Topic > The Effects of Parasitic Colonialism

Throughout history, every subculture of the human population has at one time been at odds with another. This competitive spirit comes from the great race to gather most of the world's limited resources for the domination of one's family group. Humans' sense of infallibility coupled with the fear of death has driven many nations to cling to the world's resources with the desire to survive. Côte d'Ivoire, also known as the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country located in the western region of Africa. Just like many African countries that eventually became reluctant hosts of parasitic colonialism, Côte d'Ivoire is still recovering from its effects. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay If one were to travel throughout Côte d'Ivoire, one would hear a multitude of Ivorian languages ​​spoken. You might be surprised to hear French spoken fluently throughout the country. In August 1960, Côte d'Ivoire gained independence from France (Mundt et al., 2018). France granted independence to Côte d'Ivoire under the presidency of Felix Houphouet-Boigny (Profile of Côte d'Ivoire, 2018). President Felix Houphouet-Boigny has held this power for more than thirty years (Profile of Ivory Coast, 2018). France had gained formal colonial rule over Côte d'Ivoire in 1893. France already had a commercial presence within the country and decided to extend its protectorate to govern Côte d'Ivoire entirely (Mundt et al., 2018) . When France exercised its sovereignty over the country, it became an official French colony (Mundt et al., 2018). The initiative to colonize Côte d'Ivoire was preceded by the goal of exploiting the nation's natural resources. The presence of Portuguese merchants may also have had some influence on France's decision to claim Côte d'Ivoire as its own. The combination of the desire to surpass competitors (Portuguese traders) and to become dominant in the world of trade was enough incentive to dry up the territory. The incentive to cultivate Côte d'Ivoire by turning the country into an export colony was easy due to the military control over the population and the large amount of resources located in the territory. Côte d'Ivoire before independence had an abundance of natural resources that included ivory, cocoa beans, coffee, and humans (Mundt et al., 2018). Today's Ivory Coast is the leading producer of cocoa beans in the world (Ivory Coast Profile, 2018). Ivory Coast was well known before the French invasion as a major trader of ivory and that is why it became known as the Ivory Coast. Coast (A Brief History of Ivory Coast, n.d.). During the period of the transatlantic slave trade, Côte d'Ivoire was aptly nicknamed “The Slave Coast” due to the enormous amount of slave trading that took place along its borders (Pruitt, 2016). Even with the presence of military leaders resistant to French colonialism, Africans of the “Slave Coast” were vulnerable to capture or enslavement across the seas. The military prowess of resistance fighters like Samori Touré was not enough to keep the French army at bay and Touré was eventually captured by the French army (Handloff, 1988). France had a desire to be a leader in the world of trade. This, accompanied by the growing agricultural industry of the Americas and the Caribbean, increased the demand for human livestock. This demand, combined with the surplus of an African population, gave rise to the slave trade in.