a brief history of imperialism in africa
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A Brief History of Imperialism in Africa
Why Africa is the Forgotten Continent
The Dark Continent• “Dark Continent”—racist terminology
referred to both the peoples of Africa and their alleged ignorance
• In reality, Africa has always had diverse groups of people with their own unique cultures and histories– Civilizations– Languages– Religions
Imperialism in Africa
• What is it?– Seeking out new territories to expand power
around the world.
• Who were the “imperialists” ?– Europeans
• Result?– Only two independent nations in Africa by the
start of WWI (1914)
Africa1890
Africain
1914
IndustrialRevolution
Source forRaw
Materials
Markets forFinishedGoods
EuropeanNationalism
MissionaryActivity
Military& NavalBases
EuropeanMotives
For Colonization
Places toDump
Unwanted/Excess Popul.
Soc. & Eco.Opportunities
HumanitarianReasons
EuropeanRacism
“WhiteMan’s
Burden”
SocialDarwinism
Motives for Imperialism
1. Economic Needs–A need for raw
materials that were not domestically available and those raw materials were abundant in Africa.– Industrial Revolution –
place to dump manufactured goods
Motives for Imperialism
2. Social Darwinism– “Survival of the
Fittest”–Only the strongest
nations survive and only the strongest nations have colonies in Africa
Motives for Imperialism
3. Missionaries – “The White Man’s
burden”– Europeans felt that
they needed to civilize the rest of the world. They also felt that they needed to convert everyone in Africa to Christianity
“The White Man’s Burden”
• Term comes from Rudyard Kipling's famous poem, which begins:
Take up the White Man's burdenSend forth the best ye breed-
Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness,On fluttered folk and wild-
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half-devil and half-child.
The White Man’s
Burden?
Motives for Imperialism
4. Adventure– Inspired by stories of
excitement & adventure–Stanley Livingston &
Henry Stanley
DAVID LIVINGSTONE
• Scottish missionary• Explored central Africa– Named Lake Victoria after the
British queen– Converted many Africans to
Christianity– Wrote books on Africa which
piqued foreign interest• 1871 – reported “lost”– “Found” by Henry Stanley
HENRY STANLEY• Welsh reporter• “Found” Dr. Livingstone in Africa– “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
• Explored Africa– Congo River– Lake Tanganyika– Lake Victoria
Berlin Conference Divides Africa
• There was so much competition for land in Africa, Europeans feared a war–Held Berlin
Conference to carve up Africa
– Sounds like a good idea…. But no one consulted the Africans!
European Imperialism in Africa
The British in South Africa
• Cape Colony (now South Africa) obtained after fighting the Boer War with the Dutch
• Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)– Named for Cecil Rhodes
• Bechuanaland (now Botswana)– 1885 – became a British protectorate
CECIL RHODES
• British businessman & politician in S. Africa
• Made fortune from African diamond mines• DeBeers Diamonds
• Established South African Company which became Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
• Prime minister of Cape Colony (S. Africa)– Wanted Cape-to-Cairo Railroad
• Architect of British imperialism in southern Africa
What does the statement reveal about Rhodes’ attitude toward Africa
• I contend that we (the British) are the first race in the world, and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race… It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory and we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes that more territory simply means more of the Anglo-Saxon race, more of the best, the most human, most honorable race the world possesses.– Cecil Rhodes, Confession of Faith 1877
Cape-to-Cairo Railway: Crossing over Victoria Falls
The British in Africa
• Egypt• Sudan – split between French & British• Nigeria • Ghana• Sierra Leone• Kenya• Part of present day Libya
FRENCH IN AFRICA
• Algeria• Tunis (present day
Tunisia)• Morocco • Madagascar• Somaliland• West Africa– Late 1800s – largely
under French control• Sudan – split between
the French & British
FRENCH IN AFRICA
• By World War I – 1914 – France controlled 3,250,000 square miles in
Africa• 14 times the area of France
– France ruled 30,000,000 Africans• 75% of the population of France
Germans in Africa
• Togoland (now Togo & Ghana)
• Cameroons (now Cameroon & Nigeria)
• Southwest Africa (now Namibia)
• East Africa (now Burundi, Rwanda, & Tanzania)
c
Italians in Africa
• Eritrea (along the Red Sea)
• Somaliland (along the Indian Ocean, part of today’s Somalia)
• Defeated in attempt to conquer Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
• Libya
• 1908: Belgium gained control of Congo (Congo Free State)
• King Leopold was infamous for the cruelty of his rule in the Congo
• 80 times the size of Belgium• Source of copper, rubber and minerals• Estimate: – 10 million deaths
BELGIANS IN AFRICA
King Leopold
Villagers who failed to meet the rubber collection quotas had to pay with their hand.
Belgian soldiers used to shoot a bullet through their hand, but then decided to cut them off to
spare the expense of ammunition.
PORTUGUESE IN AFRICA
• Led the early trans-Atlantic African slave trade from:– Angola– Mozambique
SPANISH IN AFRICA
• Spain had very few possessions in Africa
• Tip of Morocco
• Western Sahara
AFRICANS IN AFRICA
• By the time of the First World War (1914)–Only 2 independent African
countries• Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
– Ruled by dynasty stretching back to at least the 13th century
• Liberia– Formed by freed slaves under
auspices of the United States government
Effects of Imperialism
1. Africa was divided without respect to culture, ethnicity, and tribal boundaries
– Artificial borders– Caused continued conflict – Undermined traditional family life
2. Ruined traditional African Tribal governments, which has led to UNSTABILITY
– Many civil wars and cruel leaders
Effects of Imperialism
4. Europe exploited and depleted Africa’s raw materials for their own purposes
5. Treated Africans with extreme brutality6. Left Africa with a desire for modern
technology and the same living standard as westerners
– BUT, with little means to achieve those standards
Poverty in Africa
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