Colonialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Colonialism - Essay Example Unfortunately this was not Lumumba and he had to go. Patrice Lumumba was assassinated on 17 January, 1961. His assassination was ploted by the U.S and Belgian governments in conjuction with some Congolese accomplices. A Belgian execution squad was set up to kill him. Foreigners invaded Africa in the late 1800s and early 1900s for many reasons. Various African countries were colonised by different countries who were in pursuit of different agendas. For instance, Kenya was colonised by Britain who wanted to conduct slave trade. The following are some of the reasons why African countries were colonised: i. Search for raw materials. While carrying out their excursions, the European realised that Africa was a very rich continent and its inhabitants were yet to realise this. The continent was rich in raw materials for instance; the Beligium invaded Congo partly for its rubber and ivory. Upon colonising these African countries, the European nations acquired labour from the Africans themselves then exported the materials to their homeland. iii. ‘Western civilisation’. King Leopold was the Belgian King at the time Congo was colonised. He claimed that he wanted to bring western civilisation to African countries for instance Congo. However, this was a mere ruse meant to distract from his real intentions. The King wanted to amass personal wealth in Congo. Most African countries reacted to their colonisation through violent means, however some countries chose not to oppose their reign for instance Burundi who instead collaborated with the foreigners. Congo was one of the countries who responded through violent means. The Congolese resisted colonisation for many years, killing very many of King Leopold’s soldiers. One of the famous uprising was led by a chief in the lower Congo rapids, Nzansu. Leopold however retaliated through the use of even severe means of cruelty. Whoever opposed his