They conquered and added on many parts of Africa, such as Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, the Suez Canal, etc In most cases, the reasons for this was that were able to colonize these people and gain alliances with them and also to send out the message to other countries that they were still competitive. One prime example of this, was how Britain bought the Suez Canal into their own power. Fredinand de Lesseps, a French entrepreneur, built the Suez Canal along with his company. Because this waterway was built in the country of Egypt, the ruler was the one who funded this project. However, money ran short, and he was unable to pay off the loans he had due. Therefore, in order to pay off his debts, he was forced to sell portions of the canal to Britain and remained to do so until the British gained control of it. This is example is directly related to the most important reason of British imperialism, economic, as will be discussed in the second to last paragraph. .
The exploratory reasons was perhaps the least significant, however it did play a somewhat important reason in British imperialism. Before the Age of Imperialism, the inner parts of Africa's landmass were not familiar to Britain, and other countries. Numerous expeditions of explorers revealed much of the geographical features of this continent. In this category, the name of the most influential figure of exploration must be mentioned, and that was Dr. David Livingstone of Britain. He was the most famous and recognized explorer-missionary. David Livingstone became the first of explorers to enter the depths of inner Africa. He took notes of all his accounts and opinions of what went on. With a more accurate land recognization, it made it easier for the British to go into Africa and take over.
The ideological reasons for the Age of Imperialism pertained to all of the European countries. However, Britain was the most influential, because they were strongest.
