1. The Scramble for Africa

2. Africa Before European Domination
African peoples are divided into hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups.
European interaction was limited by:
Geography
Disease

8. The Congo Sparked European Interest In Africa
Belgium starts the action
Leopold II (king) claimed he wanted to help abolish the slave trade in Central Africa
Licensed private companies to harvest sap from rubber trees. It does not go well…
The Belgian government took control
French worried by Belgium taking direct control and they start claiming parts of Northern & Western Africa
Other countries follow

12. Forces Driving Imperialism
Industrial Revolution—markets and materials
Belief in European Superiority
National pride—empire as the measure of national greatness
Racism (the superiority of one race over another) expressed in
Social Darwinism – People try to apply Darwin’s theory of natural selection to societies.
Duty to bring civilization and progress to the “uncivilized”

13. An advertisement for Pears’ Soap uses a racist message: “The first step towards lightening is through teaching the virtues of cleanliness” the advertisement asserts. “Pears’ Soap is a potent factor in brightening the dark corners of the earth as civilization advances, while amongst the cultured of all nations it holds the highest place—it is the ideal toilet soap.”

15. Factors Promoting Imperialism in Africa
European technological superiority
Superior arms
Maxim gun
Means to control an empire
Steam engine, railroads, cables, and steam ships
Medical advances-development of quinine (1829)
an anti-malaria drug
Rival groups within Africa also created disunity/lack of a united opposition to European intervention

19. Berlin Conference (1884- 85):
The Division of Africa
Berlin Conference ( ):
14 European nations agreed to lay down rules for the division of Africa.
No African ruler was invited to this conference.
So what?

22. The Zulu Kingdom
Some new states were created on the edge of an existing empires
The Zulu’s had
Centralized government
Strong unified army (35,000)
Fought back effectively when British wanted their territory

23. Anglo-Zulu War

24. Does African Imperialism Work?
For Africans
Clearly its bad
Some ethnic groups are favored over others / assist Europeans to rule
Will cause major problems after African independence in the 2nd half of the 20th Century
For Europeans
Mixed results
They Get
Natural Resources
Markets for industrial produced goods
But it is never really profitable
Lots of money spent on:
Infrastructure (roads, railroads, etc)
Subduing indigenous populations
Also shines a light on the contradictions of Imperialism
Shows Europeans are not as civilized as they saw themselves