Dennis+L.

Imperalism noun 1. the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. 2. advocacy of imperial interests. 3. an imperial system of government. 4. imperial government. 5. British. the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.

Britain, France and Germany were the main Imperialist Powers in Africa during the late 1800s. All three had various reasons and varying degrees of success at the Imperial Game.([]) Britain unenthusiastically became involved in Africa for numerous reasons, mostly to serve their own interests. The British were some of the most anti-slavery Protestants the world had to offer and felt morally obliged to stop the Swahili slave trade. The Suez Canal and South Africa heightened British interest because they appeared to be two financially beneficial opportunities. The British only became involved in Egypt involuntarily to protect their own interests, primarily the Suez Canal.
 * __Powers in Africa__**

The canal made their colony, India, in the East much more accessible than it had ever been before at a cheaper cost. Although the canal chiefly benefited the British, they weren't the engineering breed of people the French seemed to be, so they took absolutely no part in building in it. Accordingly, the British had no stock in the Suez Canal when it opened in 1869. The khedive of Egypt had been granted stock by the French because it was his land the French had built their canal on. This generosity backfired when the khedive of Egypt ran into money trouble in the mid 1870's. The British seized the opportunity to bail the khedive out of financial trouble by buying up his stock. In 1875, the British had bought the canal away from the French by taking the majority of the canal's shares.Where modern day Kimberley stands, an incredibly rich diamond field was discovered in 1870. With check books for brains, the British annexed it in 1871. In 1877, the British annexed the Transvaal. This was the home to many Boers, and they weren't pleased to have their homes stolen from them. The Boers revolted in 1881, and defeated the British. The Boers were back in power until greed once again influenced the British. This time it was gold in the Transvaal instead of diamonds further South. The Boers desperately sought to keep themselves in power and did so by oppressing the British fortune seekers. The British couldn't stand to be second class citizens. In 1895, Cecil Rhodes plotted to overthrow the Transvaal government and failed. Relations between the two countries became less and less friendly until the eventual outbreak of the second Anglo-Boer war in 1899. ([])
 * __Powers in India__**

Imperialism has been the most powerful force in world history over the last four or five centuries, carving up whole continents while oppressing indigenous peoples and obliterating entire civilizations. Yet, it is seldom accorded any serious attention by our academics, media commentators, and political leaders. When not ignored outright, the subject of imperialism has been sanitized, so that empires become “commonwealths,” and colonies become “territories” or “dominions.” Imperialist military interventions become matters of “national defense,” “national security,” and maintaining “stability” in one or another region.
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