The Making of Modern Africa Final Exam - Assignment Example

The industrial revolution of Europe and North Africa needed raw materials to fuel its growth. Through the vast resources within the African continent, European powers could obtain sufficient resources to cater to the needs of the Industrial revolution2. Inevitably in 1884 the Berlin Conference took place in order to determine how 13 European Nations and the United States could impose its rule on 50 African nations2. Consequentially, the Berlin Conference resulted in the partition of Africa without regard to issues such as Nationalisation, language, culture and other unifying factors2.

The two most dominant colonial powers after the scramble and partition of Africa were France and Britain. The two powers were driven by several political, social and economic reasons for colonialism in colonial Africa. The European patriots were driven be the desire to colonize distant lands for the grandeur of their country’s3. One particular example is the conquest by Britain’s Cecil John Rhodes’. The British explorer was able to yield a huge chunk of central Africa for the honour of his king.

Khapoya observes that through the scientific knowledge collected by geographers, European powers were able to determine if a certain area was worth laying claim to3. Great Britain used its naval and military advantage to secure Egypt, part of Sudan, Somaliland, British East Africa and most of southern African region4. Tvedt argues that British conquest of Egypt was essentially hydrological and related to Nile control upstream coupled with the benefit of British economic interests in Egypt3.This British Nile Imperialism sparked British advances into tropical Africa from Egypt and further enhanced the Nation’s commercial expansion to other regions.

The British understood the river system of the Nile and the commercial benefits accrued to this region. Therefore, driven by economic and political