Table of Contents
What was the most important motive for European imperialism in Africa?
The European imperialist push into Africa was motivated by three main factors, economic, political, and social. It developed in the nineteenth century following the collapse of the profitability of the slave trade, its abolition and suppression, as well as the expansion of the European capitalist Industrial Revolution.
What factors motivated European imperialism?
With this shift to New Imperialism, Europeans were motivated by the promise of economic growth, the sting of national rivalry, and a sense of moral superiority. With economic growth in mind, Europe believed expansion would not only supply them with cheap resources, it would create new markets in which they could trade.
What were the economic motives for European imperialism?
ECONOMIC motives included the desire to make money, to expand and control foreign trade, to create new markets for products, to acquire raw materials and cheap labor, to compete for investments and resources, and to export industrial technology and transportation methods.
Why would Europe want to colonize Africa economic reasons?
Another reason for European interest in Africa is the industrialization when major social problems grew in Europe: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas, etc. Europe saw the colonization of Africa as an opportunity to acquire a surplus population, thus settler colonies were created.
What was the cause of European imperialism in Africa?
European imperialism in Africa was partly due to rivalries between the different European countries involved, with Britain, Germany and France the dominant powers. As Professor Richard Evans of the University of Cambridge observes, by the 1880s “rivalries and interventions had been building up already over several decades.”
Why did Europe want to take over Africa?
Such was the rivalry between European powers that, in 1884 and 1885, the Berlin conference was held to map out European possession of Africa, and by 1900, over 90 percent of African territory was nominally under European control. Africa’s natural resources were an important component in motivating European colonialism.
Why are European powers keen to maintain control?
Sometimes European powers were keen to maintain control of specific territories for strategic reasons.
Why was Britain interested in the African colonies?
Britain gained control of the canal and its operation in the 1880s, and fought to maintain that control in both world wars. African colonies played two important economic roles. First, they were intended as a market for the goods manufactured in the European “home” country.