Imperialism in Africa

Mihai Negrean

Nov 21, 2023 — 1 min read

One of the many areas falling under European Imperialism was the continent of Africa. In fact, this continent was so heavily "colonized" that by 1914, only two African nations remained independent: Liberia and Ethiopia.

Africa was a prime target for European imperialist powers because of two main reasons: the weak native population and the many resources sourced from there. Obviously, that was not a good reason to invade someone else's land, so the Imperialists argued that it was a duty of the "superior races" to "civilize the inferior races." (Ferry)

The imperialist nations used different method for subduing the African tribes. European traders often convinced African chiefs to sign treaties that gave the government their land in exchange for protection from other European countries or other tribes. Other times, the tribes came to the Europeans for protection. If that didn't work, the European powers also used their superior militaries to subdue the African tribes.

One of the main reasons for European expansion in Africa was the resources they could extract from the continent. Some of these included rubber, diamonds, and gold.

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British captain who wrote the book Heart of Darkness, inspired by his experiences in colonial Africa. This book was named that way because the African continent was often described as "dark" because it was largely unexplored. One of the main characters, Kurtz, is also described as having a dark heart because he abuses the natives for his own gain, much like the imperialists.

Sources:

Ferry, Jules. “On French Colonial Expansion.” On French Colonial Expansion, translated by Ruth Kleinman, 26 Jan. 1996, sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1884ferry.asp.

Interactions in Ecosystems

Populations, Communities, and Ecosystems Populations are species in a community. Communities are groups of species that live together. Ecosystems are communities and non-living things in an area. In this image, we can see many populations represented, like the horse population, the llama population, the cow population, the pig population, the

World War I

World War I was one of the most destructive wars in the world's history. It involved most of the world, which was why it was called a world war. This war had its beginnings in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire&

Archimedes

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who lived in the third century BC. He is well known for predicting the use of calculus, and discovering an approximation of pi. While he was in Syracuse, the city was attacked by Rome in the years 213 and 212

Alexander Pope and An Essay on Criticism

Alexander Pope was an English poet born in 1688. He wrote many poems, including English translations of the Iliad and Odyssey. One of his most famous poems, An Essay on Criticism, is written like a guide on how to write and criticize poetry. Some points that Pope makes in his

Sources:

Read more

Interactions in Ecosystems

World War I

Archimedes

Alexander Pope and An Essay on Criticism