European Imperialism Dbq Analysis

Between the years 1881 and 1914, African territory was being invaded by Europeans during the New Imperialism period. Before Europe’s invasion, Africa consisted of various tribes and had no central government due to this during the mid nineteenth century. Europe attempted to colonize Africa using harsh military force and resulted in the European Scramble for Africa. The European Scramble for Africa caused African leaders to have different reactions such as some wanting to have no conflicts, but peace, surrendering to the Europeans due to fear, and also attempting to fight back against the Europeans.

Africa faced aggressive imperialist efforts from the Europeans, including diplomatic pressures as well as military invasions. This push for imperialism by the Europeans into Africa was brought on by economic, political, and social factors. After the collapse of the slave trade and all of its profitability, it made the demand for sources of raw materials something that needed to be acquired. There was also a need to search for investment opportunities, as well as a stable market. This made the economic motives the primary need to push into Africa. However, there was also competition between Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain to gain power within politics. One way to gain power within this competition was through the acquisition of territories, hence another reason to push for Africa. Socially, due to the

Imperialism is defined as one country’s domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. In Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, imperialism was present and growing. The main countries involved in the imperialism in Africa were the French, German, and Great Britain. The French’s empire was mainly in North and West Africa while Britain’s colonies were scattered throughout the continent. Germany ruled over such countries as Tanganyika, Togoland, and Cameroon, until their defeat in World War I.

From 1880 to 1914, Industrial European countries favored the idea of Imperialism in African colonies which motivated them to acquire resources, riches, and territory which eventually led them to seemingly have an attitude in which their race was superior. Even before Imperialism became popular, England had colonies such as the American Colonies which spread their ethnicity and race as well as their power. Europeans countries began to comprehend and understand that they could use the resources for their operations and expansion toward their country. The De Beers Mining Company was a prime example of how Imperialism allowed European countries to obtain resources and territory which made them stronger and richer. Africa was the motherload,

Prior to imperialism, many European countries already had a good economy, which was an incentive for them to colonize. “Developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse (1791-1872) and other inventors, the telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication” (Document C). Technological advancements such as the telegraph were useful and provided advantages in colonizing. This encouraged Europeans to colonize because access to long-distance communication and the like would make colonization a much easier process. Also, Friedrich Fabri said that, “Germany will have success in colonization because of its experience on the seas, industry and commerce skill, capability in agricultural colonization, and ample manpower” (Document B). Since Germany’s economy was already powerful in terms of agriculture, industry, and commerce, they had confidence that colonizing in Africa would be a success. Therefore, they were more motivated to take action. The strong economies of the European

The Europeans began their expansion in the globe by taking up African and Asian colonies. During the 1870s, the world experienced imperialism as the Europeans established empires in Africa and Asia. Their aggressive expansion was as a result of industrialization. The move was made for economic, religious, political, humanitarian, and political reasons, amongst others (Hook and Spanier, p.19). Also, Africa was easy to access due to its geographical position. As a result, the Europeans could get into the continent through the ocean or the Gulf Canal. In addition, the Africans continent had vast lands that were beneficial for the Europeans. They started up companies and farming land that would produce their foods. Additionally, the Africans and

During the late 19th century, many European countries were seeking to gain power, both in Europe and the rest of the world. In doing so, the Europeans colonized many different areas, including India, North America, and quite notably, Africa. This colonization was part of a process known as imperialism, where the various European nations would each colonize territories around the world, and subsequently used the natural resources, and often times people, in these colonies to fund their empire. This would work towards an eventual goal of possible world domination through an aggregation of power. The Europeans also did not want to cede power to their rivals in Europe, as this could lead to their own country getting conquered and thus losing control of Europe and their bid for heightened power and world domination. As a result, they each conquered territory to both earn money and power for themselves, and keep these from ending up in the hands of their rival nations. European imperialism in Africa was thus driven by economic and political forces, due to the fact that European countries wanted to spread their influence, improve their economies by keeping control of their colonies, and prevent other nations from gaining power in a similar manner.

There are many reasons why European decided to take over africa. One being is their power and believing that they can do anything they want because they were powerful and unstoppable. Due to the Europe's national pride and civilized nation, they feel obligated to civilize africa. Imperialism means a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. That's one of the driving forces.

Imperialism is the act of taking one country, who is less powerful, and then using force or trickery to place this country under the power of a larger country. Imperialism in Africa resulted from many factors. Many Europeans justified this exploitation with needing to improve their economy, the need for political power, and social Darwinism. European countries needed additional markets and resources to advance their economies, and leaders of these countries wanted to supplement their power and prestige with additional colonies. Social Darwinism and the feelings of superiority made white westerners feel the need to improve other races. They believed that this would strengthen the human race as a whole, while making whites feel better about themselves because they turned the whole world into their race. Feelings toward African imperialism depended on the political views of each person; while world leaders and explorers supported it for augmenting political power and benefitting the human race, respectively, people concerned with capitalists strongly rejected it as they saw the harms of

The European population was increasing so they wanted to explore new lands. They set voyages into the interior of Africa which really was never done before and soon after, almost all of Africa was taken by Europeans. The spreading of religion was also a motivation to imperialism. Many Europeans were catholic or protestant and they wanted to share their religious beliefs with new people in order to convert them. It was very easy for the Europeans to convince themselves that imperialism was right due to the theory of Social Darwinism; they believed their country was the best so they were doing others a favor by ‘helping them’. The Europeans believed it was their natural right to take over these weaker countries since they were not as advanced as them yet.

New imperialism was a period of colonial expansion by European powers during the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is distinguished by the continuous territorial acquisitions of Africa and Asia by European powers. These powers include Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium (Tusan, Scramble for Africa, October 23rd). There were many reasons behind this aggressive competition. To them, these newfound lands were an opportunity to expand their power and exploit further resources. To put it bluntly, economic, political, cultural, and ideological motivations all helped start the era of New Imperialism and its new form of empire.

The scramble for Africa represents the most thorough and systematic process of colonialism in world history. The European colonial powers managed to conquer and control almost the entire continent of Africa in a short, twenty-five year period from about 1875 to 1900. Some of the European states involved were already well-established global powers; the others were up and coming nations that desired to emulate and compete with the dominant imperial states. Various factors allowed for and contributed to the conquering of the whole of Africa by European states. The slow, but ever-growing European presence on the perimeter and the completion for dominance between the major European states acted as the platform for the inevitable quest for

Politics played a major part in motivating Europe to imperialize in Africa. Document A shows how Africa was divided and which two states remained independent. Fourteen European nations met at the Berlin Conference to decide how Africa would be divided. In Document B, nationalism in Europe increased as the Industrial Revolution and French Revolution ideas spread throughout Europe. Colonists thought to advance the power of England, they needed to claim more territory as fast as possible. “ That their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea.”~ Doc B. The Germans had strengths, such as trade and sea power, but wanted to learn about colonial skills from the British and start a friendly competition after them. “It would be wise if we Germans would learn about colonial skills from the British and begin to strive after

Between the years of 1880 and 1900 Britain, France, Germany and Italy all had some sort of African possession, as the whole continent was basically placed under European rule (McKay, 880-881). The biggest factor that was considered to be the cause of the rapid imperialism by Europe was mostly economic reasons. However, others believe that the imperialism which took place during this time was simply an outgrowth of capitalism (Sherman, 195).

Africa has been a continent that has given birth to many civilizations as well as being the mother of all human races. However as much as it boast its majestic greatness it is not without scars. It has been colonized and stripped off of its resources and people due to imperialism. “Imperial expansion into Africa, costing taxpayers dearly, provided poor and precarious markets (Hobson 1970:152)”. This essay addresses the historical background, Impact of imperialism, and contemporary nature of imperialism on the global economic expansion. This essay will attempt a comparative examination of each theorist’s account of Imperialism. Imperialism can be defined as, “a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization,