In the late 18th century, life in Europe and America changed dramatically. Revolutions in America and France ushered in a new political order. The Industrial Revolution in Britain modernised farming, the processing of raw materials and manufacturing of goods. Later industrialisation spread to Europe and to the USA. Economic progress came at the cost of rapid urbanisation and social problems. Industrialisation also influenced political change. Britain developed into a democracy as a result. Industrialisation created a huge demand for raw materials and led to the colonisation of Africa and Asia for these resources. Industrialisation and technological progress boosted European and American confidence, and national pride. They became convinced that they were superior. Their lust for power climaxed in the two World Wars of the 20th century.
In Europe, the period of imperialism coincided with growing nationalism and unification when previously divided political units were united under a single monarchy. Unification allowed for empire building because people were gathered under a monarchy that claimed the right to rule them. Examples are German and Italian unification. Towards the end of the 19th century, imperialism became a policy of colonial expansion pursued by different European powers. The Prime Minister of France, Jules Ferry in his justification of this policy told his parliament that:
Imperialist ambitions in Africa were boosted by the expansion of competitive trade in Europe. European traders were at first not interested in expanding into the interior of Africa. As long as African rulers assured them of a supply of slaves from the interior, they felt no need to expand into the interior. The rapid expansion of industries made European countries look to African for a supply of cheap raw materials and (slave) labour. West Africa was particularly important for the development of industries in Europe. The production of African palm oil used as industrial oil was in high demand for European industries.
Not all European countries had imperial ambitions for Africa. It was only the major powers in Europe that competed for the control of Africa. These were Britain, France, and Germany and the weaker powers of Spain, Portugal and Italy who had very small possessions in Africa. Britain and France were at the forefront of imperialism in Africa. These two countries were in competition with each other to dominate European politics and economics. . They also claimed exclusive trading rights with their colonies. African producers could not match these prices especially in the absence of similar government support and so they were unable to withstand European competition. This undermined the development of African industries and wealth and locked the continent into an unfair economic relationship with Europe in which African producers were barely able to survive by supplying cheap cash crops and primary goods. Many African countries have been crippled by the burden of repayment of these loans.
