imperialism in africa

European imperialism in Africa occurred throughout the 19th century.

Until 1876, 10.8% of the African territory was in the possession of colonists. As early as 1900, European dominance corresponded to 90.4%.

At first, European exploration was spread along the coast, with strong trading posts that guaranteed the slave trade. The first large-scale dominations began with France and Great Britain.

France occupied Algeria in 1832, Tunisia in 1881 and then Morocco. Thus, French West Africa was created.

For its part, with the same intention of territorial expansion, Great Britain took possession of Egypt in 1882, Sudan and southern Africa.

In 1876, the King of Belgium, Leopold II, dominated the entire area of present-day Congo. The region was under the personal rule of the monarch until 1908, when it was sold to the government of Belgium and was eighty times the size of the dominant country.

Motives

Among the reasons for European domination were African natural wealth. The territory was exuberant in precious stones, vegetable and mineral raw materials.

Politics and War

As strategies of domination, political negotiations, military and religious maneuvers were used.

For political negotiations, tribal chiefs made trade agreements with Europeans. These took products from the land while supplying weapons to Africans.

In order to expand the territory, Europeans themselves allied with tribes and participated in the wars fought between them. Thus, they secured more land and powerful allies.

Religion and Ideology

The Christian religion reinforced the idea of inferiority among those regions where polytheism was practiced. There, missionaries demonized customs and gods, and conquered minds as well.

Racial theories, such as social Darwinism and the myth of the white man's burden, supported the exploitation of African natural wealth. The argument was supported by the thesis that Africans were “barbarians” and needed the European contribution to reach the same level of civilization.

Sharing Africa

The apex of imperialism would come in 1885, with the agreement sealed at the Berlin Conference, which guaranteed commercial freedom for all countries in certain areas. Likewise, the meeting served to determine the borders of the African territory.

After the Berlin Conference, Africa was divided into 50 states. The terms of the agreement did not respect traditional ethnic divisions and had a catastrophic impact on the nations.

It is for this reason that, even today, some countries remain under ethnic rivalry that causes civil wars and extreme poverty.

The partition of Africa is also among the justifications for the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918). Dissatisfied with the division and without more territories to conquer, the great powers disagreed and demanded a revision of the partition.

Neocolonialism

After the African decolonization process, the former imperialist nations sought to maintain a special relationship with these countries.

Although it is a relationship between sovereign states, many scholars see it as a new model of exploitation and therefore call it neocolonialism.

Britain has gathered almost all of its former colonies into the Commonwealth . Its inhabitants have preferential treatment when emigrating and when selling their products.
France created the principle of francophony that encompasses all French-speaking countries and thus can promote linguistic and cultural exchange. In addition, the country encouraged immigration from these countries in the 1970s when it needed labor for its industries.
Portugal still maintains special political ties with Angola and, to some extent, with Mozambique. Through the PALOP (Portuguese-speaking African Countries) cultural and linguistic cooperation is maintained.
Belgium has no special ties with Congo and Rwanda, and relations between these countries are extremely delicate.
Spain maintains some enclaves and islands in the Moroccan territory that are always a source of dispute between the two nations.

However, European nations are increasingly losing ground to China, which has become, in the 21st century, the biggest partner of African nations.

Read more :

Imperialism in Asia
General Aspects of Africa
Countries of Africa
Economy of Africa