Why did the big European powers want Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

It was basically a race between them and the British (I think?) to own the most countries and therefore have the most power. So they took over as many African countries as they could and turned the people into slaves to harvest the resources for them.

Because they could. Because Africa was badly organized. No large Nations. Only small tribes. European Nations were powerful and power hungry sought world domination.

And because there was money to be made. Resources to exploit. People to exploit. Interesting, exotic goods to steal.

And because of curiosity. Wide areas were unknown to the Europeans and un-cartographed and mysterious back then.

They wanted it because of it’s resources. The Industrial Revolution left them in need of raw materials so they could produce more goods and increase trading. Also, Africa was a great spot for trading.