For years, countries such as Great Britain and France have been colonizing small and/or poor countries. For years, the question has been why or how did they do it. The driving force in African imperialism has been a national competition. Imperialism is the policy and ideology of expanding a country’s rule over foreign nations, often by military force. Imperialism was common and normalized throughout history the earliest example being mid-third millennium BC. King Leopold II, king of Belgians, began imperialism in Africa. The Berlin Conference which took place between 1884-1885 was a pivotal moment in European history as well as Africa. Also, known as the Congo Conference or West African Conference. The conference led by King Leopold II normalized European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period which coincided with Germany’s sudden development as an imperial power.
The primary cause of African colonization was because of Nation Competition. Great Britain’s motive was to stay on top and they’d do it by any means necessary. In Document B, John Ruskin States in a speech made to Students at Oxford University “[Will the] youths of England, make your country again a royal throne of kings; …for all the world a source of light, a center of peace?… (T)his is what [England] must either do or perish: she must found colonies as fast as she is able,…that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea.” England was in constant competition with six other countries for land in Africa including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal. British John Ruskin emphasizes that to stay as the top country. They must have as many colonies as they can in a small amount of time and their first thing to do is to advance the power of England on land and over waters.
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Additionally, Germany’s sudden emergence was unprecedented. It came as a shock to England which strengthened England's ambition to become the top country. According to Document B, “It would be wise if we Germans would learn about colonial skills from our Anglo-Sax-on cousins and would begin a friendly competition strive after them.” Germany came Into the Berlin Conference not knowing anything about colonizing a country. They figured that they could take notes from England and then become their competition.
Lastly, the fight to be the top nation was not only between England and Germany but, it was also between England and France. According to Document A, the image of the map shows that France had colonized the majority of Northern West Africa which is about ⅓ of the continent.
Equally important there were other reasons for imperialism in Africa such as Economic gain, Technology, and, Ethnocentrism between Europeans and Africans. According to Document E, imports coming from Africa in 1854 were about 4 million pounds, and exports coming to Africa in 1854 were about 3 million pounds. Whereas after Great Britain entered the picture numbers skyrocketed to about 7 million pounds in imports and about 21 million pounds in exports. As far as technology, European colonies produced things that could help lead healthier lives and win battles. According to Document D, what we know as Angola which was colonized by Portugal produced cotton, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coffee, and sugar. Belgian colonies produced rubber and ivory. French colonies produced things like gum, peanuts, bananas, cotton, and cocoa. English colonies produced copper, gold, zinc, lead, gold, and diamonds. On the Technological hand, European inventions helped take over Africa including medical treatments for malaria, the electric telegraph, the maxim gun, the repeating rifle, and the steam engine. The last reason for African imperialism is the belief that Europe is far superior to Africa. According to Document F, Rudyard Kipling states in his poem titled “White Man’s Burden”. He states “Send forth the best ye breed, Go bind your sons to exile, To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild-Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child …” The poem provokes the ethnocentric idea that Africans are inferior to Europeans. In a speech given by Lobengula Khumalo, chief of the South African Ndebele tribe, he describes how a chameleon catches their prey. This case is similar to how European explorers used deception to enslave Africans. He ends his speech with “ England is the chameleon and I am that fly.”
Finally, it can be concluded that the driving force behind African Imperialism was national competition. Great Britain knew that the first thing they should do was advance the power of England. Germany’s sudden emergence was unprecedented and they were also in competition for the lead nation. They figured that they would learn from England and then they’d begin in a “friendly” competition for colonies. Even though there are other determining factors as to what was the cause of African imperialism including economic gain, technological advances, and ethnocentrism.
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