Imperialism is a countries practice of increasing power and gaining control over other countries, whether it is through diplomacy, or militarism. Imperialism and imperialistic ideas have been around for many years, yet in the nineteenth-century Africa, it became a very important, as some would prefer to say issue, topic throughout Africa. Many would ask, “What were the European motivations for seizing African colonies during the nineteenth century?” To answer, imperialism had several driving forces behind it including competition and ethnocentrism. However, the most important cause of imperialism was the economy of these European countries.
One of the driving forces behind European imperialism was competition. Evidence of this is the European yearn for presence and overcoming of colonies held within Africa. Almost seven European countries held power in the continent, and referring to John Ruskin’s lecture, each country was “founding colonies as fast and as far as she is able.” Much like Ruskin’s point of view, Freidrich Fabri suggested that countries are to advance in power, and take up a “culture mission,” entering into a “friendly competition” among European imperialists. Hence, competition for seizing countries helped drive imperialism because national pride and recognition of superiority was evidently very important
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Evidence of this is held in Rudyard Kipling's "White Man's Burden. In this, Kipling speaks about how the British people must care for the Africans, because the British people are obviously better off. He says it is their duty to care for African colonies and their people. Ethnocentrism helped drive imperialism because it gave many countries all the more reason to conquer African establishments and seize Africa’s colonies. The British thought they were superior, and therefore would "help", and therefore rule over the