by
Terhile Thaddeus Ityonzughul
Department of History
Benue State University Makurdi, Benue State
Abstract
African and European imperialism has been a dominant theme of African History or Afro-European incursion in World History. This has been a dominant historical phenomenon in the nineteenth and twentieth Centuries in historical documentations. In this wise, the article delves into the challenge of reconstructing the concept of imperialism with particular reference to the continent of Africa. This is done with a view of ascertaining the forms of imperialism such as the pillage of Africa’s natural resources, trade and colonization. Under these stages, the work lays credence to the mercantile era, the colonial stage, neo-colonial stage, and globalization. The study reveals that in whatever form and at any stage of imperialism, the basic aim has been the exploitation of Africa. In this regard, the chapter concludes that in order to justify their claims of imperial activities in Africa, the European deploys different arguments to explain the causes of imperialism namely: economic arguments, humanitarian arguments, strategy, and moral grounds.