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  • Essay / England's banishment of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in 1807

    During the 1500s and 1800s, the slave trade in Europe was still active and functional, but by 1807, England banned the transatlantic slave trade, and then eventually slavery itself. Since the end of slavery, the interest of European nations has turned to imperialism in Africa, leading many European countries to slowly colonize African lands. From there, European imperialism began to be motivated by Social Darwinism, the desire for economic stability and, above all, nationalism and competition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the more minor motives of imperialism is that European nations believe they are a more "advanced" race, so they feel the need to "help" Africa evolve into a more modern civilization. For example, in John Ruskin's lecture given at Oxford University, he said: "...She must found colonies...formed of her most energetic and worthy men...and there teach her settler..." By saying this, it shows that by being a more futuristic civilization, Britain needs to go out and find places to establish colonies and help the natives become a more present civilization. To add, in Rudeyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burdens", he also demonstrates a sense of Social Darwinism by stating: "...go and bind your sons to exile/to meet the needs of your captives..." This shows that Europe sent its best men. to the colonies to assist the “captives”, who are the natives, in their “needs” such as teaching them to use the machines they brought, to use modernized weapons and above all to improve their living conditions. Another possible motivation is the search for economic power and stability. Africa holds many valuable resources that Europeans may have needed. For example, in the table "Selected African colonies and their exports", it shows resources that were useful to Britain such as "copper, zinc, lead and coal". And because these resources were rare and valuable, the British would have to find a quick and easy way to acquire them, by owning the land that produced these materials, which led to a large number of colonizations of European countries in Africa. also in The British Empire written by Trevor Owen Lloyd it shows a graph of imports and exports between 1854 and 1900, and the difference between the number of exports in 1854 and 1900 is a drastic change. This evidence proves that European nations were essentially plundering the resources of African land, but not giving back enough in return. and from these resources, Europeans make enormous profits by reselling them to other countries, while African workers are very harshly exploited and Africa itself is poor of its own resources. The final and most critical motive of imperialism is nationalism and competition. To show this, in Does Germany Need Colonies by Freidrich Fabri, he explains how Germany must step up its efforts and give up its status as the most powerful country in Europe by stating: "...It would be wise if we Germans , learn colonial skills. of our Anglo-Saxon [British] cousins ​​and... fight for them. In other words, Fabri suggests that the Germans are fully capable of realizing the achievements of the British and therefore should create colonies in Africa. This implies a nationalism..