Natalie Malek World Cultures A block

In History of Africa, Kevin Shillington argues that France played an important role in the colonization of Africa. The country used imperialism, a policy of conquering and ruling other lands to colonize Africa. They did this by intruding in Africa along with a few other countries and forcing their culture upon them. France was interested in Africa because of its natural resources. Shillington demonstrates this when he says, A further economic factor in the scramble was the European belief that vast stretches interior contained huge quantities of untapped wealth and raw materials (303). In order to keep up with the other European countries during the industrial revolution, France needed these resources to supply its growing manufacturing industry. The Africans fought to keep the French from taking these resources. Belgium invaded the Congo and started to steal the resources and manipulate the citizens. This set the stage for other European countries to conquer Africa. France wanted to continue to grow their empire and to take advantage of the natural resources that Belgium was getting. In addition, France was in direct competition with Britain. The European markets were drying up; they had difficulty selling their goods. Because of these factors France started to claim parts of Africa, such as Algeria and Senegal. Next, the French ended up taking over resistant territories in west and north central Africa, such as Tukolor, Mandinka, Central Sudan and Dahomey. In the 1890s, they added the colonies of Gabon, Moyen Congo, and Ubangui-Chari. They took over parts of Africa by making treaties which they decided not to obey. Shillington explains, But it soon became clear that the French never had any intention of respecting the treaties with

Natalie Malek World Cultures A block independent west African states (307). Once they got into the country, they invaded territories and took military control. France, as well as the other countries in Europe, was able to maintain these colonies because of superior technology and by tapping into existing rivalries between the different regions. Shillington states Thus some African rulers accepted a European alliance or treaty of protection in the belief that it would protect them from traditional African enemies(303). In an example of superior technology, Africa was having a problem with Malaria. Europe developed a vaccine for this disease and ended up saving many European lives. Additionally, Europeans generally didnt think of Africans as equals. However, France had respect for the people in their colonies, as long as they adopted French language and culture. France decided to improve Africas trade situation by building railroad tracks between their colonies. Although France entered Africa for its own benefit, they ended up treating them better then the other European countries did. By doing so, France challenged other European countries because they earned more control over Africa. France went into Africa to get access to their rich natural resources and to compete with other European nations. In the process of following Belgiums lead, they ended up spreading their own culture around Africa. Ultimately, France made a huge impact on Africas lifestyle.