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European colonial powers sought natural resources in African colonies and needed the requisite labor force to extract them and simultaneously build the colonial city around these industries. Because Europeans viewed native bodies as degenerate and in need of taming, violence was necessary to create a submissive laborer. [ 28 ]
The Scramble for Africa [a] was the conquest and colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the era of "New Imperialism" (1833–1914): Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In 1870, 10% of the continent was formally under European control.
Northwest Africa (the Maghreb) was known as either Libya or Africa, while Egypt was considered part of Asia. European exploration of sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, pioneered by the Kingdom of Portugal under Henry the Navigator.
Many European statesmen and industrialists wanted to accelerate the Scramble for Africa, securing colonies before they strictly needed them. As a champion of Realpolitik , Bismarck disliked colonies and thought they were a waste of time, but his hand was forced by pressure from both the elites and the general population which considered the ...
The Berlin Conference of 1884 systemized European colonization in Africa and is frequently acknowledged as the genesis of the Scramble for Africa. The Conference implemented the Principle of Effective Occupation in Africa which allowed European states with even the most tenuous connection to an African region to claim dominion over its land ...
It was agreed that European claims to parts of Africa would only be recognised if Europeans provided effective occupation. In a series of treaties in 1890–1891, colonial boundaries were completely drawn. All of Sub-Saharan Africa was claimed by European powers, except for Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia. [citation needed] [26]
Colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and extraction of natural resources. African history was initially written by outsiders (Europeans and Arabs), and in colonial times under the pretence of Western superiority supported by scientific racism. Oral sources were deprecated and dismissed by unfamiliar historians ...
By the end of the nineteenth century; the majority of major European powers sought to expand their dominion into Africa. France in particular saw this as an opportunity to “[link] France’s territorial conquests in Africa along a west-east axis”, [2] thereby limiting Britain's influence in the region.