World History - The partition of africa

The Partition of Africa

The Spread of European Imperialism

Before and After

Africa in the Early 1800’sAfrica is a huge continent, 3 times the size of Europe with many languages and governments

North Africa– Includes the Sahara and land along

the Mediterranean– Before 1800 it remained part of

the Muslim world and much of it remained under the rule of the declining Ottoman Empire

Africa in the Early 1800’s

Islamic Crusades in West Africa– Usman dan Fodio called for

social and religious reforms based on the religion Islam and to rise up against their European rulers

– Literacy increased, wars stopped and trade improved

Africa in the Early 1800’s

Impact of Slave Trade– Europeans began to end

the slave trade but it continued in Asia

– Some people helped freed slaves resettle in Africa

– Sierra Leone became a colony for freed slaves

European Contact Increases

1500-1700 Europeans traded along the African coast

Africans wanted to trade with them but did not want them to live there

Resistance by Africans, difficult geography and diseases kept Europeans from moving too far into Africa

European Contact Increases

Explorers Advance into Africa– European explorers went further

into Africa, they were fascinated by the geography but they endured great hardships along the way

European Contact Increases

Missionaries follow Explorers– Sought to win people to

Christianity– Built schools and clinics and

churches– Paternalistic approach where

they saw Africans as a group who needed guidance

How did European contact with Africa increase in the late

1800’s?

History Mystery

What Did Imperialism Look

Like in the Congo

European Contact Increases

Livingstone Blazes a Trail– Best known explorer and missionary– He traveled Africa for 30 years and wrote about

the cruelty of the slave trade– Thought Africa should be opened up to

Christianity and trade with other nations

David Livingstone

Late 1860’s he was a missionary from Scotland who traveled deep into central Africa to promote Christianity

Several years passed with no word from him

An American newspaper sent a reporter to find him

David Livingstone

The reporter H.M. Stanley would write articles about his journey trying to find him.

His famous greeting,– “Dr. Livingston I presume” made headlines

around the world

Scramble for ColoniesKing Leopold of Belgium hires Stanley (a journalist) to explore the Congo and arrange trade treaties with African leaders

Publicly he Desires…– A civilizing mission to

improve the lives of Africans

Privately he Desires…– Conquest and profit

His activities lead other nations to follow in his footsteps and the claim for colonies begins

European Conquest of Africa

Better Weapons– Guns vs. spears and clubs

Drug Quinine in 1829 protected Europeans from Malaria– Allowed Europeans to travel freely in Africa

Europeans learned to play rival groups against each other

A Scramble for ColoniesBerlin Conference– To avoid bloodshed and war over Africa

European colonies met in 1884 to• Recognize Leopold’s private claim to the Congo but

call for free trade on the Congo and Niger Rivers• European power cannot claim any part of Africa

unless it had a government office there• 20 years later Europe had divided up Africa

amongst themselves with little regard for the Africans there

Berlin Conference

A Scramble for ColoniesHorrors in the Congo– Leopold exploited all the riches in the area (copper,

rubber and ivory)– Reports came of Belgians abusing workers, forcing

them to work for nothing, beating and mutilating them and brutalizing villagers

– Leopold had to give his personal colony to the Belgian government in 1908 and while the worst abuses ended it was still exploited and the wealth of Africa went to Europe

A Scramble for Colonies

Britain Takes its Share

– While their claims were scattered, they had areas with rich resources

– They took chunks of West and East Africa

A Scramble for ColoniesThe Boer War– Despite the Berlin Conference there was a major

conflict in South Africa– It was between the British and the Dutch settlers

(Boers)– Discovery of gold and diamonds in Sothern Africa

made the area very tempting to the British– Boers took up arms to protect their land but Britain

won and instituted racial segregation that would last until 1993

A Scramble for Colonies

France Extends its Influence– France took a giant share– French empire in Africa was as large as the

continental United States!

Others Join the Scramble– Portuguese, Italians, Germans all join in and

start carving out their colonies in Africa

Africans Resist Imperialism

Ethiopia Survives– Ethiopia resisted European colonization and

maintained its independence– Menelik II modernized his country and hired

Europeans to build roads and set up a western school system, he imported the latest weapons and officers to train his army

– When Italy invaded Ethiopia they were well prepared and smashed the Italian invaders

Africans Resist ImperialismA New African Elite Emerges– A western educated African elite (upper class) emerge– Some middle class Africans admired western ways

and rejected their own culture– Other valued African traditions and condemned

western societies that upheld liberty and equality for whites only

– By the 1900’s African leaders were forging nationalist movements to pursue self determination and independence

Which African country resisted imperialism and

how?

Legacy of Colonial Rule on Africa

Negative– Loss control of their land– Diseases– Breakdown of their culture– Artificial boundaries that divided or

combined groups unnaturally and still create problems today

– Identity problems because of the two cultures

Legacy of Colonial Rule on Africa

Positive– Reduced local warfare– Improved sanitation and

created hospitals and schools (people lived longer and there was higher literacy)

– Economic expansion (African products became valuable)