How Did Colonialism Affect West Africa In The Late 1800s

Colonial expansion throughout West Africa instigated in the late 1400s, when Europeans disembarked and established trading posts in Africa. Europeans generated an interest in West Africa predominantly between the 1400s and 1800s, and especially regarding the coastal regions of Africa. This is where they first set up trading posts and focused on trade with the local peoples of Africa. Colonial advance in West Africa ranged from trade relations to formal colonial rule. The colonial development of West Africa was in its highest effect in the late 1800s and early 1900s, this is when several parts of the continent were controlled by European powers. Economic, political, and social factors were the key influences in which lead to the
As Europeans became more enthralled by the Africa’s copious supply of natural resources, they pursued to exploit the impending prosperity. In order to attain this desire, they endeavoured to suppress Africans and impose on them to comply with foreign rule. Opposing European nations competed to colonize as much African territory as achievable and consequently, this determination to establish colonies and acquire raw resources provoked the "Scramble for Africa” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). This battle to claim land and establish colonial settlements was at first set out by Great Britain. Belgium, France, and Portugal, where many individuals attempted to get African rulers to sign treaties that would surrender control of their lands (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). The “Scramble for Africa” was initiated in 1884-1885 through the Berlin Conference at which the African continent was divided among European powers (Stahl; Timeline, 2018). Representatives from several European nations met at this conference to deliberate procedures to evade conflict over the rivalry for African colonies. The result was an agreement on a set of rules for seizing land (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). For example, Osei Tutu (2014) describes how Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, only came into existence after this division of Africa in 1884-1885. By the late 1880s, European powers had divided up most of the continent among themselves, with little regard to the African