1. Chapter 27
The Age of Imperialism

2. Imperialists Divide Africa
Section 1
Imperialists Divide Africa

3. BIG IDEA
Ignoring the claims of African ethnic groups, kingdoms, and city-states, Europeans established colonial claims.

4. Imperialism
The takeover of a country or territory by a stronger nation with the intent of dominating the political, economic, and social life of a people is called Imperialism

5. Motives for Imperialism
The Industrial Revolution added a need for European countries to add land in all parts of the globe
As a source of raw materials as well as a marketplace to sell their goods
National pride was another motive of countries as no European country wanted to be left behind

6. Motives for Imperialism
Racism was another motive as European countries believed they were better then other people
Social Darwinism was a “social theory” of the time which said:
Countries that were wealthy and successful are superior then the others
Therefore, Non-Europeans were considered to be on a lower scale of cultural and physical development

7. Motives for Imperialism
The last motive for the Europeans to expand to other lands was for Missionary workers to Christianize the people of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands
This was to “civilize” these people by having these people live like Christian Europeans.

8. The Beginning of African Imperialism
Of all countries, Belgium became the first to sign treaties and take advantage of Africa
King Leopold II of Belgium claimed he was trying to abolish the slave trade when he first took over the Congo region of Central Africa

9. The Beginning of African Imperialism
The realities of Leopold’s treaties:
He licensed the companies that brutally forced Africans to harvest rubber plants and ignore their own crops
By 1908, the Belgian Congo was 80 times larger then Belgium

10. African Lands Become European Colonies
At the Berlin Conference of , rules were laid down for dividing Africa
All Europeans countries had to do was: state their intentions to take over land and show they could control it

11. The Beginning of African Imperialism
European powers took over African lands with little thought as to how African groups were distributed
No African ruler ever attended these meetings that sealed Africa’s fate.
By 1914, only Liberia and Ethiopia remain free

12. Section 2
Imperialism

13. BIG IDEA
Europeans embarked on a new phase of empire-building that affected both Africa and the rest of the world

15. Patterns of Imperialism Movement With Colonies
Two types of control began to appear in these colonies:
Indirect Control- Practiced mostly by the British and the US
Direct Control- Practiced by the French and other European colonizers

16. Patterns of Imperialist Movement
Assimilation, when local cultures would be absorbed into the parent country’s culture, was another tactic used.
Another example of this would be that all local schools, courts of law, and businesses of a colony would be patterned after the parent country’s institutions.

17. Examples of Assimilation…
British Judges

18. Indian Judges
Jamaican Judges

19. African Resistance
Across Africa, European attempts to colonize were met with resistance
However, again, African states could NEVER match the Europeans’ weaponry
Sometimes they would form alliances with other European powers…

20. African Resistance
…which would only lead to the European country they allied with to take them over!
Other times, African states resisted
All these resistances failed with one exception, Ethiopia.

21. Ethiopia- The Last African Nation
Ethiopia was able to remain independent because of Emperor Menelik II
He was able to pit the British, Italians, and French against each other
He also armed his men with modern weapons from France and Russia

22. Positive Impact of Colonial Rule
For the most part, colonial rule had just negative effects with a few positives
Some positive effects were:
Colonialism reduced local warfare
Humanitarian aid made villages more sanitary and brought schools and hospitals
Formal education and healthcare began in Africa
African products spread throughout the world
Lines of communication, transportation, irrigation were all built… HOWEVER… THESE REALLY BENEFITTED?!?!

23. Negative Impact of Colonial Rule
On the negative side…
Africans lost control of their land and their independence
New diseases ravaged Africa like the Americas in the 1400’s
Famines came because of the planting of cash crops and destruction of food crops
Traditional African cultures broke down
Traditional leaders of Africa were replaced
Men were forced to leave villages to find work in mines, European owned farms, or railroad building

24. More Negative Impact of Colonial Rule
Contempt for traditional culture and admiration of European life caused identity problems for Africans
Africa remains permanently divided
“Made-up” borders, grouped together rival or warring tribes in the same area
The same problems would continue to other colonial lands which European powers would also take over.