An Area Is Not A Simple Process - 1620 Words

The decolonisation of an area is not a simple process. It is complicated and involves interconnected factors that have not always been handled appropriately; this has the potential to lead to new problems between the parties involved. This essay will examine the effects of decolonisation by drawing an outline of the causes that led to the decline of European Imperialism in Africa. The assessment will be focusing on the continuations and disparities following the period of Long Depression at the end of the nineteenth century, which included the Scramble for Africa† and the political dissecting of the continent. Imperialism is the extension of a country s eminence into foreign territories and can be conducted by various means. The†¦show more content†¦This was European Imperialism working like a conglomerate. This policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control, is primarily for the benefit of the settlers and leads to the exploitation of the colonised. The mechanics of colonialism were designed to facilitate extraction. This is the point made in Alemazung s assessment of how the functions of colonialism are still operating in a post-colonial Africa. The relationship between Africa and the West being described as asymmetrical (2010, p. 62) is an example of the nature of Imperialism and that the exchange between Africa and the West was not one of balance. The end of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade meant that the countries in Europe had one less avenue where wealth was streaming in from. This led to the exploration of Africa, which was as much a political expedition as it was geographical. The Berlin Conference in 1884 was organised so that the European countries could settle what areas of Africa were designated between them without going to war. The World Wars showed that Europe had a conflict between the nations. The imperialist powers were not united and people from colonised countries across the globe fought in the war, which resulted in thousands of them dying. The War took its financial toll on the West and caused many nations to acquire loans from the United States. This took a strain on their colonial rule as the resources