Colonisation of Africa & The Slave Trade:
Until the 19th century, Britain and other European powers had confined their imperial ambitions (building their empire) in Africa to some coastal outposts, this is where they could apply their economic and military influence. On the western coast of Africa, Britain's activity was centred around the slave trade.
Between 1562 and 1807, the slave trade was abolished and British ships carried three million people into slavery in America (the European look eleven million). This left the population of the west coast of Africa devastated while European traders grew rich off the profits.
Between the 1870s and 1900, Africa faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasions and eventual conquest and colonisation. During this time, African societies tried to resist the attempts of Africa being colonised and foreign domination being imposed on them. By early twentieth century, most of Africa had been colonised by European powers.
This colonisation was motivated by three main factors - economic, political and social. It developed as a result of the collapse of the profitability of the slave trade (economic) - this was one of the most prominent motivations for colonisation.
However, there are other major factors that influenced colonisation. The political factors arose from the inter-European powers having a need to be greater than one another. One way they demonstrated superiority was by taking over territories around the world - this included Africa.
Moreover, as a result of industrialisation, social factors grew. These factors consist of - poverty, unemployment, homelessness. These social factors partly developed because the capitalist industries had no interest or support for them. Therefore, to resolve this problem, they acquired colonies. This lead to the establishment of settler-colonies (this is where people migrate to a place and begin to replace the indigenous people). These settler-colonies consisted of places such as, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Eventually, the economic factors began to override and this lead to the colonisation of other parts of Africa.
The Slave Trade:
20th Century Civil Rights Movements:
The civil rights movement mainly took place between 1950s and 1960s. The movement was a struggle for social justice - black people gaining equal rights under the law in the US.
The civil war had abolished slavery, but did not bring an end to the discrimination against black people - they would have to endure the effect of racism. By the mid-twentieth century, African Americans had faced a lot of prejudice and violence against them and had to put an end to it. They began and unprecedented fight for equality that would be ongoing for two decades.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
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