11.1 The Scramble for Africa Mrs. Stoffl



  Industrialism spurred many countries to desire more resources to fuel production  Africa = source of raw materials + new markets  ∴ Industrial powers seized most of Africa during the 19 th and 20 th centuries  This is called Imperialism :  Seizure of a country/territory by a stronger country Setting the Stage



  Understand the reasons for imperialism  Analyze African colonization and its effects on the native peoples of Africa  Determine how powerful countries (mostly European) got into Africa Objectives

 Africa Before European Domination  Before European invasion:  100s of different African ethnic and linguistic groups  Over 1000 different languages  Practiced their own forms of religion and traditions  Politically, they ranged from independent villages to sizeable empires.  Specialized trade networks b/w groups

  1400s: Europeans tried to conquer Africa  Were driven out by strong African armies  1880: Europeans controlled only 10% of Africa  Mostly coastal land  Europeans had difficultly traveling in Africa :  Confusing rivers w/ changing flows, disease, strange lands  But introduction of the steamship allowed for massive exploration in the early 1800s Africa Before European Domination

  Most Europeans who did get into Africa were missionaries, humanitarians, and explorers  Opposed the African slave trade  Sought to convert Africans to Christianity or Islam  Stories would get back to the U.S. + Europe about the mysterious African experience  Publishers would compete for stories by sending reporters across the globe to explore! Nations Compete for Overseas Expansion

  David Livingstone :  Scottish missionary who traveled deep into Africa to promote Christianity in the late 1860s  No one heard from him for several years, and in 1870 an America newspaper hired Henry Stanley to find him  Stanley found him in 1871 on the shore of Lake Tanganyika  “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Exploring Africa



  Henry Stanley :  Set out to explore African after finding Livingstone  Caught the attention King Leopold II of Belgium  asked Stanley to help him gain land in the Congo  : Stanley signed several treaties w/ local chiefs that gave Leopold II control of lands in the Congo River Valley

  King Leopold II colonizes Congo:  Claimed his goal in the colony was to promote Christianity + abolish the slave trade BUT…  Hired companies to work in the colony that treated the Africans cruelly  Brutally forced them to collect sap from rubber plants  10 million+ Congolese were killed due to the abuses inflicted during Leopold’s rule The Congo Sparks Interest



   Humanitarians demanded changes-  1908 the Belgian gov’t took control of the colony away from Leopold.  Belgian Congo (as it became know) was 80x bigger than Belgium  This alarmed France who also claimed land in the Congo in 1882 The Congo Sparks Interest

 Forces Driving Imperialism  Why were these industrial nations beginning to conquer smaller countries?  Resources/raw materials  Markets/economic expansion  And MORE…  Did not just turn to Africa, looked all over the globe for vulnerable countries/territories

  Belief in Social Darwinism : (racism)  Belief that one race is superior to the others  Applied Darwin’s theory to human society  the fittest for survival were the wealthy + successful ppl  Europeans thought they were better than less civilized ppl  b/c they were not scientifically or technologically advanced and were not wealthy  White Man’s Burden Belief in European Superiority

  Race for colonies also grew from national pride  Europeans viewed an empire as a measure of national greatness + power  ∴ plant their flag on as many parts of the world as possible  Christianity also a factor  Missionaries believed that European rule was the best way to end the slave trade and civilize or ” Westernize ” races Belief in European Superiority

  How were the Europeans able to so easily take over Africa?  Advanced technology:  Weapons  Maxim gun (1 st automatic machine gun).  Ability to control their growing empires b/c invention of the steam engine (trains and ships for travel)  1829 drug to protect Europeans from being infected w/ malaria (carried by MANY mosquitos in Africa) Factors Promoting Imperialism in Africa

  How were the Europeans able to so easily take over Africa?  Disunity among African groups b/c different languages and cultures  ∴ did not unite in a strong force against Europeans  Eur. also played rival groups against each other  Factors Promoting Imperialism in Africa

  1880 – European countries start aggressively taking pieces of Africa  South Africa: Diamonds discovered in 1867 and gold in 1886 = even more interest in the continent  No European country wanted to be left out… The Division of Africa

  The competition was so strong that European countries feared war among themselves!  ∴ 14 European nations met at the Berlin Conference ( ) to establish rules for the division of Africa:  1. Claim the land 2. Prove you could control the area  From then on, Africa was divided up in this way  No consideration given to how the ethnic/linguistic groups were distributed  No African leaders invited to the Berlin Conference  By 1914, only Liberia + Ethiopia remained free Berlin Conference Divides Africa

  Europeans hoped African colonies would buy their goods but the African colonies didn’t  ∴ Europeans mostly used the colonies for their natural resources and raw materials  Mineral resources provided great wealth for Africa  Copper, Tin, Gold, Diamonds, etc  Cash crop plantations to grow peanuts, palm oil, cocoa + rubber  This displaced many of the crops African farmers used to feed their families Demand for Raw Materials Shapes Colonies

  South Africa  illustrated the clash of the Europeans (Dutch and British) with the African ppl  Different African ethnic groups had claims to vast areas of land  Fought over these claims for 100 years.  Late 1700s – late 1800s:  Local wars throughout southern Africa  Europeans thought these lands were empty… Three Groups Clash over South Africa

  1816 : Zulu chief Shaka created a large kingdom using a highly trained military to maintain order  Those that took over the kingdom after Shaka could not keep the kingdom together b/c British weaponry  Early 1879 : Zulu king Cetshwayo refused to accept British rule ∴ British invaded  Zulus won  July 1879 : Zulus lose to the British once and for all at the Battle of Ulundi  1887 : Entire Zulu nation under British control Zulus Fight the British

  First Europeans in South Africa were the Dutch  1652: Built a station for their ships on Cape of Good Hope  Dutch settlers were known as Boers ( farmers )  Gradually took African land and made large farms  Aka Afrikaners  British took over the Cape Colony in early 1800s:  They and the Boers clashed over British policies  Great Trek : 1830s  Boers move North to escape the Br.  Ran into the Zulu and other African groups = fierce fighting Boers and British Settle in the Cape

  1860s and 1880s – diamond discovered in southern Africa  Ppl from all parts of the world flock in to make $$$  Boers worked to keep these “outsiders” from gaining political rights  “Outsiders” staged a rebellion against the Boers and failed  Boers blamed the British and in 1899 took up arms against them  Called the Boer War The Boer War

  Boer War “South African War” = first modern “ total ” war  Total war: fighting involved and at times targeted civilians not just soldiers  Boars used raids and guerilla tactics against British  British responded by burning Boer farms and imprisoning civilian men, women, + children in concentration camps  Black South Africans fought w/Boers + served as scouts and guards  Many were captured, 14,000 died in concentration camps. The Boer War

  Winston Churchill :  Arrested by the Boers during an attack  Escaped and returned to Britain a hero  Will eventually become British Prime Minister during WWII  By 1902 – Britain had won the war.  By 1910 – all Boer republics were combined to form the Union of South Africa (British colony).  European colonies = way of life for Africans changed  Pushed to adopt European culture.  The Boer War

 Why does this matter?