Title: Colonization in Africa and the United States | AFR 110: Intro to Contemporary Africa
Headings: Colonization in Africa and the United States
Colonization in Africa and the United States
Content: These Empires traded slaves with the Europeans for guns that would help them secure and grow their empires. The slave trade had led to underdevelopment of the continent. This led to Africa being vulnerable to colonization by European forces in the late 1800’s. The Scramble for Africa following the Berlin Conference divvied up the continent between the European powers, leading to annexation of the continent. The impetus for the African colonization of the late 1800’s was much different to that of the colonization of the United States and the “New World.” American colonization was driven by the desire to conquer this “New World” and to lay claim to as much of the Americas as possible. The impetus for African colonization was driven by profit, and was done so take advantage of the continent’s resources and to dominate the continent. It wasn’t until after WWII did African’s begin to make strides towards independence from the European control. Ghana was the first colonized nation to gain independence from European colonial rule, and did so in the late 50s. Many African nations followed, but not without armed conflict in many regions, primarily where many European’s had settled.