Intro to AfricaThe Scramble for Africa

Africa before 1880 • Europe only has a presence in coastal areas.• Slave trade is in West Africa• Dutch Cape Colony established in 1650s• Longstanding European involvement with

Mediterranean Africa

• We will be saving Mediterranean Africa for our unit on the Middle East and the Muslim World!

Late 19th Century Changes• 1869: Suez Canal Opens• Allows Britain to get to India more easily• Leads to British control of Egypt in 1882

• In Europe: Colonies = Prestige and Power• 1862 – Quinine (needed to treat malaria) becomes

available outside of Peru• Steamships become available – African rivers can

be navigated• Slave Trade ended

Late 19th Century Changes• New Age of European Exploration• Trade to support the Industrial Revolution• Africa has:

• Rubber• Coffee• Sugar• Palm oil• Timber• Gold• Diamonds

Late 19th Century Changes• 1871 – Germany and Italy unified, no more room

for territorial expansion in Europe…• Compete for colonies instead!

• New Guns and Ammunition give Europeans new military superiority over Africans.• 1860-1880 – all of Africa (except Ethiopia –

mountains - and Liberia - American) are somehow claimed by a European nation.

The Scramble for Africa• 1870 – King Leopold of Belgium sends emissaries to

the Congo. This kicks off a flurry of imperialistic activity• Belgium• Great Britain• France• Germany• Italy• Spain• Portugal

White Man’s Burden• Racial attitudes helped justify colonialism• Savages needed to be civilized

• Missionaries

Berlin Conference 1884-1885• European Powers Agree to carve up Africa to

prevent warfare• Navigation on the Niger and Congo Rivers will be free for

all• To claim a territory, European nation must actually

“hold” that territory

Types of Colonial Rule• Economic Companies• Chartered by European Powers• British East Africa Company, British South Africa Company• Colonial rule – expensive!

• Direct Rule• French/Belgians/Germans/Portuguese• “Divide and Rule”

• Indirect Rule• Indigenous rulers• Gave power to select tribal authorities

Types if Colonial Rule• Settler Rule• Direct Rule• Relied on immigration of European (white) settlers• Created permanent white settlements in Africa• South Africa

• Holland, Britain• Characterized by harsh policies towards indigenous

population.

Tribalism• European Nations carved up Africa with no regard

for tribal boundaries• Europeans often turned tribes against each other to

stop them from uniting against them – created artificial enemies who would later turn on each other when the Europeans had left.

Murdoch Ethnic Map (1959)

End of Colonial Era• World War II• No one has the taste or strength for Empire any

longer• 1950s – 1970s, African nations gain independence.• United Nations – Charter asserts “self-

determination” as a universal right.

Our Unit: Consequences of Colonialism• South Africa

• Apartheid• was a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation

by the National Party (NP) governments of South Africa, , who were the ruling party from 1948 to 1994, under which the rights of the majority black inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained. Apartheid was developed after World War II by the Afrikaner-dominated National Party.

• Afrikaner• an ethnic group in Southern Africa whose native tongue is

Afrikaans; a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch; In South Africa, they constitute approximately 5% of the total population.

Uganda• Idi Amin• Lord’s Resistance Army• Joseph Kony• Acholi Genocide 2007

Sudan• Darfur Genocide, 2003• Desertification/Global Warming• Creation of South Sudan• Ongoing Civil War• Refugee Crisis

Rwanda• Hutu and Tutsi • 1994 Genocide• Hotel Rwanda

Conflict Diamonds• Blood Diamonds• Sierra Leone / Congo• Resource Curse• countries and regions with an abundance of natural

resources - especially minerals and fuels - tend to have less economic growth and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. • Corruption, compounded with civil war

Africa: States of Independence• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbT44HwzNrI