Dbq Essay On African American Imperialism

Decent Essays
Imperialism DBQ Essay In the 19th and 20th centuries Europe (the stronger nation) dominated Africa (the weaker nation) economically,politically,culturally, and militarily. It all started in 1880 when European started slowly to control countries in Africa then it began to go faster, starting the scramble for Africa.The European brought imperialism in the 19-20th centuries to Africa to gain power,resources,and other things that could profit them. For years Africans were mistreated by Europeans and struggled under their rule.The Europeans stripped Africans of their culture and their ways of doing things as well. But as European forced them to do thing for them so Africans learned things and grew stronger and smarter. As they grew smarter they …show more content…
“African military recruits and european military recruits fought alongside each other...Most importantly,Africans saw that Europeans could be challenged and defeated by the way they fight (Class Notes pg.18)”. This evidence means that africans are learning new techniques and also the European techniques so they could possibly gain their independence. Also fighting along them increases their military smarts and they could have a high military force. This supports my thesis claim that European imperialism did more to improve the lives of africans in the 19th and 20th centuries because the africans gained knowledge about having a military force that they might not have ever come to know if the europeans didn't imperialize them. “The industrial revolution allowed europeans to explore… New weapons (machine gun)...(Class Notes pg.6)”. This quote is saying that during the imperialism in Africa there was a industrial revolution going on in Europe. So, therefore weapons were improving for the better such as the invention of the machine gun which killed more people faster. Now, the africans had access to better weapons that made their military more efficient.This supports my thesis claim that European imperialism did more to improve the lives of Africans in the 19th and 20th centuries because it upgraded the military forces of african

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    During the 1880’s harsh European imperialism took place in Africa. Africa was divided up for other European nations and in the end only two African countries remained free. European countries fought for rule in Africa to the brink of war. But, what was the driving force behind this European imperialism? Based on evidence provided by Docs A-F, Technology, political and economic causes were all factors in the Europeans imperializing.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There was a lot going on in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the Industrial Revolution starting and exploration around the world was beginning, more and more powerful people were fighting over who gets what land and this created competition, which then brought on imperialism in africa because that land hadn’t been “claimed” yet. Many people wonder what the main driving force or reasons for imperialism in Africa, imperialism is an action by a strong nation to take control of another country. The main three reasons for imperialism beginning in Africa, are competition, the industrial revolution and exploration. Industrial Revolution was just beginning in Europe and it was spreading, this was a huge part of imperialism in Africa. In document C it shows a chart and in this chart there is the new things that were being invented such as, faster forms of transportation, treatment for new tropical diseases, communication over long distances, a quicker and cheaper method of manufacturing, and new weapons to make their soldiers even stronger.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By taking control over Africans, European imperialism left the nation unprepared for their own independence, changing all aspects of Africans lives negatively. European imperialism took control over Africans lives politically. By controlling their entire government. Many countries were trying to gain power with the politics in Africa. Some of the countries…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While one might argue that the forced labor of Africans by the colonialists simply created infrastructure to advance industrialize and advance the physical framework of Africa, in reality the industrialization of Africa created slave labor in Africa that dehumanized, crippled and abused the African people. Though initially forced to work and create infrastructure, later Africans became financially dependent on these jobs; the result was migrant labor and African people having to leave their homes to find work and support their…

    • 1597 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What Motivated the Europeans to Colonize Africa In the early 1870s and 1900s, Africa faced European imperialist aggressions, diplomatic pressures, and invasions by the Europeans, and eventually conquered the nation, and then colonizing it. At the same time, African communities put up various forms of resistance against the temptation to colonize their countries and to foist foreign superiority. The Europeans not only wanted to own the colony, but also wanted the land because you will be able to grow anything naturally.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There was pronounced imperialism in African countries a key example being the British rules in Kenya. The largest colonizers of the African countries were French and the British although other groups were also involved an example being Belgium that colonized Congo. The main purpose of colonization was to support the ‘mother’ countries, and this led to the massive taking of the natural resources that were taken by the colonial masters to drive their industrialized economies. Agricultural products that included coffee and horticultural products were taken from Kenya to Britain. There was also taking of human labor and individuals were forced to grow cash crops instead of food crops.…

    • 158 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Inhumane Use of African Americans During the Colonial Era In the early 1600’s the inhumane transporting and enslaving of African Americans in the American colonies began. Although the English settlers required agricultural labor during the Colonial Era, their use of the African American slaves was unjust. The English did not provide sufficient housing, clothing, or nutrition for the African American slaves, nor did the settlers have any regards for their families. The English also overworked the slaves and gave them brutal and inhumane punishments.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Europeans thought they were improving Africa. They may have initiated new methods of transportation, improved the infrastructure, and introduced new crops to better agriculture. However, the Europeans caused new conflicts to erupt such as civil wars to begin among the different ethnic groups within a colony, forced labor, segregated families, and reaped the African resources. In conclusion, Chinua Achebe shows how drastically life changed for Nigerians (Africans in general), as he accurately portrays imperialism and Ibo culture to a high…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 6 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although 1700-1914 saw both the Americas and Africa face extreme pressure from European powers, which outgunned and outnumbered them in every battle, the American Revolution ideologically paved the way for various Latin American peoples to pursue the freedoms that were starting to develop around the world. On the other hand, Africa saw most of its imperial resistance as futile in the face of these more developed and powerful nations, who completely disregarded existing social, political, and economic structures in order to brutally claim the land. The Americas and Africa had each been placed under the oppression of various classic European powers. The British, French, and Spanish were the dominant nations that took control of distinct regions…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the late 1800s, Africa was a country known for its abundant supply of resources, which led to the Europeans wanting to colonize it. The European ‘superpowers’, such as the British, the Belgians, and a few more came to Africa, in an attempt to colonize it and make use of its plentiful resources and people. Through this whole process, European colonization left many negative effects on the continent of Africa and severely impacted the native people. Proven by historical documents, the European colonization of Africa has created lasting negative effects, including long-term economic and political instability, as well as socio-cultural, economic…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The latter half of the nineteenth century was an era of unprecedented rapid expansion for European civilization. This growth was the result of multiple factors originating from within Europe— such as the Industrial Revolution, and the development of the highly organized nature of European nation-states— but had consequences that resonated far outside European borders (Jones). The expansion of European industry and economy created an inter-European power struggle, and “one way to demonstrate national preeminence was through the acquisition of territories around the world” (Iweriebor). This acquisition of territories included Africa, and by the start of the twentieth century, most of the African continent had been conquered by only a handful…

    • 1902 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The scramble for Africa, which lasted from 1876 to 1914, was a brutal imperialistic act. The conquest was led by a man named King Leopold ll. He was born in 1835, and was made king in 1865. Leopold gained territory as the Congo Free State. Great Britain wanted to gain territory, and ended up taking control of a big part of the African continent.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although Europe created an empire in Africa for raw materials for industrial goods, I also believe that belief of racial superiority played a large role in Europe’s desire to expand and control. As the idea of scientific investigation spread more commonly in Europe, people began to explore racial differences. After some poorly conducted experiments, the Europeans decided that whites had large skulls than any other races, therefore they must be the most developed (Strayer and Nelson, 800). Europeans also had remarkable military technology, inventions such as the Maxim gun made the Europeans nearly invincible in fights against less armed Africans. This combination of scientific racism and military superiority created a narcissistic ego for Europeans.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The idea of technological advance in Europe and stagnation of technology in Africa made Africa result to trading with Europe . The introduction of trading companies that were established to move goods to and from the colonies was also responsible for exhausting a great part of the Africa’s resources that were produced by the Africans . There is also evidence in places such as Tanganyika where Africans been forced to grow cash crops for the Europeans on their own land. A Kenyan white settler was quoted saying, “we have stolen their land and now we must steal his limbs” . Also it can be noted that after the economic depression ended the Europe countries went to war and they ended up recruiting the Africans to fight for…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Given the limited focus on African history in Western education this book provides an eye-opening experience, which challenges the dominant understanding that the West can do no harm, perhaps one of Rodney’s goals in writing this particular piece. Although the book’s discussion of African history ends in the 1970’s, this does not make it any less valid today, as many of the patterns described by Rodney can be observed in present day African society. An argument can be made that the aid industry in Africa is following a similar trajectory to formal colonialism and only goes to further Rodney’s original thesis that the only true way to develop Africa is through a severance of ties with the international capitalist economy. Overall, Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa was a refreshing read, which challenged Western accounts of African history. His arguments were well supported and have stood the test of time; both of which are important for academic texts.…

    • 1752 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited
    Great Essays