However, such a project takes funding, so the French owners of the canal sold pieces off as stock. The British took advantage of this and bought the canal away from the French establishing the feud between France and England over control of Egypt. The British then bought off the Egyptian Khedive, further establishing their power in the area. British control of Egypt, the Suez, and even the Nile river is marked by a constant competition with France. In 1882 when Arab forces attempted to seize Egypt from European hands, the British out-did the French by taking on the strong military role and crushing the Arab forces.
fter 1890, the reasons behind British imperialism in Africa were the same, with a new one added. The British had no allies. Colonies would provide them with allies around the world. They believed that they were already in an economic war with Germany, and a real war would not be far behind. Some referred to imperialism as gearing up for war. During 1897 France was still angry about losing the Suez Canal. Russia looked interested in India, and was encouraging France to be angry against England. France and Britain also began the "Battle of the Flags," a dispute about towns along the Niger River that almost led to war. In 1898 the British took Khartoum. In 1901 they annexed from Ashanti to the Gold Coast, and in 1903 they added to Nigeria. The British war hawks turned out to be right; World War I began in 1914. .
From 1869 until nearly the start of World War I, the British practiced imperialism in Africa out of fear of losing their empire. They took South Africa and Egypt to keep India from being stolen, and they annexed other parts of Africa (such as areas around the Niger) to compete economically with France and Germany, and to keep the land they already had from being taken by France and Germany. They also annexed land in order to have allies in case a war should start. The British claimed they didn't want to practice imperialism; that Germany and France forced them to do it to keep their empire.