Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Colonialism in africa introduction
Colonialism and its effects on africa
Colonialism and its effects on africa
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Colonialism in africa introduction
Third World History
When someone mentions the state of Africa the first thoughts that enter your mind is poverty, poor government structure, and hungry people. But that has not always been the case. This was a rich, resourceful and beautiful country. The picture of pre-colonial Africa is much different than our ideals of it today. We see it as a land stricken with poverty. The colonists saw it as a land with unlimited resources full of people that did not take, what they thought was full advantage of it's treasures. Europeans used agricultural and religious differences to create a gulf between them and the Africans. Using such differences Europe colonized Africa for the ever growing European market. The depletion of the African resources forced the people into a food crises. The only hope exists is the organization from within the rural class. Such organizations are fighting for basic human rights and others are coming together to make labor sharing possible.
Pre-colonial Africa was full of resourceful and time honored farmers that knew the land that their ancestors have given them. They had the ability to know exactly which seeds and what soil to use under various planting conditions to produce not just enough food to keep their tribes alive, but produce a substantial surplus in event of a natural caused or political drought. Bill Rau states " The ability of African people to feed themselves was based on a intimate knowledge of the resources needed for agricultural production. (p 22) " He is trying to say that these people knew their land. A land that has it's uncertainty.
Weather that has an ability to wipe out tribes, and unpredictable political structure were all hurdles that these gifted farmers has to endure. As Europe was going through an industrial boom, their markets started to expand. Capitalists saw that it became harder maintain the profit at the current level. Outside resources and raw materials that were used for production were needed. Africa was the answer. Bill Rau writes " The increasing demand and competition for both resources and markets among Europe's capitalist economies led them to carve out territories in Africa that offered the prospect of vast mineral and agricultural wealth.(p 29)" What Bill Rau is saying is that, for the capitalist to survive he must maintain a high profit.
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.
The Belgian Congo, located in the interior of the African continent became extremely attractive to the Europeans. “Beginning in the 1870s, Europeans brought much of the world under their influence and control. The new imperialisms exploded out of a combination of causes.” (Esler 564) As a result of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, some of the world’s most powerful nations experienced a change in economics. There was a shift in the economy from farming to mass production, and what followed was an economic depression. “Africa provided a source of cheap raw materials for the factories while providing the customers for products manufactured in Europe” (http://project...
The ‘scramble for Africa’ was a phenomenon in the world between the years 1880-1914. The ‘dark continent’ was relatively untouched by Europeans up until this point, with few ports of control on the coasts in the west, which were remnants of the slave trade, and in the south, Britain held the Cape, taken from the Dutch during the French Revolutionary Wars. So, during a period of 30 years, it came to pass that almost the whole of Africa was taken by Europeans. (Except Liberia a colony for freed American slaves, and Abyssinia managed to hold out against Italian aggression). It will be my objective in this essay to analyse the economic factors which resulted in the almost complete colonisation and takeover of Africa, and also to determine to what extent the scramble actually happened due to these factors. I am of the opinion that the scramble happened in different places for different reasons, some economic, some not, therefore each area of Africa will have to be analysed to be able to examine the extent of economic factors in the scramble.
As stated in the article “Colonization and Independence in Africa”, “Africans were at great disadvantage in this trade, because prices for raw material were significantly lower than the prices of manufactured goods”(Colonization). The money that came in was less than the money going out. Africa was left with an economic imbalance.
Problems began for Africa when there was the “scramble for Africa. Africa was extremely divided throughout the continent. There was no nation intact. Even though they were divided into colonies, they still had no sovereignty. Since they had no form of nationalism it made it impossible to succeed as a nation. This really hurt Africa economically. If they would have been able to come together as a nation they could have pulled all of their assets together and exploit them in order to make money. By not doing this it allowed the government to exploit the people. This is why there are starving people in Africa on television. The states of Africa were created in order to make money by exporting all the various resources, whether it was slaves, minerals, or agriculture. There was much to gain by owning a chunk of land in Africa. This reason being because Africa is so rich in their resources for trade. After the race was over it left Africa severely divided.
Many of today's distant countries are underdeveloped or not developed at all. People are going through famine and even dieing of starvation. These countries have demanding governments, and not enough money. Many countries with in Africa are just like this. The colonization of modern Africa has had many life changing effects on the people of Africa. Some of the effects of colonization are on the governments, the farming system, and the educational value.
The location and vast array of natural resources in Africa have led it to settled and exploited by many Asian and European countries in the past. The events in Africa’s past have greatly influenced its political, social, and economic well being today. Africa is situated below the continent of Europe and is west of the continent of Asia. It is boarded on its north coast by the Mediterranean sea and lies in between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Because Africa is almost completely surrounded by water and near large trading areas like the Mediterranean, it became very susceptible to colonialism from European and Asian countries. Colonialism and the discovery of natural resources in Africa’s past have caused the volatile political climates, social inequality and economic opportunities, that are seen throughout Africa today.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney, was one of the most controversial books in the world at the time of its release. The book seeks to argue that European exploitation and involvement in Africa throughout history. This is the cause of current African underdevelopment, and the true path to the development is for Africa to completely sever her ties with the international capitalist economy. Rodney describes his goal in writing the book in the preface: “this book derives from a concern with the contemporary African situation. It delves into the past only because otherwise it would be impossible to understand how the present came into being and what the trends are for the near future” (vii). Rodney writes from a distinctly Marxist perspective by arguing that the inequalities inherent in European capitalism and required exploitation of certain countries in order to sustain capitalism.
The Europeans saw Africa as being a great place to obtain all types of resources from labor to natural materials. Items such as cotton, coal, rubber, copper, tin, gold, and other metals were considered very valuable and readily available in Africa (Nardo). The industrial revolution had already become a strong influence on the countries that attended the Conference. They had spent the past...
Africa by far is the poorest continent, where the bottom eighteen countries on the Human Development Index all belong to Africa, 36.2% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, and the total GDP of all of Africa is 1.184 trillion USD (about one sixteenth that of the United States). Researchers, reporters, and NGO’s alike go into Africa and bring the west back images; images which society as a whole connects with Africa; pictures of the homeless, the utterly distressed, the displaced, and the hungry. This is the Africa that the west as a whole knows. So the question is put into place; how can a continent of over one billion, spanning over thirty million square kilometres, just be a land of despair and tragedy? Where are the good stories, where are the stories of business, of social programs, of success? To answer this, let’s examine where Africa is going.
The problem of entrenched poverty is extremely difficult to solve because of different factors at work, all interacting with one another. African leaders are unwilling to work for change and do not recognize the fact that there is a big problem. Most African leaders are corrupt and make things worse for their fellow Africans. The only solution for Africans is should be ready to eliminate unethical leaders who are not eager to improve the country and giving the right people the opportunity to their work right in order to eliminate poverty in
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.
...'s colonization play book: oppress, squash any uprising, horde capital from the rural peasantry, and refuse to contribute to social services. To be frank, Europe left Africa in a state of disarray, and the fact that they did not help them to gradual self-rule was done on purpose: to continue a state of neocolonialism. When one looks at the political, social and economic factors, it becomes obvious that the state of Africa today is due to nearly a century of direct rule. While the rest of the world experienced the Industrial Revolution, Africa is just beginning to experience the modern technologies and amenities that have been a staple of the western world for a very long time. Crippling debt, famine, and oppressive military characterizes the continent today, and as Donald Wright aptly titled his paper on postcolonial Gambia, “Independence, or In Dependance?”
In order to help the people of Africa, trust must be regained between the people and the government. The people of Africa do not have the same privileges that wealthier countries do. Simple things that we take for granted, like education and emergency health care are not available to the majority of the population. They also do not have regular access to the media, or proper educational information to keep themselves safe from disease. Nor do they have proper access to information regarding the proper hygiene to prevent the spread of disease.
Underdevelopment of Africa Underdevelopment in Africa is a problem that has been plaguing the countries all over the continent for a very long time. It has so many negative effects on Africans. It has brought about so many consequences, but of all, the economy is the most affected sector because the economic sector controls all other aspects of the society. Underdevelopment in Africa is as a result of many contributing factors which include poverty, illiteracy, very large extended families, corruption and lack of accountability. Poverty is one of the causes of underdevelopment in Africa.