Europeans Imperialize Africa In The 19th Century

In the late 19th century, Europe began imperializing Africa, creating colonies within African borders, and taking control of their lives. After the slave trade was abolished in 1807 and slavery followed in 1833, Europe was left eager to use Africa for other resources. At first, it was difficult for them to invade because of difficulty navigating rivers, malaria, and resistance from African tribes. However, tribes were weakened by the slave trade because Europeans had taken the strongest men from each tribe to sell as slaves, a cure for malaria was found, and the steamboat was invented, making navigation much easier. Once those barriers were removed, there was nothing stopping Europe from taking total control of Africa, which they did. Europe was motivated to imperialize Africa because of cultural attitudes and a desire for economic growth and political power. Many Europeans believed that they were obligated to help Africans because the Europeans viewed them as inferior. During that time, there was a widespread ideology known as “Social Darwinism,” or the belief that the stronger race will survive. Since Europeans believed they were superior, they were able to rationalize their
While Europe was able to make a profit off African resources, gain power over other countries, and spread their culture, Africans were negatively impacted because Europeans didn’t take their opinion into consideration. Their way of life didn’t need fixing because it was never broken in the first place. Europe’s imperialism of Africa proves that throughout history, countries have believed that their culture and ideals are better than others’. This affects the modern world because countries continue to have the opinion that they have power over other countries just because they don’t understand their culture and believe it to be