The Scramble for Africa

Imperialism

• Imperialism- the seizure of a country or territory by a stronger country

Africa Before European Domination

• Powerful African armies were able to keep Europeans out for 400 years

• European travel to the African interior was impossible– African rivers hard to navigate– Disease made it difficult

• Steam-powered riverboats allowed interior exploration

Nations Compete for Overseas Empires

• People who went on expeditions were explorers, missionaries, or humanitarians– Commonality= Opposed European & American

slave trade

David Livingstone

• Missionary from Scotland in Central Africa to promote Christianity

• Missing for several years

• Henry Stanley sent to find him– “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

Forces Driving Imperialism

Nationalism

• Europeans viewed an empire as a measure of national greatness

• Racism- Europeans believed that they were better than other peoples

Social Darwinism

• “Survival of the fittest” – Those who were fittest for survival enjoyed

wealth and success and were considered superior to others

• Wanted to “Westernize” and civilize the peoples of the foreign land

Factors Promoting Imperialism in Africa

• Technology– Machine gun– Steam engine (railroads, steamboats, etc)

• Medicine – Prevented diseases for Europeans

• Diversity among Africans– Differences in languages and cultures

discouraged unity

Division of Africa

• European countries were competing for African territories rich with diamonds and gold

• Berlin Conference- meeting of 14 European nations to lay down rules for the division of Africa– European nations divided the continent with little

thought about how African ethnic and linguistic groups were distributed

– No African ruler was invited to attend the meeting

Raw Materials

• Europeans needed Africa’s rich mineral resources to produce goods – Copper, tin

• Developed cash-crop plantations– Displaced food crops grown by African

farmers, so many of the natives were starving

South Africa

• Zulus v. British over this territory

• British used their superior guns and other advanced weapons to defeat the Zulus

Boer War

• British v. the Dutch (Boers) over territory

• First modern “total” war

• British defeated the Boers and controlled the Union of South Africa

New Period of Imperialism

Influence of European Nations

• Europeans wanted an influence over the economic, political, and social lives of the people

• They were determined to shape the economies of the lands to benefit European economies

• Also wanted the people to adopt European customs

Forms of Control

• To establish control of an area, Europeans used four different methods: colony, protectorate, sphere of influence, and economic imperialism

Methods of Management

• Indirect and direct control

• Indirect – British asked a local ruler to accept British

authority to rule– Local officials handled daily management and

soon the local population would govern itself

Methods of Management, cont.

• Direct– Europeans did not believe that Africans could rule

themselves– Paternalism- policy used by Europeans in which

they governed people in a paternal way by providing for their needs but not giving them any rights

– Assimilation- policy where the native country would adopt the culture and customs of the European country

British Imperialism in India

British East India Company

• Controlled large portions of India

• Sepoys- Indian soldiers in the British army

• Great Britain considered India its “Jewel in the Crown” because it was the most valuable of all British colonies

Indian Raw Materials

• Tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, jute, and opium

• Traded opium to China and exchanged it for tea, which they then sold to England

Impact of Colonialism

• Negative- British held all of the political and economic power, with little concern for Indian natives

• Positive- India was able to modernize because of new technologies brought by the British

Sepoy Mutiny

• Many Indians believed that the British were trying to convert them to Christianity

• British also expressed constant racism towards Indians

Sepoy Mutiny, cont.

• Rumors spread that the sepoys’ rifle cartridges were greased with beef and pork fat (Hindus and Muslims were outraged)

• Majority of sepoys refused to accept the cartridges and they were jailed by the British

• Soldiers rebelled and captured the city of Delhi

• Rebellion spread and it took over a year for the British East India Company to take back control

Turning Point

• British government took direct control of India in 1858= Raj

• British did not believe that Indians could rule themselves