Essay On Imperialism In Africa And Asia

From the mid-1900s to 1994, African states escaped imperialism and gained independence.

From the mid-1900s to 1994, African states escaped imperialism and gained independence.

They were taking the African resources for their own benefit (Nkrumah par 1).

Africa has many resources; including diamonds, cocoa, and rubber (Nkrumah par 4).

Also, to challenge the USSR who was looking for allies in Africa, the United States supported anti-communist independence movements.

During the Cold War, the United States was trying to prevent the stop of communism and Soviet ways (Kte’pi par 7). They did this by sending military help and money (“Independent Africa and the Cold War” par 3).

Although 19 century European imperialism was a major factor in causing the political weakness within African states, the solution to Africa’s continuing political, economic, and social conflicts is in the hands of the Africans themselves.

Under European imperialism, the African standard of living was extremely low.The United States did this so the USSR wouldn’t get involved.The United States interference increased their power in Africa.The first leader of independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, encouraged a strong, unified state to bring prosperity to Africa (Nkrumah par 5).Nkrumah once said, “Only a strong political union can bring about full and effective development of our natural resources for the benefit of our people.” Because the Europeans controlled the agricultural aspects, African people suffered from poverty.Post-Colonial African Conflict After World War II, the people of Africa fought to end the effects of European imperialism to achieve political independence and reclaim African culture.After many years of being controlled by Europeans, Africa gradually gained independence following World War II.This story uses jungle animals to portray the corrupt trials (Kenyatta par 6).Kenyatta explains that trials were not trials by peers, but the council was strictly made up of Europeans (Kenyatta par 4).The African people were fed up with inequality and discrimination that they faced.These nationalist leaders and groups combined with the European economic failure, resulted in gradual independence for the African people.