The Rivalries in Early Twentieth Century European Society - Essay Example

The Rivalries in Early Twentieth Century European Society The subject of the reasons for the belated 19th century partition of Africa by European colonies remains a puzzle to many historians. Even though the rough delineation of the European scramble for Africa is renowned at the events level, not even a remote distinct agreement regarding its basic nature as a process of history exists. Most historians concur that the scramble for partition of Africa was an amazing course of European imperialism. Less than twenty years to the end of the 19th century, Europe’s major powers stretched their strongholds from the limits of the African coastline to the vast continental interior, and divided the outstretched land amongst them. The capacity to explain for the partition of the African continent has been declared an indicator of imperialism theories, and divergent hypothesis have been suggest with immense vehemence. The scale of vehemence produced in the deliberations could be clarified by the verity that numerous key queries are concerned and the diverse responses to the questions inform fundamentally diverse outlooks of historical associations between European and African subjects. The question concerns the link between Africa’s partition and the expansion of European capitalism. The debate is viewed as a battle between belief in the existence of relationship between capitalism and partitioning of Africa, and the absence of such a conviction. Another question concerns the nature of partitioning process involved. The question is whether the scramble was a spontaneous unplanned process, or whether it was a deliberate decision by the partitioners. Several reasons are given for the Scramble and partition of Africa by the European colonizers. First, the Europeans seriously needed the raw materials for their industries back in Europe. Some of these raw materials were found in plenty in the African continent and had not been mined by anyone. Secondly, the promise of rich gems like diamond in Sierra Leone and gold in The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, plus a host of other valuable rocks drove the European colonizers to antagonize each other. The desire to have autonomous control over the rich minerals sometimes led to combat; a good case in point being the rivalry between Britain and Germany for the resources of Tanzania in East Africa. The major European countries involved in the partition of Africa also believed that the holder of biggest colonial domain would be relatively superior to the rival colonialists in power. A common hypothesis given for the French involvement in colonization of Africa was the desire by the French to restore their reputation and pride after losing the Franco-Prussia war (Duignan and Gann 16). Another controversial reason forwarded for the Europeans foray into the African continent is the European obligation to dominate other non-white races. It is suggested that the Europeans believed they had a responsibility to deliver civilization to other “weaker races”, by whichever means possible (voluntarily or by coercion). Later in 1899 the British and the French resolved their differences. The British acknowledged the French’s Madagascar, while the French recognized the British Nigerian and Zanzibar protectorate. European socio-economic standings went through a major transformation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The reason for the intense revolution was the extraordinary growth of relations and factors of production, which is generally called Industrial Revolution; although this could appropriately be referred to as the Industrial capitalism breakthrough. This period witnessed a remarkable rise in production capacity and efficiency. Major industrial changes, that had commenced a century prior to the European colonization of Africa, received considerable boost at the onslaught of partition. The cotton industry in Britain is clear illustration of the industries that underwent major expansion at the turn of the century. Industries in the major European powers like Belgium, France and Germany experienced a boom in productivity. As early as 1840s, capital goods gradually set a trend, initiating the age of steel, coal and iron, employed in exuberant railway constructions. In addition, other transport and weaponry industries (technology of imperialism), experienced qualitative advancement (Hobsbawm 154). The effects partitioning of Africa by the Europeans sent ripple effects to the rest of the world. The initial effect of colonolization of Africa was manifested in the trade industry. Industrial capitalism did not merely advance global trade; it as well altered the nature of international trade. A novel global division of labour was in existence and in evolution prior and after the discovery of America and India. However, an integrated global trade network had not materialized and this only took shape late in the nineteenth century. With the expansion of communication networks and the associated immense decline in the costs of transportation, trading in posh and foreign extravagant merchandises paved the way for trading in large primary goods and mass-production of industrial commodities. The annual value world trade increased in the early twentieth century. For Europe, trade industry comprised gradually more of the industrial products exportation and the importation of agricultural yields, then later, of mineral raw materials. It was at this period that the colonial products like tea; coffee, cocoa et cetera was used on a daily basis in the European countries. Capitals as well turned into an influential export product. In the United Kingdom, Eric Hobsbawm informs us, starting from late nineteenth Century immense capital accumulations were “burning holes in their owners' pockets” (91). Comparable capitals, searching for investment areas overseas, were gathered as well in France and later on in Germany. It is essential to affirm on the implications of these fiscal and social transformations instigated by colonization and industrialization, although it seems obvious; numerous attempts in modern historiography have been made to water down their weight of industrialization in the European expansion overseas. However it is as well imperative to comprehend that the progression of trade, industry and societal transformation was incredibly not even and the unevenness generated inconsistencies and fuelled rivalry among the European colonial powers. In the beginning, the industrial revolution propelled England ahead of all major powers in the globe, socially, politically and economically. At the beginning of the twentieth century, newcomers Germany drew closer industrial-wise, surpassing England in a number of aspects. The Great Depression in 1873 to 1896 aggravated the rivalry, between England and Germany particularly and additionally separated the rates of economical growth of the capitalist powers. In the course of the Great Depression “Great Britain ceased to be the workshop of the world” (Crotty 894) and was rendered just one of the three supreme industrial powers in the globe (Alongside the United States and Germany); and in particular vital aspects, Britain was the weakest of them. Around the year 1900, the population of the diverse European countries increased immensely and a key transformation transpired in the populations of the key European countries. The late 19th century was an era of unparalleled and unique growth in the populations and the sources and mechanisms of these population expansions are deliberated between historical demographers and the historians. The essential factor for historians here is the general development and its consequent implications. An outcome was that the European citizens were pushed to travel overseas to find open spaces and better standards of living; intercontinental relocation hastened significantly. Notwithstanding this, the overall European population increased from around 144 million people late in the eighteenth century to roughly 430 million at the turn of the twentieth century. The rates of population growth in the European powers were unequal; the most noticeable development to this aspect (unevenness) was the comparative decline in the French population, converse to the population rise in Germany. France started her population stagnation earlier on, whereas other nations expanded unabated, running to around 1900. In the same era, the population of Germany increased swiftly and Britain's increased at a rather sluggish rate. For its rapid population growth, Germany was only overshadowed by a single European country at the start of the twentieth Century, Russia. The variations in the European powers population base embodied a physical transformation influencing the number of prospective workers and armed civilians. In addition, there was a psychological aspect. Nationalism turned into a significant tool in the politics of the European nations in then the later section of the 19th century; Nationalism strongly manifested itself when citizens of the various European countries started to think of their nation’s characteristics and statistics. Even though the nationalism issue was not new, its political appeal improved deeply in the twentieth century, and its political substance was changed (Crotty 900). Works Cited Crotty, Homer. The Twentieth Century. L. A: The University of California, 1905. Duignan, Peter and Gann, Lewis. Colonialism in Africa, 1870-1960. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Hobsbawm, Erick. Industry and empire: the making of modern English society, 1750 to the present day. New York: Pantheon Books, 1968 Read More