European Imperialism: The Consequences Of Colonialism In Africa

Europe conquered and colonized Africa in the late 19th century to gain full power and to solely build economic wealth. I believe that greed was the primary motivation. In the book, Hochschild looks further into the Europeans drive for possessions in Africa. The moral rationalization of the civilizing mission was used to justify colonialism. For example, the founding of Leopold 's International African Association at a conference of famous explorers in Brussels, King Leopold opened the conference. He stated, "To open to civilization the only part of our globe which it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness which hangs over entire peoples, is, I dare say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress" (Hochschild, pg.44). The purpose of

An effect of imperialism, which was negative for the Africans, was that they lost many freedoms. Africans were stripped of many rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and the right to live a full life. Also, Africans lost the right to work for themselves and were forced by the Europeans to labor in mines or collect rubber and other plants from the jungle. If the Africans were unable to fulfill the demands of the European soldiers, they were punished severely; many had their hands or ears cut off and some were killed. Another negative effect was that many Africans were brought to the Americas to work as slaves. The eight-week voyage across the Atlantic was very cramped and uncomfortable for the Africans below deck. Another negative effect which European imperialism had on Africans was that a large part of their land and natural resources were taken by Europeans. During the Berlin Conference, the nations of Europe divided up Africa as though no one lived on the continent and the land was free to take. Also, Europeans lived at the expense of the Africans, who received little or no pay for the labor they did and would sometimes be used as personal servants by the Europeans in the colony. Finally, because Europeans treated the Africans as though they were animals and told them that their customs were wrong, the nationalism of most Africans was diminished. These are some of the negative effects of

One positive effect of imperialism on Europeans was that they were able to gain financially from Africa’s resources. Africa had a large number of resources such as diamonds and rubber, which could be sold at a high price in Europe. Africa’s resources also allowed individuals to become successful in the mining, lumber, and farming industries. Also, because Europeans did not have to pay the African workers, they were able to obtain African goods for free and make a higher profit. Another positive effect was that Europeans could use African land to grow cash crops like tobacco and cotton and use their own land to grow food. For these reasons, imperialism in Africa benefited