The Scramble for Africa. But other factors played an important role in the process. The political impetus derived from the impact of inter-European power struggles and competition for preeminence. Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power within European power politics. One way to demonstrate national preeminence was through the acquisition of territories around the world, including Africa. The social factor was the third major element.
Edmund Fitzgerald redirects here. For other uses, see Edmund Fitzgerald (disambiguation). SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there.
That lead and the news magazine's dry story inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write one of the greatest story songs ever. On November 10, 1975, an ore carrier - the Edmund Fitzgerald - sank in Lake Superior during a November storm, taking the lives of all 29 crew members. Later that month, Gordon Lightfoot, inspired by that article in Newsweek Magazine, wrote what is probably his most famous song: Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald. Buy an MP3 of the original recording of the song: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Lightfoot wrote the song as a tribute to the ship, the sea, and the men who lost their lives that night.