In the race of European imperialism, European countries dominated innocent African colonies. The driving force behind this? Africa’s bountiful resources.
Before Africa’s colonization, the European presence in Africa was extremely limited, mainly due to lack of exploration and diseases (Background Essay). However, this changed as European prominence became largely influential through the discovery of Africa’s resource rich lands.
In the early 1880s, King Leopold of Belgium secured about 900,000 square miles of African land (Background Essay). Leopold’s industries were successful producing tires, electrical insulation, soap, handles, and more (Document D), while his managers killed nearly 10 million Africans through forced labor, mistreatment, and diseases. This was the beginning of European imperialism.
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Consequently, these countries now controlled the resources found in their respective colonies. European industries, especially those of food, textiles, and automotive, significantly benefited from Africa’s plentiful cotton, palm oil, sugar, metals, rubber, and so on (Document D). Several countries, such as Great Britain, would profit over $20 million yearly in exports following African colonization (Document E).
Gaining abundant resources through the colonization of Africa was essential for European industries to survive economically. Africa’s resources were the principal factor that drove European
European contact with sub-Saharan Africa around the 1500’s was not mutually beneficial because they had different needs. The economic exchanges and political relationships were based off of European’s relations with the Upper class of Africa, however not the majority of Africa. Due to the massive expansion of Europe, they wanted to continue to grow, and the only way to do that was to open trading ports all around the world. In the end, Europe benefited from trading with Africa and they are the ones who ended up
How could these documents be used to explain a driving force behind European imperialism in Africa? These document could be used to explain through a few of different things like technological advancements, African colonies and raw materials they had, and economic factors. These are three reasons to help explain the driving force behind European imperialism and also could answer questions that go along with the main question like why the Europeans imperialized Africa. Why did it have to be Africa at all? These are all questions and ways to explain the main question.
Europe’s encroachment upon Africa revolutionized their society, however the
European expansion into Africa created great controversy. Within approximately half of a century, Europeans had gained control of all African lands except for Ethiopia and Liberia, (Doc. 4). By taking their land and power, European nationalism had occupied full control of the continent. Technology also played an important role in the removal of many occupations. Since machinery was taking the place of workers, factories needed less workers to operate the equipment.
One of the many reasons was that Europeans began to believe that the more territory they obtained control for their colonies, the more power one could obtain it would become more solid it would become seen by the others. Other reasons for the Europeans to desire control over African land included that many of the natural resources could only be found within Africa, examples such as diamonds, gold, and as time moved on, rubber. Providing new markets to surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for larger profit. Europeans had many motivations for imperializing Africa. The main motivations were more than likely shielded, as they tried presenting themselves as philanthropist, within reality they were making Africa a horrible place to live with brutal treatment of the natives as well as multiple physical and emotional tolls for the people of
During the Imperialism era, America acted as a World Leader. The Imperialism era was an era that America started to act as its own country and this era was when America really started to influence the world. The begging of this era was with our found father George Washington as he made a farewell address, in that address he basically stated that America should be an isolated country and that they the people should not interfere with wars with other countries, and that the trade between countries should be equal. This is proof that America was a World Leader during Imperialism.
There are economic, cultural, and political are the effects of the industrial revolution and European imperialism on both European nations and their colonies during the time period 1700-1914. European nations gained oversea colonies in North and South America, Africa and Asia. The European nations conquer Africa because they needed raw materials. European-introduced European culture, language, and religion to Africa. The European opened schools in Africa, which teach in the European language and spread Christianity.
Africa went through significant changes due to the civilizing missions carried out by European imperialists throughout much of the late 1800s and the early 1900s. From these “civilizing missions,” we can concur those missions were carried out to further European imperialist efforts for their own benefit with the rationalization of their racist and aggressive actions. The evidence in this chapter suggests that European rule was conducted in detriment to African peoples by presenting an almost Darwinian form of “superiority” that white imperialists wished to “improve” the African continent with. This was achieved by justifying their actions by the using racist rhetoric that Africa was “uncivilized,” introducing Christianity to Africa, and ignoring critics of imperialism.
Great Britain and South Saharan Africa imports and exports document E shows that the African colony wasn 't the best with money instead they would trade which is the main reason the Europeans took over. Imports from Africa were less while exports rose high. Great Britain made up to three million British pounds in 1854 and twenty-one in 1900 from import and export. African slaves were additionally being used to work British owned plantations in the colonies. Over all trading was a link to natural resources.
The African mainland has become very synonymous with these three words; war, yearning and enduring. Between the 1870s and 1900, Africa confronted European radical animosity, discretionary weights, military attacks, and consequent success and colonization. In the meantime, African social orders set up different types of resistance against the endeavor to colonize their nations and force remote command. By the mid twentieth century, be that as it may, quite a bit of Africa, with the exception of Ethiopia and Liberia, had been colonized by European powers.
So Europe invaded Africa, took possession of Africa, and divided Africa into colonies of Europe. The period of invasion, lasting some twenty years, was more or less completed by 1900. There followed a longer period, between sixty and ninety years, of direct European rule, called colonial rule. This was a time of profound upheaval for all of Africa’s peoples. It brought irreversible changes” (4).
Best Answer: well african rulers didnt have such strong support against imperialism as the muslims did.....muslims didnt want to be conquered by the western countries but they wanted to modernize without western rule..... so they fought for there lands....... but the many african rulers almost gave control to the western countries.... there was one country that revolted against imperial rule and it was Ethiopia..... although it was in independent rule they still modernized to improve there military and education..... -Same-
In the beginning of the 19th century, the United States had minimal interest in becoming an empire who controlled overseas countries. Instead, Americans decided to just use Manifest Destiny on their own continent as their form of expansion. In the late 1800s, the frontier was announced to be “closed”, so Americans were forced to look overseas in order to expand trade by looking for new markets. After America made the decision to support Cuba in its revolt against Spain during the Spanish-American war, the United States gained its own colonial empire when it defeated Spain in 1898. Once the war ended, Americans had to debate between becoming an imperialist empire or remaining in isolationism.
The natural resources would be able to be changed through factories and businesses that the African countries did not have. The colonies also provided people for labour. These people were paid in very low wages or would be taken as slaves for the new Europeans who moved to these colonies. New markets for goods were also now
The only thing Europeans loved more than political power was increasing their trade. In the 1800’s European nations had a desire to get a lead to widespread imperialism in Africa. With the end of slavery in 1833, European interest in Africa shifted to seizing colonies. King Leopold of Belgium acquired a private country in Africa that was 95 times bigger than Belgium and his purpose was to make money by taking out ivory and rubber.