The scramble for Africa is a widely known historical event that took place from 1884 – v

81914, surrounding the colonialization of Africa and the expansion of European territories.
Nearly 13 European countries took part in the scramble to obtain resources and colonise
African land, this event shaped Africa into what it is today.

Colonialism is the process in which a foreign country attempts to conquer and subjugate its
population, as well as insert political dominance over that country or area for their interests.
Countries mainly colonise because of economical (profit), and political purposes (power),
other reasons, such as resources and cheap labour, drove Countries to colonise, and as a result
form colonies. Colonialism is often related to imperialism since they share many similarities,
but are distinct. An excellent example of colonisation would be South Africa since it has been
a victim of this practice/policy. When Dutch settlers settled at the cape to establish a halfway
refreshment station on the trade route to India, they ended up colonising the cape in the
process, and later when the British took control they used the native Africans ( cheap labour)
and sought out our resources ( gold and diamonds ) for their interests.

Europe had many reasons for deciding to acquire Africa during the scramble but was mostly
because of economic, political, and religious reasons. The first reason was to secure trade
routes which made it easier to transport cargo. The second was that Europe was going
through a depression during this time and suffered many economic losses, Africa was rich in
resources(raw materials) such as rubber, gold, diamonds, copper, tin and timber, therefore
Europe looked towards Africa so that they could exploit and export Africa's resources. These
resources would also supply the new industries and factories that began to arise with the
industrial revolution that took place at the time, and gain Europe fortune and recognition.

Africa was a good source of cheap labour and Europe took an interest in this and saw this as
an opportunity to earn a profit, cheap labourers also had a hand in the exporting of resources
from Africa, this way Europe did not suffer any financial losses. When Europeans returned to
Africa for more resources they brought back manufactured goods and sold them to Africans.
This was unfair since Europe was exploiting the cheap labour the country provided and did
not treat the blacks fairly (cruel). Africa also became a new market for Europe to sell goods.

Politics also influenced Europe’s acquisition of Africa. Africa’s colonisation was also a result
of European rivalries, namely Britain and France had been in a colonial rivalry since the
Hundred Year War. This made them race to acquire land in Africa, but almost the entire of
Europe was included, as well as acquiring land meant power, and power was all that
mattered. Other reasons, were that Europe also felt they were dominant over blacks (racist).

Religion was also a matter that caused Europe to colonise Africa. The Europeans could not
comprehend the existence of the Muslim Swahili trade and indigenous religions which
increased their concern and made them want to implement Christianity into the daily lives of
Africans. Missionaries had a large success in Europe and decided to look toward Africa.
Missions were made all over Africa, although missionaries did not serve as direct agents of
European imperialism, they drew European governments deeper into Africa and were used as
an excuse for colonialism.
 Missionaries preached the words of Christianity and influenced their practices, religion and
tradition, in an attempt to make them more civilised in European fashion. Missionaries also
influenced Christianity and their practices by opening missionary schools in areas of
importance, these schools provided basic to somewhat formal education but was nothing
compared to European schools. This influence had its advantages and disadvantages, it made
Africans choose between traditions and decide between Christianity and their native beliefs,
and it brought cultural, invasion, disorientation and diluted or destroyed indigenous
traditions, which is wrong in every possible way. It destroyed their indigenous traditions but
also gave them something new to believe in and civilised them. European influence also
brought on improved infrastructure, the addition of road systems, railroads, water, electricity,
and communication systems, benefited the Africans.

For the scramble for Africa to take place, an event called the Berlin conference made it all
possible. The Berlin conference was a 3-month meeting (1884-1885) that was organised by
the chancellor of Germany Otto von Bismarck that consisted of 13 European countries and
America. To negotiate and discuss the control of resources in Africa, as well as rules that
evenly divided resources amongst themselves, and to discuss who ‘officially’ owns what. The
major players were France, Germany, the USA, Great Britain and Portugal. All the European
countries, including America, had representatives for each country, but Africa was the only
country that neither had a representative nor had been invited to the conference. The rivalry
between Great Britain and France, and King Leopold of Belgium’s jealousy of Queen
Victoria’s colonial success made him attempt to colonise the Congo causing Bismarck to
intervene and call a meeting in Berlin. European powers agreed that they would spread
Christianity in the parts they colonised, and all agreed to free trade, these are 2 of the many
agreements that occurred. The Berlin conference laid the foundation for the scramble of
Africa.

Colonialism in Africa caused many positive and negative, social, economic and political
issues that still affect us to this day. Economic policies were adopted by Europeans who
destroyed the colonies, rather than help them. There were negative economic, social and
political issues such as resource depletion that hindered Africa’s development, lack of
industrialization, and the breaking up of traditional African society, religion, and tradition
separate our people today. The lack of political development and issues such as corruption
and instability led to Africans not having confidence in themselves and their governments
which affects us today. Colonisation led to the increased slave trade which then massively
increased the slavery of blacks across the world. Lastly, to gain power, Europeans
encouraged Africans to fight against each other. New political boundaries caused ethnic
groups to clash (civil war). This has led to ethnic and political unrest in Africa today. Many
negative impacts or issues came from colonialization however there were some positive
effects such as medicine, which resulted in better health and social well-being. Education
helped to further develop the country and its people, an infrastructure was placed,
governments were later formed after the imperial reign and countries got independence new
currencies, communication and Christianity was introduced to Africa that brought a new
belief, spiritual salvation and hope to the people. This is the scramble of Africa. This is
Africa’s history. THE END…