DBQ Writing Sample Essay Library
TEACHER MATERIALST-2UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score: 4Between the years of 1880 and 1913 Africa was partitioned by powerful European countries into colonies. Although there were many overlapping causes for the partition of Africa, the most significant causes were the desire to spread the civilizing mission and the economic gain that came from trade within Africa. These causes were preceded by previous European intrusion into Africa.Africa had large amounts of natural resources such as palm oil and rubber that were useful to Europeans. Europeans could import these resources into their countries and export finished products to make money. Before Africa was colonized evangelical Christian missionaries arrived in Africa to attempt to convert indigenous Africans to Christianity. Converting people to Christianity was a part of the civilizing mission that Europeans enacted within their colonies.Many European countries believed it was their duty to spread higher levels of civilization in places they deemed were not as civilized. English politician Cecil Rhodes stated “the English are the finest race in the world...the more of the world we inhabit, the better ... for the human race.” (Doc 1). Many Westerners during this time held this belief stated by Cecil Rhodes and as displayed through Rhodes’ position in life, people in power also believed this. These people had the power to advocate for the acquisition of colonies in Africa under the guise of spreading higher levels of civilization. In a book by English writer Belloc the quote, “Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim gun, and they have not.” was stated. (Doc 7). Another way that Westerners believed they were more civilized was because they had guns and weapons that could kill more people faster than the guns and weapons people in Africa had. These weapons allowed them to rapidly gain control over Africa which fed into their ideology of Westerners being superior and more civilized than Africans. The prime minister of France, Jules Ferry, made this declaration on colonial expansion: “higher races have a right over the lower races. ... the duty to civilize the inferior races.” (Doc 2). The prime minister of France supported colonialism in Africa through the civilizing mission and economic gain. He believed that people of more civilized races had to control people of supposedly lower and less civilized races just as Rhodes did. This indicated a trend of European leaders believing that Key:Claim & FocusAnalysis & EvidenceOrganizationLanguage & StyleLanguage & Style
TEACHER MATERIALST-3UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYcontrolling Africa would benefit not just Europeans, but the entire world through making the world more civilized and acquiring more wealth through trade. Western countries wanted to acquire territories in Africa because African colonies brought in lots of money and trade for the countries who controlled them.Section six from the General Act of the Berlin Conference detailed the rules and regulations for the countries controlling Africa (Doc 5). As displayed by the Act any country could claim part of Africa relatively easily and control it. The ability to control areas in Africa furthered these nations’ trading power and wealth as they could take the natural resources from Africa and turn them into finished goods to be sold. The political cartoon displaying Africa being taken over displays how Africa was divided and used by other powers for their own gain (Doc 4). Countries worked together to take over Africa as they knew that controlling Africa would improve all their trade and economies. They dismantled and divided Africa on their own terms because even though they worked together to conquer it they still all wanted to control the most useful areas of Africa themselves. The chart of palm oil prices displays a general increase in value of exports from the years 1817 to 1854 (Doc 3). Britain profited heavily from the resources within Africa as shown by the palm oil chart. Other countries such as Belgium also profited this way but with rubber rather than palm oil. The ability to control parts of Africa rich in palm oil would only increase their profits as they out competed the African traders in the palm oil trade. The graph of African trade trends indicates how after the partition of Africa Western powers made more money off of Africa than the indigenous peoples (Doc 6). Controlling Africa rather than just trading with Africa allowed Westerners to make more money than they previously had. They outcompeted the indigenous African traders by taking full control of the areas they were trading with. A major cause of the partition of Africa was the economic gain countries could have when they not only traded with Africa but controlled it, often forcing Africans to buy imported European products. They did not have to go through indigenous African traders and could exploit indigenous Africans for cheap labor to make even greater profit.The civilizing mission was the reason Western leaders stated for controlling Africa as a cover for their true reason, money, but both played into countries’ decisions for acquiring colonies. However, some countries such as Germany desired African colonies for the political power it could give them, it was not as significant of a reason for acquiring colonies as money was and few countries wanted colonies for only that reason.
TEACHER MATERIALST-4UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score: 3Africa was broken up by European countries into colonies due to their desires for power, money, and superiority. Although there were many causes for the partition, the important causes were to spread civilization and make money through the colonization of Africa. Through controlling Africa they could force them to change their society and exploit them for cheap labor. Europeans had inched into Africa before the partition.Africa had natural resources that were useful to Europeans. Europeans could bring these resources into their countries and ship out finished products to make money. Evangelical Christian missionaries arrived in Africa to attempt to convert people to Christianity. Converting people to Christianity was a part of the civilizing mission.They believed it was their duty to spread civilization in places they said were not civilized. English politician Cecil Rhodes supported the civilizing mission and justified it by saying that the English were a superior race “the English are the finest race in the world” (Doc 1). Many Westerners during this time held this belief and people in power also believed this. These people had the power to advocate for the taking of colonies in Africa with the reasoning of spreading higher levels of civilization. In a book by English writer Belloc the Maxim gun was mentioned. (Doc 7). Westerners believed they were more civilized because they had guns and weapons that could kill more people faster than the people in Africa could. These weapons allowed them to have more control over Africa. The prime minister of France, Jules Ferry, wanted people who he believed were more civilized to civilize people in Africa (Doc 2). The prime minister of France supported colonialism in Africa through the civilizing mission. He believed that people of more civilized races had to control people just as Rhodes did. European leaders believed controlling Africa would benefit everyone. Western countries wanted to have land in Africa because they brought in money and trade. The political cartoon shows Africa being taken over and used by other powers (Doc 4). Countries worked together to take over Africa because it would improve all their trade and economies. Each country took land to make themselves better while also supposedly working together to better the world. The chart of palm oil prices shows an increase in value of palm Key:Claim & FocusAnalysis & EvidenceOrganizationLanguage & StyleLanguage & Style
TEACHER MATERIALST-5UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYoil (Doc 3). Britain profited from the resources within Africa. Belgium also profited this way but with rubber rather than palm oil. The ability to control parts of Africa rich in palm oil would only increase Britain’s profits through not having to trade through indigenous African merchants or pay the laborers fairly. After the partition of Africa Western powers made more money off of Africa than the indigenous peoples (Doc 6).Controlling Africa rather than just trading with Africa allowed Westerners to make more money than they previously had. They took full control over the areas they traded with by having colonies and establishing protectorates as mentioned in Doc 5. They did not have to go through indigenous African traders and could make more money.Both money and the civilizing mission played into countries’ decisions for acquiring colonies but money more so. Some places such as Germany wanted colonies for political power but money was the main reason.
TEACHER MATERIALST-6UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score:2Africa was broken up by European countries into colonies for many reasons like money. Although there were many causes for the partition, the important causes were to spread civilization and make money through the colonization of Africa. They believed they had to spread civilization. Cecil Rhodes liked this and justified it by saying that the English were a superior race. Many people believed this reason. These people took colonies in Africa. In a book by an English writer the Maxim gun was mentioned. Westerners thought they were more civilized because they had guns. They killed many many people with guns. Jules Ferry wanted people who he thought were more civilized to control Africa. The prime minister of France supported colonialism in Africa. He believed that people of more civilized races had to control people. European leaders believed having Africa would benefit everyone. Western countries wanted to have land in Africa because of money and trade. The poltical cartoon shows Africa being taken over and used by other powers (Doc 4). Each country took land to make themselves better. The chart of palm oil prices shows more money with palm oil because Britiain could control their money from it more by controlling Africa. Britain made money from the resources. Controlling parts of Africa that had palm oil would only give Britain more money. After the partition of Africa Western powers made more money off of Africa. Controlling Africa rather than just trading with Africa allowed Westerners to make more money. They took full control over the areas they traded with. Some places such as Germany wanted colonies for political power but money was the main reason. Key:Claim & FocusAnalysis & EvidenceOrganizationLanguage & StyleLanguage & Style
TEACHER MATERIALST-7UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score: 1People liked this by saying that the English were a better race. An English writer said something about a machine gun. Jules Ferry wanted people who he thought were more civilized to control Africa. He liked colonialism. People took full control. European leaders said having Africa would be better. Africa being taken over and used by other powers. Each country took land. Africa was broken up by European countries into colonies. Britain made money from the resources. Many people believed this reason. The prime minister of France supported These people took colonies in Africa. colonialism in Africa. Westerners made more money. They took full control over the areas they traded with.Key:Claim & FocusAnalysis & EvidenceOrganizationLanguage & StyleLanguage & Style
TEACHER MATERIALST-8UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score: 4Between the years of 1880 and 1913 Africa was partitioned by powerful European countries into colonies. Although there were many overlapping causes for the partition of Africa, the most significant causes were the desire to spread the civilizing mission and the economic gain that came from trade within Africa. These causes were preceded by previous European intrusion into Africa.Africa had large amounts of natural resources such as palm oil and rubber that were useful to Europeans. Europeans could import these resources into their countries and export finished products to make money. Before Africa was colonized evangelical Christian missionaries arrived in Africa to attempt to convert indigenous Africans to Christianity. Converting people to Christianity was a part of the civilizing mission that Europeans enacted within their colonies.Many European countries believed it was their duty to spread higher levels of civilization in places they deemed were not as civilized. English politician Cecil Rhodes stated “the English are the finest race in the world...the more of the world we inhabit, the better ... for the human race.” (Doc 1). Many Westerners during this time held this belief stated by Cecil Rhodes and as displayed through Rhodes’ position in life, people in power also believed this. These people had the power to advocate for the acquisition of colonies in Africa under the guise of spreading higher levels of civilization. In a book by English writer Belloc the quote, “Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim gun, and they have not.” was stated. (Doc 7). Another way that Westerners believed they were more civilized was because they had guns and weapons that could kill more people faster than the guns and weapons people in Africa had. These weapons allowed them to rapidly gain control over Africa which fed into their ideology of Westerners being superior and more civilized than Africans. The prime minister of France, Jules Ferry, made this declaration on colonial expansion: “higher races have a right over the lower races. ... the duty to civilize the inferior races.” (Doc 2). The prime minister of France supported colonialism in Africa through the civilizing mission and economic gain. He believed that people of more civilized races had to control people of supposedly lower and less civilized races just as Rhodes did. This indicated a trend of European leaders believing that
TEACHER MATERIALST-9UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYcontrolling Africa would benefit not just Europeans, but the entire world through making the world more civilized and acquiring more wealth through trade. Western countries wanted to acquire territories in Africa because African colonies brought in lots of money and trade for the countries who controlled them. Section six from the General Act of the Berlin Conference detailed the rules and regulations for the countries controlling Africa (Doc 5). As displayed by the Act any country could claim part of Africa relatively easily and control it. The ability to control areas in Africa furthered these nations’ trading power and wealth as they could take the natural resources from Africa and turn them into finished goods to be sold. The political cartoon displaying Africa being taken over displays how Africa was divided and used by other powers for their own gain (Doc 4). Countries worked together to take over Africa as they knew that controlling Africa would improve all their trade and economies. They dismantled and divided Africa on their own terms because even though they worked together to conquer it they still all wanted to control the most useful areas of Africa themselves. The chart of palm oil prices displays a general increase in value of exports from the years 1817 to 1854 (Doc 3). Britain profited heavily from the resources within Africa as shown by the palm oil chart. Other countries such as Belgium also profited this way but with rubber rather than palm oil. The ability to control parts of Africa rich in palm oil would only increase their profits as they out competed the African traders in the palm oil trade. The graph of African trade trends indicates how after the partition of Africa Western powers made more money off of Africa than the indigenous peoples (Doc 6). Controlling Africa rather than just trading with Africa allowed Westerners to make more money than they previously had. They outcompeted the indigenous African traders by taking full control of the areas they were trading with. A major cause of the partition of Africa was the economic gain countries could have when they not only traded with Africa but controlled it, often forcing Africans to buy imported European products. They did not have to go through indigenous African traders and could exploit indigenous Africans for cheap labor to make even greater profit.The civilizing mission was the reason Western leaders stated for controlling Africa as a cover for their true reason, money, but both played into countries’ decisions for acquiring colonies. However, some countries such as Germany desired African colonies for the political power it could give them, it was not as significant of a reason for acquiring colonies as money was and few countries wanted colonies for only that reason.
TEACHER MATERIALST-10UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score: 3Africa was broken up by European countries into colonies due to their desires for power, money, and superiority. Although there were many causes for the partition, the important causes were to spread civilization and make money through the colonization of Africa. Through controlling Africa they could force them to change their society and exploit them for cheap labor. Europeans had inched into Africa before the partition.Africa had natural resources that were useful to Europeans. Europeans could bring these resources into their countries and ship out finished products to make money. Evangelical Christian missionaries arrived in Africa to attempt to convert people to Christianity. Converting people to Christianity was a part of the civilizing mission.They believed it was their duty to spread civilization in places they said were not civilized. English politician Cecil Rhodes supported the civilizing mission and justified it by saying that the English were a superior race “the English are the finest race in the world” (Doc 1). Many Westerners during this time held this belief and people in power also believed this. These people had the power to advocate for the taking of colonies in Africa with the reasoning of spreading higher levels of civilization. In a book by English writer Belloc the Maxim gun was mentioned. (Doc 7). Westerners believed they were more civilized because they had guns and weapons that could kill more people faster than the people in Africa could. These weapons allowed them to have more control over Africa. The prime minister of France, Jules Ferry, wanted people who he believed were more civilized to civilize people in Africa (Doc 2). The prime minister of France supported colonialism in Africa through the civilizing mission. He believed that people of more civilized races had to control people just as Rhodes did. European leaders believed controlling Africa would benefit everyone. Western countries wanted to have land in Africa because they brought in money and trade. The political cartoon shows Africa being taken over and used by other powers (Doc 4). Countries worked together to take over Africa because it would improve all their trade and economies. Each country took land to make themselves better while also supposedly working together to better the world. The chart of palm oil prices shows an increase in value of palm oil (Doc 3). Britain profited from the resources within Africa. Belgium also profited this way but with rubber rather than palm oil. The ability to control parts of Africa rich in palm oil
TEACHER MATERIALST-11UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYwould only increase Britain’s profits through not having to trade through indigenous African merchants or pay the laborers fairly. After the partition of Africa Western powers made more money off of Africa than the indigenous peoples (Doc 6). Controlling Africa rather than just trading with Africa allowed Westerners to make more money than they previously had. They took full control over the areas they traded with by having colonies and establishing protectorates as mentioned in Doc 5. They did not have to go through indigenous African traders and could make more money.Both money and the civilizing mission played into countries’ decisions for acquiring colonies but money more so. Some places such as Germany wanted colonies for political power but money was the main reason.
TEACHER MATERIALST-12UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score:2Africa was broken up by European countries into colonies for many reasons like money. Although there were many causes for the partition, the important causes were to spread civilization and make money through the colonization of Africa. They believed they had to spread civilization. Cecil Rhodes liked this and justified it by saying that the English were a superior race. Many people believed this reason. These people took colonies in Africa. In a book by an English writer the Maxim gun was mentioned. Westerners thought they were more civilized because they had guns. They killed many many people with guns. Jules Ferry wanted people who he thought were more civilized to control Africa. The prime minister of France supported colonialism in Africa. He believed that people of more civilized races had to control people. European leaders believed having Africa would benefit everyone. Western countries wanted to have land in Africa because of money and trade. The poltical cartoon shows Africa being taken over and used by other powers (Doc 4). Each country took land to make themselves better. The chart of palm oil prices shows more money with palm oil because Britiain could control their money from it more by controlling Africa. Britain made money from the resources. Controlling parts of Africa that had palm oil would only give Britain more money. After the partition of Africa Western powers made more money off of Africa. Controlling Africa rather than just trading with Africa allowed Westerners to make more money. They took full control over the areas they traded with. Some places such as Germany wanted colonies for political power but money was the main reason.
TEACHER MATERIALST-13UNIT 5 DBQ WRITING SAMPLEWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 5.3 ACTIVITYPrompt: Evaluate the most significant causes of the partition of Africa into colonies, c. 1880–1914 CE.Score: 1People liked this by saying that the English were a better race. An English writer said something about a machine gun. Jules Ferry wanted people who he thought were more civilized to control Africa. He liked colonialism. People took full control. European leaders said having Africa would be better. Africa being taken over and used by other powers. Each country took land. Africa was broken up by European countries into colonies. Britain made money from the resources. Many people believed this reason. The prime minister of France supported These people took colonies in Africa. colonialism in Africa. Westerners made more money. They took full control over the areas they traded with.