IMPERIALISM IN AFRICA - Commack Schools



IMPERIALISM IN AFRICA

SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA – 1880-1914

Important People and Events

|David Livingston and Henry Morton Stanley |Livingston |

|[pic] |Great explorer of Africa |

| |Searched for the source of Nile River |

| |Promote Christianity |

| |Kindled European interest in Africa |

| |Stanley |

| |Explored Africa in search of Livingstone |

|Berlin Conference (1884-1885) |Meeting of 14 European nations to lay down rules for the division of Africa. |

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| |Called for by Portugal, but organized by Germany. |

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| |Agreed that any European country could claim land in Africa by notifying other nations. |

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| |Led to a period of heightened colonial activity in Africa. |

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| |Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained free from European control. |

|Cecil Rhodes |Rhodes was a British colonialist who believed in Social Darwinism. (survival of the fittest)and believed |

|[pic] |that the more world the British inhabited the better it was for the human race. His goal was to create a |

| |railroad connecting Cairo to Cape town but it was never achieved. He did however become very wealthy when |

| |he formed the DeBeers Mining Company controlling 90% of the world’s diamond population. |

|King Leopold II of Belgium |He claimed the entire Congo region for himself- had Congolese people cut down rubber trees and kill |

|(1835-1905) |elephant herds for ivory tusks. At least 10 million Congolese died due to the abuses inflicted during his |

| |rule. Leopold’s brutal control over the Congo lasted for 20 years. |

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|Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia |Beginning in the 1880s, Italy tried to conquer Ethiopia, the only independent country in East Africa, but |

|(1844-1913) |Menelik’s well-trained army crushed the Italians so badly that no European dared invade his country again |

| |during his lifetime. |

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|Opening of the Suez Canal |A combination of engineering skills, steam-powered machinery, and a huge investment of money made possible|

|“The Lifeline of the Empire” |the construction of the Suez Canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps, a successful promoter and engineer, oversaw the |

|(1869) |project. He predicted that the canal “will open the world to all people.” When the 100-mile canal was |

| |completed in 1869, it cut in half the length of the journey between Europe and Asia. It connected the Red |

| |Sea to the Mediterranean. It was built with European money, but Egyptian labor. |

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THE STRUGGLE FOR SOUTH AFRICA

|Zulus |Many local wars took place in Southern Africa in the late 1700s to late 1800s. |

| |Around 1816, Shaka Zulu was able to create a large empire using excellent military |

| |techniques. He trained a well-organized military of young fighters who became a |

| |permanent regiment to fight rival groups. These other groups soon forgot about |

| |their differences and Shaka was able to unite them into a new Zulu Kingdom. |

| |However, when Shaka died the Zulus faced a new threat, the Dutch settlers, known as|

| |the Boers. The Zulus were eventually defeated by the Boers. |

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|Based on the picture, why do you think that the Zulus weren’t able to defeat the | |

|Boers and British forces? | |

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|What other groups during the Age of Imperialism compare to the Zulus? | |

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|The Boer War (1899 -1902) |Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for "farmer." |

| |As used in South Africa, it was used to denote the descendants of the |

|[pic] |Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa. The Dutch|

| |began to settle Southern Africa in the 1600s. |

| |The war between the Boers and British started when British found gold and diamond |

| |mines in and around the Boer-ruled republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State.|

| |This led to the Boers revolt against British rule in 1899. Guerilla tactics used by|

| |the Boers were fierce. This angered the British so they responded by burning crops |

| |and herding more than 150,000 Boer women and children into detention camps where |

| |lack of food caused 26,000 deaths. Eventually the British army won but the British |

| |were very generous to the defeated Boers. In 1910, British agreed to the creation |

| |of an independent Union of South Africa, combining British and Boer territory. To |

| |appease the Boers, the British agreed that only whites could vote. |

How did European rulers complete the colonization of Africa?

Industries:

✓ Steam ships made it possible for Europeans to travel inland, bringing supplies and personnel via Africa's navigable rivers. No horses? No problem.

✓ It's very, very important to remember that Africans did not meekly acquiesce to European authority: they resisted, often violently, but ultimately they were defeated by a technologically superior enemy.

✓ By the 19th century, European gun technology had improved dramatically, especially with the introduction of the Maxim machine gun, which allowed Europeans to wipe out Africans in battle after battle. Of course, machine guns were effective when wielded by Africans, too, but Africans had fewer of them.

Improvements in Medicine: Medical advancements like Quinine repelled Africa's mosquitoes and microbes.

Indirect Control

✓ Government officials from colonies used.

✓ Government institutions are based on European styles but may have local rulers.

✓ Goal: to develop future leaders who are loyal to controlling country.

✓ Examples: Great Britain, United States

Traditional Ethnic Boundaries in Africa, 1913

1. What problems might result from the change of combining or splitting groups of people without regard for ethnic or linguistic traditions?

EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN RULE ON AFRICA

The Legacy of Colonial Rule in Africa

European colonial rule forever altered Africans’ lives. In many regions, the effects of European imperialism continue to impact modern-day Africa.

➢ Europeans created national boundaries

➢ Built and improved railroads roads, and telephone lines to make communication and the shipment of goods and resources quicker and more efficient.

➢ Africans became educated in Western languages, Christianity, and values. This led to new ideas, and the eventual fight for equality and independence.

➢ Improved medicine and nutrition led to improved health, quality of life, and life expectancy.

➢ African goods, such as ivory, animal skins, gold, and diamonds became valued on the international market.

➢ Africans became tenants instead of controllers of their own land. Thousands died resisting European rule.

➢ Life expectancy increased as Europeans introduced better medical practices

|TASK: Evaluate the impact of European colonial rule in Africa. For each statement, evaluate if this will have a more positive or a more negative impact on the lives |

|of Africans. Then, justify why. |

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|Positive Effects |Negative Effects |Why? |

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