Verified Document

Sociology And Anthropology Term Paper

Sociology and Anthropology After 1880, Africa underwent a major transformation with the European powers effectively dividing the continent among themselves. Over the next 100 years, nearly every major decision affecting the region would be made in a European capital. Then, each nation was able to gain their independence. To fully understand what took place requires: carefully examining the rationale for imperialism in Africa and studying the British vs. French colonizing missions. These factors will highlight the kinds of approaches that were used by the Europeans and the long-term impact of colonization. (Ciment, 2007, pp. 19 -- 24)

The Rationale for Imperialism in Africa

The Europeans had different reasons for colonizing Africa. A few of the most notable include: to protect their own economic interests, maintain a balance of power and control key areas that are strategic importance. In the case of protecting their own economic interests, the Europeans believed that Africa could provide them with vast amounts of natural resources. When a rival country moved into the region, is the point that there was a change in focus with many concentrating on using these natural resources for their own benefits. (Ciment, 2007, pp. 19 -- 24)

To prevent one country from becoming overly dominant, many nations often wanted to control as many areas as possible. This...

Once this occurred, is when the different nations could use this as a tool for maintaining their position on the world stage. (Ciment, 2007, pp. 19 -- 24)
Controlling key areas of strategic importance is when many nations wanted to dominate a piece of land. This was considered to be significant for commerce and transportation (i.e. The British occupying the Suez Canal). Over the course of time, this gave a particular country, specific advantages within the region. The combination of these factors is showing how the Europeans believed that the colonization of Africa was rational (from their perspective). (Ciment, 2007, pp. 19 -- 24)

British vs. French Colonizing Missions

The British followed a loose system that allowed African officials to maintain control in many regions. Under this approach, the British set the objectives, guidelines and provided the funding for a host of different projects. Any kind of natural resources were transported back to England. This is where they were used to produce manufactured goods that were sold to the general public. From the political perspective, the British ran the national affairs for the country. However, they also allowed local officials to control different resources and utilize them according to the needs of specific regions.…

Sources used in this document:
References

Ciment, J. (2007). Atlas of African -- American History. New York, NY: Facts on File.

Foster, D. (2002). The Global Etiquette Guide to Africa. New York, NY: Wiley.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Sociology and Cultural Anthropology Research Methods Used
Words: 944 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Sociology and Cultural Anthropology Research Methods used in Sociology Closed or Structured Questionnaires and Participant Observation are among the many research methods used in sociological studies. Structured questionnaire is a quantitative research method that was postulated by Emile Durkheim. It is positivist in nature and is comprised of low researcher involvement and high respondents' participation. A questionnaire is, in fact, a series of questions posed to individuals for obtaining statistically useful information about

Anthropology: The Fundamental Social Science Anthropology Is,
Words: 815 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Anthropology: The Fundamental Social Science Anthropology is, according the American Anthropological Association, "the study of humans, past and present" (AAA, 2011). Anthropology looks at what it means to be human; it is "a field of inquiry that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology, including cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and biological anthropology" (Jurmain, Kilgore, & Trevathan 2006: 6). It, therefore, is the fundamental social (and behavioral) science discipline that

Anthropology As a Career
Words: 641 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Anthropology Career: Anthropology can broadly be defined as the study of humanity based on its evolutionary origins in the past millions of years and its current global diversity. Unlike other disciplines that focus on one or another aspect of humanity, anthropology focuses on how people plan their lives and relate to each other in interacting, interconnected groups or societies with similar beliefs and practices. Anthropologists share many interests with other disciplines

Sociology: Changing Societies in a Diverse World
Words: 9606 Length: 30 Document Type: Book Report

Sociology: Changing Societies in a Diverse World (Fourth Edition) George J. Bryjak & Michael P. Soroka Chapter One Summary of Key Concepts Sociology is the field of study which seeks to "describe, explain, and predict human social patterns" from a scientific perspective. And though Sociology is part of the social sciences (such as psychology and anthropology), it is quite set apart from the other disciplines in social science; that is because it emphasizes

Sociology Cooley and Mead's Theories on the
Words: 446 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Sociology Cooley and Mead's theories on the process of socialization as opposed to that of Freud Charles Cooley and George Herbert Mead are proponents of a similar theory of socialization. Cooley uses the metaphor of the looking glass to explain how a child uses others' perception of himself to understand himself and develop an identity. According to Cooley, each of us closely monitors how others react to us and adjust our behavior

Sociology of Globalization in the
Words: 3220 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Safety standards are highly ignored in order to save the overall costs and produce cheap goods and products (Collier, Dollar & World Bank, 2002). The globalization has also intensified and elevated the level of competition due to which job insecurity, in particular has become one of the major determinants of globalization. While comparing the results of the previous and recent researches, one can easily enlighten that few decades back, employment

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now