Stanley Imperialism

The Age of New Imperialism in Western Europe started in the late 1800s from economic, political, military, social, and religious motives, as well as from the theory of Social Darwinism. By 1870, it became necessary for European nations to expand their markets to sell products, collect raw materials, and invest in other areas. Larger European nations also believed that colonies were crucial to military power and nationalism. Missionaries started to believe in Imperialism after Rudyard Kipling expressed the “moral obligation” of Europeans to civilize the uncivilized in his poem “The White Man’s Burden.” Social Darwinism, a theory that emerged in the 1870s, caused Europeans to believe that they, the white race, were superior to others, and would naturally improve …show more content…
Stanley’s discoveries on Africa had interested Leopold for years. He was exactly the type of explorer Leopold wanted: ambitious, hard-working, and seeking approval of the powerful. Stanley, born into the working class, hoped that Africa would offer him a rise in status. To both Leopold and Stanley, Africa was an opportunity to gain wealth and power. Together, they devised a strategy to for Congo. Stanley would first set up base at the river’s mouth and then build a single road around the rapids as a guide for a railway. Over this road, porters would carry steamboats in pieces up to the rapids, which Stanley would later construct and use to travel upstream, building a chain of trading stations along the entire Congo River. Stanley’s motives were clear to the public, while Leopold reached “new heights as an illusionist,” writing that he wanted to found scientific outposts in the Congo, a sort of “Society of the Red Cross.” He did not want to do anything to alert potential rivals. Intent that their goals remain secret, Leopold had Stanley and his staff sign a contract that forbade them from saying anything about the real purpose of their