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Social darwinism and its effect now
Colonialism and its impacts
Detail discussion on colonialism
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Inevitability of the African colonisation
Before I begin to discuss the question of the inevitability of the
colonisation of Africa by the European powers I want to say that,
colonisation as we know it; the taking over of a country by another
country and the forcing on of a different culture, is always evitable.
At least it should be. However we have to include the fact that we’re
all human beings which think their own good superior to the one of
others, and of course that we’re all creatures which are enormously
curious of the unknown. Whatsoever there are obviously more reasons
which lead to nearly a whole continent being colonised, economic
reasons, social Darwinism, national prestige, Missionary and
humanitarian impulses, Military advantages, the will of exploration
and scientific discoveries. Looking at all these reasons schematically
I’ll convince you of the evitability of the colonisation of Africa.
To begin with, one of the reasons for colonisation was economical.
The industrial revolution taking place in 1750-1800 provided the need
for cheap raw material and there was a surplus capital in Europe so
people were looking for new markets to sell their manufactured goods,
without a new market the level of industrial production would go down
causing problems like unemployment rates going up and social unrest at
home. Also there was a specially high demand for products like tea,
coffee, palm oil, and rubber, - exotic products which were only to get
outside of Europe and which were regarded as luxuries. However all
these economic reasons can not advocate colonisation because Europe
could have just started to trade with African countries, without
totally exploiting them. But this was obviously not possible because
of prejudice, leading to the next great point in my essay.
Social Darwinism, Darwinism states that the fittest survive, because
they own special characteristics such as the ability of obtaining food
in the most productive way, or special skills in combat. In
continuation it states the evolution of men and the stronger groups
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting for a land grab in the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economical, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation.
Conquest and colonization has always played a role in the history of European powers. Throughout the centuries many different European empires have attempted to make their mark on multiple different continents. Some have found success, while others have failed. One case in particular, in which European nations could not quite find stability, was in North America. Factors such as the American Revolution, U.S. westward expansion, and the Monroe Doctrine pushed European nations out of North America. Afterwards, the late 19th century marked the beginning of New Imperialism. As New Imperialism began, Africa became important to European nations in their “Scramble for Africa”.
Throughout the 19th century, European Imperialism had a major effect on Africa. As countries expanded in terms of wealth, resources, and innovation, more territory and workers were needed. The first solution to solve these problems was to begin colonizing in Africa. The driving force for imperialism in Europe and Africa was mainly economical. This economical approach was established through many ways including cultural and nationalistic ideas.
The Scramble for Africa occurred because as the slave trade ended, capitalists saw Africa as a continent that they could now exploit through legitimate trade. European capitalists have found new ways to make money off the continent. With greater exploration of the continent, even more valuable resources were found. The encouragement of legitimate trade in Africa brought Europeans flocking to colonize Africa. Africa lost their independence, and along with it, their control over their natural resources.
A major cause regarding Africa being colonized by Europe is the need to have a powerful country and economy. According to the Partition of Africa Map, Africa has no major independence except a small piece of land below the Sahara Desert. The
The results of European colonialism shows that the aim of colonialism is to exploit the human and economic resources of an area to benefit the colonizing nation. As a result, the nation that is colonized is affected negatively. In reality, how Europe really affected Africa as a whole is much
The "DBQ Project" What Is the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism in Africa? (2012): 257. pp. 177-177. Print.
When the Europeans arrived in Africa, many would of thought that imperialism wasn?t fied because the Europeans were enslaving the Africans. As stated in David Diop's An Anthology of West African Verse, "And in the Conqueror's voice said, 'Boy! A chair, a napkin, a drink.'" Stated blatantly, the "conqueror" is a European, and he is commanding an African to serve him. Forcing Africans into slavery certainly doesn?t justify European imperialism in Africa, however, there are many reasons as to why imperialism actually was justified.
Exploration led to colonization and was carried out for many reasons but the main reasons include religion, status, economic purposes, resources and militarily tactical purposes. Much of early colonization was for trading of raw materials between continents and countries. Dominant religions sought to spread gospel and “civilize” the indigenous people by making them conform to Western beliefs and ways. Status and recognition was also pursued by country leaders w... ... middle of paper ... ...
During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for its own growth and power. Using Africa for their resources, the Europeans colonized Africa without a second thought. European imperialism in Africa had a negative impact because of social disarray, cultural loss, and death it caused. As the Europeans started to invade Africa and split up the land, they paid no attention to the already existing natural boundaries. Over time, villages with different cultures had set these boundaries.
In terms of political changes, European imperialism negatively affected Africa. Firstly, European colonization created enormous conflict between colonists and the African people. African resistance to “The Scramble for Africa” lead to the instability of Africa’s political structure. There was ineffective resistance of the African people against the Europeans. In an attempt to regain their independence, Africans took up arms against their colonial masters as soon as they perceived them to be at a disadvantage. In southern Africa, in The Republic of Namibia, the Herero people rose against German rule in 1904, killing over 100 German settlers and traders. German commander, General von Trotha, retaliated with a war aimed simply at extermination. This resulted in the decline of 70% of the Herero population.1 Nowhere else was colonialism quite so brutal, but almost everywhere it tended towards unrestrained brutality as soon as it was challenged.2 Warfare created considerable unrest among African people. Afterwards, the people of Africa came to the realization that the consequences of resistance against European colonists could be devastating. As well, the Europeans demonstrated that they had the technology and resources to gain control. Secondly, colonial expansion changed the face of Africa’s political structure. The Berlin Conference of 1884-85, attended by 13 European nations and the USA, set the ground rules for partition of Africa. When the conferenc...
... Although the imperialization of Africa started out as a beneficial deal to both Africa and Europe, it quickly took a turn for the worse as Europe started to take complete control of African colonies. The Europeans wanted African colonies for many reasons. They wanted new land and the natural resources that can only be found in Africa, they wanted the new market opportunities that having colonies in Africa would open up to them, and they wanted to stay in competition with other European countries. The motives of the Europeans quickly deteriorated as they started exploiting the native Africans and abusing the slave trade that they had promised to abolish with the three C’s.
At the beginning of the 17th century imperialization was all the rage for European countries. Europe, who started industrialization, was the most advanced continent on earth. With the production of more and more products, resources were needed. EXpeditions of other continents lead to the findings of many resources that would prove to be very useful to the Europeans. These other continents didn’t take too kindly to the idea of Europeans taking their stuff, but Aa the time Europe the most advanced weaponry in the world and they were not afraid to use it.
powerful regimes were formed in Europe and China, since there was flat land bounded by rivers
An overwhelming majority of African nations has reclaimed their independence from their European mother countries. This did not stop the Europeans from leaving a permanent mark on the continent however. European colonialism has shaped modern-day Africa, a considerable amount for the worse, but also some for the better. Including these positive and negative effects, colonialism has also touched much of Africa’s history and culture especially in recent years.