Impacts of European Imperialism in Africa: A Detailed Summary

The Age of Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa had a major impact on the continent of Africa and left a considerable legacy that still affects the continent today.  More specifically, European imperialism in Africa unfolded as a series of major events that resulted in the major European powers taking control over large sections of Africa.  Each of these major events had an impact on Africa in both the past and still today.  As well, historians have identified both the positive and negative impacts of European imperialismWhen a powerful country takes control of weaker countries or regions to expand its power and wealth. in Africa.​

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FactsthatCrunch

The eventThe Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885 set rules for how European powers could claim African land, speeding up the division of Africa.

Tap each impact to read what it led to.

1Borders Ignored African Peoples2Rival Powers Gained Legal Claims3African Resources Were Opened to Extraction4Local Authority Was Undermined

Borders Ignored African PeoplesIn the years after the conference, European treaties drew boundary lines that cut across existing African kingdoms, ethnic groups, and trade routes, splitting communities that had lived together for generations.

Rival Powers Gained Legal ClaimsThe conference gave each participating European nation a recognized claim to the African territory it already held or could occupy, reducing armed conflict among European rivals over the same land.

African Resources Were Opened to ExtractionOnce territorial claims were formalized, European governments and companies moved quickly to extract gold, diamonds, rubber, and cotton, redirecting African wealth toward European economies.

Local Authority Was UnderminedAfrican kings and chiefs who had governed their own regions for centuries were replaced or made subordinate to European colonial officials, weakening traditional political structures across the continent.

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Source: London School of Economics Library© factsthatcrunch.comMore Age of Imperialism Facts →

European Imperialism in Africa Overview

The Scramble for Africa was a major historical event that saw the major European powers of the 19th century carry out competing campaigns to colonizeTo take control of a territory and settle it, making it part of a foreign empire. Africa as quickly as possible.  More specifically, the ‘Scramble for Africa’ is the term that historians use to refer to the expansion of European empires into Africa.  It is referred to as a ‘scramble’ due to the way in which the European nations raced to capture territory to expand their empires.

​The Scramble for Africa is considered to have occurred from approximately 1870 until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.  During these years, almost all of Africa came under the control of the major European powers, including: Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain.  The Scramble for Africa unfolded as a series of major events that eventually saw the African continent colonized and then divided by the major European powers.  This division and colonization of Africa created a series of major impacts that were both positive and negative in nature.​

European Imperialism in Africa Overview

What it was

The Scramble for Africa was the race by European powers to colonize nearly all of Africa between 1870 and 1914. The main powers involved were Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

Why it started

European industries needed raw materials such as rubber, gold, and diamonds, and European nations competed to control the sources.

Turning point

German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck convened the Berlin Conference, which opened on November 15th, 1884, setting rules for how European powers could claim African land.

How it ended

By 1914, when World War I began, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained free of European colonial control.

Why it matters

Colonial borders drawn without regard for African cultures and languages still shape the continent's politics and conflicts today.

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Source: The National Archives (UK), Kew© factsthatcrunch.com

Positive Impacts of European Imperialism in Africa

*Editor’s note:  The period of European imperialism in Africa was devastating for the African people and led to many hardships.  These ‘positives’ are not meant to dismiss the terrible atrocities committed against the African people.

As stated above, historians have identified both positive and negative impacts from the period of European imperialism in Africa.  In fact, there were several main positive outcomes from the period.  First, the main European powers (Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, etc.) that imperialized Africa established colonies to benefit their own economies in Europe.  As such, European imperialism in Africa was beneficial for the European nations in that it helped grow their national economies.  This was done by extracting important natural resources out of Africa and using them to benefit European companies and governments.  With that said, the European extraction of these resources obviously had devastating impacts on African societies.  These negative impacts are discussed in the section below.  For instance, Leopold II of Belgium famously exploited the people of the Congo in order to gather and sell as much rubber from the region as possible.  This made Leopold II an incredibly wealthy person and benefited Belgium, but had terrible impacts for the people of the Congo.​

Another positive impact of European imperialism in Africa was the construction of major infrastructureLarge-scale physical systems like roads, railroads, bridges, and harbors built to support a society. projects.  For instance, in order to extract the resources out of Africa, the European nations built vast transportation networks throughout Africa that included railroads, bridges, roads, and harbors.  While this transportation system was used to exploit the African people it also benefited Africa economically because it created a network of routes that were useful to the continent well into the 20th century.  As well, many of the European powers developed their colonies by building sanitation systems and improving medical and education systems.  The medical and educational advances led to the construction of hospitals and schools across the different regions of Africa, which benefitted the people.  Next, some historians have pointed out that European colonial governments also helped to introduce new crops and farming methods to parts of Africa.  This helped lead to a higher production of food for the continent and gave some Africans new skills that were beneficial.  As such, it could be argued that European imperialism in Africa in the 19th century led to major developments that helped improve life for some African people.  Again, it should be noted that these positives came along with plenty of negatives that also brutalized the African people.

Age of ImperialismNotebook Pros & Cons

FactsthatCrunch

who really benefited?heavy cost, lasting damagewho really benefited?heavy cost, lasting damageweigh both sides!

Economic and Social Effects of European Imperialism on African Societies

Benefits Identified by Historians

Transportation networks such as railroads, bridges, and roads created routes that African economies continued to use well into the 20th century.

Hospitals built by colonial governments gave some Africans access to modern medicine for the first time.

New crops and farming methods introduced by European colonizers led to higher food production in parts of Africa.

Schools constructed across colonial territories provided some Africans with formal literacy education, even though the curriculum favored European culture.

Sanitation systems installed in colonial towns helped reduce waterborne disease spread in some urban areas.

Costs and Harms

European powers extracted gold, diamonds, cotton, and rubber from Africa, draining the continent of its own natural wealth before Africans could develop it themselves.

Eurocentric school curricula suppressed African languages and traditions, pressuring communities to abandon their own customs.

Christian missionaries undermined African religions and shifted community loyalty away from traditional leaders toward European colonial authority.

King Leopold II of Belgium forced Congolese workers to harvest rubber under brutal conditions and was responsible for the deaths of millions of Congolese people in the Congo Free State.

African economies stalled because colonial policy prioritized resource extraction for Europe over local economic development.

Source: British Library, London© factsthatcrunch.comMore Age of Imperialism Facts →

Negative Impacts of European Imperialism in Africa

While there were some positive aspects of European imperialism in Africa, it is impossible to discount the negative impacts that occurred to Africa and the African people.  In fact, Africa is, arguably, still suffering today from the impacts of European imperialism in the 19th century.  These impacts have affected the economic, social and political life for Africans.​

One of the main negative impacts of European imperialism in Africa was the destruction of African traditions, culture and languages in favor of European traditions, culture and languages.  For instance, the European people of the 19th century were ethnocentric and did not value the customs or traditions of the other groups of people that they encountered during the Age of Imperialism.  For example, European colonists and settlers expressed a view of racial superiority over other groups.  As such, European beliefs about their own supposed racial superiority helped inform their interactions with the people they encountered, including native Africans.  The term that best relates to this concept is ‘ethnocentrism’, which is the concept of judging other cultures based upon the views of your own.  Further to this idea is the concept of ‘eurocentrismA specifically European form of ethnocentrism expressing superiority over other peoples during the age of imperialism.’.  Eurocentrism is similar to ethnocentrismJudging other cultures based on the standards and values of your own culture. but focuses specifically on Europeans and the views of superiority expressed in relation to the timeframe of imperialism.  These Eurocentric beliefs were justified by European governments due to a concept called Social DarwinismThe idea that some ethnic groups or races are naturally superior and more fit to rule over others..  In short, Social Darwinism is the idea that some ethnic groups or races are superior to others and therefore more ‘fit’ to rule over those that are less ‘fit’.​

Together, these ethnocentric views by the major European powers of the time meant that European settlers in Africa generally suppressed native African traditions, customs and languages.  For instance, while the European nations sometimes established schools and hospitals in their African colonies, these schools emphasized European culture over African culture.  As such, this put immense pressure on African societies as they struggled to conform to European standards.  An example of this can be seen in the spread of Christianity during the Age of Imperialism.  European Christian missionariesReligious workers sent to foreign lands to convert local people to their faith, here Christianity. were a common feature of the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century.  For instance, famous British missionary David Livingstone carried out early missions to Africa in the hopes of converting African leaders.  The spread of Christianity in Africa undermined African religions at the time, and caused many African people to begin to look to the European colonial governments as the authority instead of their own traditional leaders.​

As stated above, African societies also faced economic impacts from European imperialism in the 19th century.  For instance, the main European powers were primarily focused on finding and extracting resources from Africa, such as: gold, diamonds, cotton and rubber.  This focus on taking valuable resources out of Africa benefited the European home countries greatly, but stalled or harmed the economies of the African societies.  As such, this robbed the African people of developing the resources for themselves.​

Finally, European imperialism in Africa negatively affected the African societies in terrible and devastating ways.  For instance, Leopold II of Belgium famously brutalized the people of the Congo throughout his command over the Congo Free State.  Leopold II served as the King of Belgium from 1865 until 1909 and oversaw the Belgian role in the Age of Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa.  One of the most significant events of this period was that of King Leopold II of Belgium and his role in the Congo, which was a region in Central Africa.  In fact, Leopold II ruled over the Congo as his personal empire and was responsible for the death of millions of Congolese people.  Furthermore, his brutal treatment of the local people came to symbolize the worst aspects of European imperialism in Africa.​

Social Darwinism

some groups are naturally more fit to rule

Social Darwinism is the idea that some ethnic groups or races are naturally superior to others and therefore more fit to rule over those considered less fit. European governments used this idea during the Age of Imperialism to justify taking control of African lands and peoples, treating conquest as a natural and inevitable outcome rather than a political choice.

Source: British Library, London© factsthatcrunch.com

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Cite This Article

To cite this article as a source, use one of the formats below.

MLA: Beck, Elias. “Impacts of European Imperialism in Africa: A Detailed Summary.” HistoryCrunch, 28 October 2026, https://historycrunch.com/impacts-of-european-imperialism-in-africa/.

APA: Beck, E. (2026). Impacts of European Imperialism in Africa: A Detailed Summary. HistoryCrunch. https://historycrunch.com/impacts-of-european-imperialism-in-africa/

Chicago: Beck, Elias. “Impacts of European Imperialism in Africa: A Detailed Summary.” HistoryCrunch. October 28, 2026. https://historycrunch.com/impacts-of-european-imperialism-in-africa/

Sources

• Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire 1875-1914.
• Fordham Modern History Sourcebook
• Daniel R. Headrick, The Tools of Empire.