During the 15th century, the world was caught in the age of exploration. After Columbus, everyone realized that there were still undiscovered land masses that held numerous resources and extreme profit. Due to the fact that the Americas were occupied by Spain and Portugal, much of Europe turned its eyes to Africa. Consequently, Africa was a huge land mass that was just waiting to be explored, especially since Portugal hadn’t gone beyond the outer edge. The reasons for European imperialism in Africa were due to the want for more resources to boost the economy, the advantage of better technology, and a need to establish a position of power.
The main reason the Europeans imperialized Africa were their cultural and social beliefs in ethnocentrism. They believed “[the natives] needed European help, reform, or civilization” (Document K). The Europeans considered the Africans savages
Based on the documents, expanding empires and having a new source of materials was the driving force of imperialism in Africa. On the map in document A, it shows the partition of Africa among the European countries. Out of the eight countries that are shown the
What was the driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa? Between 1500 and 1800 the Europeans knew little about the interior of Africa their presence was to buy and sell slaves for pots, cloth, and weapons and set sail to America. Late as 1870 ten percent of Africa was under Europeans control and most was along edges by 1914 ninety percent of Africa was in control four years later. Due to the countries that held African colonies in 1914 that involved the British, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spain, and Belgian. France and Britain were the main conquer in African colonies, because there conqueror of land in Africa.
The Black Man’s Burden In the late-nineteen century, the term new imperialism became an element of politics implemented by many European powers to impose their supremacy around the globe. Between 1870 and 1914, as a result of the Great Depression (1873-1879), imperialistic powers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium, constructed colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa in order to exploit their resources and their labor . In 1880, France and Britain led European nations in the “scramble of Africa,” which divided the continent from 1880 to 1914. After the king of Belgium Leopold II conquered most of the Congo River with the excuse of promoting Christianity and civilization, other European nations caught “African fever.”
European countries tried to civilize Africa and succeeded in their movement on trying to imperialize them but only lead the Europeans to making a profit and nothing for the African workers. The only independent African states were Ethiopia and Liberia, the rest was ruled over strong European nations, like Britain and France. European nations ruled over Africa from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, King Leopold was one of the most notorious rulers over the African estates, Leopold ruled over the Congo free state and was considered to be one of the richest near his death. What motivated European nations to imperializing Africa were, money, resources, and nationalism.
Imperialism can impact a nation in many ways; some of the changes may be good for a nation, and some of them may be bad. However, why did Americans and Europeans seek to imperialize Africa and Asia? How was the age of Imperialism depicted? And how did Americans and Europeans react to their nation’s imperial actions? Americans and Europeans believed it was their “white man’s duty” to civilize and educate the people of Africa and Asia, who were beneath them and not as civilized as them.
British and French European countries were considered the biggest winners in the “race” to size African colonies in 1914. By 1885 the only two African countries to remain independent was Ethiopia and Liberia.(Doc A) John Ruskin announced in his lecture at Oxford University February 8, 1870 that the colonist “first aim” should be “to advance the power of England by land and by sea” This influence that John had for the European countries was a great impact for imperialism in Africa . Great Britain made about 3 million dollars from exports to South Saharan Africa in 1854 and this number increased to 20 million in 1900. This change in rate of growth for exports in Great Britain was a cause for competition in Africa among the European countries with the resources Africa was providing such as copper, zinc, lead, and coal.
In the race of European imperialism, European countries dominated innocent African colonies. The driving force behind this? Africa’s bountiful resources. Before Africa’s colonization, the European presence in Africa was extremely limited, mainly due to lack of exploration and diseases (Background Essay). However, this changed as European prominence became largely influential through the discovery of Africa’s resource rich lands.
As the 19th century came to a close, a new wave of colonization spread across the globe while European powers and the United States sought to expand their realm and assert control over new lands. This time was defined as a period of expansion and imperialism for the most powerful countries during the late 19th and 20th centuries. This era was driven by a complex set of economic, political, and social forces that helped fuel the desire to expand. Among these forces more specifically, Imperialists were drawn to imperialize Africa and Asia because of the promise of new resources and an opportunity to establish new trade routes, receiving honor from additional countries while also gaining more territory for them to control, but also the chance
As the world approached the 20th century, several powers grew desperate far more land and more control. Between the 1870 and 1900 years, Africa and Asia faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasion, and eventual conquest and colonization. The event that happened in Africa and Asia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had pushed African and Asian to make important political decisions in order to properly respond to Western imperialism. In that period, neither African people or Asian had the power to stand against to the Western imperialism, and eventually both continents had to sign unequal treaties that forced them to open their ports and cities to foreign merchants.
So Europe invaded Africa, took possession of Africa, and divided Africa into colonies of Europe. The period of invasion, lasting some twenty years, was more or less completed by 1900. There followed a longer period, between sixty and ninety years, of direct European rule, called colonial rule. This was a time of profound upheaval for all of Africa’s peoples. It brought irreversible changes” (4).
The only thing Europeans loved more than political power was increasing their trade. In the 1800’s European nations had a desire to get a lead to widespread imperialism in Africa. With the end of slavery in 1833, European interest in Africa shifted to seizing colonies. King Leopold of Belgium acquired a private country in Africa that was 95 times bigger than Belgium and his purpose was to make money by taking out ivory and rubber.
In the 19th century imperialism was an important part of building European empires. The four major motives for imperialism are economic, strategic, religious and political. These motives helped great empires expand their territory and brought new cultures and languages to both the colonised countries and the countries colonising them. European countries such as Britain and France would use their colonies in Africa for economic gain. They would be able to exploit the country’s natural resources and bring them back to the “mother country” to sell and use.
Goodman is the best representative of people who have lost their beliefs in the true, the good and the beautiful things on earth; they would rather submit themselves to the evil sides. Many of us are simply a copy of Goodman Brown, swaying back and forth between truth and wrong. Sometimes we can make a righteous decision but other times we are like Goodman Brown destroyed by our own human nature. At the assembly, Devil, who disguised as an old man, says to Goodman Brown, “Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness.”
