Answer:
The 1880s mark the beginning of the colonial period in African history. While
Europeans and Africans had established relationships in a variety of settings for
centuries, the 1880s mark a major turning point in European attitudes toward Africa.
Three primary developments explain increased European involvement in Africa. You
have explored these developments in previous material. Here, we will reconsider some
of this information and expand our understanding of the rationale for Europe’s
colonization of Africa. For decades, scholars have scoured through various historical
documentation attempting to find a definitive answer to the question posed above: Why
did Europe colonize Africa? We will find that in all probability there is no one definitive
answer to this question. Rather, we can presume that a combination of factors featured
prominently in the decision-making processes of those Europeans responsible for the
colonization of the continent. While one or two factors might have been dominant in
those decision-making processes, it would be unwise to discount other possible
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