The invention of movable type helped spread information and new ideas. Artists and writers flourished. At the same time, nations saw trade as a way of increasing their wealth. Merchants dreamed of new sources for goods such as gold and spices. For centuries, Arab traders had controlled existing trade routes to Africa and Asia, which meant European merchants were forced to buy from Italian traders at high prices.
They wanted to trade directly with Africa and Asia, but this meant that they had to find a new sea route. The stakes were high. They were also the last of the European powers to leave Africa. Their decline as world power and their relative poverty compared to the European powers forced Portugal to exploit the colonies in a brutal manner.
It would appear that both the policies of assimilation and paternal responsibility were nothing more than myths used to conceal Portugal's cruel exploitation of her helpless colonial subjects. Despite Portugal's boast about non-racial Christian civilizing missions in her colonies, official Portuguese sources disclosed in that there were 1, civilized and ,00 uncivilized Africans in Portuguese Guinea; 30, civilized and 4,, uncivilized in Angola; and 25, civilized and 5,, uncivilized in Mozambique' Boateng, Following Ghana's Independence in March , the tempo of decolonization went up and by , all Africa except Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Guinea Bissau and a few others were still under colonial rule.
In places like Algeria, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, it took major confrontations before independence was finally granted. Factors that Contributed to Decolonization:. The rise of native Africans against colonialism. The Atlantic Charter of Nations. The exhaustion of Europe. Although all of Africa has been decolonized, it is argued that the European Colonial Masters still exercise a strong presence in the African countries in what is termed as Neocolonialism.
Kwame Nkrumah the first president of Ghana has explained the Neocolonialism concept in a book. He writes:. Without qualm, it dispenses with its flags, and even with certain of its more hated expatriate officials. This means, so it claims, that it is 'giving' independence to its former subjects to be followed by 'aid' for their development. Review Questions. Compare the colonial policies adopted by the British and French in administering their colonies in Africa and assess the impacts of such policies on 1 Africans and their culture and 2 in preparing the native Africans to rule their countries after Independence.
Compare West Africa with East Africa in terms of European colonization, exploitation and slave trade and explain why European influence was more intense in West Africa than it was in the Eastern province of the Continent. Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: During the so-called triangular trade that ensued from European colonization of Africa, slaves were purchased in West Africa, shipped to the Americas to produce cotton etc.
The search for raw materials supply for European Industries 3. The prestige attached to ownership of colonies 4. Scientific and geography curiosity that results from exploration of new areas Between and , land explorers such as Henry Stanley An American employed by King Leopold of Belgian, David Livingstone along the Zambezi and Mungo Park along the Niger river began to explore the hinterland. Two main features of French rule were the 1.
Imposition of poll tax 2. Forced labor on all adult population who were not French citizens 'The idea of Assimilation was based on the revolutionary doctrine of the equality of man and the assumption that French Culture was superior to that of the Africans, while the policy of direct rule was a necessary adjunct of the policy of assimilation.
In the century between the s and the s, different nations competed with one another, and with native peoples, to take control over the area that is today known as the American Pacific Northwest and the west coast of Canada.
In one sense this competition had begun in , when Columbus landed in the New World, claimed it for Spain, and inaugurated a European rivalry for territory. Over the next two years, the Pope responded to the discovery and the threat of competition over it essentially by dividing the western hemisphere into Spanish and Portuguese zones of influence, and assigning the Pacific Northwest to Spain.
Yet Europeans would not actually see Alaska and the Pacific Northwest until the 18th century, when their ambitions spurred one another to explore the territory. The contest ended in , when the Americans and British divided most of the region between themselves by drawing a boundary between Canada and the United States at the 49th parallel; another key event occurred when Russia sold Alaska to the United States in This long span of time illustrates just how isolated the region once was from European centers of power.
The period marked an especially intense era in this rivalry, for it was when sailors from different nations first visited the lands between Alaska to the north and California to the south, and engaged their countries directly in a contest over who would control the territory. The Spanish arrived first, in exploratory voyages of and , and performed ritual acts of possession that asserted their claim to the territory.
The British soon followed, with the first ship arriving in and many more coming thereafter. Other nations also made appearances in this period: the United States, a relatively weak competitor, showed up belatedly; Russia coveted lands south of Alaska but never really established an effective claim to any except at Fort Ross in California, between and ; and France sent only a single exploratory expedition in this era.
But Spain and Great Britain were the main contestants, and the nature and outcome of their rivalry loom large in understanding the European forces increasingly at work on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca left.
John Meares, Voyages made in the Years London, Atlas, plate 7. Sketch by T. Between the time of Columbus and the later 18th century, Spain was the most successful colonial power in the Americas, occupying most of the coasts of Central and South America as well as the Gulf of Mexico, and extracting enormous wealth from such places as Mexico and Peru.
When Russian voyages to Alaska in the s and s threatened the North Pacific coastline that Spain claimed, they motivated Spain to send expeditions to the Northwest Coast, as well as to establish missions, forts, and towns along the California coast.
But Spanish interest in the lands that would become the west coast of the United States and Canada was not initially focused on its economic potential or prospective harbors. This often included the approbation of enslaving Africans and indigenous peoples. Missionaries were frequently a part of the early expeditions of Spain with the aim of bringing Christianity to the native inhabitants. Europeans typically viewed indigenous populations as barbaric heathens who could only become civilized through the adoption of Christianity.
Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Search for:. European Voyages of Exploration: Intro The European Voyages of Exploration: Introduction Beginning in the early fifteenth century, European states began to embark on a series of global explorations that inaugurated a new chapter in world history.
Empire and Politics During the eighth century, the Islamic conquest of North Africa, Spain, France, and parts of the Mediterranean, effectively impeded European travel to the Far East for subsequent centuries.
Economic Factors Before the fifteenth century, European states enjoyed a long history of trade with places in the Far East, such as India and China. Science and Culture The period of European exploration introduced the people of Europe to the existence of new cultures worldwide. Religious Factors One of the tenets of Catholicism decreed that Christianity ought to be the universal religion and faith among all mankind.
Summary: The age of European exploration and discovery represented a new period of global interaction and interconnectivity. As a result of technological advancements, Europeans were able to forge into new and previously undiscovered territories.
The growing desire to fulfill European demand for luxury goods, and the desire to unearth precious materials such as gold and silver, acted as a particularly crucial motivation.
The period of European global exploration sparked the beginning phases of European empire and colonialism, which would continue to develop and intensify over the course of the next several centuries. As European exploration evolved and flourished, it saw the increasing oppression of native populations and the enslavement of Africans.
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