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)

Africa

1890

Africa

1914

Source forRaw

Materials

Markets forFinishedGoods

EuropeanNationalism

MissionaryActivity

Military& NavalBases

EuropeanMotives

For ColonizationHumanitarian

Reasons

“WhiteMan’s

Burden”

SocialDarwinism

EuropeanRacism

IndustrialRevolution

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 Imperialism2. 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–David 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

Tanganyika Lake

Where was the source of the Nile River?

Lake Victoria

OR

HENRY STANLEY• Welsh reporter• “Found” Dr. Livingstone in Africa– “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

• Explored Africa (for King Leopold)– 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!

Berlin Conference Divides Africa

1. Any sovereign power which wanted to claim any territory should inform the other powers “in order to ... make good any claim of their own.”

2. Any such annexation should be validated by effective occupation.

3. Treaties with African rulers were to be considered a valid title to sovereignty.

European Imperialism in Africa

Review…

1. Summarize the four motivations for European imperialism in Africa

2. What were Livingstone & Stanley know for?

3. What occurred at the Berlin Conference?

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)

• Becomes prime minister of Cape Colony (S. Africa)– Wanted Cape-to-Cairo Railroad

• Architect of British imperialism in southern Africa

CECIL RHODES

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)

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• Conservative 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

• Exam on Intro. to Africa and Imperialism. STUDY!!!!