For decades before the Berlin Conference, European powers had conquered and colonized countries to increase their territory and gain national prestige. With the discovery of Africa and its immensely rich resources, various European countries viewed Africa as yet another prospect for colonization.
Reasons for the European Conquest of Africa
"High Imperialism"
Professor Vejas G. Liulevicius, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
University of Tennessee
Professor Vejas G. Liulevicius, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
University of Tennessee
Part 1
"One very important tradition of explanation argues that economic motivations were crucial, and indeed many European states have retreated from earlier free trade, especially after the 1873 global depression set in, which lasted until about 1896. This had produced intensely competitive outlooks on the part of European statesmen. A pressure was building for competition in this regard, [but] profits were not general in the colonies. Some colonies were very unprofitable and seemed to have been held for reasons that were more strategic in nature. Another very important motivation which we need to consider in High Imperialism was simply the ability to do so."
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Part 2
"European technologies gave new impetus to imperial expansion as well. Machine guns were devastating new weapons on the battlefields, especially against traditional armies, were such that they gave tremendous potency to even small numbers of European imperialists. The advantages of tropical medicine, such as quinine and its ability to guard against malaria, were crucial as well. Cultural explanations include the importance of religion—the notion that one was spreading one's own faith. Another cultural explanation emphasizes racism—the belief that different kinds of people were not equal and that, thus, one variety of human beings has, allegedly, the right to lord over others. And the especially vicious ideology of Social Darwinism..."
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Part 3
"...that argued that in the struggle to survive, certain groups of people have, inherently, [the] right to trample over the weaker. Some interpretations favor the explanatory mode of the Primacy of Domestic Politics. Arguments from the Primacy of Domestic Politics suggest that what one sees here is Social Imperialism. Social Imperialism involves considerations abroad of the European balance of power on the continent itself. Did the scramble for colonies perhaps function as a safety valve, in terms of the balance of power, diffusing the potential for conflict in Europe? That's a question that historians continue to debate."
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