Essay on Did the British Empire Improve Lives in Africa

Did the British Empire improve people’s lives in Africa? I will start off by defining the terms of this essay. ‘Improve’, in this context, means the African people’s lives developing and the standard of living getting better. The British Empire in Africa was vast. It included lands in North Africa, such as Egypt, much of West Africa, and huge territories in Southern and East Africa. British rule had a huge impact on the lives of millions of Africans. Before the British rule in Africa, African people were poor. They did not have proper towns, just little villages. They had no means of transport and no education. They had no or little knowledge about medications. It was merely uncivilized. The Scramble for Africa was the†¦show more content†¦It was the British that developed the Atlantic slave system known as the ‘Triangular Trade’. African and Arab slave traders brought slaves to slave markets on the West African coast. They would then be bought by European slave traders. These slave traders bought goods from Europe which exchanged for the slaves. The slaves were then transported to the Americas on a journey known as the ‘Middle Passage’. Between 1700 and 1807, around 12 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic. Roughly 15% of those transported died on the journey. The conditions on board the slave ships were horrific. Throughout the journey the slaves were chained together by their hands and feet and they were often kept below deck in the dark. In 1788, a slave ship called ‘The Brookes’ was carrying over 600 slaves from Africa to America. This was despite the fact that the ship was designed to carry only 4 51 passengers. However, the impact on slave trade was considerable. Ports such as Liverpool and Glasgow were created from the profits of the slave trade. However, the British were not the only benefiters from this. In Africa, the slave trade led to the creation of powerful West African kingdoms as there was only a small number of Africans that profited from selling slaves to Europeans. In 1807 the slave trade was abolished by the British Parliament as it was under increasing pressure from the abolitionist movement. It became illegal to buy andShow MoreRelatedGandy and the Ahimsa Philosophy Essay844 Words   |  4 Pagesnonviolence, according to many religions (Indian) it applies to all living beings including. â€Å"Ahimsa is a comprehensive principle. We are helpless mortals caught in the conflagration of himsa. The saying that life lives on life has a deep meaning in it. Man cannot for a moment live without consciously or unconsciously committing outward himsa. The very fact of his living – eating, drinking and moving about – necessarily involves some himsa, destruction of life, be it ever so minute. 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