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The 19 century m'zuŋ u scramble for Africa
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"Veni, Vidi, Vici"

Why Did Europe Colonize Africa?

“ The short answer is industrialization. As industrialization spread and matured in the
19th century throughout western and central Europe, it gave countries the wealth,

technology, and motivation to look beyond their homelands. Nations competed with each
other for access to raw materials, markets, and cheap labor. As European industrial
production increased and spread, raw materials became harder to come by. A sure way

to control raw materials and markets would be to create colonial monopolies.

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Industrialization and modern science also gave European imperial powers the means to
carry out a conquest. We discussed the rediscovery of quinine earlier that allowed
explorers, missionaries, and merchants to step further into Africa. It seems no

coincidence that the Scramble for Africa occurred around the time of industrial
innovations such as steamships, telegraphs, railroads, and, most importantly, new

weapons. Breach loading rifles and the Maxim gun were game changers. The Zulu
defeated British soldiers in battle in 1879. But, the Maxim gun insured that would never
happen again. The rapid-fire machine gun became the supreme weapon and symbol of

European conquest. At the Battle of Omdurman, in the year 1898, British artillery and
rapid-fire weapons killed 10,000 Sudanese with only a few dozen European casualties

(Pakenham xxiii). By the end of the 19th century, military resistance to European
conquest was futile. "

"The Causes and Motivations for the Scramble for Africa." 65
ModernWorldHistoryTextbook

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The 'scramble'

“ The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, Conquest of Africa, or the
Rape of Africa. was the invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of African
territory by European powers during a short period known to historians as the New

Imperialism (between 1881 and 1914). The 10 percent of Africa that was under formal
European control in 1870 increased to almost 90 percent by 1914, with only Ethiopia

(Abyssinia) and Liberia remaining independent. European motives included the desire to
control valuable natural resources, rivalry and the quest for national prestige, and
religious missionary zeal. Internal African politics also played a role.

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