European Imperialism Dbq

European nations found themselves in a scramble for political power and economic wealth nearing the beginning of the 1880s. The industrial revolution’ boom spurred European nations to search for new markets and raw materials to satisfy and grow their economies. The number of European colonies a nation owned symbolized their political power over other nations, therefore creating a political desire for power and possession of colonies within Europe. Many Europeans were also driven to civilize the barbaric African people and the backwardness of their societies. The motivations for the Age of Imperialism were constituted by an exploration for new economic opportunities, a hunger for political power, and the idea of social superiority of European …show more content…
To achieve this power, European countries utilize the idea of militarism to extend their political reign over the inferior African colonies. Prince Leopold of Belgium sees the entire globe as a way to prove Belgium as an imperial power. Prince Leopold strives to colonize and enlighten the people of Africa to assert a position of power among other European nations (Document 1). Benjamin Disraeli, the British prime minister, claims the attainment of the Suez Canal is exclusively for political motives, only to strengthen the empire. Disraeli views the colonization of lands as solely building up the empire to ensure political power (Document 2). Similarly, Louis Bernard, a French colonial official, illustrates Imperialism as a nationalistic feeling of pride and dominance. Bernard intertwines the desire for power and the feeling of nationalism is his conquering of two provinces, Alsace and Lorraine (Document 7). European nations’ ambitions for control created the scramble for Africa, causing confusion, chaos, and massive death of the African people and …show more content…
The pride of militarism and feelings of nationalism incited Europe to colonize Africa with the goal of gaining influence and power within Europe and the outside world. The feeling of obligation to enlightenment inferior peoples and the given right to conquer inferior lands motivated Europeans to partake in colonizing Africa. Likewise to Imperialism, the Age of Explorations displays similar motivations; Both periods demonstrate a desire for political power not only in Europe, but the world, and the search for gold in the Age of Exploration reflects Imperialism’s expansion of economic wealth. The motivations of European colonization of Africa exhibit Europe’s thirst for expansion in social, economic, and political