How Did European Imperialize Africa

During the 19th century, European countries explored and set up colonies in Africa. European leaders realized that, if they captured resource-abundant land in Africa, they could benefit immensely from the profits. This was known as European Imperialism. The driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa was the greed for money and natural resources, the conquest for land, and the idea of nationalism and humanitarian goals. The thirst for plentiful natural resources and money caused many European countries to imperialize African countries. The vast range of different natural resources caught many of the countries’ eyes. To name a few, “Angola possessed cotton, Congo possessed rubber, French West Africa possessed gum, South Africa possessed

Furthermore, the abundance of resources engendered many European countries to use brutal tactics to get those resources. Instead of being more kind hearted to a country that wasn’t theirs, they “proceeded to kill, through forced... to make money by taking out ivory and rubber” (BE). European nations were so desperate for those resources, that they actually barbarically slaughtered Africans in order to get money. The longing for more money influenced them so much, that they took innocent lives just to get ivory and rubber. Additionally, statistics show how invested European countries were in Africa. From 1854-1900, Britain exported about 18.5 million more pounds of currency to Africa, while Africa only imported 8 million pounds to Britain. This statistic shows how much Britain wanted to maintain and use their African countries for resources and money. They exported so much money to really invest in Africa so that they could use Africa’s resources for their benefit. They especially did this so that they could get more money back from

Many authors and speakers of different European countries spoke out about getting and keeping power in Africa. For example, Freidrich Fabri, an author, wrote “the New German Reich wish to prove and maintain its newly won position of power for a long time... delay no longer to acknowledge its colonial task anew” (B). Fabri used nationalism to achieve the goal of imperializing Africa. He encouraged Germans, in order to have power, to colonize Africa as a source of power. Additionally, other European speakers spoke to impressionable kids to possess lands in Africa. John Ruskin, a British author said, “Youths of England, make your country again a royal throne of kings... for all the world a source of light” (B). He attempted to motivate youths to imperialize Africa by also using nationalism. He wanted to “restore” England as a land of “kings.” This would ultimately make people more invigorated to help Britain to capture African lands, as they think they are helping their country immensely. Also, Europeans felt sadness and sympathy towards the Africans. In a poem by Rudyard Kipling, he wanted to initiate “the savage wars of a peace, fill full the mouth of Famine, and bid the sickness cease” (F). He, with many Europeans, wanted to assist Africans in their problems. They felt sympathy and wanted to aid the Africans, causing them to capture the countries so