A ballad on the Scramble for Africa

2. The Scramble for Africa, imperialistic time
For us to come up with this wonderful rhyme
A time that focused on taking new land
And coming up with better plans
Beginning in 1880 you see,
The Europeans nations dropped to their
knees
Seeing Africa, a beautiful sight
Full of resources and other delights
But why not scout the area first?
Satisfy curiosities thirst
Mr. Livingstone that was his name
An explorer known with great fame

3. 1841 is when he would start
Showing off his great smarts
Exploring the land all the way through
Keeping his findings in a journal to
Then one day, the man was gone
And he was not heard from for very long
Henry Stanley, an explorer to
Was sent to find this man so true
The Scramble did not hold intentions true
Resources and land were taken too
Social Darwinism, these countries claimed
All in all, Africa was maimed.

4. 1869 he was sent to the land
To find the disappeared Livingstone man
1871, Livingstone was found
Giving rise the famous phrase (“Dr. Livingstone I
presume?”) still around.
The other nations soon pushed on
Afraid the good land would soon be gone
For one problem stood in the way
Multiple nations this country had swayed
Britain, France, and Portugal too
Competed with Germany, Italy, and Spain a few
They all wanted the best of the land
For Africa was all part of their plan.

5. The Western powers saw this land
As a great place for them to stand
But the natives here were not too bright
For the Europeans did not show them the light
Social Darwinism, a term we know
Was used to justify the imperialistic show
The civilized people saw the need
To teach the Africans good things indeed
The Scramble did not hold intentions true
Resources and land were taken too
Social Darwinism, these countries claimed
All in all, Africa was maimed.

6. But in reality what did they do?
Did they see these promises through?
Or did they take all they could
And not give back as they should?
Unfair treatment was prominent then
For the Europeans were better men.
King Leopold II ruled his part
For he did not have the best of hearts
He killed ten million African souls
Just so he could meet his countries goals.
1909 was a sad year
For this event brought many tears

7. After the Scramble for Africa began
Otto Von Bismarck needed a plan
The Conference of Berlin is what he would call,
To stop the Europe from a great fall.
In 1884, the major powers met
To settle disputes the situation had left
Arguments over land quickly ensued
Nearly starting several feuds
The Scramble did not hold intentions true
Resources and land were taken too
Social Darwinism, these countries claimed
All in all, Africa was maimed.

8. But in the end, an agreement came
One that would forever hold great fame
The countries agreed to split the land
And everyone agreed to adhere to this plan.
Other issues were also solved
Slavery was abolished, this system so flawed
Rules were set to stop future fights
And stopping the natives from taking flight.
1914, the Scramble was done
The African natives were on the run
Kept under the European foot
The dignity was soon turned to soot

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