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Impacts of colonialism on African society
Effect of colonialism on africa
Impacts of colonialism on African society
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The Scramble for Africa, named for the speed at which Africa was partitioned and colonized, began with King Leopold II 's conquest of the Congo. However, it did not end with the Belgian occupation of the Congo. Just as Leopold 's Congo was demarcated by the vast extraction of raw materials, most notably rubber, other European powers used African colonies as resource markets. However, economic motivations were not the sole stimulus for colonial expansion into Africa during the late 19th century. The causalities of the Scramble for Africa, and subsequent partition, are the result of a complex interplay between social, political, and economic forces both within Africa and within Europe. The colonization of Africa could not have been as extensive …show more content…
Communication was largely relegated to envoys, land mail, and letters carried on ships before the development of the telegraph. These methods of communication took as "little" time as a few weeks, or as much time as a few months to reach their intended recipient. This is less than ideal because it does not allow vital information, such as political and military occurrences, to be relayed in time for government officials to provide feedback and advice on the matters at hand. The delayed delivery also makes it so that leaders may not have an accurate understanding of the current status of the party that is sending the message. In an area that was as unknown as Africa, being knowledgeable about the current status of the colonies was paramount. The telegraph, couples with the undersea cable, made it so information, such as "commercial and military requirements, administrative decisions, and news" could be relayed in the span of a few hours. In conjunction with the addition of transportation infrastructure, particularly railroads, goods and troops could be relocated to areas of higher need in far less time than before the Industrial …show more content…
The drastic differences in the levels of development between African Nations and European nations,as highlighted through the comparison of military artillery, gave way to the idea that Europeans were of a superior race than Africans. This feeling of superiority developed into a phenomenon known as the "Great White Burden." The Great White burden is an idea that it is the duty of Europeans, as a more "superior" race, to colonize Africa and teach the Africans how to be "civilized." This gave a reason for individuals such as humanitarians and religious figures to enter the continent. Mission societies, from "all denominations" and "all European countries" at the time viewed it as their "divine mission" to convert Africans. These missionaries often gained acclaim from their time in Africa, most notably David Livingston. Livingston wrote an account describing his experiences in Africa, and this served as a type of propaganda of sorts. Not only did the book give hope to some that they might gain the same level of recognition, but it also supplied a more tangible support for the necessity of colonizing Africa. No longer was the notion of needing to aid the Africans in becoming more civilized composed solely of rhetoric purported by others, but never seen by the people
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 started from 1800s to the start of the First World War (1914). Prior to the 19th century, the rest of the world knew very little about Africa, the Dark Continent. Africa brought huge areas of lands under the control of Europeans. Colonies were created and forced labor was introduced to bring land and labor together. The main purpose of forced labor was to acquire raw materials, ivory and rubber, for processing in European industries. Leopold garnered public support at home by publicly announcing his intent to Christianize and modernize the Congolese population, all the while planning the forced labor of men, women, and children for the lucrative ivory and rubber business.
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...
One of the main reasons Europeans colonized Africa was for their useful resources. There are countless assets in the African landscape that were wanted by other nations. The European countries had access to some of the worlds most needed resources such as cotton, oils, coal, gold, and diamonds because they controlled Africa. This is shown on a chart of African colonies and their exports. ("Selected African Colonies and Their Exports" 269). This shows how the European countries carefully selected the land they did, to get certain resources they needed or wanted to use to benefit from. Another chart from a book by Trevor Lloyd, (Lloyd, The British Empire), displays the large jump of exports to Africa from 1854 to 1900. What that means is once Great Britain established complete control of South Saharan Africa, they began to export the resources they found that they could use. These charts are proof of how the European's wanted resources, and that is one of the main reasons for the imperialization of Africa. Not only did the European nations want the continent's resources, but they had an equal hunger for power.
Africa is a land of riches like no other, so as expected, European countries would have some sort of desire to conquer properties in whatever way they did. As stated in African Colonies and their Exports Chart, countless of natural resources are found in different areas in Africa. Not only does the data show plenty of resources, but also a variety (Doc D). This confirms that Africa is a wealthy land that Europeans grew fond of and hoped to take over. Specified in Imports and Exports Graph, following the 1900’s, after the conference to divide up Africa was held, Britain decided to use Africa’s natural resources and specialize in many industries. The imports doubled from 4 million pounds, while the exports boosted from 2.5 million all the way to 21 million pounds (Doc. E). With this lucrative increase in trading and selling, it is fair to conclude that not only were resources a factor of beginning imperialism in Africa, but also a successful result.
As the 20th century approached, more and more countries grew desperate for land, resulting in an imperialistic activity known as the Scramble for Africa. The European imperialists were motivated by three main factors; economic, political, and social. These factors made countries compete for power and eventually led to the scramble for African territory. Although economic expansion at times was a positive outcome of European imperialism in Africa, these positive effects are outweighed by negative outcomes such as loss of culture and independence.
The urgency of communication was never much felt until the beginning and use of telegraphy. It was much easier to transmit and receive messages over long distances that no longer needed physical transport of letters.
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.
By the late nineteenth century, France terminated the slave trade in French Cameroon and abolished slavery in the French colony of Martinique. Although the French removed the physical chains on people of African descent living in French territories, the remnant of slavery and colonialism continues to manifest itself through the mental enslavement and exploitation of people of continental Africa and the African Diaspora. In Jean-Marie Téno’s unorthodox documentary about the history of Cameroon, Africa, I Will Fleece You, and Euzhan Palcy’s film set on the island of Martinique, Sugar Cane Alley, they shed light on the transferable nature of slavery and colonialism in postcolonial societies. Accordingly, Téno’s, Africa, I Will Fleece You, and Palcy’s, Sugar Cane Alley, manipulate
Politics is the science that guides or influencing governmental policies. Politics plays important role in the daily life of everyone’s decision making all over history. The political leaders of Europe viewed the world as a stomping ground they took powers into their hand to take control over unconquered land. They believed that once they take over less advanced places they will be able to get richer by exploiting the uneducated and weaker people. According to an to an article from Africana Age called “The Colonization of Africa” by Ehiedu E. G. Iweriebor, “By 1900 much of Africa had been colonized by seven European powers—Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. After the conquest of African decentralized and centralized
The late 19th century saw a new wave of European Imperialism. The colonies of England, France, and Germany are some of the most common examples of late imperialism, but this wave of late imperialism saw the rise of a new major European power: Belgium. King Leopold held a massive tract of land in Central Africa that would come to be know as The Congo Free State. According to the editors of The Encyclopedia Britannica (2015), a small group of investors headed by King Leopold would be drawn to the land after Morton Stanley’s exploration of the land during the 1870’s. Once they had acquired their land they would set up a system that was meant to extract maximum profit from the natural resources of Central Africa. They had a complete disregard
The Scramble for Africa obtained the attention of the United States as well as many European Nations. The idea of advancement and power appealed to many of these Nations. It wasn't without lies, deceit, and exploitation of African slaves, that allowed many Nations to boost themselves into power while leaving others behind. In the King Leopold's Ghost, Adam Hochschild explains the many reasons why events in history, like the Congo, should not be forgotten. King Leopold's Ghost should continue to remain an immortal memory that make us question why some massive changes have remained virtually unknown in the United States and Europe, why the Congo was plundered by other parts of the world claim in the name of progress, civilization, and Christianity;
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 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 found new ways to make money off of 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. Europeans used the term the "White Man's Burden," a concept used by white colonizers in order to impose their way of life on Africans within their colonies, to ...
The Scramble for Africa was a period of time where major European countries fought over and colonized land in Africa, stretching from South Africa to Egypt. The scramble for Africa began shortly after the slave trade, and ended at WW1, and is a strong representation of the ‘New Imperialism’. The first country to act was Belgium, who colonized Congo at 1885, but soon, other countries such as Portugal and Great Britain joined in in order to not miss out. Firstly, the European could not colonize Africa easily, due to Africa’s giant land mass and the diseases that spread throughout the land. But then, came the Steam train, Maxim guns and new cures for diseases that paved the way for the Europeans to control Africa. Since one of the reasons Europeans wanted to colonize Africa was that they wanted to ‘civilize’ the people, the leader of Germany, Otto Von Bismarck, decide that they have a conference to split the land and not fight each other. Soon, in 1914, nearly all African countries were colonized by Europeans except for Ethiopia and Liberia. Different countries had different styles of colonization. For example, France was less eager to let the African chiefs take control of their colonies than Britain, who set up a African Government to their colonies. Basically, the scramble for Africa was a period of time when European countries colonized Africa.
Throughout history, imperialism has led countries to extend their rule over weaker countries and then colonized those countries to expand their own power. Imperialism allows the ruling countries to use the weaker countries for their resources. Colonizing other countries would then lead to growth and a better reputation for the dominating country. There are many examples of imperialism throughout European history. When many European countries “scrambled” for Africa, it seemed as though Africa had no say in anything. During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for their 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.