1. The Scramble for Africa
Chapter 11 Section 1 pp

2. Setting the Stage

3. Setting the Stage
In the 1800s, Africa was divided into thousands of ethnic groups
Traditional beliefs, Islam, and Christianity were the main religions
Africans had many different governments
Empires (Kongo, Zulu, Sudanese)
Independent villages
Pastoralists

4. Setting the Stage Europe
Needed raw materials for factories and markets for finished goods
Had not been able to travel to the African interior
Strong African armies kept them out
Rivers were not navigable
Tropical diseases (malaria, sleeping sickness, etc.) killed Europeans

5. Nations compete for overseas empires
Europeans send missionaries, explorers, humanitarians to Africa
Many opposed the slave trade
Others want to spread Christianity
David Livingstone, Scottish missionary/explorer
Henry Stanley, American journalist/explorer

6. Forces Driving Imperialism
Belief in European superiority
Large empires were a source of pride
Darwin’s ideas about evolution were being applied to humans
Social Darwinism – the belief that certain humans were stronger, smarter, more suited to rule than others – “Survival of the fittest”
Europeans believed their greater wealth and advanced technology proved they were better than other races

7. Cecil Rhodes on British superiority
"I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race… It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory…” - Cecil Rhodes, 1877

8. What finally gave Europeans the advantage over Africans?
Industrial Technology
The Maxim gun
Steam engines
Railroads, cables, steamships
quinine – a new medicine that helped Europeans survive malarial infection
Lack of African unity
Many languages, ethnic groups
Europeans used African rivalries to their benefit

9. The Congo
By the 1870s Henry Stanley had been hired by King Leopold II of Belgium to explore the Congo river and claim it for Belgium
“I do not want to risk losing a fine chance to secure for ourselves a slice of this magnificent African cake …” - Leopold II, 1879

10. The Congo Free State

11. Congo Free State
Established 1885 – King Leopold II was its king, Stanley was its first governor
Leopold claimed he was helping Congolese by spreading Christianity and ending slavery
Congo was a lucrative source of rubber

12. Abuses in the Congo

13. Abuses in the Congo
Congolese were forced to work on rubber plantations
Workers who didn’t meet quotas had hands and feet cut off, or were murdered
8-10 million Congolese died under Leopold’s rule
By 1908, Belgian gov’t took the colony from Leopold, renamed it “Belgian Congo”

14. The Partition of Africa
Discovery of diamonds and gold in South Africa in 1867 and 1886
Belgian claims on the Congo
Europeans feared war over African territories
Solution: The Berlin Conference

15. The Berlin Conference 14 European nations meet in Germany in 1884-1885
Goal: decide how to fairly divide Africa
No African leaders were invited
Decision: any European country could claim African land by:
Notifying other European powers
Showing they could control the area

17. By 1914, only 2 African nations are independent:
Liberia
Ethiopia

18. Effects of European colonization
Colonial borders drawn without regard for ethnic/linguistic boundaries
Africans forced to grow cash crops, not food crops
Peanuts
Rubber
Palm oil
Cocoa
Mining for diamonds, gold, copper, tin

20. South Africa/Cape Colony
Groups like the Xhosa and Zulu lived in South Africa
Dutch and British fight for control of the area
Dutch farmers (“Boers” or “Afrikaaners”) and English settlers claim land, leading to skirmishes w/ African tribes

21. The Great Trek 1806 – Britain annexes Cape Colony
1820s – Dutch Boers begin the Great Trek, a journey toward Zulu lands and away from British control
Boers establish several republics

22. The Boer Wars ( )
After 1886, more settlers come to Boer republics in search of gold, diamonds
Boers resent new settlers, deny them political rights
A rebellion against Boers fails
Boers blame the British, start the Boer Wars
By 1910, the British win and unite all of South Africa

23. Imperialism 4 main forms of imperialism
Colony – a country or territory governed by a foreign power
Protectorate – a country with its own gov’t, but controlled by an outside power
Sphere of influence – an area in which an outside power claims exclusive rights to invest or trade
Economic imperialism- a free country controlled by private business interests, rather than a gov’t

24. Methods of controlling colonies
Indirect Control – local rulers accept the authority/direction of the stronger nation
Direct Control – stronger nation brings in its own people to rule the colony
Paternalism – ruling a colony in a “fatherly” way
Assimiliation – forcing or encouraging a local population to adopt the stronger nation’s culture

25. African Resistance
Only one successful resistance movement: Ethiopia

26. Menelik II Became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889
Bought and stockpiled weapons from France, Russia
Played Italy, France, Great Britain against each other

27. Ethiopian resistance
Italy claimed Ethiopia as a protectorate; Menelik declared war on them
Battle of Adowa – 1896 – Ethiopians use European weapons to defeat Italy and secure Ethiopian freedom