French and British Colonialism and Imperialism in Africa
Africa is home to countless cultures that all have their own unique ideas and customs. During the past couple of centuries, these cultures were threatened to the point where they almost ceased to exist. The Berlin Conference was a very important occurrence in Africa and Europe's history. It legitimized what the European powers, mainly France and Britain, had been doing for the past hundred years, without the approval of any African country. During the late nineteenth century, France and Britain began imperialistic ventures into Africa, which eventually led Leopold II to conquer the Congo. It was Leopold's II presence in Africa that to led the Berlin Conference.
The Berlin Conference took place first and foremost to legitimize what was already taking place in Africa (Berlin). Africa had recently experienced the European countries' greed. The British and the French, along with a few other European nations, had started to carve up Africa however they pleased. By 1880, about half of the coastal countries saw some type of European presence (Wessling cover). The French began to take control of Algeria and parts of Gabon and Senegal. The British occupied much of Southern Africa and parts of the western coast. Until 1884, no one could encroach upon inner Africa. Before this, the imposing countries had mainly concentrated on the coasts. By 1884 there was road connecting the Congo River to the coast, and the remaining European powers wanted in a piece of the action. The disagreements that resulted from this sudden urge to conquer Africa were what made the Berlin Conference so important (Part IV).
Many reasons beyond the obvious also existed. The Berlin Conference was ...
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... to an African nation.
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Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting a land grab on 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 economic, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation. Europe in this period was a world of competing countries. Britain had a global empire to lead, France had competition with Britain for wealth and so did other nations like Germany and Russia.
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
Africa being a huge conflict between the power struggles against natives and each other. The Western powers decided a sit down would be in order. They decided to call this sit down, The Berlin Conference. The conference of Berlin was also known around the world as the Congo conference. On November 15, 1884 Austria- Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden- Norway, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and the United States met to discuss the politics over Africa. At the request of Portugal, the meeting was called together so all major powers in the western hemisphere could discuss and negotiate the control of Africa. The conference attempted to assign a set of realities that were already taking place on the continent. Preceding to 1870, the British, French, Portuguese, and Germans acquired territory and control of large amounts of land on the African continent. This period was known as the “scramble for Africa.” This conference promoted discussing the control of the slave trade and promoting philanthropic generosit...
In 1850, only a small chunk of Africa was governed by foreign rulers. By 1914, almost all African land was owned by European powers. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a huge competition for land as European countries such as Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium competed to claim African land, and thus power and resources. After abolishing the slave trade, European countries continued to trade with Africa for various exotic resources. European businesses would often create treaties with African leaders to gain exclusive trading rights in a region. Eventually, foreign governments began attempting to gain control over these regions. Over time, disputes over land between European powers occurred, leading up to the Berlin Conference
Many circumstances and events had and were occurring that led to the changes to which he was referring. The decolonization of Africa occurred over time, for a variety of complex reasons, but can be broken down into two major contributing factors: vast changes brought about in the world because of World War II and a growing sense of African nationalism. The colonization of Africa officially began in 1884 with the Berlin Conference. Western European powers began to split up the land and resources in Africa among themselves. This period of history became known as the Scramble for Africa.
The way countries, nations or states act and base their policies on many times reflect what their past was like. This is very true in the case of Africa. The only problem is that Africa is said to have no history. This just means that Africa’s many cultures did not affect the way imperialists and other influences acted towards the huge continent. Everything was based on their interests and consequently this meant that the way of dealing with Africa in every way was based on Western traditionalists. To this we must answer the question how has the Western World affected Africa’s present stage and what must be done to undo what is wrong and hopefully correct this situation.
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.
Held between 1884 and 1885, the Berlin Conference was an international convention proposed by Portugal in order to resolve disagreements about territories that occurred because of European activity in the Congo area. It all began when Portugal’s successful expeditions in Africa encouraged other Europeans to voyage to Africa as well. Violent disputes soon began over land and control, growing even more as the Industrial Revolution introduced a great need for inexpensive labor and new products to sell. Led by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the conference looked to oversee the slave trade and encourage civility. However, it proved to be ineffective as it did nothing towards the cause of slavery and the good of Africa. In fact, Africans had lost much of their land as well as their freedom as only Liberia and Ethiopia were left independent. Europeans exploited resources, leaving Africans with a shortage of food and economically unstable. The people of Africa were soon subjected to slavery, being deemed inferior. Social relationships were also ruined with the introduction of education as some chose to receive it and others refused. In the end, the conference was merely a way of dividing Africa among the European colonies.
Football, one of the most popular sports in the U.S., is also the most dangerous; it holds an astounding half a million injuries nationally due to the sheer violence and brute strength used against another player in the sport, and, although it is believed that these injuries can be prevented, there is nothing stopping another player from recklessly hurting another except their will-power, this is why football should be banned from high schools.
Colonial conquest began in the late 19th century for most of Africa. The “scramble for Africa” was a meeting known as the Berlin Conference in 1884 between 14 countries who decided how they would split up Africa. Europeans were interested in raw materials for industrialization from Africa, a place for exploration, and a chance to widen Christianity. The European claim of African territory had multiple effects on women in Africa such as having their voice silenced by colonial officials, having their bodies exposed to the public, and the increase of labor hours.
Cooper, Frederick. Africa since 1940: The Past of the Present (New Approaches to African History). New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914. Jeff Taylor, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
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.
Berlin Conference Act -. Proc. of the. of the Berlin Conference Act of 1885. Print. The.