1. Economic Forces 2. Nationalist Prestige 3. Missionary and Humanitarian Impulses 4.Social Darwinism 5 Military Advantages of Colonies 6 Population Pressure 7 Exploration and Scientific Discoveries

Economic Forces
A number of critics of imperialism developed the viewpoint that economic pressures in the late 19th century world forced the industrial nations to annex colonies. J.H. Hobson in Imperialism and particulary Lenin in Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism forcefully stress this viewpoint. They stated that European capitalists could no longer profitably invest in Europe and hence sought more lucrative outlets in Africa and Asia. Capitalists then called on their respective governments to protect their investments by conquering the territories concerned. In addition, colonies provided a cheap source of raw materials like cotton. The Boer Republics in South Africa were rich in gold and diamonds. Colonies were also markets eg 40% Lancashire cotton went to India. Many colonies eg the Sahara however had little economic value.

Nationalist Prestige
More colonies a country had the greater that country was. This is why the French annexed Indochina or North Africa as a substitution for the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine.Leon Gambetta, the French statesman, remarked that 'to remain a great nation or to become one, you must colonise'. Organisations were established to encourage governments to annex territory. The Imperial Federation League was founded in Britain in 1884 and the German Colonial Union in 1882. Successful explorers and military commanders like Livingstone and Kitchener became national heroes. The greatness of a nation seemed to depend on the extent of its colonial possessions.

Missionary and Humanitarian Impulses
Many European felt it was their duty to bring civilization and progress to the backward peoples of their colonies. This humanitarian responsibility saw the ending of slavery and other barbaric customs. Administrators like Milner (South Africa) and Cromer (Egypt) were all impelled by a Christian social idealism. The most famous statement of this theme is in Kipling's The White Man's Burden written to encourage Americans towards imperialism. Missionaries like David Livingstone, Robert Moffat and the White Fathers endeavoured to convert pagan tribes to Christian beliefs. The French, in particular, sent many missionaries to Africa and Asia

. Social Darwinism
Not all all colonisers were as noble in their aims as the above. Some took the idea of 'the survival of the fittest' from Darwin and applied it to the development of society. They believed that white races were superior to others and thus had a moral right to rule them.

Military Advantages of Colonies
Military advantages included native soldiers joining European armies. Indian regiments with the British Army. The French, anxious to compensate for its population weakness against the Germans enthusiastically recruited Senegalese / Moroccan. Bases were also needed as coaling depots for nations with big fleets

. Population Pressure
Europe's increasing population, due to medical discoveries, were be employed through trade with or annexation of colonies.

Exploration and Scientific Discoveries
Desire for scientific discovery and for the exploration of unknown territory. This helped open up Africa. Burton and Speke discovered Lake Tanganyika in 1858. Also the explorations of David Livingstone .

The ease with which Europeans achieved world dominance can be best explained by it military superiority and Organisation. Brutal victories like the British victory over the Sudanese army at Omdurman in 1898 left little alternative for them but to surrender.

Tension caused by it. Africa.- Beginnings of the Scramble for Africa Incident 1

Journeying through the African interior Stanley recognised that the lot of natives could be improved, also saw the vast economic possibilities, especially in the Congo Basin. After trying to interest the British government he went to Brussels and helped King Leopold 11 to form the Association Internationale Africaine in 1876. Leopold pretended to be interested in abolishing slavery but was instead establishing a personal protectorate south of the River Congo -an area eighty times the size of Belgium. He enrich himself via rubber and mining The French explorer De Brazza had claimed north of the River Congo for France. As tension increased Bismarck called a conference in Berlin to settle this issue and decide on future guidelines.

Berlin Conference 1884-885
15 nations attend agree on 4 things 1 Slavery banned 2The Congo Free State was to belong to Leo 3 Everyone was free to use the Congo and Niger rivers ie no tax 4 If a country was in territory already ...then they owned it The Berlin Conference gave legitimacy to the Scramble for Africa. It did not control the process.

BRITAIN
The need to secure her trade route to India led Britain to acquire a major financial share in the Suez Canal. Disraeli was able to arrange this after the Khedive of Egypt was declared bankrupt in 1875. Anglo-French control was established over Egypt in 1878 to control finances. After nationalist revolts the French withdrew from the country in 1882

The British now felt the need to expand into central and Western Africa in order to protect Egypt and the Upper Nile as it was felt economic life depended on its water supply.

The Sudan was taken over in 1898. Earlier in 1885 a religious revolt had led to the defeat of British forces at Khartoum. Elsewhere Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya came under British control. In Southern Africa, Cecil Rhodes was the driving force behind Britain's Empire. Rhodes hoped to build a railway from Cape to Cairo in a grandiose expression of British power. Hefounded his own colonies in Northern and Southern Rhodesia and became Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890. Also India the jewel in the crown ...they did stop female infanticide and suttee there. Overall, by 1905, Britain with a population of around 40 million, controlled colonies comprising 345 million.

FRANCE
France like Britain had a long colonial history but, after their decisive defeat by Germany in 1871, Frenchmen were deeply divided between those who wished to seek compensation overseas and those who saw overseas adventures as a distraction from the reassertion of their true role in Europe. Colonies also provided a place for the army where glory might be won. In North Africa, Algeria, and Morocco were taken over. Just as British hoped to build a link from Cape to Cairo , the French wished to do likewise from its base on the Red Sea to its territories in West Africa.

Germany
Bismarck not interested ..ie expensive luxuries but by 1884 get Togo, Cameroons and German East Africa seized. These were never economically important, but were a symbol that Germany was a world power. William 11 took a far greater interest in colonies and the closely linked activity of building a navy. This caused great friction with Britain and is one of the background causes to World 1.

Incident 2 Fashoda
Britain did not want any other power controlling the Upper Nile in Sudan as it was felt that Egyptian economic life and British occupation could be made untenable. Many imperialists also wanted revenge for the death of Gordon at Khartoum. Between 1896 and 1899 the French Captain Marchand made an overland journey from the Congo to Fashoda, , a small outpost on the Upper Nile. Meanwhile General Kitchener with a largely Egyptian army had defeated the Sudanese at Omdurman and claimed the Sudan through right of conquest. A few days after the battle the two forces met at Fashoda. Marchand and Kitchener referred back to their respective governments. The popular press fanned tensions, there was talk of war and even some preparation of fleets. The French backed down In the long term the incident worked to France's advantage. Henceforth, they concentratedin Western Africa and Morocco, and Egypt was recognised as a British sphere of influence A series of agreements in 1904 centered on these stipulations. German reaction to entente forced Britain and France closer together, so that they fought on the same side World War 1.

Incident 3 The Jameson Raid and the Kruger Telegram
In the 17th century a mixture of Dutch, German and French Calvinists had emigrated to South Africa to farm and worship in the manner in which they wished. They settled in Cape Colony which was under British Authority. The Boers felt the British interfered too much, especially when slavery was outlawed and blacks were allowed to own land. In 1836 Boers left Cape Colony and embarked on a journey into the interior (the Great Trek).

Eventually they settled in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. They were granted independence by Gladstone's after a short war in 1881. Tthe discovery of gold on Witwaterstrand in 1886 caused an influx of British capital mining expertise and immigrants. The Boers called the latter Uitlanders and refused to give them the vote in addition to taxing them very heavily. The Uitlanders, centered mainly in Johannesburg, formed a political Organisation called the Reform Movement, to ameliorate these conditions. They were aided and abetted by Rhodes and his friend Dr. Jameson. The former wished to seize the valuable mineral deposits to further his imperial dreams - especially the Cape to Cairo railway which was blocked by the Orange Free State and Transvaal. Along with the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, a plan was laid where a Uitlander revolt would be supported by an unofficial British force overthrowing President Kruger's government and seizing the area for Britain. Accordingly on December 28th 1898 Dr. Jameson and 470 men invaded the Transvaal. The Uitlander revolt did not materialise and Jameson was defeated and captured.

CONSEQUENCES
I . Rhodes was disgraced and had to resign as Prime Minister of Cape Colony.
2. A Parliamentary inquiry cleared Chamberlain, but many never trusted him again.
3. William 11 sent a telegram to Kruger ('The Kruger Telegram') in January 1896 congratulating him on repelling the raid and defending his colony without having to call on friendly powers. The British felt that the telegram was written in aggressive language, a meddling in their affairs and resulted in a marked deterioration in the relationship between the states.