African Americans Imperialized In The 19th Century

Throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century, almost every country in Africa was imperialized by other countries in Europe. To imperialize is to conquer another country, whether it’s for land, culture, markets or natural resources. The aftermath for the imperialized country is either beneficial or harmful. Western European interactions in Africa and Asia had a great influence on government and society. Competing industrialized states sought to control and transport raw materials and create new markets across the world. Africa and China were few of the many countries that were colonized and couldn’t stop European countries from coming into their territory. Those who faced being colonized in the 19th century did not successfully resist

One of the most resourceful countries was Africa. African countries were divided and given to different European nations without African input in their own affairs. This was known as the Berlin Conference, as it made a huge impact on the people of Africa and their lives. Splitting up Africa caused many problems between the native peoples because when Europeans were carving up Africa, they didn’t take into account the cultures, traditions, or people that were already living there. This made natives go against each other because their traditions and cultures were mixing. Diamonds and gold were discovered in areas of South Africa. These were located in the Boer islands and this discovers caused trouble between the British and the Boer, starting the Boer War. British took control of the Boer Islands as well as the diamond and gold land. Great Britain was very industrialized and had a strong military and government power. Africa was easy to take over because because Europe was so strong and Africa was decreasing in power. European Explorers pushed into the interior of Africa and Missionaries started building schools and medical clinics. They forced themselves into African lives and tried to

China was an isolated nation and was unwilling to accept outside influence, but China had a huge population and a place for new markets. Great Britain wanted a new market and tried to take over China and obtain a trading port. At first China did not let Europe into their country no matter how much they bribed them. Eventually Europe took one last effort which was Lord Macartney’s journey to China. They went on this journey to try to get China to open up a port for them to trade. After much time, China finally allowed Britain to have one port to trade and come in and out of their borders. In the 19th century, Britain was buying a lot of the Chinese goods but not selling many back. To fix this problem they started selling opium to the Chinese. Opium is an addictive drug that is usually smoked and the Chinese started to get addicted and needed more. This increased European sales and Britain started to creep their way into China. This started the Opium War between China and Great Britain. Britain had huge battleships and the newest technology and weaponry that they easily won against the Chinese who were not as industrialized. The British than easily took over China and started making new rules and turning China into the “spheres of influence.” China was doomed from the start because their were a lot of internal problems that had to deal with rebellion