European Imperialism in Africa – Flashcards
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imperialism
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the takeover of a country, territory, or area by a stronger nation in order to dominate and control the government, resources, economy, and culture of the weaker nation
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Africa before colonization: diversity
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hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups, many different religions
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Africa before colonization: trade networks
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traded with the Arabs and Europeans for centuries strong trade networks controlled gold and ivory
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Africa before colonization: isolation
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Europeans could not get inside Africa because the rivers were too hard to navigate Africa had powerful armies that prevented invasion by the Europeans
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economic reasons for European interest in Africa
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access to precious metals, raw materials, and slaves
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political reasons for European interest in Africa
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take territories for political gain prevent other European powers from having access to African raw materials and riches
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religious reasons for European interest in Africa
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spread Christianity
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science/exploration reasons for European interest in Africa
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find rivers for expansions and control of trade learn of new materials that could be useful in manufacturing
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who was Social Darwinism developed by and when?
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Herbert Spencer in the 1860s
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Social Darwinism
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the theory of evolution and survival of the fittest as applied to human society and politics
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what is the importance of Social Darwinism?
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claims that the wealthy are strong and therefore have the right to rule the poor who are weak emphasized competition between races rather than cooperation justified European expansion into Africa and Asia
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what were the earliest European contacts with Africa?
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Portuguese and Dutch
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early Portuguese contact with Africa
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ships began exploring African coast in the 1450s interested in gold the first Europeans to buy slaves from the Congo
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early Dutch contact with Africa
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sailed to Asia for spices and stopped along the way in Africa traded Asian fabrics with the Africans towards the end of the 18th century, began to trade in slaves
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advantages from technology for the West in the scramble for Africa
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advanced technology made Europeans superior: Maxim gun, steam engine, railroad
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advantages from medicine for the West in the scramble for Africa
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the discovery of malaria protection: quinine
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advantages from competition for the West in the scramble for Africa
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competition among the European nations for resources, wealth, and power
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Why would a nation practice imperialism?
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1. wealth 2. power 3. racism 4. Christianity
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Gains for colonizing a nation
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new markets to sell goods strategic advantage of location gold, silver, diamonds, copper, iron, rubber, etc. new territory training for European armies room for population expansion
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era of "New Imperialism"
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after the 17th century- nations occupied the territories, controlled the inhabitants, and utilized the natural resources for their benefit
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Scramble for Africa
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1880s-1914 intense European interest and colonization of Africa starts with the Berlin Conference
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"Magnificent Cake"
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said by Leopold II during the Berlin Conference to describe Africa and how it would be split up among the European nations
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Otto Von Bismarck
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Imperial chancellor of German Empire convened Berlin Conference to 1884 to peacefully divide up Africa
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Berlin Conference
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1884 held because European nations worried they would break out into war if they didn't decide peacefully who got control of what land in Africa 13 nations of Europe invited to participate- no African nations invited
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General Act
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drafted in Feb. 1885 defined spheres of influence in Africa rules were put in place to claim control of African territories established regulations to ensure protection of missionaries, scientists, and explorers of Africa European powers had power over the territory and would override any challenges made by local rulers and peoples
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according to the General Act, what did European nations have to do to claim a part of Africa?
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set up government offices there
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what is the doctrine of "effective occupation?"
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established to protect trade and travel on the Congo and Niger Rivers for all- this meant that rivers would not be under any one country's control
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Principle of Effectivity
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states that nations must utilize their colonies or they can be taken by other European nations
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Northern Africa
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N. Africa originally a Muslim area occupied by French convenient for French bc France is close to N. Africa competition with Germany for this area (particularly Morocco) Suez Canal- if you control it, you prevent the need to go around all of Africa to get to Asia
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East Africa
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occupied by British gained the land after defeating Napoleon in the early 1800s trade with Asia was very important (made them a lot of money) access to rivers (to get to interior of Africa)
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Central Africa
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occupied by Belgium (the private property of King Leopold II) lots of rubber KLII claimed to go to Africa to protect Africans, but in reality, there was violent exploitation/extremely harsh labor (for rubber- made a lot of money)
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West Africa
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occupied partly by French, partly by British, and partly by Portuguese slave trade, ivory
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Southern Africa
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Dutch showed up very early (1450)- encountered resistance from Zulus, who they eventually defeated British fought Dutch for control (Boer War of 1900)
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Boer War
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1900; Dutch fought British for control of Southern Africa
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Cecil Rhodes
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finds diamond deposit in southern Africa, claimed control of diamond mines, creates De Beers Consolidated Mines, the biggest diamond company of today brought railroad, telegraph
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How did industrialization lead to imperialism?
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industrialization interested the Europeans- they saw Africa as a place to get resources for their own industrial ambitions, where nations could compete for new markets for their goods, and where they could get many raw materials. Consequently, the Europeans seized areas of Africa.
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What time period constitutes the eve of European domination?
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mid-1800s.
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What religions existed in Africa?
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hundreds of linguistic groups in Africa- the majority followed their traditional beliefs, but there were also many who converted to Islam or Christianity.
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About how many different languages were spoken in Africa
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About 1,000 different languages
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When did the Europeans first establish contact with the Africans?
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the 1450s.
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How were the Africans able to keep out the Europeans from most of the continent?
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with their powerful armies; they were able to do this for about 400 years.
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By the 1880s, what percent of land in Africa did the Europeans control?
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about 10% of the land in Africa
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What prevented the Europeans from navigating the rivers in Africa for so long? What changed in the 1880s that then allowed them in?
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the rivers were extremely hard to navigate since they had rapids, cataracts, and changing flows in the 1880s the invention of the steam-powered riverboat changed this
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What kinds of Europeans penetrated the interior of Africa?
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explorers, missionaries, or humanitarians who were against the European and American slave trade.
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Who was David Livingstone? Why did he travel to central Africa?
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a Scottish missionary who traveled to central Africa in 1860s because he wanted to spread Christianity several years passed with no word from him
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Henry Stanley
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hired by American newspaper to find Dr. David Livingstone found DL then set out to explore Congo River his explorations sparked curiosity of King Leopold II, who commissioned him to help him obtain land in the Congo
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granary
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a storehouse of grain
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Nzingha
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the Queen of a kingdom that tried to stop slavery one of the only female leaders of sub-Saharan Africa
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What are the 3Gs?
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gold, God, and glory the motivations for imperialism (money, spreading the word of God, success)
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Algerian resistance
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50-year resistance to French rule led by Samouri Touré in West Africa unsuccessful
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Maji-Maji Rebellion
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German East Africa- Germans wanted to grow cash crops (people didn't like this because it meant fewer crops that they could eat) 1905, belief emerged that if the Africans sprinkled themselves with magic water (maji-maji), the Germans' bullets would turn into water Germans easily defeated Africans, killing about 75,000 a famine followed, killing even more
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Menelik II
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became emperor of Ethiopia in 1889 successfully played French, British, and Italians against each other (all trying to bring Ethiopia into their spheres of influence) built up large arsenal of modern weapons 1889, was signing treaty with Italians when he noticed that Italians had tried to trick him into giving them Ethiopia
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Battle of Adowa
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war declared by Menelik II when Italians tried to trick him Ethiopians successfully defeated the Italians and their nation remained independent
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name the African kingdoms in order from earliest to most recent
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Nok Jenne-jeno Aksum Bantu Port Cities Ghana Sosso Mali Songhai Portugal Dutch England France Belgium Germany Spain Italy
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Olaudah Equiano
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escaped slave who wrote a memoir
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Great Trek
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1830s several thousand Boers moved north to escape the British fought fiercely with Zulu and other African groups whose land they were taking (Battle of Blood River= Boers vs. Zulus)
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Liberia
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one of two African states that remained independent during the Scramble for Africa founded by freed slaves
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Name the order in which European nations claimed parts of Africa at the Berlin Conference
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Portugal, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy
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Africa's early trade states
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Mali/Songhai, Swahili States, Great Zimbabwe
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Slave Trade
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disputed and controversial (didn't keep good records) many deaths forced movement of Africans between 1450-1810 from W. Africa to Europe + New World
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Muslim Slave Trade
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as early as 700 CE N. Africa primarily (connections to W. Africa, Europe, and Mediterranean) about 17 million people captured + sold (peoples of war, debtors, criminals) no racial, religious, or ethnic distinction slaves are specialized, not just labor Manumission: buy your freedom
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Atlantic/European Slave Trade
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1450-1800 W. Africa to New World + Europe about 15-20 million color/race based life terms violent and cruel people were things only used for manual labor
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causes of slave trade
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colonies with labor intensive crops (sugar, tobacco)
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consequences of slave trade
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Africans lose generations of their strongest members African families torn apart guns brought to Africa by Europeans spread of African culture all over New World
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negative effects of colonialsm
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lost control of land and independence lots of Africans died because of new diseases/battle imposed partition- split cultures, states, etc. famine due to Europeans wanting to grow cash crops
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positive effects of colonialsm
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decrease in local warfare sanitation improved some hospitals and schools provided lifespans increased, literacy rates improved African products began to be valued in the international market
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Triangular Trade
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Africa to New World = slaves New World to Europe= raw materials (found by slaves) Europe to Africa= manufactured goods (made with the raw materials)
