European Imperialism Research Paper

As late as 1870, only 10% of Africa was under European control, but this changed when King Leopold came in and the “Scramble for Africa” started. The European nations realized that Africa was filled with incredible natural resources and this created competition between the European powers. The European nations divided up Africa by claim at the Berlin Conference. The nations then went on to imperialize their parts of Africa and it would not have been possible for them without the inventions that proved to be very useful. The inventions such as the first machine gun and the treatment for malaria are what gave the Europeans an advantage. Motivated by many different forces, the Europeans imperialized Africa. The powerful European nations conquered the weak African nations with the driving forces of mortality, nationalism, and the largest force, industrialization. Morality, the Europeans desire to improve the life of the African people, was one of the driving forces behind European imperialism. Rudyard Kipling talks about morality in his poem “The White Man’s Burden”. He states, “Fill full the mouth of Famine / And bid the sickness cease;” (Kipling). This is an example of the driving force of morality because Kipling is telling the people to “Fill full the mouth of Famine” and this means that they should feed the hungry people in Africa. Also, when he says “And bid the sickness cease”, he is telling them to help heal the Africans and stop the diseases. This shows how the Europeans wanted to help the Africans have better lives. Overall, Kipling’s poem helps support the idea that morality was one of the driving forces behind European imperialism in Africa. Another driving force behind European imperialism was Nationalism. …show more content…
European nations wanted their nation to be the strongest. For example, John Ruskin, a well regarded English intellectual, spoke about what the people of England needed to do for their country. He explained “... that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and by sea” (Ruskin). He shows here that they wanted to advance England’s power; therefore, making England a more powerful country. This was the same for all the countries, they all were striving to be the largest and most powerful. This is an example of nationalism because it reveals how Ruskin said that the first thing the people should do is advance England’s power, and that shows how power was something the countries were all fighting for. In the end, Ruskin’s speech supports the idea that Nationalism was a driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa. Lastly, the most powerful driving force for European Imperialism was industrialization because it caused the Europeans to need raw materials for their new industries. The reason that this was a major driving force is because the Europeans discovered that …show more content…
The overall motivation of morality, nationalism, and industrialization that the Europeans had is what pushed them to industrialize Africa. This also would not have been possible without the technological inventions that gave Europeans an advantage. The driving forces of wanting to help the African people, wanting to grow their country’s power and size, and the vast amount of resources useful for the industries, are the reasons behind European Imperialism in Africa. Overall, the Europeans used these forces to conquer parts of Africa, increase their power and become stronger