Scramble For Africa Essay

How did Europe become such a major power in the 1800s and 1900s when all it was was a group of various countries with diverse customs and languages? Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was in what historians call the “Scramble for Africa”. This is where European powers tried to divide and imperialize parts of Africa that they were rewarded because of their power and prestige. Certain parts of the imperialist, European African continent were tamer than others. Other sections were more humane in the treatment of slaves, but none were as terrifyingly horrendous in brutality and inhumane practices as the Belgian-controlled Congo. The Belgians were only in the Scramble for one thing, and that was wealth, which they extracted from the harsh interior as no other country wanted it because of the location and use of valuable resources. Since the Congo is gargantuan in size and riddled with savages …show more content…
Kurtz began his expedition into the metaphorical heart of darkness with intentions befitting of a talented, well-liked, embodiment of European ideals. It is fitting that such a talented man makes his journey into the very depth and not deal with the trifles of an arduous journey, but not all things come easy for the ones who appear to have everything figured out with a polished finish. The descent into the jungle depths is characterized by an increasing amount of madness and self discovery. Both Marlow and Kurtz are heavily influenced by their instilled ideologies about how life is supposed to flow and ebb, but because of these, there is a blockage. The blockage is that of a superiority complex because they all thought in the beginning that they were helping less fortunate individuals, until they realised the African people could be manipulated and controlled for personal