Mortimer Chambers et al define imperialism as a European state 's intervention in and continuing domination over a non-European territory. During the 'Scramble for Africa ' in the late nineteenth century, the most powerful European nations desired to conquer, dominate and exploit African colonies with the hope of building an empire. According to Derrick Murphy, in 1875 only ten percent of Africa was occupied by European states. Twenty years later only ten percent remained unoccupied. There were several factors which attracted European imperialists to Africa. There were opportunities for profitable investment and trade. Raw materials, which Africa possessed in abundance, were also desired. A cheap source of labour was required as it would …show more content…
The British wanted to link their possessions in Southern Africa with their territories in East Africa, and these two areas with the Nile basin. Obtaining the Sudan was vital to the fulfillment of these ambitions especially since Egypt was already under British control. This 'red-line ' through Africa was made famous by Cecil Rhodes and Lord Milner who advocated for a 'Cape to Cairo ' empire linking by rail the Suez Canal to the Southern part which possessed many minerals. According to Brian Levack, there was also a certain level of nationalist competition. The unification of Germany upset the balance of power in Europe. In this climate of tension, governments looked towards enforcing national strength. The newly formed nations of Italy and Germany now sought empires outside Europe as a means of gaining power and prestige within Europe. In the nineteenth century, a German historian Henrich con Treitschke stated "All great nations in the fullness of their strength have desired to set their mark on barbarian lands and those who fail to participate in this great rivalry will pay a pitiable role in time to come." Under the leadership of Bismarck, Germany soon embarked on a quest of expansionism. Bismarck 's distrust of England under Gladstone was one of the reasons he decided to do this. Germany became engaged in an arms race with Great Britain and it
Compare and contrast the influence and consequence of European Imperialism on Africa and China during the 19th century.
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.
The motivation behind conquering colonies in Africa starts with the opportunity to thrive economically. In document 9 from the Resolution of the German Social Democratic Party Congress 1900, it states that acquiring new lands, “…corresponds…to the greedy desire of the bourgeoisie for new opportunities to invest… [in] new markets. This shows one of the motivations for colonization; to invest and open new markets in the new lands in hope to make a profit. The desire for new markets in Europe was getting bigger and bigger now that the population was rising and jobs were becoming scarce. Colonizing new areas in Africa would lead to more imports and exports leading to more jobs which seemed appealing to most people. Supporting the idea of creating a better economy is document 4, which is a speech in 1888 by Joseph Chamberlain. In his speech he says, “We have suffered much in this country from depression of trade. We know how many of our fellow-subjects are at this moment unemployed.” This quote shows that Britain’s trade is declining with other nations and many of the people are unemployed. This is motivation for the British to colonize in Africa because with new colonies in Africa, trade would
Between the period from 1880 to 1914, European powers went after overseas empires in Africa. The governments and political leaders of the European powers believed that this colonization of the African empires was necessary to maintain their global influence. A second group of people supposed that African colonization was the result of the greedy Capitalists who \only cared for new resources and markets. The third group of people claimed it to be their job to enlighten and educate the uncivilized people of Africa. Although the political leaders of European powers encouraged colonization of African empires to advance their nation’s global influence, others argued that it was only for the profiteering of the Capitalists who sought new
The main reason for European imperialism in Africa was for political reasons. According to Document A, the purpose of the colonization of African countries was for political competition between European countries (Doc. A). The partition of Africa in 1884 through 1885 showed that France and Britain were the biggest winners in seizing Africa. The British took most of north and south Africa, when the French took most of western Africa. According to Document B, John Ruskin said,” This is what England must either do or
The European powers that were in much need for resources during the 1500s through 1800s were Great Britain, France and Germany. During 1500 and 1800 Africa seemed like an impossible feat to conquer because of malaria but this wouldn’t stop the persistence of the leaders of France and Great Britain. The idea of exploring and conquering new land meant more to these leaders because of the motivation to keep their national security strong and keep their economy stronger. These countries would use their remaining resources to look for more disposable ones so that their empires could grow considerably. Great Britain would be dug in the
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
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
European Imperialism heavily impacted the African continent through culturally, economic, and political ideas. This era of history is heavily drenched in the aspect of ethnocentrism, which is the belief that one’s own culture is superior that of another. The Europeans colonized Africa believing that they could bring civilization, but they were often ignorant of Africa’s very complex societies. The European powers divided up the continent of Africa among themselves, without any consent from the people who actually lived there. The tribal stratification was changed to a caste system where racial, ethnic, and religious differences were of utmost importance, as delegated by European rule. The structure and business of the African economy was
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 Europeans all scrambled to colonize Africa for t’s raw materials and land. THey had justified it as the White Man’s burden. They believed that is was their responsibility as a more developed race to help Africa catch up in technology, government, economics etc. Rhodes even said, “-and that the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race.” (Doc, 1) With this mindset, Europeans colonized Africa and started to export raw materials such as rubber, diamonds, gold, palm oil etc. White man’s burden led to Imperialism because they thought taking over other countries was the only to help them move forward. In doing so, they also spread their power and influence throughout the world. The White man's burden was also accompanied
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.
Before the Europeans began the New Imperialism in Africa, very little was known about the inner parts of the continent. However, after some explorers delved deeper into the heart of Africa, the Europeans soon realized how economically important this area was, and how much they could profit from it. At the time, Britain had only small occupations of land in Africa, but after they realized that they could make money from the rich resources from the inner regions of Africa, they wanted to invade the African countries and take over. This led to the scramble and ultimately, the partition of Africa. During the Age of Imperialism, from 1870-1914, Britain was a major country, which proved to be true in
Imperialism is defined as one country’s domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. In Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, imperialism was present and growing. The main countries involved in the imperialism in Africa were the French, German, and Great Britain. The French’s empire was mainly in North and West Africa while Britain’s colonies were scattered throughout the continent. Germany ruled over such countries as Tanganyika, Togoland, and Cameroon, until their defeat in World War I.
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