Africa: The Old Africa and the Scramble For Africa (1750 – 1900) By Charles Ma

The Old Africa: Pre-Imperialistic Era

New African States Nationalism in Africa: The Zulus The Nguni people had farmed and raised cattle in south-east Africa. When Shaka came to power in 1818, this military genius implemented strict military drill and close combat tactics as well as deployed tough ox-hide shields and stabbing spears. He grouped people in his realm into age-based groups and taught them Zulu culture, history, myths, fighting techniques, etc. He also used public festivals of loyalty to create a sense of nationalism. These techniques infused the spirit of nationalism in his peoples.

New African States Nationalism in Africa: The Hausa Peoples Islamic reform movements created new states. Background: Islam had been a force in politics and cities in West Africa for centuries, but it was not strictly enforced or imposed upon the peoples because most Muslim rulers found it was wise to tolerate the traditional religious practices. In the 1770s, Muslim scholars began to demand reform of Islamic practices. In 1804, religious leader Usuman dan Fodio complained that the Hausa kings were “undoubtedly unbelievers” of Islam because they practiced polytheistic rituals, instead of practicing Islam. Usuman demanded a holy war to overthrow him. This movement spread to other Hausa city-states. Religion was a unifying factor. This was the beginning of the Sokoto Caliphate.

New African States Modernization: Ethiopia In the 1840s, Ethiopians began to modernize by purchasing the state-of-the-art weapons from European sources and creating strong armies loyal to the emperor. Emperor Tewodros II encouraged local manufacture of weapons. He received aid from Protestant missionaries who helped him build the massive 7-ton cannon shown above-right. He tried to force more technical aid by holding British officials hostage, but Britain, with superior military ability, invaded to help those officials. Tewodros commmitted suicide when the British cornered him. King Menelik controlled a part of Ethiopia that was not under Tewodros’ son, Yohannes’, rule. This part of Ethiopia will remain independent from European imperialism.

The New Africa: The Imperialistic Era

The New Imperialism: Motives and Methods There were three categories of the motives as why European powers used imperialism: Political: Maintaining power and prestige was important for European powers. Cultural/Social: The Europeans had a condescending attitude towards the “savages”, “barbarians”,etc. Economic: Europeans wanted to make money from raw materials found in the colonies and process them and sell manufactured goods to make even more money.

The New Imperialism: Motives and Methods: Social Darwinism Social Darwinism was the misguided belief and application of the theory of evolution that stated that Europeans were superior to everyone else in terms of everything and they should be the last men standing. In other words, it was okay to torture, rape, murder, pillage villages, and harm people considered “inferior”.

The New Imperialism: Motives and Methods: Tools of the Europeans The Imperialists used their superior technology to blow up the natives. (Not pleasant, but not surprising either.) This is best exemplified by the Battle of Omdurman. The British came up on the Nile on six steamboats and four other boats. There were 20 machine guns and four artillery pieces. The Sudanese, however, were only equipped with muskets and spears. The British massacred the Sudanese, killing over 11,000 Sudanese while only 48 British died.

The New Imperialism: Exceptions to the Norm The Ethiopians, as mentioned before, had modernized their weaponry which included machine guns and even artillery, so when Italy sent 20,000 troops to take over Ethiopia, the Ethiopians rebelled and defeated the Italians.

The New Imperialism: Regions Under Control