Various motives prompt empires to seek to expand their rule over other countries or territories. These include economic, exploratory, ethnocentric, political, and religious motives. Economic: Imperial governments, and/or private companies under those governments, sought ways to maximize profits. Industrialization and competition with Europe for power were factors that contributed to the growth of European imperialism. The effects of these factors were that they were able to use weaker nations to meet their commercial needs and if they had many colonies they would be grow to be richer and powerful.
Because of imperialism, countries now had access to colonies. When the war started, they were able to equip their colonies to fight for their side. This led to higher tensions and increased involvement in the war.
Askia encouraged learning and literacy, ensuring that Mali's universities produced the most distinguished scholars, many of whom published significant books and one of which was his nephew and friend Mahmud Kati. To secure the legitimacy of his usurpation of the Sonni dynasty, Askia Muhammad allied himself with the scholars of Timbuktu, ushering in a golden age in the city for scientific and Muslim scholarship.[5] The eminent scholar Ahmed Baba, for example, produced books on Islamic law which are still in use today. Muhammad Kati publishedTarikh al-fattash and Abdul-Rahman as-Sadi published Tarikh al-Sudan (Chronicle of Africa), two history books which are indispensable to present-day scholars reconstructing African history in the Middle Ages.
