European Acquisition of Africa Essay Example

colonial policy is pursued for the purpose of capitalist exploitation and for displaying military force”, and rejecting the “greedy desire of the bourgeoisie”. (Document 9) Numerous people believed that imperialism brought the opportunity to enlighten and civilize the “barbaric” natives of Africa.

These people claimed it not only as their right, but their duty to bring modern civilization to these people. Prince Leopold, the future king of Belgium, even spoke on the subject, expressing the importance of leading uncivilized countries into progress. (Document 1) Martial Henri Merlin stated in a speech in 1910 that, “France went [to Africa] by virtue of the right of a civilized, fully developed race to occupy territories then have been left fallow by backward peoples. He supported his argument by saying such people were unable to “develop the wealth of their land” due to the fact that they were “plunged into barbarism. ” It is important to recognize that Merlin became the governor general of French Equatorial Africa, meaning he directly benefited from his countries African acquisition and would therefore support the possibility of economic gains. (Document 11) Political leaders supported African colonization as a way to gain greater global authority.

The British Prime Minister of the time, Benjamin Disraeli, spoke of the possibilities that could come with the purchase of the Suez Canal in his 1876 speech to the House of Commons, saying it would “strengthen the empire. ” Due to the political influence and stature he could gain as prime minister, it would only be expected that Disraeli would be supporting the idea of an acquisition. (Document 2) Comparably, Prince Leopold thought the acquisition of African

lands would be an “opportunity to prove to the world that Belgians are also an imperial people capable of domination and enlightening others. This statement shows the difficulty and pressure of being a smaller European power in the race to colonize and gain influence. (Document 1) A French diplomat, Eugene-Melchoir de Vogue, expressed the same feelings when he wrote, “any country that does not wish to become less important must obtain as much territory relatively as our rivals are doing. ” All these political leaders viewed colonization as an unavoidable part of the pursuit of global power. (Document 10)

The Age of Imperialism forced Europe to consider the advantages and disadvantages of colonization, along with what was morally correct. Political figures often lent their support to such a movement because of the way it contributed to the status of their nations. The masses disagreed from these beliefs because of the wealth acquired from the new African territories, which could be interpreted as exploitation. Still, others believed that it was their duty as a more civilized people to bring enlightenment to the native “barbarians” and bring them into modern times.