Driving Forces Behind European Imperialism In Africa

Do you ever wonder what the driving forces were behind the crazy European imperialism in Africa during the 19th century? Between 1500 and 1800 the main reason Europeans lived in Africa was to buy, sell, and trade slaves. But most didn’t make it back to Europe due to the sickness and death from Malaria. But, in 1833 British slavery was finally outlawed. Unfortunately in the 1880s King Leopold of Belgium, brought back slavery to an all time high. Not only that but also caused as many as 10,000,000 people through forced labor and tortured many others. So the question is asking, what were the reasons that so many countries had so much power in Africa.The driving forces behind European Imperialism in Africa where political competition, resources for industrialization, and principles. The following below will explain why I believe this to be true. In these times there was a lot of political competition, or nationalism, This i believe was the most effective driving force behind European imperialism in Africa because the countries had to find new ways to strategize and look for different assets and allies that were available to them. In a lecture that John Ruskin once taught at Oxford University explained what he believe the countries can do to be the “center of piece. He said,”This is what England must do or perish: she must found colonies as fast and as far as she is …show more content…
For example, it could have been European rulers, or even African rulers and why they changed the imperialism. All in all, the main driving forces of European imperialism in Africa relied on three things. The principles that each colony or country had, the political competition between the countries fighting for more territory, and finally, the resources that were brought up to help both the Europeans and the