African cultures came into western purview with the onset of European imperialism and subsequent colonialism. Ironically, while the colonialists described the highly stylized and generally abstract art forms of this region as “primitive”, Western society, in particular the Parisians, came to appreciate the powerful originality of non-Western art. Parisians began to glorify “exotic” cultures for their freedom from the taint of civilization. The appeal of the primitive constituted a rebellion in the first decades of the twentieth century to challenge all that preceded it.
Avant-garde artitsts turned their backs on academic standards and the tyranny of representation. They pioneered an authentic “stripped down” style that evoked rather than described experience. They found their inspiration in the arts of the non-Western cultures; primitivism, abstraction, and experimentation were hallmarks of the modern revolt against convention and tradition. The new style was inspired by the arts of Africa which were featured in Paris art exhibitions and theatrical productions. Arts from Africa helped Parisians to discover the significance of art as a fetish, that is, as the palpable embodiment of potent magical forces.
The erotic nature of African art was pushed onto the African culture by Europeans as well. Africans were perceived as exotic, a quality and characteristic that French intellectuals, artists, and society in general wanted exposure to. The term negrophilia is one which is often applied to describe this time in Paris; A time when Parisians fell in love with black culture. The French became absorbed but the exotic nature of African culture and artists such as Josephine Baker. The new culture allowed Europeans to escape from their cultural norms into a new exotic world. Although, this time seemed to be one of cultural acceptance it was not. Europeans still believed Africans to be different and unusual and most of the artistic expression, such as music, was changed by the black performers in order to please Europeans. Africans and their culture were still seen as foreign and primitive, stereotypes were still applied and expectations continued to be set in place. The acceptance of African culture stemmed simply from the fact that Europeans wanted an escape from their lives and found that escape in the culture of Africa.

HST 498 - Essay 6 - Newhard

Since the birth of civilization, no age has broken with tradition more radically or more self-consciously than the twentieth century. In part, the modernist break with the past represents the willful rejection of former values but it also registers the revolutionary effects of science on all aspects of life. Unfortunately, a new reason for racism was born from the new scientific “knowledge” obtained during this century. There are two relatively clear reasons for the steadfast insistence on subjugating the observed African to a simplified stereotypical image of “other”. The first concerns the nature of we/they relationships. The relationship itself requires that we identify the characteristics that distinguish us from them. The second factor, that influenced twentieth century Europeans, is the failure to distinguish between biological and cultural classifications. Twentieth century Europeans embraced a new theory called eugenics which was the belief that biology could determine the superiority and inferiority of different racial and social groups. In other words, Eugenics was scientific racism. Eugenics used scientific findings and methods to validate racist attitudes. This theory was very popular in England and Germany during the early twentieth century due to both countries desire for domination.
In England, the main reason behind the segregation and discrimination of Africans was due to tension within the middle class. Stone wrote, “the middle class in Britain felt trapped between a still dominant old elite and an emerging working class clamoring for rights.”(Stone 2) This in turn created a need to prove English middle-class superiority and the opportunity was provided by the theory of Eugenics and the presence of Africans. Europeans believed that Africans were not hard working, poor, and unintelligent. In addition, it was believed that Africans were barbaric creatures who killed woman after intercourse (Bush 210). These factors allowed Europeans to feel superior to Africans but at the same time elevated fears that Africans posed a threat to the European way of life. Therefore, the German’s desire for preservation of racial purity was justified.
Germany took a different approach to the implementation of the theory of Eugenics. In Germany at this time, “pure” German blood was the most important and powerful weapon Germany had. Therefore, any tainting of German blood would be catastrophic. The fear of African contamination also stemmed from the presence of French African soldiers in Germany after the Vienna conference. German people began to fear and despise African people fro their intrusion of Germany. In addition, both Germans and British believed that the interbreeding of Africans with their superior race would cause a decline in their superiority and sought out to inhibit reproduction between Europeans and Africans. This in turn resulted in the belief of European superiority and African inferiority. Africans were thought of as a different species of being. Africans were of a race unworthy and unable to join European culture. They were therefore cast out as “others”.

The European colonization of Africa began in the late 19th century. Contact between Europeans and Africans had been established centuries before the 19th century with the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, but Europeans had not imposed official rule over Africa until this time. There have been many reasons put forth in an attempt to explain the beginnings of European imperialism of Africa. Reasons such as, economic possibilities and development, political power, cultural beliefs, and religious education have been used to explain this European conquest but the fact remains that European imperialism was intentional and motivated by national-preservation.

Many scholars agree that one of the main reasons behind the European conquest of Africa was economic. Africa was a continent of vast wealth and contained many raw materials such as cotton, rubber, ivory, and minerals which were not found in Europe. The industrial revolution in Europe caused the need for metals and raw materials like copper and tin for manufacturing which Europeans found in vast abundance throughout Africa. In addition, Africa became a new market for Europeans to sell their manufactured goods. This leads to the second reason behind European imperialism that has been presented; the desire for political power. During this time, it was the country who owned the most land and the best trade routes which possessed the most power. Africa was a prime location for European countries seeking more power due to its abundance of undeveloped land and the Suez Canal, which became an important trade route and important addition to any European nation’s supremacy who controlled it. In addition, the European belief in their own cultural and racial superiority made Europeans feel like it was their duty to develop the uncivilized African cultures. This also caused a missionary movement by Catholics to bring Christianity to the African countries. The belief was that the people of Africa were uncultured and of a lower intelligence than Europeans and therefore should be ruled by the more intelligent Europeans. This was in a sense Social Darwinism, where only the strong survive and dominate the weak.

No matter what the justification, each reason is based on national preservation and European domination. Europeans colonized Africa within twenty five years, 1885 to 1910, even though they had been financially involved with Africa for centuries. This evidence and the evidence provided above, shows that European imperialism was a more planned out conquest rather than a spontaneous series of events. Once Europeans saw the opportunity for economic growth, they went full force into economic, political, and cultural domination of Africa in order to ensure their places at the top.