European Acquisition of Africa Essay Example
European Acquisition of Africa Essay Example

European Acquisition of Africa Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (717 words)
  • Published: January 4, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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Between the years of 1878 and 1914, the demand for overseas empires in Africa greatly increased. European powers acted upon this, as many influential government officials thought colonization was an important step to gaining global influence. Some believed the African colonization was an excuse, fabricated by greedy capitalists, to gain raw materials and search for new markets, while others felt they were just doing their duty to God by civilizing the “barbaric” natives.

Many debated that colonization was a misuse of Africa’s resources driven purely by capitalist ideals, with those who gained from the colonization defending their actions with the theory of “the white man’s burden”, or the duty to bring civilization and enlightenment to the native people of Africa, while European political figures claimed to promote the colonization of Africa with the intention of gaining gl

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obal influence. Africa held an abundance of new sources and materials to offer through European colonization, but the morality of such endeavors caused for disagreement.

The British industrialist, Joseph Chamberlain, contended in an 1888 speech that overseas expansion was not only advantageous to a society, but also utterly necessary. Although he made valid points, his argument was skewed due to his inclination to increase his own personal wealth as an industrialist. (Document 4) British imperialist, Cecil Rhodes, exposed his personal intentions of imperialism when he stated, “philanthropy is good, but philanthropy at five percent is even better. (Document 5)

In contrast, William Clark disagreed and deemed the military as the “tool” of financers hoping to maximize profit in Africa. (Document 7) This opinion was similar to the German Social Democratic party who argued, “the

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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.

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