European Imperialism

Describe the motivations and developments that led to European Imperialism in Africa in the 1880s. What were the main goals of such imperialism and what were the main rationalizations used by European powers? How did King Leopold II’s Congo Free State come to represent the hypocrisy of European Imperialism in Africa by the early 1900s? How did the superior weapons used by Europeans to defeat African military resistance eventually take its toll on European soldiers during World War I? To what extent does the conquest of Africa confirm Robert O. Mark’s concept of “the Gap”? Use evidence from course materials.