival of the Europeans included an extensive trade network, an abundance of wealth, and a highly sophisticated political structure.
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.
The first positive impact European Imperialism had on the world is education. Before European colonization and the introduction of Western education, traditional educational systems still existed in Africa The average African child was taught basic survival skills necessary to survive in the traditional society. They were taught how to fish, trade and crafts, etc. (Education Western Africa.) Although already knew
Resources,they carry a country financially.A big driving force for imperialism at the time was resources,and Africa just so happened to have an abundance of them.Ranging from diamonds to slave labour ,Africa was a gold mine in the eyes of the Europeans.Proof of this is the
To further evaluate Europe and Africa one could look at the economic consequences of European colonialism in Africa. There are several consequences to this subject. The two that seem the most important was the transformation of individual colonies into export-oriented
Despite the fact that many believe that imperialism only had negative effects, there were several positive aspects of the European takeover. One of the main pros is the introduction of trade. This helped them obtain desired goods, and in some cases necessities that couldn't be accessed. Some of the other positives from the colonization are improved education and a new religious and administrative system.
Imperialism had several diverse impacts on Asia, Africa, and Europe. The pros about imperialism, was that new roads and railroads that were built connected many parts of India. The introduction of the telegraph and postal systems united many people. Discovering new agricultural methods improved farming in the west and in Africa and Asia. Schools that were built by the British educated many people. Human rights were recognized, by ending customs that threatened many humans.
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
According to document five, colonization was positive for Europe because they attained many more resources. This allowed many more industries to grow and flourish including the textile industry because of an increase in cotton coming into Europe. Also, in document four, another positive economic change is shown, with an increase in new technology and other advances. New technological advances allowed the economy to grow. They allowed Europeans to successfully invade and conquer Africa, allowing them to attain new resources and grow rich. Lastly, a both a negative and positive effect is explained in document six. This is positive for the Europeans because it allowed them to grow rich on the backs of slaves and the free labor they provided. However, this is negative for Africans, as they were forced into slavery, or were paid very little, which did not help their economy. Overall, the economic changes were great, but affected the Europeans much more positively than the the African
European imperialism started as a source for raw materials and a way to gain advantages over their rival countries (Spielvogel and McTighe 226). Yet, the African countries being imperialized were impacted by this settlement in many positive ways (Spielvogel and McTighe 231). Europeans brought ideas of Westernization and influenced the societies that were not yet industrialized and ones that lacked the modern elements many European countries had acquired (Spielvogel and McTighe 235). Through the spread of western ideals and democracy, the people of Africa were inspired to pursue their own self-rule and continuation of the modernization that the European imperialists left behind on the continent. When European nations first imperialized the African
In the past hundred years, the British colonized over 100 countries including South Africa. Did it leave any positive impact on South Africa? The colonization of South Africa began in the sixteenth century. With around one hundred and seventy years of colonization, the British had taken control of the Cape which brought bad impacts to the South African people ("British Takes Control of the Cape”). These negative impacts affected the South African people socially, politically and economically. These three elements were also the reasons that the South African people suffered greatly during the colonization.
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
Although imperialism had several negative impacts on certain regions, it lead to the introduction of a better government system and improvement in technology. The efforts put in by Europe to colonize weak countries resulted in improvement of education and sanitation in the colonized countries. Africa specially gained a lot from Imperialism. Schools and hospitals were built,
This on a certain level, caused for many Africans change their perspectives and to decrease their fear towards their colonial authorities that over time, had being representing themselves as being superior to Africans and the authority of the continent. Consequently, Africa started to develop small groups of well-educated leaders, many the beneficiaries of scholarships from the USA and the USSR. During the 1950’s these leaders came home to Africa and immediately began looking for ways to gaining independence, so they would organize African citizens into political movements and so on and so forth.