British East Africa example essay topic

Imperialism is a difficult term to pin down. In Euro centric terminology, 'the concept of imperialism has included the forcible establishment of political control by one state over others through such means as colonies and protectorates (formal imperialism) '. This is most associated with the division of Africa by the European powers in the 19th century. This is also the aspect of imperialism to be covered in this paper, more specifically, the British involvement in Africa. The imperialists' 'war cry' as it was, was 'God, gold and glory', that is to say, the pursuit of an expansionist agenda under these auspices, the former being less important than the latter two. The British, though it's not to say other nations were not guilty of this fact, were more interested in worldly gains rather than spreading Christianity.

At the centre of it all was the British desire to strengthen itself to make war on its neighbours and keep the upper hand in the European hierarchy. Their attempts at proselytization were a veiled plan to open new markets to European goods and eventual conquest. Historically, European involvement in Africa was sparse. The Phoenicians sailed to its northwest coast in the 7th century B.C. Vasco de Gama successfully circumnavigated the continent in 1497-8 under Portugal's flag. Even as the Industrial Revolution spread across Britain, a mere silhouette of the Dark Continent graced British maps. 'The coasts - Ivory coast, Gold Coast, Guinea Coast, Slave Coast, Grain Coast - were charted'.

The procuring of goods, slaves included, for they were, socially and legally, goods, was handled by locals and lightly staffed trading forts. Shiploads of commodities were bought at a relatively low price. What the British considered as gaudy trinkets were much-valued status symbols amongst tribal chieftains, and they were more than happy to sell their neighbours into slavery to obtain them. Even once slavery was abolished in the British Empire, palm oil, used in other manufacturing but mainly that of soap, was imported from Africa.

But the burgeoning industrial might of Britain cried out for new markets for manufactured goods, textiles, iron etc. The previous indifference towards Africa changed once realized it could provide this new marketplace. Missionary expeditions exposed natives to European culture, and led to more in depth involvement on the continent. The first British permanent settlements, Freetown in Sierra Leone and the Cape in South Africa had been established as a homeland for freed black slaves. These also were the sites of the first missions. More missions appeared up the coasts within a few days march of each other, and began to penetrate in interior, ostensibly to eventually join up with Abyssinia, the other enclave of Christianity on the continent.

'For Africa was to be, for the Church and Chapel, but especially for the evangelicals, the field of atonement for the slave trade'. This all sounds quite innocent, despite its more duplicitous beginnings, it led to the division of Africa amongst the pre-eminent European powers. The race to divvy up Africa had much more to do with arms than absolution. The conference at Berlin in 1884 symbolizes this perfectly. While presenting itself as a way to stop bloodshed as European powers competed over African resources and to eliminate slavery, it really just devised a more efficient way to slice up Africa. 'Article 34 of the Berlin Act states that any European nation that took possession of an African coast, or named themselves as "protectorate" of one, had to inform the signatory powers of the Berlin Act of this action.

If this was not done then their claim would not be recognized. This article introduced the "spheres of influence" doctrine, the control of a coast also meant that they would control the hinterland to an almost unlimited distance. Article 35 determined that in order to occupy a coastal possession, the nation also had to prove that they controlled sufficient authority there to protect existing rights such as freedom of trade and transit. This was called the doctrine of "effective occupation" and it made the conquest of Africa a less bloody process'. By the conference's end, Africa had been distributed amongst Portugal, Spain, France, Prussia, Belgium, Italy and Britain. Britain received Egypt, Sudan, British Somaliland (Somalia), Uganda, British East Africa (Kenya), Zanzibar (Tanzania), Nyasaland (Malawi), Northern and Southern Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Bechuanaland (Botswana), South Africa, Swaziland, Basutoland (Lesotho), the Gold Coast (Ghana), Sierra Leone, Northern and Southern Nigeria, and the Gambia.

With this sizeable plot of land to exploit, entrepreneurs inevitably arose. Cecil Rhodes, of the eponymous Rhodesia, was one such enterprising individual. He had made a fortune in investing in the railroads and diamonds, eventually establishing De Beers, which held and continues to hold a near monopoly on diamond trade. He set out to unite Africa as an empire under his control, by building a railroad from Capetown to Cairo.

This feat was not completed in Rhodes' lifetime and remains as such. Rhodes' modus operandi was not the unification of Africa for the mere glorification of his own ego but for as he put it, "We know the size of the world and we know the total extent. Africa is still lying ready for us and it is our duty to take it. It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory and we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes that more territory simply means more of the Anglo-Saxon race more of the best the most human, most honourable race the world possesses".

Underlying Britain's 'sincere' attempts to atone for their subjugation of black slaves was a superiority complex and thirst for power. Rhodes successfully added 1 million square kilometres of territory to the British Empire, including the annexation of native states Mashonaland and Matabeleland, later renamed Rhodesia. He even annexed lands belonging by heredity to the Boers, Dutch farmers who settled in Africa during the 17th century. His true intents and views remained a secret until his death; they were revealed in his last will and testament, Confession of Faith, they are indicative of that of Britain itself. Africa was another route to dominion over the rest of Europe.

The increasing interest in Africa by Britain in particular was spurred by its quest to continue as the premier power in Europe. Britain had a head start on its peers in the Industrial Revolution and could out-produce all competing nations. But by the second half of the 19th century, Germany and France had become bona fide powers in Europe, industrially and militarily. Germany had also begun to build up a navy to contend with even that of England, which had ruled supreme in that arena for centuries. Germany even began to gain colonial possessions, claiming German East Africa (Tanzania), German South West Africa (Namibia) and Kamerun (Cameroon) after the conference of Berlin. They even seized territory in the south Pacific and East Antilles in the 1880's and 1890's, including northeast Papua New Guinea, the Bismarck's, the Marshalls and the Caroline's.

France, Britain's long-time rival, too gained substantial lands in Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, French West Africa (Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea), French Equatorial Africa (Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of the Congo) and Madagascar. In the ancient struggle between France and Britain for supremacy, and the newly developing one between Britain and Germany, Britain sought to tip the scales back in their favour. Cecil Rhodes was pivotal in this, gaining lands and wealth. Africa became an arena for these heavyweights to match up. In 1869, the French complete the digging of the Suez canal, which cut the distance between them and their far eastern colonies and those in India. The trip to India alone was reduced from 3 months down to 3 weeks.

In order to appease the Khedive of Egypt so he would allow France digging rights, the French agreed to give him shares of the canal company. By 1875, the Khedive was running low on funds and in a truly Machiavellian act, the British bought the shares from him and appropriated the canal right out from under France's nose. France was upset at this; they hoped they would be able to gain a stronger hold upon Indian trade. Instead Britain gained this invaluable passage to 'the jewel in the British crown'. All the posturing and posing, threatening and cajoling was to keep ahead of the competition in resources, capital and influence.

It draws parallel to the cold war between the U.S. A and the U.S.S. R in the 20th century, though the animosity between Britain and France often flared up. In a perverse irony, embracing Africa into the wings of Christendom also allowed the slings and arrows used against fellow Christians to be forged. The British had established an empire on which the sun never set. Through clever manipulation of societies and the use of brute force, they gained a foothold on the African continent. Britain's presence on the continent held for 150 years, until sweeping changes after the Second World War led to many former colonies and protectorates being granted independence. The age of traditional imperialism is virtually over.

As the former dependencies increase their influence, Britain and Europe, are displaced as the sole players on the world stage. Cole, Stephen L. "Cole's Commentary". The Baltimore County Public Library Homepage. October 1995.

Leroux, Vin. Cecil John Rhodes Homepage, 2002. Lewis, Roy and Yvonne Foy. The British in Africa. London: The Trinity Press, 1971.

Licht heim, George. Imperialism. New York: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1971. Thornton, A.P. Imperialism in the Twentieth Century.

Don Mills: Burns and MacEachern Limited, 1977. Smith, Woodruff D. European Imperialism in the 19th & 20th Centuries. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1982. Wright, Harrison, ed, The "New" Imperialism: Analysis of Late Nineteenth-Century Expansion. 2nd ed. Toronto: D. C Heath and Company, 1976.

"The British Empire". Encarta Homepage. 2002. "Berlin Conference: 1884" North park University Homepage, March 1999.

"Age of Exploration Time Line". The Mariners' Museum Homepage. 2001.