Imperialism? What is imperialism? Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. However, do you think Imperialism is a positive or negative method? Africa was divided by their religions and different languages they spoke. Europeans tried to come to Africa and spread their religion, such as David Livingstone, who tried to spread Christianity. American newspaper reporter Henry Stanley went to look for Livingstone because he had not return to Africa. Stanley had explored the Congo, which interested King Leopold II of Belgium. By 1882, King Leopold II had control of much of the Congo lands. Many Congolese died because of Leopold, so they took the land from Leopold.
Because of Industrialization,
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They had a meeting called the Conference of Berlin which was with 14 European countries but no Africans were at this meeting. This meeting was to set rules; any country could claim land by first telling other European countries that it controls the area. Liberia and Ethiopia were the only countries not controlled by Europe.
Three groups fought for South Africa: Africans, Dutch, and British. The first Europeans in South Africa were the Dutch because they wanted to make a stopping station for their ships. Boers settled on the land to start their farms and often collided with British about their land and slaves when they took over in the 1800s. So, the Boers moved north and in 1899, they had a war with the British called the Boer War. It was a long crucial wore but the British won the
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The Berlin Conference made Britain a protectorate over the Niger River delta and in 1914, Britain claimed all of Nigeria as a colony. Britain ruled Nigeria indirectly.
Many Africans resisted European colonization, but they lost most of the time because of the advanced weapons the Europeans had. Africans had a rebellion against Germany in east Africa called the Maji-Maji rebellion . There were 20 ethnic groups that came together to fight the Germans, although they still did not come out successful.
Ethiopia was the only one successful. Italy had claimed Ethiopia as a protectorate, which caused the Battle of Adawa. Emperor Menelik II bought weapons to defend Ethiopia, which were purchased from France and Russia. Emperor Menelik II defeated the Italians in 1896. European countries started to invade the Pacific Rim in South Africa because of the sea route it had to China and its minerals,oil, and agriculture such as sugar cane, coffee, and cocoa. They were all big products in the trading
Beginning of the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans began to explore in the Atlantic Coast of Africa. They were mainly lured into the excessive trade in gold, spices and other goods without knowing about slaves in Africa. Nonetheless, Europeans had no success of taking over these African states to achieve all of these goods but later they did take over various regions in other areas. Africans seems to be willing to sell as many as 11 million people to the Atlantic slave trade to the Europeans. Thus, this makes them the first people to have slaves not the Europeans that forced them into this trade. Furthermore, at the start the Africans seems to have full control of the slave trade, but the Europeans came in and slowly dominated the trade without the Africans knowing. Later on, the trade was overturned and everything went back orderly.
In many accounts of the Africans, the Africans were in disagreement with the European's Scramble for Africa. Ndansi Kumalo an African veteran wrote in 1896 if many of them to give or keep their land. In a distrustful and agony tone he spoke of how the poor treatment of the Africans in the Ndebele rebellion against the British advances in South America to convince many others not to stay because it has impacted many Africans and many died in the process of it. He says “So we surrendered to the White people and were told to go back to our homes and live our usual lives and attend to our crops. They came and were overbearing. We were ordered to carry their clothes and bundles (Doc.4).” A German military officer in 1896 wrote in a newspaper article about the reactions of the Africans about the white settlers. In an awed tone he wrote about the 1906 account of the Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa and to give an example of how the Africans believed in a magic medicine would help them defend themselves against the white settlers (Doc.8). Mojimba an African chief in 1907 described a battle in 1877 on the Congo River against British and African mercenaries to a German catholic missionary. In an appalled and hateful tone he used this description to show that these whi...
The Age of Exploration brought many unforeseen changes to the people of Africa. On a path seeking gold, glory, and God, many explorers reached new parts of Africa. Explorers were seeking a more direct route to Asia and believed they must travel through Africa to reach these Asian lands. Namely, Portugal was interested in this under the direction of Prince Henry. There, he believed they could capture the riches of Muslim trade and convert the natives to Christianity. King Henry died before the route to Asia could be accomplished but he laid the groundwork for later exploration and encounters with Africa. During the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, Europeans desire to find Asia greatly impacted the lives of native Africans through the slave
In conclusion, the motives concerning imperialism in Africa are a matter of expanding empires, helping natives, and natural resources. Europeans countries constantly tried to compete with their neighbors in fair ways to become the most dominating country. Just as much as they took possession of Africa, their will was also to assist Africa on their right path and put an end to any dilemmas they may be
When one thinks of imperialism they often refer to the concept with very strong feelings. The general population will either agree with it or disagree. There tends to be no middle ground. The best way to look at imperialism is with an impartial mind. If one looks at imperialism with an open mind then they are able to see both the strengths and the weaknesses that it harbors. Throughout history one is most likely able to name several circumstances where imperialism took place and also point out the obvious aftermath of. Imperialism tends to have a greater good behind it, but unfortunately may have been executed poorly.
In the mid-1800’s Africa south of the Sahara contained more than seven hundred different ethnic groups. Most were organized into communities based on ties of tradition and family. Occasionally, a powerful group formed a state that was strong enough to conquer neighboring groups and form an empire. Europeans had already moved into North Africa. The once-powerful Ottoman Empire had become too weak to prevent local rulers from taking control in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. These countries were no match for the Europeans bent on conquest.
At a glance Imperialism is seen as a horrendous practice that many European nations practiced at the turn of the century. With Britain at the top and many other nations coming up behind them Imperialism seemed to be the way to go. But why would such a practice that involved exploiting the natives and harming both the land and people be so appealing to the public? The profits offered by Politicians and Officials hid the truth behind Imperialism, swaying the opinion in favor of money, goods, and a sense of moral duty. Imperialism was a great example of ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’, its promise of greatness for everyone involved outweighed the hardships many endured from it. The pros and cons of Imperialism
Yaa Asantewa, Ashanti queen mother, urged the chiefs of West Africa to fight against the British for their disregard of Ashanti authority. She also stated that if the chiefs failed to react, the Ashanti women would rise up and fight the white men themselves, until the last of them had fallen (Doc 6). Samuel Maherero, leader of the Herero people, shared the same sentiments. Upset with the brutal rule of the Germans, Maherero implored another African leader to help him rebel and encourage other chiefs to join their cause. He claimed that it was better to die fighting for their country than to die from maltreatment by the Germans (Doc 7). Rebellions against European authority were usually disasters for the Africans. In 1877, in a battle on the Congo River against the British and the Americans, many Africans died because of the use of powerful, quick guns. Their village was pillaged and burned. Mojimba, an African chief, described his anger towards the white people, who thought that they could steal his people's land and possessions just because they had guns (Doc 9). Ndansi Kumalo stated that when the British arrived, his people were treated like slaves. The British were domineering and disrespectful. As a result, the Ndebele people rebelled. However, they were no match for advanced British weaponry, and every attempt at independence was met with defeat and numerous deaths (Doc 4). Another example of resistance towards colonial rule occurred in German East Africa in 1905. During this rebellion, the Africans relied on maji-maji, or magical water, for protection against bullets and harm from attackers. Unfortunately, the water did not work, and thousands of Africans died (Doc 8). Ethiopia, like most other African countries, refused foreign rule. However Ethiopia was only one of two African countries that remained independent, successfully pushed the Italians out in the Battle of Adowa in
African resistance to “The Scramble for Africa” leads 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.
One way to gain power is to imperialize other, more weaker and nations. Europe decided to do this with Africa. Freidrich Fabri, a German author, was inspired and impressed by England colonizing so many nations, and supported Germany following in their footsteps. He was quoted saying “Should the New German Reich wish to prove and maintain its newly won position of power for a long time, it will have to… delay no longer to acknowledge its colonial task anew” (Document B). Freidrich and many people in other countries believe that by going into Africa and taking it over, the strength of their country will continue to grow. Their power did grow, and it also grew when they came up with new inventions to make imperialism an easier process for them. Europe used things like the maxim gun and the repeating rifle for the first time, both of which made it easier to kill because they shot more bullets faster than muskets (Document C). Not only did they grow in power by colonizing Africa, but grew in power with their
Most reactions are seen through letters written by African leaders to these European powers. An example of this is in document 3, where the emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II, writing that he does not think that God will “divide Ethiopia among the distant powers” (Doc 3). The audience he writes to contains powers such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia because he wants to show them that they are hopeful and have faith that their land won’t be taken because of Jesus protecting them. It seems like he is asking for Ethiopia to be spared because they have been protected by the Christian faith since then and remain in denial of the the idea that their land can be taken. Lastly, not all reactions by the Africans were as calm and collected. In document 6, the polar opposite is seen by the Ashanti queen mother, Yaa Asantewa, who delivers an aggressive and fiery speech to the chiefs of the region. She wants the men to wake up and realize the importance of the situation, saying, “If you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then… we the women
What do you know about imperialism? Imperialism can be defined as a strategy for outspreading a country 's power and effect through diplomacy. Many people know it as a force to spread ideas or gain power. This is consequently how the West was named as mother nations. When studying this topic many focus on the West, including Europe and North America. When discussing Imperialism it is important to discuss how it is justified, how the West engaged in it, and the advantages and disadvantages.
They conquered and added on many parts of Africa, such as Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, the Suez Canal, etc… In most cases, the reasons for this was that were able to colonize these people and gain alliances with them and also to send out the message to other countries that they were still competitive. One prime example of this, was how Britain bought the Suez Canal into their own power. Fredinand de Lesseps, a Frenc... ... middle of paper ... ...
Africa has had a long and tumultuous road of colonization and decolonization; the rush to colonize Africa started in the 17th century with the discovery of the vast amounts of gold, diamonds, and rubber, with colonization hitting a fever pitch during World War I. However, the repercussions of colonization have left deep wounds that still remain unhealed in the 21st century. Early on, European nations such as Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium scrambled for territories. Countries wanted land so they could harvest the resources, increase trade, and gain power.
In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa.