The primary economic cause of the Scramble for Africa was the European need for:
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Correct answer: Raw materials and new markets for industrial goods
The Industrial Revolution created a massive demand for resources like palm oil, minerals, and cotton. African colonies provided both the raw materials and a captive market for European manufactured products.
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More Scramble for Africa questions
- Which 19th-century diplomatic gathering is credited with formalizing the 'Scramble for Africa' to avoid war between European powers?
- Which European monarch claimed the Congo Free State as his personal private property rather than a national colony?
- Which African nation successfully maintained its independence by defeating an Italian invasion at the Battle of Adwa?
- The 'Cape to Cairo' railway project was a strategic goal championed by which British imperialist?
- What was the significance of the 1898 Fashoda Incident?
- Which resource was primarily responsible for the rapid, violent colonization of the Congo basin?