During the sixteenth century, European power expanded its colonization to America and Africa. The arrival of European resulted in demographic and biological changes, disturbance of politics, new trade, religions, and technologies. Though the European colonized both continents, Africa was more affected by the European and America was more transformed by the European.
The intention for European sailed to Africa is to trade; they trade human being or slave, which later became the most profitable item to trade. This results in the death of million Africans. There are three main slave trades: Trans-Saharan slave trade, East African slave trade, and Trans Atlantic slave trade. These trade caused million of African to lose their life. The European’s interest in African increased in the late 18th century.
Nevertheless, Great Britain abolished the African slave trade in 1807. The abolition of slave trade resulted in the change in trade and it ruined the economy. This turned into a chaos, which opened the way for European trading companies and adventurers to increase their authority.
European powers were so powerful that in the late 18th century, only Liberia and Ethiopia were the only African states that were not colonized by the European. The two main European colonial systems in Africa were Britain and France. Britain used “Indirect Rule” to control its colony. Indirect Rule is the rule that ruled through traditional tribal authorities. It is believed to be the most effective method to govern and collect most revenue possible. Moreover, British appointees who were more cooperative to the colonial regime would replace any traditional leader who was not acceptable to the colonial power. The other rule is “Direct Rule”, which was used by the French. This rule established administrative units that cut across traditional boundaries, and it also established an African elite who would accept French standards and then became associated with French rulers in the work of governing colonies. Additionally, all locally born residents had the right of French citizenship.
In the colonization time, lands were taken away from African who had occupied the land for countless generations, railroads and ports were built to transport minerals and agricultural products to oversea market, and African became more involved in the world economy. The map of Africa in today world was also created by Europeans power. The humiliation of colonialism ended after World War II; each African country start to gain its independence.
On the other side of the Atlantic, several permanent European settlements were established along the North America’s Atlantic coast. European colonists found that they could easily exploit resources such as silver and fur, they could also profit from the agricultural goods such as tobacco from American soil. These European colonists also waged wars against the American Indians and occupied their lands.
After the British established the town, they bought the slaves from Africa to work in their plantation. The colonists gained profit by trading fur and tobacco with the European. Later on, these colonists felt that it is unfair for them to get taxed from the British parliament with no representatives. This resulted in protest against the British and war.
The American declared its independence on July 4th, 1776, which resulted in the revolutionary war between the 13 colonies and the British. This war ended with the American gained independence and the lost of British colony.
There are some differences and similarities of colonization in Africa and in America. First, there were slave trades in Africa colony, but not in America. Instead, the colonists in America bought slaves from Africa to work in their plantation. Second, the British ruled them both. Lastly, the colonists in America fought for their independence from the British and they gained their independent much earlier than the African countries did.