question archive The scramble for africa Thank you in advance for the help! As Robinson and Gallagher (1961, pp
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The scramble for africa Thank you in advance for the help! As Robinson and Gallagher (1961, pp. 19) stated, “a first task in analyzing the late-Victorians’ share in the partition [of Africa] is to understand the motives of the ministers who directed it, and the study of official thinking is indispensable to this.” This paper aims to scrutinize British Imperialists' motives in a scramble for Africa in three respects: political, economic, and social.
The Scramble for Africa begun in the last quarter of the 18th century and lasted until WWI. While the decline of the Ottoman influence created a power vacuum in the region, Europe's colonial powers, following the lead of the British imperialists, have begun to fill that void. In Africa and The Victorians, Robinson and Gallagher examined the relationship between the partition of Africa and the British decision-making process. According to them, the Victorians political relations with Africa changed radically after 1882. Lord Salisbury stated: “I do not exactly know the cause of this sudden revolution. But there it is” (Quoted by Robinson and Gallagher, 1961, pp. 17). Late-Victorians were more eager to dominate Africa than their predecessors, and the British forces invaded Egypt in 1882. The collapse of weak African governments may also have played a role in the partition. In fact, the British divide and rule policy was also an important factor in the national unrest and disorder in Africa. However, Robinson and Gallagher focused on the British policy-making as the underlying political factor. In fact, according to them, as also indicated by Schumpeter, “The possibility of official thinking in itself was a cause of late-Victorian imperialism” (pp. 21). Indeed, England had a long tradition of imperial rule, and that policy tradition was inherited from Pitt and Channing to Palmerston and Clarendon (p.22). They also highlight ed policymakers' ignorance of Africa, as the partition was made “at house parties” without any public interest or participation.