The Motives behind Colonization

In the 19^th century, several European countries wanted to become industrial powers like the United Kingdom. To do so, they needed capital, raw materials and access to a market for their factory-made products. This is precisely why they took possession of many territories in Africa.

Europe's wealthy financiers are looking for profitable projects in which to invest their wealth. Banks, for example, lend huge sums of money to business owners looking for the capital they need to buy machinery, transport raw materials and build infrastructure (roads, bridges, ports, etc.).

European industries needed a lot of raw materials to keep their factories running. Although there were resources in Europe, some were not available, and the various colonies in Africa supplied them at low cost. Europeans were interested in Africa's many resources, including minerals (zinc, lead, iron, etc.), rubber and cotton.

By taking possession of new territories in Africa, the European states gained access to new markets for products manufactured in European factories. The populations of the colonies became buyers of products manufactured in Europe. For example, people living in a British colony will buy the various products manufactured in British factories, which is beneficial for the mother country.

The African colonies supplied the European mother countries with raw materials (coffee, cotton, sugar, various minerals, etc.) for the production of manufactured goods. These products are then shipped to the colonies where they are purchased.

For a state, acquiring new territories is very important, as it provides access to new resources that can in turn be used to supply factories. Increased industrial production helps to enrich a state, which can then build up a more powerful army. Finally, this army increases its capacity to take over new territories.

For Europeans, the colonization of Africa was justified by the fact that Africans were inferior to them and that they had to civilize them by bringing them the benefits of Western civilization. At the time, notions of racial superiority and inferiority were omnipresent. This belief in the superiority of Europeans was reinforced by the fact that Europe had undergone an Industrial Revolution. European civilisation, with its revolutionary new means of transport, its culture and its prestigious universities, was seen as superior to the African commoners or people. This is why the Europeans wanted to impose their culture onto their new African colonies.