what were the causes of european imperialism in africa essay

• Aspects of European Imperialism Words: 412
• European Imperialism and Its Effects on Colonies Words: 871
• Second Wave of European Expansion Into Africa and Asia Words: 2224
• European Colonialism in Africa Words: 2463
• Impact of European Colonialism on Africa: Historical Insights Words: 830
• European Colonization of the African Continent Words: 579
• European Imperialism and Global Economic Situation Words: 881
• Imperialism in the Context of World History Words: 571
• Slavery in Africa After European Colonization Words: 666
• European Supremacy, European Thought, and Imperialism Words: 572
• The Possibility of a United Africa: Impact of Colonization Words: 5455
• The Decolonization Process in Asia and Africa Words: 1612
• The Origin of European Colonialism Words: 2307
• China and Africa’ Relations Words: 1774
• Imperialism and Exploitation by Europeans Words: 564
• The European Expansion and Chinese Dynasties Words: 938
• Healthcare Problems in South Africa Words: 1672
• Slavery in African vs. European Countries Words: 671
• European Slave Trade in Historical Documents Words: 1077
• European Colonization and Middle and South America Words: 544
• Africa’s Role for African Americans in Literature Words: 1109
• Socioeconomic Environment in South Africa Words: 869
• Slave Experience and Africa and Europe Words: 607
• Modern Imperialism and Economic Globalization Words: 1674
• China-Africa Trade and Political Relations Words: 1744

European Imperialism in Africa: The Main Causes

Introduction.

Imperialism ism is referred to as the process through which superior regions exercise power over other less superior regions. Imperialism can be either complete or partial; in partial colonialism, the superior nation only controls a few aspects of the other country, but in whole imperialism, the country has total power over the other. Imperialism was widespread towards the end of the 19 th century due to the increased industrial revolution in Europe. During this period, some of the affected areas include; Asia, Africa, and South America. Colonization of a given region is subject to varying factors that predominantly comprise political, economic, and social factors. It is critical to focus on the various factors that contributed to the colonization of Africa by the different European nations.

Economic Factors

Search for raw materials.

During the 19 th century, Europe was developing rapidly due to the industrial revolution. Therefore, the revolution created many opportunities for European countries to seek expansion in other underdeveloped countries, thus leading to imperialism. Some of these opportunities included; the search for raw materials; due to increased industrialization, many industries and processing companies were established in Europe. Nonetheless, these countries lacked adequate raw materials to satisfy their industries adequately. As such, these countries sought more and cheaper raw materials from other parts of the world. More so, since most European nations were competing to be the most developed, these countries could barely rely on each other, and most of this resulted in sourcing their raw materials from other regions. Most of these materials were found in Africa, so to guard the sources of their raw materials, the respective European countries established settlements which consequently resulted in the colonization of Africa.

Search for Cheap Labor

The industrial revolution created a high demand for manual labor in Europe, which was abundant. Nevertheless, the readily available manual labor was expensive, reducing the profits many company owners earned. Therefore, to maximize their profit, the company owners preferred to seek cheaper labor from Africa because the slave trade had been abolished at the time. Thus, more Africans were available for hire. Correspondingly, this led to the colonization of Africa since most entrepreneurs preferred establishing their industries in Africa as it was cheaper and labor was readily available

Search for Market

The progress of industrialization led to the establishment of more companies all over Europe. However, some companies produced the same commodities, resulting in aggressive competition. Some of these companies had to find alternative markets for their products in other parts of the world to minimize the competition. The companies began transporting their products to Africa, which their competitors had not reached. Additionally, some companies could not get buys in Europe as their products were deemed of poor quality, so they began to sell these products in Africa since they knew very few people would complain of the poor quality. Therefore, these companies established trade centers and settlements and progressively increased their numbers, eventually leading to empire-building.

Investment in Surplus Capital

During the 19 th century, industrialization peaked in Europe, leading to increased growth and profits for many company owners. As such, they began investing in the profits in different industries sectors to facilitate further growth and development. Therefore, these entrepreneurs proceeded to make investments in Africa which had started developing due to the significant trade activities and the establishment of other European companies. This resulted in colonialism in Africa since the investments ensured the development of Africa, thus attracting even more people and governments from Europe.

Strategic Positioning

Africa was strategically positioned regarding the Suez Canal. The canal allowed for easy movement of naval vessels between Europe and Asia, thus providing a shorter and safer route. Britain occupied Egypt, which at the time enabled better control over the canal. Egypt was an area of conflict between Britain and France because Britain had already occupied Kenya and Uganda. France thus tried to occupy Egypt but to no avail; as such, France occupied the even regions on the southern side of Egypt as payback. France planned to divert the river Nile to retaliate against Britain for occupying all regions through which the Nile was passing. The strategic position of Africa attracted more European countries, which began settling and building settlements, which resulted in Africa’s imperialism.

Unemployment

The industrial revolution was characterized by the mechanization of manufacturing and processing processes. Increased machinery usage resulted in massive unemployment because most manufacturers preferred using machines. Machines were cheaper and more efficient than human labor; many people were laid off to pave the way for mechanization. However, the European government developed a strategy to solve unemployment by expanding its territories. Thus, they began establishing new companies in Africa, which required both skilled and unskilled workers.

Consequently, these new manufacturing plants created more employment opportunities for European jobless civilians. Imperialism resulted from settling these new employees since they had to establish communities and settlements. Furthermore, European governments encouraged more citizens to move to Africa to establish farms that would help harness more raw materials for their homeland companies. For instance, countries like Kenya developed farms that provided hide, tea, coffee, and dairy products for European companies. Correspondingly more Europeans settled in Africa and hence colonization.

Development of Naval Machinery

Infrastructural development improved significantly during the 19 th century, and thus most countries in Europe had improved naval vessels. Most countries owned steel steamships, enabling them to travel further to Africa. These vessels became subject to competition among many European countries; each wanted to outdo the other, culminating in Africa’s imperialism. Moreover, these vessels created a high demand for coal which could not be satisfied adequately in Europe. Therefore, the respective countries had to source coal from Africa, which had rich mines. They used coal to power their factories and other machinery and thus established settlements around the mines to protect them from other countries, leading to the imperialism of Africa.

Mineral Speculation

Most Europeans believed that Africa was rich with large mineral reserves, which acted as a pull factor. The speculations of minerals in Africa were reinforced by the fact that most African trade activities were conducted using gold and bronze, among other minerals. The discovery of gold and diamond in Kimberly in South Africa confirmed the speculations, leading to the flocking of African European investors. Since the speculators could not go back home regularly, they established settlements where they resided. Governments built settlements and administrative posts from where they conducted their prospection activities, leading to permanent residences and, thus, colonialism. Besides, some of the minerals they mined had to be processed before being shipped to Europe; thus, industries were built, and more people were brought to provide human resources. More Europeans settled in Africa to facilitate the extraction, processing, and transportation of these minerals, culminating in imperialism.

During the 19 th century, trade was well-developed in Africa, creating a significant market opportunity for European products. European countries were determined to dominate the market. Therefore, they adopted free trade imperialism which advocated for peaceful dominance. Nevertheless, they began using military force to assert dominance over the market; thus, they built military bases which served as command centers for trade activities. Weaker communities were forced to give up their trade routes and rights to European powers. For instance, in West Africa, trade was extensive and was controlled by the local leaders, who, in turn, amassed wealth uncontrollably. This drew the attention of the Europeans, who wanted a share of the profits; as such, they relocated to Africa to maximize trade and eventual dominance. The trade resulted in the gradual settling of Whites in Africa, thus leading to the imperialism of Africa.

Science and Medicine

Africa, a tropical region, had a high prevalence of tropical diseases like Malaria, which was deadly to all Europeans. Most Europeans shunned the regions and only used intermediaries to conduct trade activities. Therefore, the intermediaries controlled all trades, which minimized the Whites’ profits. Nevertheless, during the 19 th century, science was well-developed and thus facilitated the development of proper medical drugs. This allowed more Europeans to travel to Africa without fearing for their health, so to maximize their profits, they established dominance over the trade by moving most of their companies to Africa. For instance, French chemists developed the cure for Malaria, Quinine which was in high demand among the Europeans who sought to explore Africa and trade. Following these discoveries, countries established botanical gardens in their motherland and prospective colonies to ensure a sufficient drug supply.

Political Factors

Nationalism.

Toward the end of the 19 th century, most European countries were well developed with better machinery and improved living standards. The sense of pride culminated in the spirit of nationalism among the people of Europe. Britain nationals used the sun never sets on the British Empire. This meant that the sun was shining on the British Empire at any given time, signifying its vastness. They began to pressure their governments to acquire African territories like their neighboring countries. For instance, German citizens challenged their government to acquire colonies in Africa to achieve a sense of prestige like their neighbors. Germans believed they were a superior race and thus could rule the Africans, presumed to be lesser humans. Nationalism grew to a point where the government could not resist any longer and thus resulted in imperialism.

Public Opinion

More European countries acquired colonies in Africa and other regions worldwide, while others lagged. Citizens from these countries championed for their countries to get colonies like their competing neighboring countries. As such, these countries began to acquire colonies to adhere to public opinion. A perfect example is in Germany and Britain; in Britain, the citizens demanded that their government should not lose its position by letting other countries occupy more colonies than themselves. Its citizens pressured Germany to occupy the West African region.

Power and Superiority

During the 19 th Century, Europe was characterized by competition among the different countries. Most of these countries competed to prove that they were better and superior while their counterparts were inferior. They competed in various capacities; for instance, when one country acquired a colony, the rest would acquire colonies to prove they were not inferior. The competition became stiff as they began to compete on who would have the highest number of colonies. Furthermore, these countries would undermine each other to ensure they emerged at the top. A perfect example of this rivalry was during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Countries like Germany and Russia supplied the Ethiopian emperor with advanced weapons and the necessary resources, which resulted in the defeat of the Italian army. The other countries would then use the opportunity to acquire even more territories while the competitors were engaged in battle. The rivalry resulted in the settling of Europeans in Africa, which in turn ended up in imperialism.

Military Strength and Prowess

Towards the end of the 19 th century, almost all European countries had equipped their armies with advanced weapons. As such, the army commanders from the different armies tested each other’s wits and tactics to see who had better skills and machinery. Furthermore, when a country acquired new territory in Africa, the army was praised, and army officials were promoted. As such, all the officials were focused on outshining their rivals and, at the same time, were promoted for their achievements. Furthermore, countries with well-trained and equipped armies could conquer and acquire territory from the resisting African communities. Britain had equipped its army adequately, which facilitated the royal army’s victory in capturing colonies, even in regions that brought up an uprising. European presence and influence in Africa increased gradually through these conquests, resulting in imperialism.

Unification of Germany

Germany existed as two separate states s, but towards the end of the 19 th , it was united under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The unification of Germany resulted in an imbalance of power in Europe, and this is because another European power had risen when we were only a few earlier before. As such, something had to be done to restore the power balance. Therefore, most European countries began to seek more power by acquiring African colonies. Germany became a more significant power than other smaller countries and thus began amassing European territories by conquering the weaker countries. Germany took over two provinces, Alsace and Lorraine, from France, which were rich in coal and iron. France retaliated by acquiring more colonies in Africa. Consequently, more countries acquired more colonies to increase their power, leading to the development of imperialism.

Intercommunity Conflicts

Among African communities, there were those in constant conflict with each other, which resulted in endless wars. These wars weakened many African communities, which made it difficult for them to create significant resistance against the Europeans. Therefore, the European powers exploited these conflicts and enmities to achieve their goals. They employed the tactics of divide and rule on the rivaling Africans; they would support and equip one community and use it to fight the others and dominate all the other communities. This tactic was significant since it enabled Europeans to conquer colonies with little effort. Europeans would also bring gifts for one community and its leaders and promise them even more if they agreed to do their bidding. They enticed them to become collaborators, giving them power over the other communities. Consequently, the whites could settle, extend their power to Africans and exert dominance through their appointed leaders.

Weak Decentralized Communities

Many communities in Africa were decentralized and thus existed independently of each other. They had no armies or advanced weapons to counter the European armies, and calamities weakened them. In addition, the armies employed strategies that guaranteed the weakening of these communities, and an example of these strategies was the use of the scorch earth policy. Through this course of action, the military destroyed all the food, livestock, and property of the target community. These communities ran out of food and resources and thus could not resist the Europeans’ infiltration. The communities could not measure up to the weapons and tactics of European soldiers, which facilitated easy settlement of the Europeans and eventual imperialism.

European Rivalry

Conflicts of interest had created competitiveness between nations in Europe. An example of the intensified enmity was that between Germany and France; upon unification, Germany reclaimed its province, which it had to relinquish to France due to its division. France could not retaliate because it was still recovering from the effect of the Franc-Prussian war. As such, France sought a more peaceful method of regaining its power, and that was through the acquisition of colonies in Africa. Frances’ agility in capturing colonies attracted the attention of other nations, and thus they too began to amass colonies to ensure they could effectively counter whatever France was planning. Further, the activities of King Léopold of Belgium in Congo raised questions among different European states. King Leopold had commissioned Henry Morton Stanley to create a company that would, in turn, establish the king’s empire, eradicate the slave trade and institute free trade in Congo. These activities resulted in the convening of the Berlin conference, which led to the scramble for and partition of the African continent.

Social Factors

Humanitarian intervention.

During the 19 th Century slave trade in Africa had become rampant, raising concerns among many European nations. Many such individuals, governments, and other organizations began campaigns that called for European intervention in the matter. Therefore, different governments intervened to end the slave trade and establish free and legitimate trade. Nonetheless, upon completing the humanitarian activities, some of these organizations chose to remain in Africa to control and promote free trade and enforce anti-slavery legislation. This resulted in the massive occupation of white settlers in Africa hence imperialism. Aside from the slave trade, many Europeans believed that Africans were suffering and leading lives of complete suffering; as such, they formed organizations that provided relief aid and helped them with agriculture and other skills. This led to establishing of white settlements in Africa; Europeans stopped the slave trade and replaced it with colonization.

Furthermore, European civilization played a vital role in facilitating colonialism. This is because most parts of Europe were developed and civilized; thus, they felt it was their responsibility to introduce western culture to the Africans. They viewed Africans as barbaric and uncultured and thus pressured their governments to develop programs that would aid in civilizing Africans. This resulted in the colonization of Africa since these governments began by establishing their rule over various regions of Africa before establishing schools for Africa.

Toward s the end of the 19 th century, European nations had successively put an end to the slave trade along the coast of Africa; nonetheless, the slave trade was continuing in most interior markets of Africa. African chiefs and other leaders were still supporting and conducting the slave trade and raids; as such European nations resulted in complete blown infiltration to ensure the trades were finished. In the process of fighting slave traders and rescuing the captured enslaved people, these European soldiers established command centers from where they conducted their operations and stayed.therefore, after the operation was completed, most of these soldiers chose to remain behind since they had established their livelihood in Africa and this led to the European imperialism in African.

Christian Missionaries

During the 19 th Century, Christianity was the main religion in Europe since almost everybody practiced it. On the other hand, Islam was gaining popularity in Africa, which was a concern for European missionaries. They disregarded African religious practices and aimed to replace these practices with Christianity. Missionaries were focused on ensuring Christianity was accepted by all Africans. They gave Africans gifts and clothes to entice them to accept Christianity. They introduced new practices to Africans, including new plants, farming practices, and education. Missionaries established mission schools where they taught Africans arithmetic, reading, and writing; those who excelled were awarded even more African to the mission stations. However, some regions were not very receptive to the new religion and practices and thus were very hostile toward the missionaries. Therefore, they called for reinforcement from the government to combat the hostile communities, which led to the imperialism of some regions of Africa.

Some Missionaries used the training as a ploy to smooth the entry of their respective European governments. They trained Africans to depend on them so they would always need them and thus not deviate from their teaching. For instance, Africans were only taught manual skills and not cognitive skills. Some missionaries served their government by preparing adequate manual labor, which would be handy upon establishing Settlers’ farms in the European governments. Missionaries introduced western subsistence farming to Africans and reserved cash crop farming for their White counterparts. As missionaries spread the gospel, they also reported what they learned about Africa to their respective governments. Africa was conducted for farming and was rich in minerals. This, therefore, attracted more European settlers into Africa hence colonization.

During the 19 th century, Europeans conducted many expeditions to explore Africa, and in return, they reported what they witnessed during their excursions. Some of the news they delivered raised many questions among the recipients, especially the church. As a result, the church had to send more missionaries to Africa so that they could help the Africans. As per the reports by the voyagers Africans were uncultured and backward, they had no religion and lived like animals. Europeans financed more voyages to help the Africans and see what they had heard firsthand. More Europeans came into Africa and settled through these voyages, impacting imperialism in Africa.

Toward the end of the 19 th century, Africa experienced severe drought, followed by a catastrophic food shortage for both people and livestock. Africans died in large numbers and became too weak to protect themselves from attacks. During the tough times, missionaries arrived in various parts of Africa, claiming they had come to offer help. Most African leaders had to accept the help offered to save their people. Consequently, the Europeans became permanent residents of these regions since they were revered for saving many African lives. They reported their progress to their home nations, which led to an influx of White settlers in Africa hence imperialism. In addition, the famine and smallpox pandemic of 1895 rendered most African communities defenseless, and thus European soldiers could capture those regions without any resistance whatsoever.

Population Growth

Industrial revolutions facilitated better wages, healthcare, and living conditions, promoting increased population growth. The overall population in Europe was overwhelming the available resources; as such, the governments had to find a solution to the problem. These governments resolved the problem by acquiring African colonies and moving the citizens to inhabit these colonies. The settlers were given land which initially belonged to the indigenous people; they were to cultivate the lands and produce raw materials for industries in Europe and provide skilled labor for the industries that had been established in Africa. European governments sent representatives who governed the colonies on behalf of the governments. The establishment of new foreign governments in Africa cemented the reign of colonialism.

Advanced Technology and Weaponry

Europe was more advanced than Africa; thus, they had better weapons and technology. Technology and weapons played a vital role in facilitating imperialism. For instance, explorers relied heavily on technology to ensure their survival in the tropic; they had to take preventive drugs and vaccines to avoid succumbing to tropical diseases. More so, they used navigation tools to draw maps for their governments. Technology enabled easy movement and transportation of raw materials. European soldiers had better, even deadlier, weapons than the African warriors; therefore, the Whites had the upper hand during battles. Thus, they easily won the wars and confiscated African lands. These weapons and advanced technology significantly expedited European imperialism in Africa.

Traders and Explorers

Governments and wealthy individuals financed explorers to prospect uncharted lands, after which they would return and report on what they learned and discovered. The success of an explorer was measured by how beneficial their information was. Nonetheless, explorers played a critical role in facilitating the colonization of Africa, and this is because they would exaggerate what they had seen and learned to ensure continuous funding. The exaggerated information resulted in an influx of White settlers on African lands. Furthermore, explorers frequently requested their governments for protection from hostile African communities; the military would be sent to accompany the explorers. However, upon completion, the military would often remain behind, ending with the colonization of Africa.

On the other hand, European trading companies used force on African traders who disagreed with them. The traders were accompanied by an armed military unwilling to use force. For instance, the Royal Niger Company forced local farmers to supply them with palm oil at a lower price, but their local leader King Jaja refused and only allowed his agents to buy palm oil from his people. In retaliation, they were summoned by the government representative and forced to sign an agreement to ensure the company bought the palm oil at their chosen price, after which King Jaja was exiled. Traders thus facilitated colonialism by deploying military force on traders.

Navigable Rivers and Established Roads

Africa had well-established trade routes that served as roads for the Europeans. Many Europeans traversed the continent quickly since they used the trade routes that most had familiarized with during their trade activities. On the other hand, those who preferred traveling by water could do so since Africa has many navigable rivers like river Nile, Zambezi, and Niger. These roads and rivers made it easy for the European soldiers to combat resisting communities. More so, it was easier for them to transport machinery and other materials wherever needed without any problem whatsoever. The ability to quickly move around the continent was critical in enabling the launch of European expansionism in Africa.

Imperialism of Africa by Europe was stimulated by different factors that influenced European nations individually or as a whole. Two-three main factions can characterize the factors that led to the colonization of Africa by Europe, and they are; social factors, political factors, and economic factors. Political factors relate to the administrative aspect of Europe. It refers to how different European governments and authority figures exercised power and how they related with their counterparts. Some of these political factors included; militarism, European rivalry, and nationalism.

On the other hand, economic factors revolve around the effects of the industrial revolution on individual nations and Europe as a whole. Some of the economic factors that facilitated imperialism comprise; the search for the market, the search for raw materials, the search for cheap labor, and the investment of surplus capital. Social factors of imperialism revolve around the cultural aspect of life and the people’s way of life, including the role of explorers, the increased population in Europe, humanitarian factors, and the role of missionaries. These factors cumulatively facilitated European imperialism of Africa.

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What Were the Causes of European Imperialism in Africa?

What Were the Effects of the British Taking Over Africa?

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, seven European powers – France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal – were active in claiming African territory as their own. By 1914, the vast majority of the continent was under European control, with France dominating the northwest, while British possessions were concentrated in the east and south. European colonial activity in Africa was motivated by a variety of factors.

Rivalry between Nations

European imperialism in Africa was partly due to rivalries between the different European countries involved, with Britain, Germany and France the dominant powers. As Professor Richard Evans of the University of Cambridge observes, by the 1880s “rivalries and interventions had been building up already over several decades.” Each country aimed to increase its own prestige by accumulating territories in other parts of the world. Such was the rivalry between European powers that, in 1884 and 1885, the Berlin conference was held to map out European possession of Africa, and by 1900, over 90 percent of African territory was nominally under European control.

Trading Resources

Africa’s natural resources were an important component in motivating European colonialism. In the early 1800s, the triangular trade in slaves between Africa, the Americas and Europe exploited Africa’s population, but after the abolition of slavery other resources came to the fore. For example, mining millionaire Cecil Rhodes exploited goldfields and diamond mines in South Africa and played a vital role in securing British rule over parts of modern-day Zimbabwe in the belief that the land contained large deposits of gold.

Strategy and Convenience

Sometimes European powers were keen to maintain control of specific territories for strategic reasons. For the British, South Africa provided a useful stop for ships on their way to India, another significant part of the British Empire, while from 1869 the Suez Canal in Egypt created a much shorter route between the United Kingdom and her colonies further east. As transport grew more reliant on oil, the canal also formed a route to the oilfields of the Middle East. Britain gained control of the canal and its operation in the 1880s, and fought to maintain that control in both world wars.

Economic Benefits

African colonies played two important economic roles. First, they were intended as a market for the goods manufactured in the European “home” country. The colonies acted as “protected” marketplaces where European products could be sold. In addition, African colonies were expected to contribute to Europe’s economy. In West Africa, for example, French administrators encouraged local people to grow crops like cotton and groundnuts, which could be sold at home in France.

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Rita Kennedy is a writer and researcher based in the United Kingdom. She began writing in 2002 and her work has appeared in several academic journals including "Memory Studies," the "Journal of Historical Geography" and the "Local Historian." She holds a Ph.D. in history and an honours degree in geography from the University of Ulster.

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In the late 1800s, European nations were competing fiercely for control of Africa, the only continent (other than Antarctica) that had not yet been colonized by Europeans. Some European imperialists, such as French leader Jules Ferry (see reading, "Expansion Was Everything" ), justified the conquest by claiming that “superior races” had both a right to the territory and a duty to “civilize” the “inferior races” that made up the Indigenous people of Africa. Others claimed no duty at all toward the Indigenous people. Historians David Olusoga and Casper W. Erichsen explain:

Herero Survivors

After the Germans drove the Herero into the Kalahari Desert in South-West Africa in 1904, the few that survived returned from the desert starving.

The white races had claimed territory across the globe by right of strength and conquest. They had triumphed everywhere because they were the fittest; their triumphs were the proof of their fitness. Whole races, who had been annihilated long before Darwin had put pen to paper, were judged to have been unfit for life by the very fact they had been exterminated. Living people across the world were categorized as “doomed races.” The only responsibility science had to such races was to record their cultures and collect their artifacts from them, before their inevitable extinction. The spread of Europeans across the globe came to be regarded as an almost sacred enterprise, and was increasingly linked to that other holy crusade of the nineteenth century—the march of progress. Alongside the clearing of land, the coming of the railroad, and the settlement of white farmers, the eradication of Indigenous tribes became a symbol of modernity. Social Darwinism thus cast itself as an agent of progress. 1

Along with Belgium, England, France, and Portugal, Germany was one of many European nations deeply influenced by Social Darwinism. It affected the way the nation justified its actions in South-West Africa (modern-day Namibia), where Germans occupied the land of Indigenous groups, including the Herero and Nama, beginning in the 1880s. Within 20 years, German settlers not only occupied much of the land but had also acquired (through confiscation or purchase) more than half of the Herero people’s cattle. Cattle were central to the Herero culture and economy. 2 Theodor Leutwein, the governor of German South-West Africa, explained what had happened to the Herero and Nama from an imperialist point of view when he wrote: “The native who did not care to work, and yet did not want to do without worldly goods, eventually was ruined; meanwhile, the industrious white man prospered. This was just a natural process.” 3

When the Herero, the Nama, and other groups in the region fought to keep their land and resources, German leaders were outraged. The Herero, led by their chief Samuel Maharero, began to revolt in January 1904. Though they had much better weapons than the Herero, German soldiers were unable to quickly end the rebellion. They lost hundreds of soldiers to disease, the unfamiliar desert climate, poor supply lines, and ambush attacks by Maharero’s soldiers. 4 German officials in both Africa and Europe were made furious not only by the uprising but also by the idea that an “inferior” people were challenging their authority.

In August, Kaiser Wilhelm sent German Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha to take control of the colony and to “crush the rebellion by all means necessary.” 5 Von Trotha had been previously stationed in east Africa, where he had a reputation for brutality in his efforts to put down all resistance to German rule. Von Trotha vowed to “annihilate the revolting tribes with streams of blood.” 6

Aware that large numbers of Herero warriors and their families were congregating on the nearby Waterberg Plateau, von Trotha ordered his troops to attack not only the warriors but also their wives and children. They were to take no prisoners. The troops quickly surrounded the Herero on three sides. They left open the fourth side—the Kalahari Desert. To make sure that no one used it to escape, soldiers were ordered to poison all water-holes and set up a chain of guard posts in the desert.

On October 2, long after thousands of Herero had already been murdered, von Trotha issued an “Extermination Order.” It stated:

The Herero people must leave the land. If they do not do this I will force them with [big guns or cannon]. Within the German borders, every Herero, with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I will no longer accept women and children. I will drive them back to their people or I will let them be shot at. This is my decision for the Herero people. 7

Before von Trotha arrived in South-West Africa, historians estimate the territory was home to between 70,000 and 80,000 Herero. Most of them were killed at the Battle of Waterberg or by trying to escape through the desert. Only 20,000 to 30,000 remained in South-West Africa. Most of them were sent to labor camps and forced to work for German authorities. Conditions in the camps were so brutal that nearly half died. 8

In 1907, following increasing criticism in Germany and abroad, von Trotha's mission was canceled and he was sent back to Germany, where he was honored by the military. The shift in policy came too late for the Herero. Only 15,000 remained alive. It also came too late for the Nama people. After the defeat of the Herero, the Nama also revolted, and they too were swiftly defeated by von Trotha's forces. On April 22, 1905, he ordered them to surrender or “be shot until all are exterminated.” He reminded them that if they continued to rebel, they would be treated in much the way the Herero were. Of an estimated 20,000 Nama, about half were murdered and the rest confined in work camps. Historians have explained the genocide in German South-West Africa as a result of Social Darwinist thinking, embodied especially in von Trotha’s idea of race war, combined with the German military’s institutional culture of extreme violence. 9

The German atrocities against the Herero and Nama were not unique; similar attacks were made by British settlers against Aboriginal Tasmanians in Australia in the nineteenth century and by American settlers against the Yuki in California around the turn of the twentieth century. Contemporary historians call these episodes—in which an imperialist country intentionally tries to annihilate an Indigenous people in order to control their land and resources—frontier genocide. 10

Connection Questions

• Describing the actions of Germans in South-West Africa and other similar historical cases, historian Benjamin Madley writes: Victors write history, and . . . perpetrators create a myth to excuse their crimes. By claiming that so-called “primitive” peoples and cultures are fated to vanish when they come into contact with white settlers, a deadly supposition emerges: the extinction of Indigenous people is inevitable and thus killing speeds destiny. 11
• What myths did Germans use to explain their attempts to annihilate the Herero and Nama? What motives did these myths attempt to excuse?
• What is “the march of progress”? What did progress mean to imperialists?
• In what kinds of situations have you used or heard the word exterminate? What is the significance of the way von Trotha used this word in describing his plans in South-West Africa?
• What questions does the history of imperialist conquest and violence raise for you? In what ways is such brutality unexplainable?
• 1 David Olusoga and Casper W. Erichsen, The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism (London: Faber & Faber, 2010), 73.
• 2 Benjamin Madley, "Patterns of Frontier Genocide 1803–1910: The Aboriginal Tasmanians, the Yuki of California, and the Herero of Namibia," Journal of Genocide Research 6, no. 2 (June 2004): 182.
• 3 Ibid.,169.
• 4 Ibid., 185–86.
• 5 Ibid., 186.
• 6 “ The Herero Uprising 11 January 1904 ,” Namibia-1on1.com, accessed March 23, 2016.
• 7 Lothar von Trotha, “Proclamation 2,” October 2, 1904, quoted in Olusoga and Erichsen, The Kaiser’s Holocaust , 149–50.
• 8 Benjamin Madley, "Patterns of frontier genocide 1803–1910: The Aboriginal Tasmanians, the Yuki of California, and the Herero of Namibia," Journal of Genocide Research 6, no. 2 (June 2004), 188.
• 9 Isabel V. Hull, Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2005), 5-6; Jürgen Zimmerer, “Annihilation in Africa: The ‘Race War’ in German Southwest Africa (1904–1908) and Its Significance for a Global–History of Genocide,” GHI Bulletin , no. 37 (2005): 51–57.
• 10 Benjamin Madley, "Patterns of frontier genocide 1803–1910: The Aboriginal Tasmanians, the Yuki of California, and the Herero of Namibia," Journal of Genocide Research 6, no. 2 (June 2004), 167–168. 
• 11 Benjamin Madley, "Patterns of frontier genocide 1803–1910: The Aboriginal Tasmanians, the Yuki of California, and the Herero of Namibia," Journal of Genocide Research 6, no. 2 (June 2004), 168.

How to Cite This Reading

Facing History & Ourselves, “ Imperialism, Conquest, and Mass Murder ”, last updated August 2, 2016.

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The Scramble for Africa: How Europe Conquered a Continent

The division of Africa by imperial Europe exemplifies the destructive power of colonialism. The Scramble for Africa changed the continent forever.

In the 19th century, Europe’s imperial superpowers were locked in a battle for global supremacy. Their colonial gaze soon fell upon Africa. The continent became a battleground for European competition as the powers scrambled to conquer the entire landmass. Europe’s conquest of Africa would haunt the African people for generations and change the continent’s course of history forever.

Early European Exploration

By the early 19th century, the great European powers, fuelled by their colonial appetite, had begun spreading their reach around the world. Britain had conquered India and had long-established colonies in North America and Australia. Neighboring France had also attempted to spread their imperial control in North America. The Iberian states of Spain and Portugal successfully gained a monopoly over South America.

Africa had remained relatively unaffected by European colonialism, though it had been devastated by the transatlantic slave trade. The continent would experience increasingly frequent visits from European explorers and cartographers. David Livingstone , the famed Scottish adventurer, extensively explored the continent’s interior regions, which had been previously unreached by Europeans.

Europe had already established small colonial trading settlements along the African coast, mostly to assist with the transatlantic slave trade. However, Britain passed the Slave Trade Act in 1807, which made slavery illegal, and the US followed suit, banning slave importation in 1808. The end of the slave trade, unfortunately, would not end European colonialism; instead, it only increased.

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European nations began rapidly expanding their African territories. France took Algeria in 1830. Britain gained control of the Cape Colony (modern-day South Africa) in 1877 and the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) in 1874. Portugal controlled the colonies of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, where they had a presence as early as the 15th century. By the 1870s, Europe controlled 10% of the African continent.

Causes of European Expansion in Africa

Several key factors of the 19th century contributed to European colonial expansion in Africa. Importantly, Britain was facing a growing trade deficit, exporting far more goods than it was importing, which was of great economic concern to the imperial power. This coincided with the Long Depression , one of the most severe economic recessions in history, which began in 1873. Europe was hit hard, especially Britain, and many states began adopting more protectionist economic policies. Africa and its abundant raw materials provided an opportunity to grow new open markets for trade and capital investment.

The ever-present imperial rivalry between the European powers also likely contributed to the scramble for land. Africa’s resources and economic potential would provide significant advantages to those that gained the largest foothold on the landmass.

The continent also had great strategic value. Africa was an important crossroad for trade between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal in Egypt and the Cape of South Africa were vital strategic positions for control over shipping routes. These areas were particularly important for Britain and its colonial interests in India and China .

The emergence of two new European powers eager to grow their international reputation would also inspire the scramble. Italy officially unified in 1861 and was quickly followed by Germany in 1871. Both powers were keen to establish their status in Europe and begin their imperial endeavors. It was a widely held belief that no nation could be considered a superpower if it did not control any overseas territory.

The Beginning of the Scramble

The beginning of the 1880s saw a significant increase in the size of Europe’s territory in Africa. France annexed Tunisia in 1881 and the region known today as the Republic of the Congo in 1882. Germany took control of Namibia , Togo, and Cameroon in 1884. The same year, Spain carved out an area of territory in Morocco.

France and Britain’s attention soon fell upon Egypt, whose leader, Isma’il Pasha , fell into financial difficulty. The two nations had significant shares in Egypt’s Suez Canal, and as economic issues persisted, Britain and France assumed responsibility for Egypt’s economy. In 1879, a nationalist uprising fought against the foreign influence of Turkey and Europe, known as the Urabi Revolt. In response, Britain launched a widespread military invasion. The revolt was ultimately crushed, and Britain took control of the administration of Egypt.

In 1876, Belgian King Leopold II established the International African Association. He dispatched renowned explorer Henry Morton Stanley to the Congo. There, Stanley signed several treaties and agreements with local chiefs and leaders for ownership of their land. Most chiefs were not entirely aware of the nature of the treaties they had signed. In 1885, Leopold II named the region the Congo Free State (today known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and claimed the extensive area of land as his personal property.

The Berlin Conference

In November 1884, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck convened a conference in Berlin to discuss the colonization of Africa. Representatives of 16 parties attended the conference. These were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Denmark, the US, France, Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden-Norway, the Ottoman Empire, and representatives from King Leopold’s Congo.

The conference set the rules for European colonialism and decided how best to divide the continent to avoid conflict among themselves. Notably, the conference established the principle of effective occupation, which determined how European powers could acquire new territory. It asserted that states could acquire lands if they had treaties with local leaders, planted their flag there, and established an administration to govern the territory with a police force to maintain order.

The Berlin Conference also recognized the currently existing colonial territories, including King Leopold II’s personal ownership of the Congo Free State. For Germany and von Bismarck, hosting the Berlin Conference signaled the recognition of Germany’s status as a great imperial power.

Despite the Berlin Conference deciding the division and fate of Africa, no African representatives were invited to attend.

Europe Completes its Conquest

The Berlin Conference opened the floodgates for European imperialism. It would result in a rapid expansion of European colonies as the imperial powers scrambled for every remaining parcel of land.

Following their acquisition of Egypt in 1882, Britain would also add Sudan, Nigeria, and Kenya to their territory in 1888, as well as Uganda in 1890. Britain also expanded and consolidated their control in South Africa after defeating the Boer republics of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State in the Second Boer War in 1902. Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe and Zambia) fell under the administration of the British South Africa Company in 1889.

Italy also rapidly expanded its territory, annexing Eritrea in 1885, Somalia in 1889, and Libya in 1911. The acquisitions of Eritrea and Somalia provided Italy with significant influence in the Horn of Africa.

France took control of Niger in 1890, Burkina Faso in 1896, Chad in 1900, and Mauritania in 1902, which consolidated France’s monopoly of power in West Africa.

The Berlin Conference also led the German Empire to assert its control over Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. The territory was combined and designated as German East Africa.

By 1914, 90% of Africa was controlled by seven European powers. The only African states to evade imperial tyranny were Liberia and Ethiopia .

The Tools & Technologies of Imperialism

Europe’s rapid conquest of Africa was assisted by Europe’s significant technological developments. Iron-hulled steamboats allowed European colonialists to penetrate further into the African interior by traveling upriver. Without steamboats, it is highly unlikely that Europeans could have conquered the continent as quickly or efficiently.

Malaria was the greatest hindrance to European expansion. The mosquito-spread disease resulted in the decimation of countless expeditions into Africa’s interior. William Bolt’s expedition to Mozambique in 1777-79 resulted in the deaths of 132 out of 152 European expedition members. In 1841, the British government sent Captain Trotter and a major expedition up the Niger River aboard three iron-hulled steamboats. Malaria claimed the lives of 55 out of 152 Europeans.

However, in 1854, Dr. William Balfour Baikie, Captain of the steamboat Pleiad, administered quinine to his European crew. The ship sailed up the Niger and back again, and nobody died. The use of quinine as a treatment for Malaria opened the gates of Africa for Europe’s invasion.

The 1860s witnessed the introduction of breechloading weapons. This followed the earlier inventions of rifling, percussion caps, and cylindro-conoidal bullets. Together, these developments resulted in the creation of the modern gun. These were followed by the creation of repeating rifles, and in 1884, the first automatic machine gun was conceived, known as the Maxim gun .

The native populations in North Africa and coastal regions had obtained guns through European traders. However, further inland, the more isolated populations had little access to such weaponry. In eastern and southern Africa, weapons such as spears and bows were commonly used. Before the discovery of quinine, these regions had not needed advanced weaponry, as Malaria had provided a natural defence.

Europe’s technological advancement proved devastating to the African peoples, who were entirely ill-equipped to defend against their invaders. This is best illustrated during the Battle of Omdurman , during Britain’s conquest of Sudan in 1898. The 25,000-strong British-Egyptian forces armed with twenty Maxim guns and four artillery pieces fought against the opposing army of 50,000 men. By the end of the battle, 12,000 Sudanese lay dead, while Britain lost just 48 men.

African Resistance & Colonial Crimes

Despite the overwhelming technological advantages the Europeans enjoyed, they were often met with resolute resistance by the African peoples.

In 1881, the Mahdist Sudanese fought against British and Egyptian rule. The Mahdists were led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who proclaimed himself the Mahdi (translated to “Guided One”) of Islam. The Islamic forces also unsuccessfully invaded other neighboring states, which resulted in them fighting Italy, Ethiopia, and the Congo Free State. The Mahdist forces were ultimately defeated at the previously mentioned Battle of Omdurman, and Sudan fell under British control.

Germany also faced resistance against their rule in Tanzania. Highly unpopular German colonial policies triggered an insurgent resistance that attempted to drive out the German colonizers. The resistance was led by Kinjikitle Ngwale, a supposed prophet who believed he had a sacred liquid that would repel German bullets. The Maji Maji Uprising would eventually be crushed by a brutal German counter-offensive. Famine was also weaponized by the Germans against the rebellion. Tanzanian crops were burned, resulting in a famine that has been described as genocide.

Tanzania was not the only colony that Germany would inflict genocide on. Between 1904 and 1907, German forces destroyed crops and poisoned wells in Namibia. Within three years, 80% of the Herero people and 50% of the Namaqua people had been killed.

During the Second Boer War, between 1899 and 1902, Britain constructed around 40 concentration camps for Boer refugees. The camps held approximately 150,000 people in terrible conditions with little food or shelter, and disease became rampant. It is believed that as many as 28,000 Boers died in British concentration camps, the majority of whom were women and children.

Perhaps the worst crimes of European colonialism occurred within King Leopold II’s Congo Free State . Rubber was an abundant resource within the Congo and was becoming increasingly valuable. The Congolese people were forced deep into the jungle to harvest it. Strict quotas were enforced, and those who failed to meet them were punished by having their hand severed. This punishment was even imposed on children. Over the course of Leopold’s reign, from 1885 to 1905, ten million Congolese were killed, mostly through starvation, but others by murder.

The post-war period in Africa was defined by revolution. An emergence of African intellectuals rose to prominence to lead their people. Figures such as Patrice Lumumba of the Congo and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana mobilized their people and promoted nationalist identity against the European colonialists.

Some African nations would gain their independence relatively peacefully. The Democratic Republic of the Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 through a peaceful referendum.

Other nations would have to pay for their freedom in blood. Algeria fought a seven-year-long struggle for its independence from France , resulting in the deaths of one million civilians. Angola similarly achieved independence from Portugal in 1975 after 13 years of bloodshed.

Independence, unfortunately, did not ensure long-lasting peace on the African continent, and the impact and legacy of colonialism are still visible today.

When the European powers descended on Africa and divided the land among themselves, they drew rudimentary borders with complete disregard for geography, ethnicity, or religion. When African countries gained their independence, these irrational borders continued to divide the African people. Ethnic groups, such as the Mandinka (or Malinke) people located in West Africa, found their population of 11 million people divided into eight separate countries.

Colonial divisions have resulted in numerous wars and even genocide . The African borders resulting from imperialism scar the continent’s landscape. The scramble for Africa dramatically changed the continent’s course through history and continues to define its future. Europe’s prejudiced, unrelenting inhumanity toward the African peoples is testimony to the injustices of colonialism.

What Were the Most Terrible Acts of the British Empire?

By Thomas Bailey BSc Geography Thomas is currently studying for an MA in International Relations at the University of Portsmouth, England, and holds a BSc in Geography from Bangor University. He is passionate about African history and politics, having written his master’s dissertation on the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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From Imperialism to Postcolonialism: Key Concepts

An introduction to the histories of imperialism and the writings of those who grappled with its oppressions and legacies in the twentieth century.

Imperialism, the domination of one country over another country’s political, economic, and cultural systems, remains one of the most significant global phenomena of the last six centuries. Amongst historical topics, Western imperialism is unique because it spans two different broadly conceived temporal frames: “Old Imperialism,” dated between 1450 and 1650, and “New Imperialism,” dated between 1870 and 1919, although both periods were known for Western exploitation of Indigenous cultures and the extraction of natural resources to benefit imperial economies. Apart from India, which came under British influence through the rapacious actions of the East India Company , European conquest between 1650 and the 1870s remained (mostly) dormant. However, following the 1884–85 Berlin Conference, European powers began the “ Scramble for Africa ,” dividing the continent into new colonial territories. Thus, the age of New Imperialism is demarcated by establishment of vast colonies throughout Africa, as well as parts of Asia, by European nations.

These European colonizing efforts often came at the expense of other older, non-European imperial powers, such as the so-called gunpowder empires—the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires that flourished across South Asia and the Middle East. In the case of the Ottomans , their rise coincided with that of the Old Imperialism(s) of the West and lasted until after World War I. These were not the only imperial powers, however; Japan signaled its interest in creating a pan-Asian empire with the establishment of a colony in Korea in 1910 and expanded its colonial holdings rapidly during the interwar years. The United States, too, engaged in various forms of imperialism, from the conquest of the tribes of the First Nation Peoples, through filibustering in Central America during the mid-1800s, to accepting the imperialist call of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden,” which the poet wrote for President Theodore Roosevelt on the occasion of Philippine-American War. While claiming to reject naked imperialism, Roosevelt still embraced expansionism, promoting the creation of a strong US Navy and advocating for expansion into Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and the Philippines to exert American influence .

The Great War is often considered the end of the new age of imperialism, marked by the rise of decolonization movements throughout the various colonial holdings. The writings of these emergent Indigenous elites, and the often-violent repression they would face from the colonial elite, would not only profoundly shape the independence struggles on the ground but would contribute to new forms of political and philosophical thought. Scholarship from this period forces us to reckon not only with colonial legacies and the Eurocentric categories created by imperialism but also with the continuing exploitation of the former colonies via neo-colonial controls imposed on post-independence countries.

The non-exhaustive reading list below aims to provide readers with both histories of imperialism and introduces readers to the writings of those who grappled with colonialism in real time to show how their thinking created tools we still use to understand our world.

Eduardo Galeano, “ Introduction: 120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane ,” Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (NYU Press, 1997): 1 –8.

Taken from the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this classic text, Eduardo Galeano’s introduction argues that pillaging of Latin America continued for centuries past the Old Imperialism of the Spanish Crown. This work is highly readable and informative, with equal parts of impassioned activism and historical scholarship.

Nancy Rose Hunt, “ ‘Le Bebe En Brousse’: European Women, African Birth Spacing and Colonial Intervention in Breast Feeding in the Belgian Congo ,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies  21, no. 3 (1988): 401–32.

Colonialism affected every aspect of life for colonized peoples. This intrusion into the intimate lives of indigenous peoples is most evident in Nancy Rose Hunt’s examination of Belgian efforts to modify birthing processes in the Belgian Congo. To increase birth rates in the colony, Belgian officials initiated a mass network of health programs focused on both infant and maternal health. Hunt provides clear examples of the underlying scientific racism that underpinned these efforts and acknowledges the effects they had on European women’s conception of motherhood.

Chima J. Korieh, “ The Invisible Farmer? Women, Gender, and Colonial Agricultural Policy in the Igbo Region of Nigeria, c. 1913–1954 ,” African Economic History No. 29 (2001): 117– 62

In this consideration of Colonial Nigeria, Chima Korieh explains how British Colonial officials imposed British conceptions of gender norms on traditional Igbo society; in particular, a rigid notion of farming as a male occupation, an idea that clashed with the fluidity of agricultural production roles of the Igbo. This paper also shows how colonial officials encouraged palm oil production, an export product, at the expense of sustainable farming practices—leading to changes in the economy that further stressed gender relations.

Colin Walter Newbury & Alexander Sydney Kanya-Forstner, “ French Policy and the Origins of the Scramble for West Africa ,” The Journal of African History  10, no. 2 (1969): 253–76.

Newbury and Kanya-Foster explain why the French decided to engage in imperialism in Africa at the end of the nineteenth century. First, they point to mid-century French engagement with Africa—limited political commitment on the African coast between Senegal and Congo, with a plan for the creation of plantations within the Senegalese interior. This plan was emboldened by their military success in Algeria, which laid the foundation of a new conception of Empire that, despite complications (Britain’s expansion of their empire and revolt in Algeria, for instance) that forced the French to abandon their initial plans, would take hold later in the century.

Mark D. Van Ells, “ Assuming the White Man’s Burden: The Seizure of the Philippines, 1898–1902 ,” Philippine Studies 43, no. 4 (1995): 607–22.

Mark D. Van Ells’s work acts as an “exploratory and interpretive” rendering of American racial attitudes toward their colonial endeavors in the Philippines. Of particular use to those wishing to understand imperialism is Van Ells’s explication of American attempts to fit Filipinos into an already-constructed racist thought system regarding formerly enslaved individuals, Latinos, and First Nation Peoples. He also shows how these racial attitudes fueled the debate between American imperialists and anti-imperialists.

Aditya Mukherjee, “ Empire: How Colonial India Made Modern Britain,” Economic and Political Weekly  45, no. 50 (2010): 73–82. 

Aditya Mukherjee first provides an overview of early Indian intellectuals and Karl Marx’s thoughts on the subject to answer the question of how colonialism impacted the colonizer and the colonized. From there, he uses economic data to show the structural advantages that led to Great Britain’s ride through the “age of capitalism” through its relative decline after World War II.

Frederick Cooper, “ French Africa, 1947–48: Reform, Violence, and Uncertainty in a Colonial Situation ,” Critical Inquiry  40, no. 4 (2014): 466–78. 

It can be tempting to write the history of decolonization as a given. However, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the colonial powers would not easily give up their territories. Nor is it safe to assume that every colonized person, especially those who had invested in the colonial bureaucratic systems, necessarily wanted complete independence from the colonial metropole. In this article, Frederick Cooper shows how conflicting interests navigated revolution and citizenship questions during this moment.

Hồ Chí Minh & Kareem James Abu-Zeid, “ Unpublished Letter by Hồ Chí Minh to a French Pastor ,” Journal of Vietnamese Studies  7, no. 2 (2012): 1–7.

Written by Nguyễn Ái Quốc (the future Hồ Chí Minh) while living in Paris, this letter to a pastor planning a pioneering mission to Vietnam not only shows the young revolutionary’s commitment to the struggle against colonialism, but also his willingness to work with colonial elites to solve the system’s inherent contradictions.

Aimé Césaire, “ Discurso sobre el Colonialismo ,” Guaraguao 9, no. 20, La negritud en America Latina (Summer 2005): 157–93; Available in English as “From Discourse on Colonialism (1955),” in  I Am Because We Are: Readings in Africana Philosophy , ed. by Fred Lee Hord, Mzee Lasana Okpara, and Jonathan Scott Lee, 2nd ed. (University of Massachusetts Press, 2016), 196–205.

This excerpt from Aimé Césaire’s essay directly challenges European claims of moral superiority and the concept of imperialism’s civilizing mission. He uses examples from the Spanish conquest of Latin America and ties them together with the horrors of Nazism within Europe. Césaire claims that through pursuing imperialism, Europeans had embraced the very savagery of which they accused their colonial subjects.

Frantz Fanon, “ The Wretched of the Earth ,” in Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts since Plato , ed. Mitchell Cohen, 2nd ed. (Princeton University Press, 2018), 614–20.

Having served as a psychiatrist in a French hospital in Algeria, Frantz Fanon experienced firsthand the violence of the Algerian War. As a result, he would ultimately resign and join the Algerian National Liberation Front. In this excerpt from his longer work, Fanon writes on the need for personal liberation as a precursor to the political awaking of oppressed peoples and advocates for worldwide revolution.

Quỳnh N. Phạm & María José Méndez, “ Decolonial Designs: José Martí, Hồ Chí Minh, and Global Entanglements ,” Alternatives: Global, Local, Political  40, no. 2 (2015): 156–73.

Phạm and Méndez examine the writing of José Martí and Hồ Chí Minh to show that both spoke of anticolonialism in their local contexts (Cuba and Vietnam, respectively). However, their language also reflected an awareness of a more significant global anticolonial movement. This is important as it shows that the connections were intellectual and practical.

Edward Said, “ Orientalism ,” The Georgia Review 31, no. 1 (Spring 1977): 162–206; and “ Orientalism Reconsidered ,” Cultural Critique no. 1 (Autumn 1985): 89–107.

As a Palestinian-born academic trained in British-run schools in Egypt and Jerusalem, Edward Said created a cultural theory that named the discourse nineteenth-century Europeans had about the peoples and places of the Greater Islamic World: Orientalism. The work of academics, colonial officials, and writers of various stripes contributed to a literary corpus that came to represent the “truth” of the Orient, a truth that Said argues reflects the imagination of the “West” more than it does the realities of the “Orient.” Said’s framework applies to many geographic and temporal lenses, often dispelling the false truths that centuries of Western interactions with the global South have encoded in popular culture.

Sara Danius, Stefan Jonsson, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “ An Interview with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ,” boundary 20, No. 2 (Summer 1993), 24–50.

Gayatri Spivak’s 1988 essay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” shifted the postcolonial discussion to a focus on agency and “the other.” Explicating Western discourse surrounding the practice of sati in India, Spivak asks if the oppressed and the marginalized can make themselves heard from within a colonial system. Can the subordinated, dispossessed indigenous subject be retrieved from the silence spaces of imperial history, or would that be yet another act of epistemological violence? Spivak argues that Western historians (i.e., white men speaking to white men about the colonized), in trying to squeeze out the subaltern voice, reproduce the hegemonic structures of colonialism and imperialism.

Antoinette Burton, “ Thinking beyond the Boundaries: Empire, Feminism and the Domains of History ,” Social History 26, no. 1 (January 2001): 60–71.

In this article, Antoinette Burton considers the controversies around using the social and cultural theory as a site of analysis within the field of imperial history; specifically, concerns of those who saw political and economic history as “outside the realm” of culture. Burton deftly merges the historiographies of anthropology and gender studies to argue for a more nuanced understanding of New Imperial history.

Michelle Moyd, “ Making the Household, Making the State: Colonial Military Communities and Labor in German East Africa ,” International Labor and Working-Class History , no. 80 (2011): 53–76.

Michelle Moyd’s work focuses on an often-overlooked part of the imperial machine, the indigenous soldiers who served the colonial powers. Using German East Africa as her case study, she discusses how these “violent intermediaries” negotiated new household and community structures within the context of colonialism.

Caroline Elkins, “ The Struggle for Mau Mau Rehabilitation in Late Colonial Kenya ,” The International Journal of African Historical Studies  33, no. 1 (2000): 25–57.

Caroline Elkins looks at the both the official rehabilitation policy enacted toward Mau Mau rebels and the realities of what took place “behind the wire.” She argues that in this late colonial period, the colonial government in Nairobi was never truly able to recover from the brutality it used to suppress the Mau Mau movement and maintain colonial control.

Jan C. Jansen and Jürgen Osterhammel, “Decolonization as Moment and Process,” in  Decolonization: A Short History , trans. Jeremiah Riemer (Princeton University Press, 2017): 1–34.

In this opening chapter of their book, Decolonization: A Short History , Jansen and Osterhammel lay out an ambitious plan for merging multiple perspectives on the phenomena of decolonization to explain how European colonial rule became de-legitimized. Their discussion of decolonization as both a structural and a normative process is of particular interest.

Cheikh Anta Babou, “ Decolonization or National Liberation: Debating the End of British Colonial Rule in Africa ,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science  632 (2010): 41–54.

Cheikh Anta Babou challenges decolonization narratives that focus on colonial policy-makers or Cold War competition, especially in Africa, where the consensus of colonial elites was that African colonial holdings would remain under dominion for the foreseeable future even if the empire might be rolled back in South Asia or the Middle East. Babou emphasizes the liberation efforts of colonized people in winning their independence while also noting the difficulties faced by newly independent countries due to years of imperialism that had depleted the economic and political viability of the new nation. This view supports Babou’s claim that continued study of imperialism and colonialism is essential.

Mahmood Mamdani, “ Settler Colonialism: Then and Now ,” Critical Inquiry  41, no. 3 (2015): 596–614.

Mahmood Mamdani begins with the premise that “Africa is the continent where settler colonialism has been defeated; America is where settler colonialism triumphed.” Then, he seeks to turn this paradigm on its head by looking at America from an African perspective. What emerges is an evaluation of American history as a settler colonial state—further placing the United States rightfully in the discourse on imperialism.

Antoinette Burton, “S Is for SCORPION,” in  Animalia: An Anti-Imperial Bestiary for Our Times , ed. Antoinette Burton and Renisa Mawani (Duke University Press, 2020): 163–70.

In their edited volume, Animalia, Antoinette Burton and Renisa Mawani use the form of a bestiary to critically examine British constructions of imperial knowledge that sought to classify animals in addition to their colonial human subjects. As they rightly point out, animals often “interrupted” imperial projects, thus impacting the physical and psychological realities of those living in the colonies. The selected chapter focuses on the scorpion, a “recurrent figure in the modern British imperial imagination” and the various ways it was used as a “biopolitical symbol,” especially in Afghanistan.

Editor’s Note: The details of Edward Said’s education have been corrected.

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European Imperialism in Africa

How it works

During the 1800s, the colonization of Africa was taken over by Europe. The countries gained money, resources, and the power while imperializing the countries of Africa. The Europeans were fascinated by the geography and the resources that Africa had to offer. Although, the imperialism did have an impact on the future of Africa. The European Imperialism in Africa influenced the future of the citizens in Africa and Africa as a whole in three ways, the forced labor or slavery from the countries with valuable rescoures, the forced spread of Christianity, and the decreasing amounts of resources in Africa because of the abundant amount of trade.

All across Africa, Catholic and Protestant missionaries attempted to win people to Christianity. The missionaries believed the African cultures and religions were devalued. They attempted to help Africans reject their own traditions in favor of Western civilization. They also built schools and medical clinics alongside churches. The missionaries saw the Africans as children in need of guidance. Just by the missionaries changing their religious beliefs has already influenced the future of Africa. In the poem The White Man’s Burden states, “Your new-caught sullen peoples, half-devil and half child”. This refers to the belief of the Europeans that Africans resigned to live a life of savergy. The missionaries would degrade the culture and society of the African people.

With all of the natural resources Africa had to offer, slavery came along with it. Countries such as Congo, which had an abundant amount of rubber and ivory, had slavery. Millions of Congolese died because of the forced labor and slavery. This influenced the future of Africa and Africans because all of their resources are now gone and are being used in other countries. While they were slaves, they had no right to any of their own country’s materials. The future of Africa was also changed because of the death toll, economic change, and the environmental destruction resulting from wars. The countries also weren’t able to increase any of their agricultural production because an inudstrialization is needed first before it is even possible to have a stable agricultural production.

The future of Africa was also influenced by the decreasing amounts of resources in Africa because of the abundant amount of trade. The imperialist countries essentially would raid any resources they could find in the African colonies. Africa contained copper, cotton, tea, diamonds, tin, palm oil, and many other resources that made Africa a gold mine. When imperialists came and raided all of Africa’s valuable resources, they would be traded to other countries. European powers created a cash crop agriculture system by building a major trade network. Since the European’s had power of the resources, they were able to create the value of the resource to whatever they wished it to be. Africa is now stripped of their resources and are lacking in many needed materials for the growth of their economy. This completely changes the future of the African citizens and the African countries. They aren’t able to create and sell materials for the help of their economy.

With all of these effects of the future of Africa, proves how much imperialism can change a country. The Africans were forced to change their culture, way of life, jobs, religion, and even their homes were taken from them. When a country changes their whole culture by force, their success rate of the future is going to be questionable. The European Imperialism in Africa influenced the future of the citizens in Africa and the countries in Africa in three ways, the forced labor or slavery from the countries with valuable resources, the decreasing amounts of resources in Africa because of the abundant amount of trade, and the forced spread of Christianity.

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European Imperialism in Africa. (2020, Apr 05). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/european-imperialism-in-africa/

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PapersOwl.com. (2020). European Imperialism in Africa . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/european-imperialism-in-africa/ [Accessed: 8 Sep. 2024]

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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

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• First Online: 26 June 2020
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• Mark Omorovie Ikeke 3  

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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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Mark Omorovie Ikeke

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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

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-319-91206-6

Online ISBN : 978-3-319-91206-6

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Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa

Please note: This topic's content was written in 2003 and is part of the old curriculum content, we have modified it slightly to fit the new curriculum but we will be further updating the content in the coming months.

Many countries in the world experienced imperialism when they were taken over and ruled by a more powerful country. The main motive for imperialism was to obtain and control a supply of raw materials for industries. This meant that a weaker country with abundant natural resources would be colonised. Imperialists were often brutal in the way they treated the indigenous population. Sometimes they chose a less aggressive approach, obtaining the co-operation of the local people and working with their traditional rulers and social and political structures and practices.

This section is quite long so we have broken it into two pages: Defining Imperialism

In the late 18th century, life in Europe and America changed dramatically. Revolutions in America and France ushered in a new political order. The Industrial Revolution in Britain modernised farming, the processing of raw materials and manufacturing of goods. Later industrialisation spread to Europe and to the USA. Economic progress came at the cost of rapid urbanisation and social problems. Industrialisation also influenced political change. Britain developed into a democracy as a result. Industrialisation created a huge demand for raw materials and led to the colonisation of Africa and Asia for these resources. Industrialisation and technological progress boosted European and American confidence, and national pride. They became convinced that they were superior. Their lust for power climaxed in the two World Wars of the 20th century.

The word imperialism comes from the term empire. Imperialism refers to the practice of domination of one country by another in order to expand territory, power and influence. It usually carries with it the idea of cultural superiority on the part of the imperialist, judging the way of life, traditions and beliefs of those colonised as inferior and worthy of replacement:

"Imperialism, as distinct from colonialism, refers to political/cultural/economic rule over indigenous people transforming their ideas, institutions, and material culture (i.e., goods)." - Source: www.bu.edu

Imperialism takes the form of political control and creating economic dependence. In Europe, the period of imperialism coincided with growing nationalism and unification when previously divided political units were united under a single monarchy. Unification allowed for empire building because people were gathered under a monarchy that claimed the right to rule them. Examples are German and Italian unification. Towards the end of the 19th century, imperialism became a policy of colonial expansion pursued by different European powers. The Prime Minister of France, Jules Ferry in his justification of this policy told his parliament that:

"I repeat that the superior races [European] have a right because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilize the inferior races [non Europeans]...." Source: www.fordham.edu

France and Britain saw imperialism as a way of carrying out their responsibility to civilise non-European societies. Other imperialists believed imperialism was necessary for their country's economic growth. They argued that Europe's high import tariffs (government fees allowing foreign traders to bring in goods for sale) made it difficult to access customers and markets there. They had no choice but to look for other markets outside Europe. Lord Lugard of Britain said that:

"It is sufficient to reiterate here that, as long as our policy is one of free trade, we are compelled to seek new markets; for old ones are being closed to us by hostile tariffs, and our great dependencies, which formerly were the consumers of our goods, are now becoming our commercial rivals." Source: www.fordham.edu

Lugard further justified the policy of colonial expansion by saying that the benefits were not limited to Britain. Colonies would gain access to superior European goods and influence. The Scramble for Africa in the 1880s to 1900 was motivated by these ideas.

Imperialist ambitions in Africa were boosted by the expansion of competitive trade in Europe. The main aim was to secure commercial and trade links with African societies and protect those links from other European competitors. Europe established trade relations with African rulers and encouraged them to trade with them exclusively. European traders were at first not interested in expanding into the interior of Africa. As long as African rulers assured them of a supply of slaves from the interior, they felt no need to expand into the interior. The rapid expansion of industries made European countries look to African for a supply of cheap raw materials and (slave) labour. West Africa was particularly important for the development of industries in Europe. The production of African palm oil used as industrial oil was in high demand for European industries. Greed for ever-greater profits meant intensifying and expanding industrial production. European countries realised that by taking control of African territories they could secure a very cheap supply of raw materials that would ensure industrial success and overall economic prosperity. Colonial governments organised agricultural production in the colonies to match the demand for raw materials in Europe.

Imperial expansion of Europe into the African interior saw many African farmers forced off their land and turned into farm labourers on white-owned plantations, where they were usually subject to cruel exploitative practices. European governments encouraged their citizens to become permanent settlers in their African colonies, providing them with farming land. The loss of land caused much resentment among African people. Those who remained on their land and plantations found themselves forced to farm cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, coffee and sugar that were important for European industries instead of their traditional staple foods in order to survive. The price they were paid for these harvests was also very low especially when compared with the selling price of it after processing in Europe. It is not surprising then that early resistance to colonial rule in Africa revolved around the use of land and its restoration to its traditional owners.

Not all European countries had imperial ambitions for Africa. It was only the major powers in Europe that competed for the control of Africa. These were Britain, France, and Germany and the weaker powers of Spain, Portugal and Italy who had very small possessions in Africa. Britain and France were at the forefront of imperialism in Africa. These two countries were in competition with each other to dominate European politics and economics. They each aimed to beat the other through vying for greater control of Africa and thus her natural resources and labour supply. They also claimed exclusive trading rights with their colonies. These practices guaranteed them markets outside Europe for the sales of surplus goods and led to the practice of dumping. Dumping refers to the practice of offloading goods at very low prices to crush local competition for customers. African producers could not match these prices especially in the absence of similar government support and so they were unable to withstand European competition. This undermined the development of African industries and wealth and locked the continent into an unfair economic relationship with Europe in which African producers were barely able to survive by supplying cheap cash crops and primary goods. Moreover, African countries became dependent on European aid and loans, a state of affairs that remains today. Many African countries have been crippled by the burden of repayment of these loans.

The map shows how major imperialists, England and France used Africa to extend their competition for dominance in Europe. As the map shows, England came to be a dominant power in southern Africa, with only two Portuguese and French colonies in the region. France took control of most parts of West Africa.

Colonial Rule

Colonial rule was the result of competition among European countries for control of African resources. In the beginning, control was limited to colonial authorities securing the loyalty of African chiefs and kings. This meant that African chiefs would trade only with their colonial government. Towards the end of the 19th century colonial governments began to play a more active role in the affairs of African societies. Different colonial governments adopted different methods of rule.

Towards the end of the 19th Century and during the early 20th Century most African countries were under colonial rule except for Liberia and Ethiopia. Colonial rule refers to the conquest and capture of foreign territories in order to expand power. Colonisation of African countries by European powers, like Britain and France was used to protect their trade ambitions and led to exploitation of Africa. European countries used colonies to supply their industries with raw materials. Britain charged other European countries taxes for trading in their colonies as part of its economic competition. Colonial rule also ensured that European manufactured goods would have a ready market in Africa. Countries that had colonies in Africa were:

In terms of governing their colonies, these countries developed different systems of rule. The British government was famous for its indirect rule system that it introduced in many of its colonies. The French and other European governments like Portugal and Belgium practised direct colonial rule. The two systems were very different and as a result had different effects on African societies.

British Colonial Rule

The British system of indirect rule simply meant that power over colonies would be exercised through indigenous political structures. These structures which is related to a customary law were preserved and allowed to continue. In the early years of colonial rule, local rulers were still powerful and they were able to maintain the integrity of their political structures and system of government. To a large extent ordinary people did not suffer or feel the impact of colonial rule, and for many there was a little change.

This did not mean that African rulers were free to behave as if nothing had changed with colonisation. The British government introduced policies to limit local rulers power to govern their societies. For example, chiefs lost their authority to sentence anyone to death. Crimes requiring a death penalty were given to the magistrate who applied British law to judge the merits of the case. Chiefs were also forced to give up their support by a military unit made up of volunteers.

Chiefs were only allowed to rule in accordance with customary laws. However, in some cases the British government introduced new laws and forced chiefs to pass them as customary laws. For example, they introduced a Hut Tax to increase revenues to colonial governments. This tax was charged on every one who owned a hut, poor or rich. The tax was not a customary law, but it was portrayed as a customary practice by the British colonial governments.

French Colonial Rule

French and Portuguese colonies were ruled differently. Unlike the British system, the French and Portuguese gave a role to local African leaders preferring to adopt a system of direct rule. Colonies were treated as if they were extensions of the two European states. For example, French colonies were treated as French departments. The French government did not include any African rulers. They were stripped of all their powers and the people were ruled directly by French colonial officers often with a military background. These colonial officers replaced African rulers because most areas were divided into districts and departments. The division of French colonies into districts and departments did not take into consideration existing boundaries of different ethnic groups.

Whereas the British policy was based on the separation of races and preserving the culture or identities of African societies, the French policy was based on inclusion. Their policy was to encourage Africans to become French in every sense of the word. This policy was part of expanding French civilization to African people. However, this policy did not mean that African people in French colonies were treated with equality. Their inclusion into French societies was based on inequality between the French people and colonised Africans.

Portuguese Colonial Rule

The Portuguese introduced the prazo system. The prazo is a Portuguese system of land grants that was introduced in the colonies. It was a mixture of local political structures and a Portuguese political system. It was not an indirect rule system because land was taken from African rulers and given to Portuguese settlers. The control of land gave Portuguese the power to control African people. Because Portuguese rule was very weak, Portuguese holders of these land grants (prazo) legitimised their control of land by marrying into African royal families. These Portuguese rulers called themselves chiefs (like African chiefs) and ruled like African chiefs.

The prazo system was adopted largely because the Portuguese government was a weak colonial power as compared to other colonial powers. The Portuguese did not have the wealth required to administer their colonies. As a result, Portuguese colonies were the least developed colonies in Africa. They had to adapt their colonial rule to the African context.

Belgian Colonial Rule

In Rwanda, the Belgians used an indirect rule system. Instead of accommodating all traditional authorities within their colonial system, they favoured one group, the Tutsis. They used the Tutsis to control other groups in Rwanda. The Congo was ruled as the personal property of King Leopold II. Belgian colonial rule was characterised by the most cruel and exploitative treatment of the local people. People were forced to work and those who refused to carry out their duties had their hands chopped off.

German Colonial Rule

German colonial rule was also based on direct rule. However, there was no attempt to turn Africans into Germans. German colonial rule lasted for a brief period as Germany lost her colonial possessions after the First World War. Her colonies were mandated to British and French colonies.

Italian Colonial Rule

Italy was the latecomer in the colonisation of Africa, becoming involved only after the Italian unification of 1870. By this time other European countries had already claimed most parts of Africa. The Italian government developed a centralised administration with the aim of sending Italians to live in the colonies. The other reason for Italian colonialism was to show old European countries that Italy was also a strong nation. In an attempt to prove this, Italy attempted to colonise Ethiopia. The Ethiopians defeated and humiliated the Italians in the Battle of Adowa.

Spanish Colonial Rule

Spain had only two colonies in Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara. These colonies were underdeveloped as compared to those of the European powers.

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Imperialism in Africa

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

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Causes of imperialism in africa, mechanisms of imperial control, consequences of imperialism.

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