The Scramble for Africa, Research Paper Example

The late 19^th century saw a massive land grab among the European powers for African territory which came later to be known as the “Scramble for Africa” (U Texas). While material resources from Africa will be discussed in the final section of this paper, there were other reasons why this scramble came about.  Two of these reasons were national pride and strengthening of the idea of colonialism itself. These two concepts are not necessarily mutually inclusive.

National Pride

The advent of quinine as a cure for malaria and the invention of the steamship allowed European powers, who had previously stayed mostly along the coastlines of the Africa, to make deep incursions into the inland of that continent (Rose, 2010, p. 1). However, this unprecedented access to inland Africa began a land grab and many historians believe that one of the catalysts for this grab was King Leopold of Belgium, who with the help of the explorer Stanley claimed large swaths of land along the Congo River for his country. This enhanced Belgium’s prestige, but upset larger countries like Britain and France, who were making their own claims at the time.  (Davies, 2012, p.1). So, in 1885, in order to avoid conflict and squabbling, 14 of the European powers came together at the Berlin Conference and essentially carved Africa up between them (Rose, 2010, p. 1), to help facilitate the various countries forwarding their own national agendas as they moved forward with the colonial process.

Strengthening the Colonial Concept

Events like the Berlin Conference, however, were about more than just national pride or the flexing of muscles.  It was also about maintaining the concept of European cultural superiority and the need for colonization to continue. It was a concept known as the “White Man’s Burden” (PBS, 2013, p. 5). Historian  Dudds notes that “They [the European colonizers] believed that they were bringing civilization to a ‘savage’ people – they introduced Christianity, trade, education, justice – and a good deal of looting and forced labor” (Davies, 2012, p. 1). The slave trade played into this as well: although it was the European colonizers who began the slave trade on the West Coast of Africa in the 1600’s, it had been banned by the 1800’s but was still be practiced inland, mostly by Arab slave traders (Regents Prep, 2013, p.1).  Dudds also notes that “Another justification among European powers was to “liberate” Africans from Arab slave traders, who continued to operate even after slavery was abolished in Europe” (Davies, 2012, p. 1). All these justifications were for the purpose of strengthening the argument for colonialism.

Material Wealth

Although colonialism was, overall, an expensive foreign policy for the various European powers who participated in it, there was material wealth to be gained from the “dark continent”. King Leopold of Belgium, while taking control of the vast rainforests of the Congo, began to exploit one very important resource from this ecosystem: rubber.  The Belgians were equally famous for their ability to extract this natural resource from the Congo and their brutality to the natives while they were doing it (Rose, 2010, p. 1).      The British, too, were interested in the wealth of Africa: Cecil Rhodes, a British entrepreneur, founded the De Beer Mining Company in what is now South Africa and eventually gained a 90% hold on world diamond mining production; he reinforced British dominance of South Africa, and this was reinforced by the British victory in the Boer War that ended in 1902. (Regents Prep, 2012, p. 3).

Concluding Thoughts

This is a dark time in the history of colonialism.  The Berlin Conference literally divided up another continent, carving it up like a birthday cake at a children’s party.  The callousness of the way this continent was divided up, with absolutely no regard for social systems that were already in place, has led to ongoing inter-tribal conflict – like the unrest in Sudan and the warfare in the Central African Republic – and can be traced back to the heavy-handed and ignorant way in which the colonizing of Africa was handled.

References

Davies, C.  (2010). “Colonialism and the Scramble for Africa”. CNN News Online. Web. 29 May 2014.

“The Scramble for Africa”. (2013). Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Website. Web. 29 May 2014.

“The Scramble for Africa” (2012). Regents Prep Website.  Web. 29 May 2014.

Rose, C. (2010). “The Scramble for Africa”. University of Texas at Austin. Web. 29 May 2014