African Imperialism Essays

African Imperialism Essays African Imperialism Essay African Imperialism Essay Prior to 1880, European rule in the African continent had mostly been restricted to the coast, extending a short distance inland along major rivers due to their economic interests being primarily limited to the slave trade. The start of the 1880’s saw massive increase of European nations seeking territory in Africa. Europeans seeking rights to land, resources, and trading routes in Africa had to compete with other nations, corporations, and African natives. In order to gain these rights from the native people, Europeans would make unfair treaties and contracts with African tribes that took advantage of their, land, resources, and people. The title of the source, â€Å"Controlling Africa-The Standard Treaty† implies that this contract was used as a standard operating procedure by the Royal Niger Company to control the land, resources, and people of African tribes. The language and formality of the document is very biased towards the Royal Niger Company and it mentions that the Royal Niger Company will pay native land owners for the land they require, so I would conclude that the Royal Niger Company was operated by Europeans. In return for ceding the power to mine, farm, and build on their land tribes received protection, payment to landowners, and a set payment to the Chiefs. Tribe leaders were probably not educated well enough to understand exactly what they were signing away in this contract and therefore likely did not receive any of these promises from the Royal Niger Company or were possibly lied to about the terms and conditions of the contract. European Imperialism occurred for many reasons, one being the desire for territories. The more territory you controlled the more power and prestige your country had. Exploration was another reason for European Imperialism. Wealthy sponsors who wanted details of markets, goods, and resources renewed interest in exploration by funding expeditions whose purpose was to create and report records of said details. Control of trade routes fueled the scramble for Africa and competition among European countries. Africa was a direct route to India which made the Europeans countries want African territory even more because of India’s silks and spices. The Suez Canal on the eastern coast of Egypt is the fastest route to India. The Suez Canal was very important to Britain. After capturing the Suez Canal from the French, guarding the canal became a critical part of Britain’s foreign policy. The British needed to drive out the threat of other Europeans in Africa to maintain control of India, and they did so efficiently. They quickly gained control of both the major sea routes to India and then focused on the rest of the continent. Whether the British were trying to further public support or prevent another nation from becoming a threat, all British actions in Africa were directly or indirectly linked to India. The British were motivated by their desire to become powerful, and they skillfully combined enterprise and conquest to create an empire centered on the wealth of India. The struggle of difference between the white Europeans and the native Africans was a major factor in the impact of imperialism on Africa. The European explorers â€Å"seldom had men of their own race with them, and they often found their African hosts strange and unpredictable, and feared their hostility. † 1 The Europeans felt like they had to gain control over the African people in order to maintain power. This sometimes had positive effects such as the introduction of modern transportation such as railroads. They also shared their knowledge of nutrition and medicine which increased the health and life span of the Africans. According to Chamberlain’s book, â€Å"The Scramble for Africa†, imperialism was good for Africa because it brought the African natives’ lives up to the standards of western civilization. 2 This is true in some aspects however, I believe the social relationships of the natives and their cultural traditions were negatively altered causing them to change their way of life solely because the European’s ethnocentric way of thinking. Their controlling of the indigenous people had many other negative impacts on Africa because of how the Europeans treated the Africans as inferiors and sometimes even harshly with no ethnic or cultural respect. Railroad companies and miners used local populations as a source of labor for dangerous jobs where the indigenous people worked in harsh conditions, sometimes risking their lives, for little pay. The scramble for Africa started in 1870 and by 1890 most of Africa was under European rule with only Ethiopia and Liberia remaining independent. European Imperialism most likely caused the tribal warfare that occurred later in Africa. The Standard Treaty of Controlling Africa reflects the imperialistic rush that occurred in the late 19th century. Europe wanted African land for power, wealth, and control. The Royal Niger Company was significant in that it helped Britain gain control of many African countries. The competition between European countries drove this scramble for Africa and affected the world for generations to come.

Labor vs Management Essays

Labor vs Management Essays Labor vs Management Essay Labor vs Management Essay To this day, there is still a fine sharp line drawn in the very dirt of the big, wide, expanse of the work field. You are either in management or, the common laborer who resides below the manager, working long shifts with little pay. Employers think managers, as representatives of business owners, should have all the power. They should be able to hire and fire workers at will, for any reason or no reason. They should pay only the wages dictated by supply and demand. They should et the hours, pace and conditions of work for maximum productivity. Laborers on the other hand believe that work isnt something to be purchased or sold off like cattle; they believe that their wages should be enough to allow them to be able to comfortably support themselves, regardless of the current economic conditions or production rates. There is certainly no doubt that if asked, anyone would choose to be on the management side of the work field. But without laborers, there would be no production, and no production is no business. So thats why I choose to focus on the laborers of the work field and find a happy medium between laborers and management. As a company expands and grows, so will its profits. But whether those profits are split in the right way was questionable. Owners, employers and managers often would get extremely large amounts of money from the incoming profits of the business while laborers were down below scraping up a meager pay and had to deal with longer hours and faster pace to keep with demand. John D Rockefeller is a great example of this, in his words l would rather earn 1% off of 100 peoples efforts than 100% of my own Rockefeller thought that management was supremely superior and that by being a laborer you essentially Just are working to put the real money right into his pocket and the laborers wages were the simple extra coin or dollar that gets thrown to the nearest poor soul on the side of the street. Like Rockefeller, employers selfish ways were what spurred Labor movements in the late 19th and early 20th century. In my opinion, the more profit a company makes the more they should make sure to invest back into their employees, A large company that makes a large profit should not pay its laborers minimum wage with no benefits. Companies should make sure to invest back into their employees, so that their employees feel that they are receiving a competitive wage and good working conditions. A competitive wage good working conditions and better benefits will provide higher productivity in the working environment, this benefits the company as ell, happy more productive laborers means higher productivity rate without error. Employers who pay their labors only minimum wage compete with other companies who pay more than minimum wage by offering great benefits such as full healthcare coverage for the laborer and their family, more sick and personal days, and coverage by the employers insurance policy. This way everything balances, employers dont have to pay high wages and laborers are getting what they are working for. Labor vs. Management By Antiquarians