The White Man's Burden Dbq Analysis

The New Imperialism in Africa was an expansion on Africa by Europe that was motivated by profit and prestige. One of the most famous Imperialists during the time was Cecil Rhodes. He said that “[Britain] must find new lands from which [it] can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies.” (Document 3) Along with Rhodes, there were various other imperialists that strongly believed Britain and Europe as a whole was the most powerful force in the world and that therefore they alone had the right to “geopolitical dominance” (Document 5) “The White Man’s Burden” was what justified the European actions in Africa. The origin of this ideology came from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden” (Document 6). The Europeans believed that it was their duty and burden to “civilize” the African natives.

These treaties were to “protect” the tribes in their respective territories which in a way was true, because the Europeans were receiving resource concessions, so it made sense that they would protect their assets. But once the natives realized that they were signing off on their liberty and control of their land, they fought back with military power against the Europeans. They got their message across, but due to Europe’s advanced military technology like the rifle, many Africans died in an attempt to recover their land. Cecil Rhodes was one of the many that obtained resource concessions. He was a british businessman who had various mines in Southern Africa, one of which was a diamond mine called the De Beers Mining Company. Rhodes strongly believed in colonialism and Social