Africa

Colonialism
and Africa
Africa Before
European Domination
 Mid 1800s, African
peoples were divided
into hundreds of ethnic
and linguistic groups.
 Most continued to follow
traditional beliefs.
 Some converted to
Islam or Christianity.
 Spoke more than 1,000
different languages.
 Ranged from large
empires to independent
villages.
Europeans in Africa
 Europeans had contact
with Africans as early as
1450.
 Europeans controlled 10%
of Africa’s land.
 Mainly on the coast.
 Europeans had a difficult
time going into the
interior.
 Rivers were hard to
navigate.
 Disease
 Steam powered ships
made it possible to explore
the interior.
Forces Driving Imperialism
 1. Economic Factors – Industrial
Revolution provided Europeans the need
for larger markets
 2. Political Factors – Territory =
power
 3. Social Factors – Empires were
viewed as a measure of national pride
Belief in European Superiority
 Race for colonies also
grew out of a strong
sense of national pride.
 Empire = measure of
national greatness.
 As competition
intensified, each
country was determined
to plant its flag on as
much of the world as
possible.
European “Superiority”
 Europeans believed that they were better than
other peoples.
 The belief that one race is superior to others is
called racism.
 This was a reflection of Social Darwinism.
 Charles Darwin’s idea of survival of the fittest
was applied to society.
 Those who were the fittest enjoyed wealth and
were superior to others.
Push for Expansion
 Missionaries also pushed for
expansion.
 They worked to convert
peoples of Asia, Africa and the
Pacific Islands to Christianity.
 Missionaries believed that
European rule was the best
way to end evil practices,
such as the slave trade.
 They also wanted to “civilize”
or “westernize” the peoples
of the foreign land.
Factors Promoting
Imperialism in Africa
 Several factors contributed to the
European’s conquest of Africa.
 The main factor – Technological
superiority
 Maxim gun – world’s first
automatic machine gun
 Africans – outdated weapons
 Steam Engines
 Africans lacked a sense of
nationalism.
 Easy to play rival groups against
each other.
The Division of Africa
 Scramble for Africa began around 1880.
 The discoveries of diamonds (1867) and
gold (1886) in South Africa increased
European interest in colonizing the
continent.
 No European power wanted to be left out.
Berlin Conference
Divides Africa
 The competition was so fierce that European
countries feared war among themselves.
 To prevent potential conflict, 14 European nations
met at the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 to
lay down the rules for the division of Africa.
 They agreed that any country could claim land as
long as they notified other nations and showed
they could control the area.
Dividing a Continent
 Europeans divided the
continent without
considering the native
groups.
 African rulers were not
invited to attend the
conference.
 By 1914, only Liberia
and Ethiopia
remained
independent.
Map
Africa
Shaping Colonies
 Africans did not buy European products.
 Europeans turned colonies into
plantations and mineral mines.
Zulus Fight the British
 Zulu chief, Shaka,
organized a highly
disciplined army but
still lost control of
southern Africa to the
British.