Colonialization in Africa

From the Beginning
Colonization began when we decided, as established, civilized nations that we were better than these so called ‘lands of savages.’ We claimed superior intelligence, culture, and divine right. However, as we began divvying up a world that didn’t really belong to us, we were also unknowingly laying the groundwork for our own destruction.
One of the biggest contributors to the downfall of imperialism is the ideology we used to justify our imperialist actions- namely the “Civilizing Mission.” This was the idea that as a nation high up on the ‘social ladder,’ it was our duty to bring these poor savages to a ‘more civilized’ way of life. So we came in and took their land and imprisoned their people but in return we showed them hygiene, gave them clothes, and most importantly educated them- big mistake. We came in and gave them schools, but even more than that we showed them our way of life. Inadvertently we taught them about democracy and national...