New Imperialism in Africa (Sudan and Egypt) Essay

New Imperialism in Africa (Sudan and Egypt) - Essay Example There were spurts of resistance to foreign invasion and dominance throughout Africa. Iweriebor (n.d.) points out that colonization of Africa was primarily orchestrated by European powers. The drive for conquest and colonization of Africa was for obtaining economic, political and social advantages among competing European powers. The underlying source of competitive powers among European states was the capitalist incentive. European powers were searching for natural resources, markets and ultimately profits in order to obtain economic, political and social dominance over one another. Specifically, Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal were aggressively attempting to gain dominance in Europe and it was believed that acquiring foreign territories globally would improve economic, political and social prowess. The social problems that colonizing Africa was intended to address were unemployment, displacement, homelessness, poverty and many other social issues arising out of i ndustrialization. Roger, L. and History Guy Media. â€Å"The Wars of Sudan: From Egyptian Conquest to the Present†. Master of Arts Military History, Norwich University, 2011. http://www.historyguy.com/wars_of_sudan.htm (Retrieved March, 29th 2012). ... n 1875 and 1877, with Egypt’s control of Sudan, Sudan became involved with Egypt’s retaliation when Ethiopia attempted to take control of the coastal area of the Red Sea. Between 1881 and 1885, Egypt was a protectorate of the British. During that time, the Mahdi, a Sudanese religious official started a resistance movement against Egypt’s control over Sudan. The British deployed military aid to Egypt. It was only after a long drawn out war that the Egyptians and the British would withdraw. The Sudanese War lasted from 1896-1899 marking the return of the British and the Egyptians who defeated the resistance movement rejuvenated by the Khalifa, successors to the Mahdi. During the Second World War, Egypt and Britain controlled Sudan. The British in particular, began a movement to affect the liberation of Ethiopia from Sudan. Essentially, division in Sudan during the joint occupation of Egypt and the British had long-lasting consequences for Sudan with civil wars, and uprisings dividing the country most notable was the Darfur War from 2003-2010. 2011, independence referendum resulted in even more unrest within Sudan. CIA World Factbook. â€Å"Sudan.† Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html (Retrieved March, 29th, 2012). Sudan received independence from Britain in 1956 and the consequences of imperialism and colonization of Britain is evidenced by the country’s economic, social and political struggles since that time. Politically, there is a struggle between Islamic and non-Arab Sudanese in the South seeking political and social dominance in Sudan. As a result, Sudan has suffered through two protracted civil wars during the greater part of the 20th century. The results have been devastating as Sudan