American Imperialism In Africa In The Late 1800s

Between the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s Africa was overrun by European countries trying to gain as much land as possible in Africa. But this really began much earlier. From the 1500’s all the way to the early 1800’s the main reason different countries went to Africa was to trade for slaves. But it wasn’t easy since there was a disease call Malaria that killed the Europeans that were unfortunate to contact it. Then, in 1807, slavery was banned. The reason for going to Africa really disappeared, nevertheless, people were still curious to what lay in the mysterious continent. Consequently, their attention slowly led to exploration, for most of Africa by 1800 was unexplored. Then the spark was ignited. In around the decade of 1880, King Leopold
This impressed the other European countries, though not the Africans themselves. Belgium's managers enslaved these poor people and overworked them to get the profit they needed. In total they killed around 10 million people, in that era. It wasn’t a good beginning for Africa’s imperialism. While Belgium was too busy over working people, the European leaders were becoming enlightened with the fact that Africa was filled with natural resources and it could lead to war if they all tried to get at it. Then in 1884 to 1885 there was a conference of the European nations to diverge the land of Africa. The nations, though, had certain principles that they had to follow. Examples of these principles were elimination of slavery and improving ¨moral and material well-being”of Africans. However the Africans, themselves weren't invited (Document BE). But the question for now is, what was the driving force behind European imperialism in Africa? And to answer that question I respond with, the driving forces behind European imperialism was for wealth, power, and changes of morals for the African
Rudyard Kipling , in his poem “The White Man’s Burden”, he explains how the Europeans were actually trying to help the people in Africa, to be more civilized. “Your new-caught sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child. Take up the White Man’s burden-the savage wars of peace-fill full the mouth of famine, and bid the sickness ease.” Kipling is trying to say that the Europeans were trying to aid the Africans, considering they lived in famine and sickness. They wanted to reach their “goal” to bring these people into their way of living. And in also Ruskin’s speech, it also says, “there teaching these her colonists...that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea.” Ruskin is saying how the people need to help the Africans learn to become really a part of the empire, and learn to be civilized, and learn to the power of England is greater than