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11.1 The Scramble for Africa Mrs. Stoffl
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 1879-1882: Stanley signed several treaties w/ local chiefs that gave Leopold II control of lands in the Congo River Valley
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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
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcF9fmTzqkg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcF9fmTzqkg 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKJKEIzaEpU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKJKEIzaEpU Factors Promoting Imperialism in Africa
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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
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The competition was so strong that European countries feared war among themselves! ∴ 14 European nations met at the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_7yNjQquik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_7yNjQquik The Boer War
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Why does this matter?
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