1. Empire Building in Africa
Chapter 6.2 Notes

2. West Africa Before 1880, Europe controlled very little of Africa
Between 1880 and 1900, Great Britain (GB), France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal began to compete for Africa

3. West Africa (continued)
Europeans wanted peanuts, timber, hides and palm oil
Decline of slave trade  Europe’s interest in other forms of trade

5. Central Africa David Livingstone – explorer to central Africa
Livingstone disappeared – Henry Stanley sent to find him
David Livingstone
Stanley encouraged British to send settlers to Congo River basin
British refused  King Leopold II of Belgium enthusiastically said okay
Henry Stanley

7. Central Africa (continued)
King Leopold II = worst treatment of African native people
Enslaved Congolese people
Cut down forests to build rubber plantations
Slaughtered elephant herds for ivory
Leopold “The Civilizer” stripped the Congo of its culture, its people and its resources

8. East Africa In 1885, GB and Germany became rivals in E. Africa
GB wanted E. Africa because they controlled S. Africa and Egypt
This was the land in between what they already owned
But Portugal and Belgium were already claiming parts of E. Africa

10. East Africa (continued)
Berlin Conference called in
GB and Germany got specific claims to parts of E. Africa
Portugal received Mozambique
Berlin Conference described steps to how a European country could claim an area of Africa
No African delegates were present at the conference

11. South Africa European/white population grew the most in S. Africa
Boers, or Afrikaners, were descendants of early Dutch settlers
Did not like British rule
Believed white superiority was given by God
Put native people on reservations

13. South Africa (continued)
Cecil Rhodes (British)
Started diamond and gold companies in S. Africa
Wanted British expansion
“I think that what [God] would like me to do is to paint as much of Africa British red as possible.”

14. The Boer War 1899 – 1902 Boer resistance angered the British
British burned crops, forced 120,000 Boer women and children into detention camps (20,000 died)
British won
Created a self-governing nation within British Empire
Only whites and very few Africans who owned property could vote

15. Colonial Rule in Africa
British Colonial Rule
French Colonial Rule
Indirect Rule
Direct Rule
Relied on existing rulers to enforce British rules/laws
French official was at top, appointed from Paris
Assimilated Africans into French culture, didn’t preserve local culture
Allowed local customs
British made all decisions
Africans could run for office and serve in Paris
Old African elite in power

16. Rise of African Nationalism
New class of Africans – educated in colonial schools or in Western nations
Admired Western culture and sometimes disliked ways of their own country
Also resented the foreigners and their disregard for African peoples
Where were ideas of freedom, democracy and equality?

17. Rise of African Nationalism (continued)
Native Africans could only obtain low-paying jobs in colonial rule of their own country
Middle class Africans often paid less than European counterparts
European superiority expressed
Segregation in schools, clubs & churches
Children called Africans by first names or as “boy”