Why did europeans look to africa as a new area for spreading imperialism?

For one thing, countries in Africa didn't have the same resources as many countries in Europe did. This simply was the start of how in that way, they were worse off. Many Europeans in government also saw African leaders and communities as 'lower' or 'uncivilized', dubbing them 'chiefs' and 'tribes' instead of kings like they would be if they were German or French. They saw the need to 'civilize them', and by 'civilize' I mean taking all their existing resources, and then enslavement.