essay on imperialism in africa

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5 (page 91) p. 91 Colonialism in Africa

• Published: March 2007
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The period of colonial rule in Africa came late and did not last very long. Africa was conquered by European imperial powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the 1960s, it was mostly over. ‘Colonialism in Africa’ considers how this period shaped African history. For some Africans, colonial rule was threatening; for others, an opportunity. Reconstructing the complicated patterns of this time is a massive challenge for historians of Africa. Interest in Africa' colonial past has waxed and waned, and resurged recently. Colonialism was not just about the actions of the Europeans, it was also about the actions of the Africans and what they thought.

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European Imperialism in West Africa

• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 26 June 2020
• Cite this living reference work entry

• Mark Omorovie Ikeke 3  

133 Accesses

The imperialist venture in West Africa was vast and spanned many years and epochs, and hence, cannot be covered in any chapter comprehensively. It will give a brief definition of imperialism, highlight some aspects of imperialism in West Africa, look at some reasons for imperialism in West Africa, examine the effects of imperialism in West Africa, present some of the responses to imperialism, and thereafter conclude. The study is done from a critical anti-imperialist point of view.

Introduction

It is important to note from the outset that an essay on European imperialism in West Africa cannot be comprehensive as the imperialist venture in West Africa was vast and spanned many years and epochs. No doubt the topic is the subject of entire textbooks and university courses. Because of this, this essay is by its nature skeletal and selective. It will give a brief definition of imperialism, highlight some aspects of imperialism in West Africa, look at some reasons for imperialism...

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Aghalino, S. O. (2006). Dynamics of constitutional development in Nigeria, 1914–1999. Indian Journal of Politics, 40 (2–3), 49–62.

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Akinyeye, Y. (2012). West Africa in British and French geo-politics, 1886–1945. In L. E. Otoide (Ed.), History unlimited: Essays in honour of professor Abednego Ekoko (pp. 145–161). Benin City: Mindex Publishing Co. Ltd..

Asiwaju, A. I. (1977). Migration as an expression of revolt: The example of French West Africa up to 1945. Tarikh, 5 (3), 36–37.

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Chilsen, S. (2009). Light in the dark continent: British imperialism in West Africa. www.Minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/35478/Chilsen.doc?sequence . Accessed 9 Dec 2013.

Dutt, A. K. (2010). Imperialism and war. In N. J. Young (Ed.), The Oxford international encyclopedia of peace (pp. 393–397). New York: Oxford University Press.

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Okoduwa, A. I., & Ibhasebhor, S. E. (2005). European imperialism and African reactions . Benin City: Borwin Publishers.

Rodney, W. (1972). How Europe underdeveloped Africa . London: Bogle-Ouverture Publications.

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Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

Mark Omorovie Ikeke

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Correspondence to Mark Omorovie Ikeke .

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Graduate Center for Worker Education, Brooklyn College, New York, NY, USA

Immanuel Ness

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Ikeke, M.O. (2020). European Imperialism in West Africa. In: Ness, I., Cope, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_206-1

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_206-1

Received : 29 May 2020

Accepted : 29 May 2020

Published : 26 June 2020

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Imperialism — Negative Effects Of Imperialism In Africa

Negative Effects of Imperialism in Africa

• Categories: Imperialism

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Colonization in Nigeria and the Congo is one of the greatest atrocities committed by humankind. The system imposed by European powers, at its very own core, fomented all kind of abuses and violations, through policies that were [...]

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Driving Forces of European Imperialism in Africa

This essay will examine the driving forces behind European imperialism in Africa during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It will explore factors such as economic interests, national prestige, competition among European powers, and cultural motivations like the spread of Christianity and the belief in European superiority. The piece will also discuss the impact of technological advances and the scramble for Africa, analyzing how these factors collectively fueled European expansionism on the continent. Moreover, at PapersOwl, there are additional free essay samples connected to Africa.

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Africa, a nation is rich in natural beauty, natural resources, and oil. It’s home to 1.2 billion people in 2017. But the effects of European imperialism in the late 1870s can be seen today, in the present day. But what were some of the driving forces of Europe imperialism in Africa? The driving force of European Imperialism in Africa Attributes to the resources, power, and national Darwinism/nationality. As the article, “Effect of Colonialism on Africa’s Past and Present” It brings up a quote from Edem Kodjo, author of the book, Africa’s Tomorrow.

The article states, “the book describes the condition of Africa Has, ‘torn away from his past, propelled into a universe fashioned from outside that suppresses his values, and dumbfounded by a cultural invasion that marginalizes him. The African,… is today the deformed image of others.'”

Europeans saw that Africa had many natural resources, and in the need/desire for the resources, Europe went to imperialise Africa(as shown on the chart to the right). In the article, “What was the driving force behind European imperialism in Africa,” stated, between 1500 and 1800, Europeans slavery and traders didn’t venture far from Africa coast.” This was because of the incurable disease at the time, Malaria. And even during that time, imperializing or even having colonies was the main motive for Europe. It wasn’t until after the banning of taking African people to become slaves, only then did that get, “Europe’s interest in Africa was Exploration.” This later lead Europeans to notice that Africa had a large number of natural resources that could be taken from Africa to make money. These events lead to the ‘Scramble for Africa’. But since the European countries did not want war amongst each other, they held the ‘Berlin Conference,’ from 1884-1885. (The table above shows a few examples of what European countries got). The European nations took Africa and divided up into pieces for themselves. Inviting everyone they who wanted Africa.Except for those from Africa. Thus the imperialization of Africa began. Countries of Europe were now taking Africa for themselves. With this came new technologies to help gather more of the resources faster and doom the once self-sufficient Africa.

As a result of the Scramble for Africa, many European nations saw that they could become more powerful than their surrounding nations. The want for power is a driving force of the European Imperialization in Africa. As the nations took Africa’s resources and sold it, many nations saw it as a way to gain power over their neighboring nations. Not only would they have power in Africa and their own countries but they would have power over their neighbors. The more they would take out of Africa, the more they could sell to countries in Europe, which will start relying on them for that special source. In document B, we are given two poems or literature that talks from the British and Germans view. They both state the word ‘power.’ From the English perspective, “their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea.” and we later see from the German perspective, they, “wish to prove and maintain its newly won position of power for a long time,” The countries are willing to show that they are more powerful, more advanced, than the other nations. To do this, they must take as much as they can from Africa. The lust for Power has driven them to steal from Africa.

With the want of power from resources, the European imperialism quickly leads the nations to Nationality or Darwinism. Dictonary.com defines Darwinism as, “the Darwinian theory that species originate by descent, with variation, from parent forms, through the natural selection of those individuals best adapted for the reproductive success of their kind.” In other words, the idea of people being better than everyone else for the reason that they got better traits than everyone. Everyone wanted their country to be the best which drove everyone to take more from Africano matter the cost. In document D we see what county’s got what and how this could affect their economies and others, including Africa. As the other countries bring themselves up, to outdo each other, they bring down Africa.

Many may say that the want for power, resources or the idea of nationalism wasn’t really a driving force for European Imperialism. It was the technology that was brought from the industrial revolution. But they got the concept mixed up I’m afraid. They had weapons and technology before imperializing Africa, but only when they started to ‘explore’ and colonize that they were lead to more advanced technology. The technology wasn’t much of a driving force for European Imperialism but helped the driving forces.

The three main driving forces of the European imperialism were power, resources, and Darwinism. It leads many of the nations to divide Africa for its resources, then to later gain power over each other and prove their better than each other. The effects of imperialism still have its impact on Africa to this day. All starting with the human wants of power, huge amounts of resource and nationalism.

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Imperialism in Africa

Updated 26 July 2023

Subject HR Management

Downloads 29

Category History ,  World

Topic Imperialism ,  Colonialism ,  Developing Country

The act of a country that is more powerful than another seizing it and attempting to increase its territory is known as "imperialism." Because European nations were more strong than the countries they conquered and expanded their territories, European imperialism developed. Africa experienced European imperialist animosity, political pressure, military forces incursion, action-packed takeover and colonization between the late 1860s and the early 1900s. (Shaw 150). Various African communities attempted to resist efforts by their states to colonize them at the same time that they were opposed to foreign hegemony. But by late nineteenth century, most African countries, with the exclusion of Ethiopia and Liberia, had already been colonized by European rulers.

The establishment of imperialism in Africa was motivated by economic, political, and social factors (Shaw 159). It did develop in the nineteenth century following the end and abolishment of the slave trade as well as the spreading out of the European capitalist “Industrial Revolution.” The imperatives of capitalist industrialization- inclusive of the demands for certain sources of raw materials, the hunt for fail-safe markets and lucrative investment channels- prompted the European scramble and the partition and ultimate take-over of African nations. Hence, the primary drive for European invasion was economic.

However, other factors also played vital roles in the process like the “political impetus” that resulted from the impacts of various European-based power struggles and competition for prominence. Nations like Spain, France, Germany, and Britain were contending for supremacy within European power political affairs. The one way to show prominence was through getting hold of foreign colonies like Africa. The social aspect was the last key element. In consequence of industrialization, critical social problems grew in most of the European states; joblessness, poverty, communal displacements and much more. These social issues came about somewhat because the newly-created capitalist industries could not absorb every individual. A suitable way to solve this was to obtain colonies and send this “surplus population” overseas. This resulted in the creation of settler-lands in some African nations such as Tunisia, Namibia, and Angola. At the long run, the superseding economic dynamics are what led to the colonization of other African states.

Hence, the interplay of the socio-political and economical factors showed the way for the scramble for Africa and the frantic endeavors by European military and political representatives to proclaim and set up stakes in various sections of Africa by deploying inter-imperialist commercial competitions and declaring restricted claims to exacting trade territories. So severe was the scramble that most people started fearing that it was going to lead to war. With the intention of stopping this, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck organized a political meeting involving European authorities where a treaty, the Berlin Act, was signed. The Berlin Act had provisions that were to offer guidance on how imperialist competitions in Africa were to be conducted.

There are quite many Europeans leaders, who in various capacities, contributed to the establishment of imperialism in various parts of Africa, for instance, Henry Morton Stanley, King Leopold of the Belgians, and Cecil Rhodes.

Contributions of Henry Morton Stanley on Imperialism in Congo

Henry Morton was born John Rowlands on 28th January 1841. His entire family abandoned him, and as a youth, he set for New Orleans after he was able to escape a harsh working site in his original hometown. Henry Morton was taken up by a family that he used to work for, and this is where he was named Stanley up to when he was sent away. Following his escape to Arkansas, Henry Morton participated in the Civil War from the year 1862. Henry Morton then turned to be an exquisite journalist, and sometime in 1870 was given the role of searching for one David Livingstone in Africa. David Livingstone was amongst the most thriving missionaries of his time as he was relatively compassionate to the people of Africa and because of this was loved by many. He was openhandedly administering prayers and medicine and was more concerned with the beliefs and traditions of the people. He had, however, gone missing in Africa several years before, and Henry Morton was sent to find him. With his crew of over 150 men, Henry Morton followed Livingstone’s route over to the African continent. Stanley did manage to survive the disease plagues and harsh conditions in the course of their journey, but his system was far from acceptable; Henry Morton chose to flog his sick caretakers and interpreters and did not allow anyone, apart from himself, to touch the sugar that was being delivered. Even though sugar usually helped in alleviating the pains of smallpox, Henry Morton is well known for beating his interpreters suffering from this disease who opted to consume some small amount of his sugar supply. Through these techniques, Henry was able to complete a half of his journey quickly. By beating his interpreters and those who failed to follow his rules, Henry somehow paved the way for the use of excessive force to suppress stubborn Africans who were against European domination. In so doing, Stanley contributed in the imperialism of the African continent as other European nations then preferred to use military force to threaten the few Africans who were resisting white’s invasion.

After finding Livingstone, Stanley was asked to go together with him on his journey of searching for the source of River Nile. The two traveled to the northern regions of Lake Tanganyika and other parts of the continent for the next couple of months after which they went their separate ways, and David Livingstone remained behind in Africa until his demise in 1873. Henry Morton can then be regarded the person who helped in finding Dr. Livingstone David in the heart of Africa that leader led to increased reliability for future explorations and ultimately to his participation in the progress of Belgian Congo.

Upon returning to his homeland, Henry Morton was praised for being amongst the first people to resolve one of the utmost exploration mysteries, found Dr. David Livingstone, and in the end turned to be the catalyst to what would be an outstanding illustration of the influence of imperialism on Europe’s subject populaces. Industrial units could now make use of material goods obtained from Congo, manipulate the African people, and boost incomes from trade on immeasurable amounts (Rogers 35). Stanley was welcomed as a hero in every part of the world that he went to and every piece of his work was made available far and wide and circulated to Europe and America. Motivated by positive response and admirations from the USA and other top explorers, he tried to propose a structure that he believed would bring about much success in imperialistic Europe. Henry Stanly had the desire of exploiting the profit-making potential that Africa presented, at some point advising imperialist leaders to “pour the civilization of Europe into the barbarism of Africa” (Rogers 40). Despite his argument that “there are 40 million naked people in Africa and the cotton-spinners of Manchester are waiting to clothe them” an immense mainstream of the European-based countries failed to find this idea alluring, as a true imperialistic growth of the African continent by European nations had not yet commenced at this time.

Contributions of King Leopold of the Belgians to the Establishment of Imperialism in Africa

King Leopold or Leopold II of the Belgians was born in on 9th April 1835. He rose to the throne in 1865 and ruled until his demise on December 17th, 1909. King Leopold had for a long time wanted to have an overseas colony so as add to his personal affluence and spotted Congo as an ideal prospect. He had previously not succeeded in acquiring such a territory mainly because Belgium was a relatively smaller, had no navy, and was secluded in the heart of Europe; it had diminutive imperialistic strength on its own. Recognizing that would have to take actions himself, he was forced to employ a renowned explorer whom he thought could acquire some colonies in African continent on his behalf.

King Leopold, not like other European nations, argued that Stanley’s goal to commercially make the most of Africa had some stronger economic prospective. He then did initiate a colonization scheme with relatively no budget limits named as the “African International Association for Development” in central Africa. The aim of this project was asserted to be “abolishing Arab slave trade, making peace amongst chiefs, and securing them just and objective negotiation.” Contrast to this, King Leopold put Henry Stanley in control of creating local links, and exploiting them, on his subsequent expeditions to Congo. Henry Morton brought reliability to the cause because of his earlier encounters with Livingstone; this made Leopold’s plan more credible. To add on, Stanley’s strategies for moving forward his forces, and King Leopold’s cause, proved to be effective than any person could have imagined.

Upon arriving in Congo, Stanley started constructing various means of transport and eliminated any obstruction at an increasing speed. He was able to achieve this by wiping out anything in his way and demolishing local ethnic groups in violent conflicts that ended up destroying the nation’s social infrastructure. Stanley then forced local leaders to give in their lands at gunpoint and to put up with terrible conditions imposed on their people; he did establish stations all over the regions and was able to persuade close to 500 local rulers to hand over their independence. He did not hesitate to use armed force to kill African people who chose not to cooperate and quickly managed to conquer the nation by using this technique.

By coming up with the plan of setting up “African International Association for Development,” King Leopold took imperialism to a new level. This is because by recruiting Henry Stanley, King Leopold’s main aim was only to exploit Congo instead of simply exploiting both the land and its populaces while at the same time controlling imperial policies and introducing certain measures aimed at protecting the rights of its overseas subjects.

At the long run, King Leopold gained absolute power over of the “Congo Free State,” a huge area owned by the King himself that did fit in free trading into its guidelines, but its people were not really free. The certainty of the situation was that King Leopold acted brutally to the African subjects as he took several hostages and forced people to work through being tortured, killing, and starvation just to make it clear that he was the supreme ruler of Congo.

Contributions of Cecil Rhodes to the Establishment of Imperialism in Africa

British imperialism in Africa resulted in some changes all over Africa. Some changes had positive impacts on the continent whereas others had negative effects. Imperialists like Cecil Rhodes argued that the “scramble for Africa” was a way through which other European nations could obtain wealth and fame. Even though British imperialism to some extent had some positive effects, it as well had some undesirable effects as it also meant poverty, slavery and poor living conditions to the African people. As Europeans grew to gain increased control over the continent, the state of affairs grew worse as the Africans were treated inferiorly to the whites. Cecil Rhodes advocated for his belief that the whites were the supreme race in the world and that they were allowed to do anything they felt like doing, even if it meant grabbing the lands belonging to Africans. He once stated, “We are the finest race in the world and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race” (Woolf 32). With this sense of superiority over the African people, the European nations did not see anything wrong as far as abusing, persecution, and grabbing African lands unlawfully was concerned. Such beliefs of thinking to be superior to other races, as claimed by other European leaders like Cecil Rhodes, are what prompted imperialism of African continent. This is true since other European nations were compelled to look for overseas colonies, particularly in Africa, so as to exercise their superiority rule over others (Woolf 35). In so doing, lead to African colonization.

In conclusion, it is true to say that before the era of exploration of African continent had come to an end, the “scramble” for the same continent had started, with the aid of the very explorers. Most European nations took their expeditions as money-making, just reasons for the colonization of Africa. Certainly, quite many of the explorers stoutly recommended the rapid colonization of the African continent to their European leaders as they made known features of prospective interests.

Rogers, Harold S. "Imperialism in Africa." The Black Scholar 3.5 (2002): 36-48.

Shaw, Timothy M. "International Stratification in Africa: Sub-Imperialism in Southern and Eastern Africa." Journal of Southern African Affairs 2.2 (2007): 145-165.

Woolf, Leonard. Imperialism and Civilization. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 2008.

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History of Imperialism in Africa 5 Pages 1230 Words

                          Imperialism is defined as the extension or rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over the political, economic, or cultural life of another ("Imperialism"). Since it always involves the use of power whether military force or some subtler form, imperialism has often been considered morally reprehensible. African imperialism was no different. European nations decided they wanted land in the mostly unexplored continent, and they took it, without the consent of the African people (Pakenham 34).              Evidence of the existence of imperialistic empires dates back to the dawn of written history, when local rulers extended their realms by conquering other states. Ancient imperialism reached its climax under the Roman Empire in Europe, but it never extended elsewhere (Pakenham 46). In the West, imperialism was reborn with the emergence of the modern nation-state and the Age of Exploration and discovery. During this Age of Exploration, Europeans had built a few trading posts on the coasts of Africa, but for centuries they had little direct influences on the lives of most Africans. In the late 1800"s a dramatic change took place. The Industrial Revolution began and the growth of nationalism strengthened European nations. As the nations of Europe industrialized, they started looking overseas for new markets and resources. Africa, which had been largely unknown to Europeans, now became the focus of their attention (Beers 560).              Until the 1870"s, the Europeans had little interest in Africa. In the 1600"s and 1700"s, the Portuguese and Dutch had established forts and trading posts along the African coast. The British and French had also acquired outposts. However, they used these posts only for trade, not as bases for conquest (Beers 563).              Between 1870 and 1914, a dramatic development occurred. The entire African continent came under European rule, with the exception of Liberia and Ethiopia.

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