Before the scramble and partition of Africa happened most European societies had trading contacts with African societies mainly at coastal areas and few hinterlands for example French in west Africa had managed in controlling trade in Senegal while British controlled small coastal colony at Lagos and sierra Leone for commerce most of Africans continent at that time was still under local rulers by 1870’s after that the word,
Scramble and partition of Africa it was started at the 2nd half of the nineteenth century where Africans countries were divided into pieces by the European nations among themselves with the aim of exploitation also due to the industrial revolution European nations competing in demanding areas for getting raw materials, market, area for investments, areas for surplus and soon so they see the alternative solution is to go to Africa and find the strategic areas in order to feed their mother industries in Europe they competing in finding some of the strategic areas like Congo basin, area like Zambia, Zimbabwe, and south Africa which posses the minerals like gold, diamond and copper.
The process of scramble and partition of Africa had three major stages during 1830-1880’s the scramble between France and Britain, then in 1980’s Germany and Italy and the last stage was Berlin conference which led the partition of Africans countries into European countries under supervision of Otto von Bismarck the councilor of German.
Scramble for Africa (Zimbabwe) means struggle for something it refer to a sudden rush of European nations towards Africa with the aim of economic exploitation in the later half of 19th century it included Britain, France as the pioneers later on joined by Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Germany in 1880’s. and also the word partition means the follows
Partition means to break something into pieces also refers to the process whereby African continent was divided into pieces among European imperialist countries in the last quarter of 19th century the process was done through berlin conference.
After looking the definition of scramble and partition in Africa especially in Zimbabwe let us now looking about those factors which divided economically, socially and politically. Let as start with economic factors this is like follows,
The needs of raw materials due to the industrial revolution in Europe their industries needed the raw materials and due to the civil war going on into their countries British and their fellows come to Africans searching for raw materials like cotton, ivory, gold, copper, timber ground nuts for lubricating machines , palm oil, vegetables and soon in order to feed their industries for the examples the areas like Zambia, Zimbabwe, and south Africa which posses minerals were strongly scrambled. The following are the quotation which shows the colonies needs in Africa this is written as follows,
“There was an acute need of tropical raw materials such as cotton, for text industries, vegetables for the manufacturing of soap, lubricants oil for machines, cash crops, minerals and timber with the above –mention acute demand of raw materials”( mwijage,p. 133)
The need to control areas for investments of their capital, European nations wanted to have an outlet for the investments of their surplus capital so they came to invest in Africa with the aim of getting huge profit because it seemed that in Africa there plenty land , having good fertility soil which is suitable for agriculture like Matebele and Shona land in Zimbabwe and also there was cheap labor which could lower the production of coasts so those colonies regarded African countries as one of the most lucrative methods of capital investment. According to July ferry the France prime minister between 1880-1883 said that “colonies are to the rich countries one of the most lucrative method of investing capital” also his idea was supported by Lenin, Russian leader and historian like J.A Hobson who said that I quote as follows,
“Over production in excessive manufacturing and surplus capital Which could not find sound investment within the country forced Great Britain, France, Germany and Holland to place larger and larger Portions of their economic resources outside the area of their present Political domination this stimulated a new policy of expansion that took in new areas” (Mwijage 2006:p. 136).
Also there was some of historians sayyid that European powers come to Africa not only for trade prospects but also by future potential exploitation and vast opportunities for investments they call this an “
Cheap labor this also is one of the factors which led scramble and partition of Africans countries this is due to the needed of cheap labor which were able to produce cash crops which low prices needed for their manufacturing industries so they come to Africans especially in Zimbabwe to get raw materials which were produce with those cheap labors.
Area for the market due to the over production of their finished goods like clothes and other finished goods the European countries come to the Africa in order to sold their finished goods so the alternative solution is to come to Africans where they can sold their finished goods so through that factors led them to scramble and partition of Africans especially in Zimbabwe.
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