After the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, many European countries began colonizing the resource rich lands of Africa. During this period of colonization, many African tribes living in these areas often faced many hardships and challenges. They were forced by their European rulers to change their cultures and beliefs, and were used almost like slaves to gather their own resources for the Europeans.
Belgian Congo Free State
A great example of this would be the development of the Belgian Congo Free State during the 19th century. Although this ruling lasted for only 2 decades, over 10 million Congolese people died during this period. This was most likely due to harsh labor and extreme poverty that the Congolese faced. According to a quote from the Casement Report, a document written by Roger Casement of Ireland in 1904, “Nothing had remained for them [Congolese] at home but to be killed for failure to bring in a certain amount of rubber or to die from starvation or exposure (exhaustion) in their attempts to satisfy the demands of the government (the Belgians).” This excerpt shows the brutality and extreme treatment the Belgians gave to the Congolese, with the only intent to make huge profit off their colonization, and disregarding their impact in the region.
Egypt Under British Rule
Due to Egypt's high geopolitical value, many European countries sought to imperialize Egypt and take control of its economic resources, like the Suez Canal, for example. Known as the "Lifeline" of the empire, the Suez Canal helped increase trade between Europe and Asia. As a result, when British had full occupation of Egypt, they were able to profit huge amounts of money while giving very little to the Egyptians. As a result, most of the Europeans living in Egypt made up a majority of the higher class, while most of the Egyptians were in the lower class. According to Cambridge Histories, a history book written by Professor Donald Reid of the University of Cambridge, "Enriched by the booming trade and protected by special laws, Europeans flaunted their wealth and privilege. Many of the Egyptian population served the mainly European rich." This led to a massive uproar among the Egyptian citizens, and many riots to emerge all throughout Egypt.
Opium Wars
The Opium War in China was a series of wars fought during the 19th Century (2 in total). The war was caused by ongoing opium trade by Great Britain to China, which was considered strictly prohibited in China. The smuggling of Opium to China resulted in many severe consequences for the people of China. According to Professor Gronewold of Columbia University, she stated that “the cost to China was enormous. The drug weakened a large percentage of the population, and wealth began to flow out of the country to pay for the opium.” It also caused inflation due to the huge trading of opium from outside countries. In fact, the interventions and imperialism of European countries in China was so bad that this time period was known as the "Century of Humiliation" to the Chinese.