Page By: Revant Ranjan
What were the major goals of the Europeans?
The Europeans' major goals during the 19th and early 20th century were to expand their influence and gain access to resources in order to fuel their industrial pursuits. In addition, the Europeans hoped to spread Christianity to the local peoples of the places where colonies were established. Gaining access to new locations for Europeans to inhabit allowed the rapidly increasing European population to be dispersed across the globe. This decreased the pressures of population growth in the home countries.
Was Africa treated differently than other colonies?
Between 1450 and 1750 Europeans traded with Africa, but they set up very few colonies. By 1850, only a few colonies existed along African coastlines, such as Algeria (French), the Cape Colony (Great Britain,) and Angola (Portugal). Instead, free African states continued, and after the end of the slave trade in the early 1800s, a lively exchange took place between Europeans and African states, such as the Sokoto Caliphate in western Africa and Egypt and Ethiopia in northeast Africa. They traded manufactured goods for gold, ivory, etc.
How did carving up Africa lead to tension among the European nations?
In the latter half of the 19th century, dramatic changes occurred, as Europeans began to explore Africa's interior, and by 1914, virtually the entire continent was colonized by one or the other of the competing European countries. European imperialists built on the information provided by adventurers and missionaries, especially the famous Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Stanley. Livingstone, a Scottish missionary, went to Africa in the 1840s and spent three decades exploring the interior of Africa and setting up missionary outposts all the way from central Africa to the Cape Colony on the southern tip. When people in Britain lost contact with Livingstone, journalist Henry Stanley became a news sensation when he traveled to Africa and found Livingstone. The two sparked interest in Africa and others followed, including the imperialists.Dividing Africa amongst the European nations lead to conflict over territory and resources. The European nations that were employing the strategies of imperialism did not want the influence of other nations to spread into the territories they had claimed. Aside from trade relations, the Europeans wanted a strict distinction between the territories of their nation and others.