Africa had three economic assets that appealed to Europeans: slaves, natural resources, and passage to India and other East Asian countries. By the time imperialism was focused primarily on Africa--in the late 19th century--slavery had been outlawed. However, Africa's material wealth and strategic ports were still highly valued.

In addition to natural resources like gold, ivory, and diamonds, Africa also had a tropical climate where valuable cash crops could grow--crops that wouldn't survive in European weather and soil. Money that was invested in African crops returned a high profit. After all, plantation owners did not need to compensate Africans for the use of their land, and they paid very little for the labor provided by African natives, which was often forced labor.

Eventually, many European countries came to depend on the wealth generated by exploiting Africa's resources. During the time when most of Europe was claiming land in Africa, European leaders justified their actions by claiming that more expansion was necessary to compete with the rest of Europe. If other powers seized more African land, they could build military bases and threaten another country's territory, or block trade routes, or find quicker trade routes that would be closed to rivals. What began as the gradual conquest of foreign land turned into an aggressive game of self-preservation. Once imperialism started, some European leaders believed, they had a duty to continue it.

We've introduced a number of new words and places so far in this lesson. Use the flashcards below to review them.