Colonization in Nigeria and Congo is one of the greatest atrocities committed by humanity. The system imposed by the European powers has, within it, fomented all kinds of abuses and violations, through policies dictated to conform to the economic demands of the colonizer's homeland. Oppression, poverty, starvation, endemic brutality and forced labor in inhumane working conditions are some of the aspects that colonialist regimes imposed on the colonized for their own benefit. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay These effects can be poignantly observed between the 1860s and 1910. Europeans hid behind the so-called “white man's burden”; they preached that they had the right and the moral obligation to “civilize” Africa. After the Berlin Conference in 1885, the European imperialist powers divided Africa among themselves, without the natives having a say (the infamous “Scramble for Africa”). A Nigerian newspaper noted: “The world has perhaps never before witnessed such brutal theft on such a large scale. Africa is powerless to prevent it... It is expected that this “Christian” affair could only result, at an early date, in the annihilation of the natives” (Lagos Observer, February 19, 1885). Conference participants also articulated a dual mandate: it is in the interests of Africa and Europe to maintain free access to the continent for trade and to provide Africa with the benefits of Europe’s “civilizing mission”. However, European powers have almost exclusively snatched away the benefits of this so-called "open access", thereby enormously damaging Africa's potential and culture, forever tarnishing it and its people throughout the path. Large trading companies were one of the main drivers of this decision. colonial expansion. The natives were forced to work in inhumane conditions for a foreign power that only cared about their own interests. These foreign powers oppressed the natives, forcing them to exploit their lands for raw materials, such as palm oil, in the case of Nigeria, and ivory and rubber, in the case of Congo. Because the colonizers had a monopoly on all or most of the resources, native people could not produce their own products. This benefited the colonizers because the natives were forced to buy foreign products made from their local materials because that was all the market had to offer. This appalling exploitation made the colonies ever more dependent on those who exploited them. Furthermore, it is theorized that colonialism helped appease the working masses in Europe, as the colonialists' acquisitions reinforced a certain kind of identification with the "victories of progress and enlightenment" of their home countries. Millions of residents have seen their ancestral way of life disrupted. , under the pretext of spreading religion, commerce and civilization, while the colonizers only had their own interests in mind. By the mid-19th century, Britain's main interest in West Africa was Nigeria. He planned to open markets for surplus manufactured goods and expand the palm oil trade. Furthermore, by seizing Nigeria, Britain could overthrow traditional coastal leaders who ran their own trade in oil and ivory, resources they harvested andused to sell. Through division, local animosities, wars and the allure of being part of the empire, the colonialists distracted the population and deflected the outrage caused by the incessant abuses inflicted on the locals. Although Belgian colonialism was no less intrusive than that of the British, it was more fierce and brutal. Under Belgian colonial rule, the Congolese population declined by more than 13 million between 1885 and 1908, due to colonizer-induced disease, famine, and horribly inhumane labor policies for the extraction of ivory and rubber. Although the exploitation of these two resources gave rise to unspeakable crimes, the so-called "Red Rubber system" (referring to the blood shed during the process of exploiting this resource) was the most notorious. This labor policy, imposed in the Congo Free State in 1889, created a slave society, where endemic brutality and cruelty were commonplace. All manner of vicious and inhumane abuse ensued. Jean Stengers, a Belgian historian, described the regions controlled by rubber companies as "veritable hells on earth." Workers who failed or refused to meet an incredibly high quota of rubber were beaten, whipped, had their right hands cut off, or those of their wives and children. Mutilations, pillaged villages, rapes, arbitrary assassinations and massacres were commonplace on a daily basis. Unsurprisingly, this policy led to a major collapse of the Congolese socio-economic structure and cultural life. Progress in the colonies is only a by-product of much greater development in the colonizer's country. Any type of development in the region always depends on the desires of the occupants. If progress is made, it is because it serves the interests of the colonizer. Britain annexed most of the Niger Basin under the pretext of "eradicating the slave trade". Yet despite the blockade of their ports, over a million West Africans were shipped from Nigerian ports, denoting the corruption of the British Empire as slave traders were simply paid to pass through. illegally. The blockade only allowed slave traders to make more money per delivery because of the risks they were supposed to exceed. The campaign was merely a front for Britain to intervene in the internal affairs of the natives (primarily economic internal affairs, as that was where the profits lay) in order to enable the slave traders to earn more money per delivery. to finally “assume” jurisdiction over the territory, without the approval of the inhabitants. This led to the plundering of the colonies and their natives on an industrial scale in order to keep the Europeans happy with corporations, charters, and growing corporations. It is common knowledge that treaties of “peace” and “cooperation” with the natives were signed while the imperialist troops, with their heavy artillery and machine guns, crushed any local dissent. With military assistance from their home countries, they intimidated African chiefs and leaders into complying with their demands or face consequences. Under the pretext of spreading Christianity, a “civilized” religion, European powers imposed their own society and culture on the natives, by clothing them. their odious policy of expansion in false and hypocritical moral terms. The indigenous people were forced to work through repression, through constant and unimaginable abuse of power by states that were supposed to "enlighten" Africa, but which nevertheless committed..