Do you agree or disagree, and to what extent, with the statement that: ‘ the exploration and further opening of western Africa for the British was similar to the experience in Egypt. The British were only interested in money and strategic placement’

I do believe this statement is, in large, true. However, there were also several other factors that make British motivation more complex.

Firstly, I believe the main reason behind the British colonization of Egypt was strategic placement: this is made clear through the full exploitation of the Suez Canal which provided a huge advantage for the British: the journey between Britain and one of its most important colonies, India, was made much faster as a result which mean merchandise could be transported faster and more efficiently which benefited Britain hugely as its capitalist system could not be maintained by Steam alone despite all the benefits the latter provided. In fact, the canal ensured the British could forget about more than 6,000 miles of travel. Moreover, Britain sought to fully exploit Egypt’s cotton resources to be able to resell the latters to neighbour rival countries and make an enormous amount of profit, which backs up the view that the will to make money was also a major driving force in Britain’s colonization of Egypt. However we must acknowledge that Britain had originally wanted cotton amid the lack of cotton to run their mills. It was once they realized how good the quality of Egyptian cotton was that companies invested hugely in the trade of the latter. Soon, 44% of Egyptian imports contributed to the British trade whilst 90% of their national exports were now cotton. A policy however, that originated from the Mohamed Ali rule.

In an other light, one might argue that the British colonization of Egypt was also a consequence of Britain’s fierce rivalry with France: it is true that both craved strategic placement, in effect, the Suez Canal. However, national pride was also very much at stake. This becomes clear when we analyse the process of the Suez Canal capture: the British beat the French simply through speed and decisiveness. British were desperate to stamp their authority on the all important Canal.

We notice the Anglo-French rivalry persisted in West Africa, and this is one of the striking similarities however, it is not one that entirely supports the view that reasons for invasion were purely strategic and economical. It is believed the British wanted to limit French power as they had already conquered a significant amount of land in the Gambia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. The French ended up granting Britain odd, but nonetheless important parts of the Gambia.

It soon became evident though, that the British were determined to profit out of their colonization of West Africa as they exploited the Gold coast and exported Gold. The technique was different: Britain set up an indirect rule,