Colonialism DBQ

From the sixteenth century, Europeans were satisfied with establishing colonies and carrying out trading and missionary activity in foreign continents. However, in the late nineteenth century, countries were determined to take control over large territories in order to expand their empires, a surge known as the new imperialism. Creating colonies acted as a symbol of prestige and dominance over rival nations. The Europeans also hoped to discover riches and valuable natural resources to open regions to commerce. Additionally, they felt it was their duty to civilize the native people by governing them and converting them to Christianity (Spielvogel and McTighe 226). The Europeans’ hunger for power led them to conquer vast lands, including the

They had been enslaved and shipped to foreign continents to work for whites. A map shows the routes of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; slaves were sent to North and South America and goods such as guns were sent from Europe to Africa to use against the natives (Document 9). In the beginning of the twentieth century, the British established indirect rule in Sokoto, located in Nigeria. Although it allowed for African officials to maintain their positions in the government, the British had control over which laws were executed (Spielvogel and McTighe 235). West African nationalist Sekou Toure stated, “Colonialism’s greatest misdeed was to have tried to strip us of our responsibility in conducting our own affairs and convince us that our civilization was nothing less than savagery...which led to our being branded as irresponsible and lacking in self-confidence” (Document 6). Even in their own lands, lower-class Africans did not have the opportunity to display their capabilities in the government and other careers. Instead, they were given low-paying jobs that did not require skill, such as on plantations and in factories (Spielvogel and McTighe 235-236). A West African Verse expresses an African native’s sorrow over how white men destroyed his family, taking away their pride and strength, and reduced him to an undignified servant (Document 5). Although many natives were intelligent, the Europeans

The Europeans were able to develop the African society with industrialization and commerce, but their success cannot compare with their greed for land and the tyranny that was placed upon the natives. Although some only wanted to expand their industries by using the regional natural resources and introduce the Africans to a more efficient way of life, most converted the natives to Christianity in order to take advantage of Africa’s abundant land. The Europeans also caused unfathomable destruction among the indigenous people and reduced them to lowly servants, giving the Africans no choice but to fight for their freedom. Some may argue that the Europeans civilized the native people since they had not been exposed to Western culture. Although the Europeans governed the Africans and provided them with some economic and structural advancements, their motives were predominantly ones of greed, ignorance, and discrimination. They sought the colonization of the Africans to demonstrate power, and their assumption that the Africans were an inferior, uncivilized people was based on the color of their skin. The Europeans forced their own ways of life upon the Africans while disregarding their rich culture. Although imperialism expanded European countries’ rule and bettered foreign societies, it became an excuse for oppression and racial inequality in the case of