Reasons for European Expansion to Africa

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Table of Contents

Economic reason
Political reason
Cultural reason
Works cited

Economic reason

It is commonplace that the main reason for European expansion to Africa was economics and trade. Given the differences in geographical and geological composition present in Africa, several activities were pursued to raise income. Exploitation of mineral reserves was the most common, with the harvested materials being exported to their nations for sustainability of their industries. Agriculture was also practiced, with the produce being exported for value addition.

Later on, European industries produced much more than their markets could consume. This development prompted European governments to take up African colonies in a bid to secure markets for the goods they produced. From this, it can be said that European inquest and colonization of Africa was aimed at guaranteeing a continuous provision of unrefined resources, together with marketplace for finished goods, hence profitability and continued existence (Osterhammel & Frisch 71). These trips had an effect on the natives, by altering their way of doing things. Currency based trade was introduced in the process as a substitute for the widely used barter trade. In addition, several concepts, including mechanization were incorporated into the African societies. This marked an end to the archaic methods they utilized when carrying out tasks like farming and harvesting. It is noteworthy that economic practices in the present day are mirrored on the precedent established by the European invasion.

Political reason

As mentioned earlier, political supremacy was the focal point of the European incursion into Africa. This came in the wake of intense rivalry for political supremacy among monarchies in Europe. After the cessation of the world war, the struggle for supremacy was transferred to the political front. This prompted their excursion to Africa. Their arrival in the continent prompted a struggle for territories, with several confrontations happening in the process. After the partition of Africa ended, the colonies set out to impose their preferred systems of government in the continent.

This was a new concept to the natives, who had different systems of government in their communities. Most of them were whipped into conformity, after their monarchs had been persuaded with gifts. Gradually, western forms of government were instituted into the African culture, bringing with it new concepts, like democracy (Gann & Duignan 66). In the end, the colonial masters took over entire territories and established total dominance over these regions. This development enabled them to advance their economic agenda. Consequently, they achieved impressive progress in this area, since vast majorities of African states carried on with the systems instituted by the colonial masters. It should also be noted that most of these states still use constitutions that were bequeathed to them by their colonizers.

Cultural reason

This is the area in which most ground was covered with the Europeans during their expedition to Africa. A shift in cultural ideologies was guaranteed after the entrance of Europeans into Africa (Bulliet, Crossley, Headrick, Hirsch & Johnson 660). They made concerted efforts to instill their culture on the African populace, since they viewed African customs negatively. Religion was the most affected area. Their dislike for traditional religion was never disguised, forcing them to fashion out all attempts that were geared towards converting the natives to Christianity (Bulliet et al. 654).

Modes of dressing were also changed, with clothes being introduced in the place of skin that was used by the natives. In addition, the use of local dialects for communication was minimized, by placing emphasis on the use of languages that were native to the colonial masters. Concept was passed on to the natives through formal education, which was introduced in the place of apprenticeship and other modes of informal education that were practiced by the natives.

Works cited

Bulliet, Richard, Pamela Crossley, Daniel, Headrick Steven, Hirsch and Lyman Johnson. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History: Since 1500. New Jersey, NJ: Cengage Learning. 2008. Print.

Gann, Lewis and Peter Duignan. Colonialism in Africa, 1870-1960. London: Cambridge University Press. 1975. Print.

Osterhammel, Jürgen and Shelley Frisch. Colonialism. Munich: Markus Wiener Publishers. 1997. Print.

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Reasons for European Expansion to Africa

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