what were some of the factors that led european nations to practice imperialism in africa
The colonisation of Africa was part of a global European process reaching all the continents of the globe. European colonisation and domination changed the earth dramatically. Historians argue that the rushed imperial conquest of the African continent by the European powers started with Male monarch Leopold Ii of Belgium when he involved European powers to proceeds recognition in Belgium. The Scramble for Africa took place during the New Imperialism between 1881 and 1914. The focus of this lesson will exist on the causes and results of European colonisation of the African continent, with special focus on the Ashanti kingdom (colonised past the British as the Gilded Coast, and today the independent African land of Republic of ghana).
European colonisation of Africa in the late 19th century
Africa before European colonisation
Due to worldwide insufficiency of world cognition, the size and abilities of Africa as a continent was majorly undermined and oversimplified. Before colonisation, Africa was characterised by widespread flexibility in terms of movement, governance, and daily lifestyles. The continent consisted not of airtight reproducing entities, equipped with unique unchanging cultures, only of more than fluid units that would readily comprise outsiders into the community with the status that they accepted its community, and where the sense of obligation and solidarity went beyond that of the nuclear family. Pre- colonial societies were highly varied, where they were either stateless, run past the state or run by kingdoms. The notion of communalism was accepted and proficient widely; land was held unremarkably and could not exist bought or sold, although other things, such equally cattle, were owned individually. In those societies that were not stateless, the chiefs ran the daily diplomacy of the tribe together with 1 or more councils. The colonisation of Africa through Europe brought about many forms of government that are still visible today. Earlier colonisation, all the same, there were many forms of government in Africa, ranging from powerful empires to decentralised groups of pastoralists and hunters.
The utilize of iron tools marks a significant turning point in African civilization. Iron tools enhanced weaponry, allowed groups to manage and clear dense and thick forests, plough fields for farming, and making everyday life more convenient. Considering the atomic number 26 tools immune Africans to flourish in their natural environment, they could live in larger communities which led to the germination of kingdoms and states. With this creation came the germination of modern civilizations, mutual languages, belief and value systems, art, religion, lifestyle and culture. Another unique characteristic of pre- European Africa was the favouring of oral tradition within these societies. Stories were told and handed downward generations in verbal course. This poses a threat to the survival of these stories because certain aspects could exist forgotten or told in a different way. National borders were also not much of a business before colonization. European countries fought over African countries mainly for their natural resource. Lines were drawn through African communities which had existed for many years, and these lines can before long be seen as national borders. "A cursory history of European Colonisation in Africa"
Berlin Briefing 1884
The Conference of Berlin and British 'New' Imperialism, also known as the "Congo conference" began. In 1884 at the request of Portugal, German Chancellor Otto von Bismark called together the major western powers of the world to negotiate questions and terminate confusion over the control of Africa. The countries represented at the time included Austria-hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Cracking Britain, Italy, holland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Kingdom of norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the Us of America. Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Uk, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, decision-making near of colonial Africa at the time. Britain, France, Deutschland, Belgium, Italian republic, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power within European ability politics. One way to demonstrate national pre-eminence was through the acquisition of territories effectually the world, including Africa. Some other reason for European interest in Africa is the industrialization when major social bug grew in Europe: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas, etc. These social bug developed partly considering not all people could be absorbed by the new backer industries. Europe saw the colonization of Africa equally an opportunity to acquire a surplus population, thus settler colonies were created. With this invasion, many European countries saw Africa as beingness bachelor to their disposal. However, several disputes took place regarding which European country would colonise a specific African country. Thus, in 1884, Portugal proposed a conference in which 14 European countrieswould meet in Berlin regarding the partition of Africa, without the presence of Africa.
The initial task of the conference was to concur that the Congo River and Niger River mouths and basins would exist considered neutral and open to trade. Despite its neutrality, part of the Kongo Bowl became a personal Kingdom (private property) for Belgium's King Leopold II and under his dominion, over half of the region's population died. At the fourth dimension of the conference, only the coastal areas of Africa were colonized by the European powers. At the Berlin Briefing the European colonial powers scrambled to gain command over the Interior of the Continent. The briefing lasted until Feb 26, 1885 – a three calendar month flow where colonial powers haggled over geometric boundaries in the interior of the continent, disregarding the cultural and linguistic boundaries already established by the Native Ethnic African population. What ultimately resulted was a hodgepodge of geometric boundaries that divided Africa into 50 irregular countries.
"The Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference"
Causes of colonisation
The reasons for African colonisation were mainly economic, political and religious. During this time of colonisation, an economic low was occurring in Europe, and powerful countries such as Frg, France, and Neat Britain, were losing money. Africa seemed to be out of damage'southward way and had an abundance of raw materials from which Europe could make money from. Due to inexpensive labour of Africans, Europeans easily acquired products similar oil, ivory, rubber, palm oil, wood, cotton and glue. These products became of greater significance due to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. Africa's colonisation was as well as a result of European rivalries, where Britain and French republic had beenin a dispute since the Hundred Year'due south War. These countries became involved in a race to acquire more territory on the African continent, but this race was open to all European countries. United kingdom had had some success in halting the slave trade effectually the shores of Africa. Only inland the story was different -- Muslim traders from north of the Sahara and on the Due east Coast nonetheless traded inland, and many local chiefs were reluctant to surrender the use of slaves.
During the nineteenth century barely a yr went past without a European trek into Africa. The blast in exploration was triggered to a dandy extent past the creation of the African Clan past wealthy Englishmen in 1788, and equally they travelled, they started to tape details of markets, appurtenances, and resources for the wealthy philanthropists who financed their trips. With the beginning of colonisation in Africa, morality became an increasing consequence. The Europeans could not cover the existence of the Muslim Swahili trade which made them want to implement the Three C's: Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization. Start, Europe experienced a Christian revival in the 19th century.
Missionaries began to focus on the big working class with the goal of bringing spiritual salvation to the workers and their families. The bible was made available to workers. Due to their large successes, missionaries began to look beyond Europe. Missions were established all over Africa. Missionaries did not serve as direct agents of European imperialism, yet they drew European governments deeper into Africa. In their efforts to preach Christianity, to bring western-way teaching to Africa and to ingrain monogamy in African societies, missionaries ofttimes felt threatened by warfare within Africa. Hence, missionaries called on European governments for protection and intervention. Second, for centuries, European explorers have travelled throughout the African continent in their attempts to observe new things and to chart the African continent.
Trade would be well instantiated; the work of the Suez Canal Company at the northward-eastern tip of Africa had been completed in 1869. Lastly, Livingstone believed that civilisation could be achieved through goodgovernment andeducation. The combination of these 3 elements, Livingstone believed, would end human suffering in Africa, and the ultimate level of civilisation would be achieved within the continent. .Christianity would therefore provide the moral principles that would guide Africans, while education and commerce would encourage Africans to produce their ain goods to trade with Europeans. For this to work a operation and legitimate governing organization was needed to ensure the civil rights of the people.
Patterns of colonisation: which countries colonised which parts of Africa
By 1900 a significant role of Africa had been colonized by mainly seven European powers—U.k., France, Frg, Kingdom of belgium, Espana, Portugal, and Italian republic. After the conquest of African decentralized and centralized states, the European powers prepare most establishing colonial state systems. The colonial state was the machinery of administrative domination established to facilitate effective control and exploitation of the colonized societies. Colonial states were authoritarian, bureaucratic systems, partly due to their origins in military conquest and the racist credo of the imperialist enterprise. The French directed their attention to the active economies of the Niger Delta, the Lagos Hinterland and the Gold Coast.
Why European Countries were able to colonise Africa so rapidly
The European countries were able to colonise African countries apace because there were rivalries between African leaders. These kings and chiefs were competing with each other to be the richest and most powerful within their tribes. During these rivalries, European leaders would have advantage of the state of affairs and persuaded some leaders to be on their side to fight against other leaders. Natural disasters besides played a big role in the rapid and piece of cake colonisation of Africa. In 1895, a serious drought reached many regions in Africa which was caused by a sudden decline in rainfall. Inappreciably any crops were produced, and the food shortage which followed acquired the decease of many people and animals. The trivial crops that were produced were destroyed by a plague of locusts. In add-on to this plague, the cattle plague broke outduring the 1890'southward which killed cattle, sheep and goats. This led to even more deaths of animals and people, and due to their physical and mental weakness, they were unable to fight confronting European powers.
European powers could hands take control of whatever source of state past using force and violence. They achieved this past using more powerful weapons, and had the reward of the newly invented car gun called the Maxim gun which was invented in the 1880's. This gun could burn eleven bullets per second, and outdid the weapons that the African forces had. African armies did not manage to get hold of European weapons because information technology was not sold to them. Thus Africans were at a military disadvantage. An outbreak of new diseases made an advent during the late 1890'sand the starting time one was a range of smallpox epidemics. The Europeans who were already in Africa had developed amnesty to these diseases due to past experiences of these outbreaks in Europe. The indigenous African population had no immunity or resistance to these diseases and thus weakened the African population. A large number of the African population thus died out, or became too weak to fight dorsum.
Results of colonization
The impact that colonisation had on Africa can exist described every bit both expert and bad. In terms of European political practice in Africa, all colonising countries share like attributes. Colonial political systems were united nations-democratic; Police and Order, as well as Peace, was a primary objective of colonial governments; Colonial governments lacked capacity and Colonial governments good "divide and dominion." Firstly, colonial governments did not permit pop participation, and all political decisions were made past the modest political aristocracy with no or little input from the African population. Secondly, the African population was not satisfied with the mode that Europeans imposed on their governing system without any proper representation, thus the maintenance of peace under the African population was fabricated an important priority for the colonial authorities. Thirdly, seeing as virtually colonial governments were not rich, they did non fund the governing of their colonies fully. Although they were responsible for raising the money for their own colonies, they still lacked the incometo properly develop and maintain a successful governing system. This meant that colonial governments were not able to provide basic infrastructure, such as roads and advice networks, nor were they able to provide basic social services such as education, health care, and housing. Lastly, the principle of "separate and rule" meant that policies that intentionally weakened indigenous power networks and institutions were implemented.
Due tothe lack of revenue within the colonies, footling attention was given to promoting social change or development. Although all the colonies did not experience the same extent of social change, these colonies share the same characteristics in terms of social change. Firstly, colonial and political practices caused a large scale motility of people. In some areas, migrations were primarily from one rural area to some other. In other places, the migration was from rural areas to urban areas. These movements resulted in dislocation of peoples that impacted society and culture. Social and cultural beliefs and practices were challenged past these migrations. Long-held practices had to exist adapted, and at times were completed abandoned, to fit the new colonial circumstances. Secondly, and partly due to the first issue, the dislocation of families too occurred. Men mainly left the household to work in mines and on plantations, leaving their wives and children behind. As a outcome, women and adolescents were forced to take on new roles and to cope in absence of their husbands and fathers. Due to colonialism, the African family unit structure had been severely changed.
Prior to colonialism, the extended family construction (family that extends across the immediate family) was the norm in most African societies, but by the end of colonial era, the nuclear family unit (family consisting of a pair of adults/ parents and their children) was becoming the norm in many African countries. Thirdly, urbanization emerged as colonization was imposed. During colonialism, urbanization occurred fairly rapidly in many African colonies. A number of pre-colonial African societies had towns and small cities. Nonetheless, even in these societies, most people were engaged in agronomics in rural villages or homesteads. Urban living resulted in changes in economic activities and occupation, and in changes in the way people lived. These changes ofttimes challenged existing values, beliefs, and social practices. Fourthly, the religious behavior of Africans were adjusted or changed. A modest percentage of the African population regarded themselves equally Christians, and today more than than half of the African population is Christians. Colonial rule provided an environs in which Christianity, in many forms, spread in many parts of Africa. While Islam was widespread in Africa prior to the coming of colonialism, it also benefited from colonialism. British and French colonial officials actively discouraged Christian mission work in Muslim areas.
Lastly, the public education organization of African was besides inverse. The majority of colonial governments did picayune to support schools. Nearly formal schooling African colonies were a result of the work of missionaries. Missionaries felt that education and schools were essential to their mission. Their chief business organization was the conversion of people to Christianity. Missionaries believed that the ability of African peoples to read the Bible in their own language was important to the conversion process. However, most mission societies were not wealthy, and they could non support the number of schools that they really wanted. Consequently, with limited regime back up, most African children did non go to school during the colonial era. In fact at the end of colonial rule, no colony could state that more than than half of their children finished elementary schoolhouse, and far fewer attended secondary schoolhouse.
"Colonialism'southward impact on Africa"
Instance Study: The Ashanti kingdom
The coast of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans
West Africans developed an extensive self-contained trading organization, based on skilled manufacture. From the 8th century Muslim traders, from North Africa and Arab countries, began to attain the region. Gradually, communities began to convert to Islam. Past the end of the 11th century some entire states, and influential individuals in others, were Muslim. At the aforementioned time, West African merchandise slowly expanded towards Egypt and perchance India. Arabic texts mention that from the belatedly eighth century Ghana was considered 'the country of gold'. Mali also possessed great wealth. In 1324-five, when Mansa Musa, its emperor, made a pilgrimage to Mecca, he took then much gold with him that in Egypt, which he also visited, the value of the metal was debased. Prior to the European voyages of exploration in the fifteenth century, African rulers and merchants had established merchandise links with the Mediterranean world, western asia, and the Indian Ocean region. Within the continent itself, local exchanges amidst adjacent peoples fit into a greater framework of long-range merchandise.
The Ashanti and their early contact with European traders and explorers
The Ashanti kingdom, or Asante, dominated much of the present-day state of Ghana. Information technology was ruled by an ethnic group chosen the Akan, which in turn was composed of up to 38 subgroups, such every bit the Bekiai, Adansi, Juabin, Kokofu, Kumasi, Mampon, Nsuta, Nkuwanta, Dadussi, Daniassi, Ofinsu, and Adjitai. Gold Coast began encountering European traders in the mid-1400s, when the Portuguese began trading with coastal peoples. Past the seventeenth century, many European trading giants including the British, Dutch and French began building fortifications along the coastline in order to assert their positions. These interactions were to have a profound effect on African coastal settlements and African institutions came under considerable European influence very early on. West Africa had a long history of connexion to trans-Saharan gold trade, and from the 15th century was drawn into trade with Europe, in gold and increasingly in slaves. The Ashanti kingdom had emerged from the mid- 17th century, benefitting from admission both to rich agricultural resources and gold, much of the labour for production of which was provided past a domestic slave trade.
Many parts of West Africa was still unknown to the residue of the earth, thus By the late 15th century and early 16th century many European nations like Portugal started to send the missionaries and explorers to investigate diverse parts of Africa and West Africa in particular. As early on as in the 19th century European powers similar France, Frg, and Britain likewise sent number of missionaries, explorers, traders and philanthropists in West Africa. These groups were sent in Africa to investigate the needed cognition about Africans, their history and culture, mostly cognition about raw materials, visibility, potential areas and the nature of African population British traders had operated off what was to become known equally the "Gold Coast" with little direct intervention by British authorities.
When the Ashanti kingdom showed ambitions to expand its control southwards in negotiating treaties with African authorities and protecting trading interests, the British invaded Ashanti in 1874 and burnt its capital. The majority of European Explorers spent their time to investigate and to detail the interior and coast of Due west Africa to help European powers that were searching areas with potential materials as European countries were experiencing mushrooming of industries. Explores assisted the European merchant groups; penetration of due west Africa interior in 18th century was real a hard and difficult but with the aid of explorers, European merchant groups had advantage of trading in West Africa freely with assurance of security of themselves and their trading commodities.
The British and the colonisation of the Aureate Coast
As United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland increasingly colonised more than and more African countries, the British had go the dominant power along the coast, and they began annexing and laying claim to territory gradually. The expansion of the Asante kingdom towards the coast was the major cause of this, every bit the British began to fear that the Asante would come up to monopolise coastal merchandise in their identify. The British placed the Governor of neighbouring Sierra Leone, which was already annexed, in accuse of British forts and settlements forth the coast. He formed an unfavourable opinion of the Asante, and began the long process of attempting to bring them under British control. However, disputes over jurisdiction of the area known as Ashanti led to war between the British and the Asante, and in 1824, the Asante succeeded in killing the Governor as well as 7 of his men. In retaliation, the British (with the aid of tribes oppressed by the Asante, including the Fante and the Ga) beat the Asante dorsum in 1826, and successfully concluded their dominance of littoral regions. The establishment of British law and jurisdiction in the colony was a gradual procedure, just the 1844 Bond with the Fante is popularly considered to exist its truthful beginning. This recognised the power of British officials and British common police force in the Gold Declension and over the Fante people. In 1850, a Governor was appointed to Golden Coast who was not also Governor of Sierra Leone, and this is how the colony of Golden Coast was born. A supreme court was established in 1853, and led to British common law becoming enforced. All the same, all of this brought financial challenges, and saw the policy of making the colonies pay come up in to forcefulness in the Gold Coast for the commencement time.
The British fought against the Ashanti four times in the 19th century and suppressed a last insurgence in 1900 before claiming the region as a colony. The kickoff Anglo-Ashanti War began in 1823 after the Ashanti defeated a pocket-size British forcefulness under Sir Charles McCarthy and converted his skull into a drinking cup. It ended with a standoff later on the British beat an Ashanti army near the coast in 1826. After two generations of relative peace, more violence occurred in 1863 when the Ashanti invaded the British "protectorate" along the coast in retaliation for the refusal of Fanti leaders to return a fugitive slave. The result was another stand-off, but the British took casualties and public opinion at dwelling started to view the Gold Coast as a quagmire. In 1873, the Second Ashanti State of war began after the British took possession of the remaining Dutch trading posts along the declension, giving British firms a regional monopoly on the trade betwixt Africans and Europe. The Ashanti had long viewed the Dutch as allies, so they invaded the British protectorate forth the coast. A British army led past Full general Wolseley waged a successful campaign against the Ashanti that led to a brief occupation of Kumasi and a "treaty of protection" signed by the Ashantehene (leader) of Ashanti, ending the war in July 1874. This war was covered by a number of news correspondents (including H. M. Stanley) and the "victory" excited the imagination of the European public.
In 1894, the Third Anglo-Ashanti War began following British press reports that a new Ashantehene named Prempeh committed acts of cruelty and atrocity. Strategically, the British used the war to insure their control over the gold fields before the French, who were advancing on all sides, could claim them. In 1896, the British government formally annexed the territories of the Ashanti and the Fanti. In 1900, a concluding uprising took place when the British governor of Golden Coast (Hodgson) unilaterally attempted to depose the Ashantehene past seizing the symbol of his authority, the Golden Stool. The British were victorious and reoccupied Kumasi permanently. On September 26, 1901 the British created the Crown Colony of Aureate Declension. The change in the Gold Coast'southward status from "protectorate" to "crown colony" meant that relations with the inhabitants of the region were handled by the Colonial Office, rather than the Foreign Office. That implied that the British no longer recognized the Ashanti or the Fanti as having independent governments.
Results of colonisation of the Ashanti kingdom and Britain
In December 1895, Sir Francis Scott left Cape Coast with an expedition force. It arrived in Kumasi in January 1896. The Asantehene directed the Ashanti to not resist. Shortly thereafter, Governor William Maxwell arrived in Kumasi also. Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh was deposed and arrested. Great britain annexed the territories of the Ashanti and the Fanti in 1896, and Ashanti leaders were sent into exile in the Seychelles. The Asante Wedlock was dissolved. Robert Baden-Powell led the British in this campaign. The British formally declared the littoral regions to be the Gilded Coast colony. A British Resident was permanently placed in the city, and presently after a British fort.
As a final mensurate of resistance, the remaining Asante court not exiled to the Republic of seychelles mounted an offensive against the British Residents at the Kumasi Fort. The resistance was led past Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen-Mother of Ejisu. From March 28 to late-September 1900, the Asante and British were engaged in what would become known as the War of the Gilt Stool. On March 28, 1900 Governor Frederick Hodgson met with the chiefs at Kumasi and demanded that the Asante hand over the sacred Golden Stool to him. On April 25 the telegraph wires were cutting, and Kumasi was surrounded. 30 British were dying per solar day in June. On June 23 three officers and 150 fabricated a sortie and managed to escape. Governor Hodgson reached Greatcoat Coast on July 10. The British sent 1,400 troops from other parts of Africa, and the Asante'south ix-calendar month struggle for independence failed. In March 1901 Governor Matthew Nathan visited Kumasi, and he deported 16 Ashanti leaders and imprisoned 31 at Elmina. The people were disarmed, and just licensed hunters could carry guns. The British annexed the Asante confederacy as a Crown Colony and did not allow chiefs to dominion in Kumasi until Prempeh became Kumasihene in 1926. In the end, Asantewaa and other Ashanti leaders were too sent to Seychelles to bring together Prempeh I. In January 1902, U.k. finally added Asante to its protectorates on the Gilded Coast.
Asante was forcibly incorporated into the British Gold Coast colony in 1902, along with farther territory to its immediate north which had non belonged to the kingdom itself. The later addition of British Togoland creates borders for the colony that are substantially those that exist for modern Ghana. When the British defeated the Ashanti people, they collected all the gold treasures of the area. In add-on to this, the Ashanti people lost their independence. They did not receive any political rights in the Gilded Declension and ability was taken away from legitimate Ashanti leaders. People were forced off their state onto farms or factories which ultimately fabricated the British richer. The British then spent money on things that volition improve their ability to remove wealth and natural resource from the Gilded Coast. They built railroads and roads, only only to their own do good in order for products to be shipped off to Europe.
schillersains1999.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/grade-8-term-3-scramble-africa-late-19th-century
0 Response to "what were some of the factors that led european nations to practice imperialism in africa"
Post a Comment