Did you ever wonder why some countries are poor even though they are flourishing with natural resources such as diamond, rubber and fuel? For instance, Africa is an independent and prosperous continent with several ethnic groups and independent economic systems. All of the Africans were happy with their own economy and political system before the Age of Imperialism. Imperialism is the main trigger to the current situation in Africa where there are epidemic, slavery and famine. Imperialism is harmful to colonized countries and continents because it leads to the rapid spread of diseases, racism and creates scars inside the heart of victims.
Imperialism occurs when a strong nation takes over a weak nation for the purpose of getting natural resources and dominates its economy, politics, and culture. After the Industrial Revolution, many European countries began a race to occupy many countries to take as much natural resources as they can. One of the most famous examples of European countries racing to colonize is "Scramble for Africa" in the late 1800s when Europeans were deciding which part of Africa they should take without the approval of Africans. Imperialists intended to develop their economy and industry by expanding, trading and obtaining new natural resources which are needed to manufacture many new products. For these reasons, strong nations such as Europe, where the Industrial Revolution was centered, claimed the weak nations for their own benefit and selfishness. (Imperialism).
These European imperialists dominated the colonized country's economy, government and oppression of local people. They took advantage of the imperialized colonies by exporting many natural resources as cheaply as possible and forced the locals to buy the manufactured goods with a high price. As a result, the colonized people have no choice but to work hard without any benefits for them: "In the Congo State, Leopold forced the Africans into hard labor by various violent methods Leopold II again began to collect all the profit from the materials" (Was it really a burden?).