The Scramble for Africa Essay - 583 Words

Imagine you’re living peacefully, and suddenly someone comes along and begins telling you that everything you live for is wrong. Not only your beliefs religious wise, but also your lifestyle, the way you dress, even the way you speak. This person suddenly wants to change you so that you are a replica of what they think is correct. How would you feel if a stranger wanted to have complete dominance over you? This is exactly what happened to every African in the late 19th century, only it wasn’t happening to certain individuals, but to all the tribes in Africa. The Africans had no choice, their opinions didn’t matter, they were just like the land: they were just property. Life for the Africans wasn’t always run by imperialist. Although†¦show more content†¦This was the start of imperialism in Africa. Economic, political, and social forces drove Europeans to want to take over land. During this time, the issue of racism also sparked, following with the idea of Social Darwinism. It was a time of â€Å"survival of the fittest† and the anyone who wasn’t European wasn’t fit to survive. There were many forces that enabled imperialism. External and internal forces played a part in the Europeans’ conquest of Africa. A external motive to enter Africa and claim land was the invention of railroads and the steamship. These two inventions greatly aided the Europeans. Africans fought at a huge disadvantage because of their lack modernized weapons, and so the continent of Africa was up for grabs. European countries began rushing to claim parts of Africa for themselves. To avoid a war, the European countries decided to have a conference to solve the problem with African land. Fourteen European nations met at the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) to decide how to divide up Africa. No representatives from Africa were present, so the Europeans did as they pleased. European nations divided up the continent with no regard to the various ethnic and linguistic groups in Africa. This conference decided Africa’s fate and set up Africa up for many conflicts. By 1914, only Liberia and Ethiopia remained free from European control. While colonizing, the countries thought that Africans would be buyingShow MoreRelatedThe Scramble for Africa1154 Words   |  5 Pages What was the Scramble for Africa? 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. FirstlyRead MoreScramble for Africa1841 Words   |  8 PagesWhat were the major historical factors explaining ‘the scramble for Africa’? In order to approach this essay question, my analysis will be divided into two parts. 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