1) African diversity:

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• 1) African diversity
• - HUNDREDS of
• ethnic groups
• - More than 1000
• languages
• - Combination of
• indigenous
• (native)
• tribal religious
• customs, plus
• Christianity
• and Islam

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• 2) Primary basis for European interaction with
  Africa, before the age of imperialism
• The slave trade!
• 3) Early obstacles to greater European
  interference in Africa
• 1. Armed African resistance
• 2. Impassable geography (jungles, rivers,
  mountains, deserts no infrastructure)
• 3. Disease (esp. malaria)
• 4) First major claim of African territory
• King Leopold II of Belgium,
• in the Congo River Valley

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• 4) Belgian Congo (cont.)
• Leopold licensed companies that brutally
  exploited Africans, with hard labor and harsh
  penalties for not making work quotas at least 10
  million Congolese died.

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5) Following Belgium into Africa
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• 6) Causes of African imperialism (WHY?)
• 1. ECONOMIC capitalism, industrial growth
• - cheap access to raw materials / natural
  resources
• - access to new, expanded global markets
  trade routes
• 2. NATIONALISM pride prestige
• 3. CULTURAL / SOCIAL
• Missionary efforts (converting Africans to
  Christianity)
• Racism, Social Darwinism (economic survival of
  the fittest)
• Ethnocentrism judging one's own culture as
  superior to all others... resulting duty to
  force one's own idea of progress and
  civilization on others
• 4. SECURITY defense, protection of territory
  trade routes, keep up with rival powers (keep
  balance of power?)

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• Special importance of EGYPT to BRITAIN
• The Suez Canal provides a shorter route to
  Britains imperial possessions (India,
  Australia).

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• 7) HOW Europe conquers Africa so easily
• 1. Industrial Europe has superior military
  technology
• 2. Industrial Europe has superior technology
  associated with transportation,
  communication infrastructure
  (steamships, railroads, telegraph) these
  allow conquering nations to extend control
• 3. European medicinal advances (i.e. quinine)
  to protect against disease
• 4. Euro powers play rival African groups
  against one another
• - exploit existing tribal religious
  conflicts
• - prey upon African diversity lack of
  African unity
• DIVIDE CONQUER

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• 8) Berlin Conference (1885)
• Purpose Europeans seek to avoid war while
  establishing rules for the conquering of
  Africa
• Outcome Africa divided
• up among Euro powers
• with no consideration of
• traditional ethnic regions
• problems to follow.

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• 9) Only independent African nations by 1900
• Ethiopia ? strong leader, well armed,
  favorable geography (mountains)
• Liberia ? U.S. ties (founded as freed slave
  colony, became independent in 1847)

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• 10) Industrial Europe seeks control of Africa for
  RESOURCES and as a new MARKET
• Africa is quite profitable for the former, but
  not the latter (too poor!)
• 11) Europe changes the African economy
• BEFORE SUBSISTENT farming (self-sufficient!)
• Individual farmers locally grow, produce
  barter all that is needed to support community
  needs.
• AFTER CASH-CROP PLANTATIONS
• - Large-scale commercial farming, owned by
  Europeans
• - FEW crops grown in LARGE VOLUME for
  EXPORT, rather than to feed local communities
• EFFECT Africa transitions from a SUBSISTENT
  economy to a MARKET economy (Africans now paid
  low WAGES)

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• 12) Competition in SOUTH AFRICA
• Large deposits of GOLD and DIAMONDS
• Original settlers Dutch farmers (Boers)
  the British follow African tribes lose to both
  (gtdozen, largest is Zulu).

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• 13) Boer War (1899)
• - War between Boers (Dutch settlers) and
  British for control of South Africa...
• - Won by British
• - Biggest losers Africans! (legacy
  apartheid)

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• 14) European partitioning of Africa
• European approach take whatever they could
  hold on to, with no regard for local ethnic
  groupings.
• Problems (then) arbitrary boundaries
  combined diverse (and sometimes
  competing) ethnic tribal groups, AND/OR
  unnaturally divided single ethnic groups
  into multiple areas of European control.
• Problems (now) Modern African borders (among
  54 nations) largely a legacy of European
  imperialism has led to present-day civil
  wars, power struggles, and competition over
  resource wealth by competing ethnic groups.

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• 15) NEGATIVE effects of imperialism in Africa
• Lost sovereignty (loss of independence)
• Large-scale death from European diseases (i.e.
  smallpox), armed resistance to Euro invaders,
  hunger famine from conversion to cash-crop
  commercial farming
• Forced assimilation (lost culture traditions
  esp. language!)
• ... Discrimination racist policies ... native
  people treated as second class citizens in
  their own homes
• Combining different ethnic groups OR dividing
  same ethnic groups ( African ethnic conflict
  today)
• ... Economic imperialism (wealth from African
  resources exported to imperial nations)

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• 16) POSITIVE effects of imperialism in Africa
• Reduced tribal ethnic warfare (in areas under
  imperial control)
• Improved health medicine ( longer
  lifespans)
• Improved education literacy (but not too
  much!)
• ... Improved infrastructure (transportation
  communication networks)
• Improved agricultural technology techniques
• Some economic growth (in international market
  for African goods)
• Primary motive is to benefit Europeans first

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• 17) European imperialism positives v. negatives
• 1. Negatives outweigh positives in quantity
  weight
• 2. Many positives designed to help European
  conquerors secondary benefits to Africa
• 3. African wealth (in resources and people)
  benefitted Europeans first
• 4. Modern effects
• - Political instability (dictators, civil
  wars, absence of democracies)
• - Immense poverty from a lack of economic
  development growth
• - Unsustainable population growth
• - Poor health care (dying from treatable
  diseases)
• - Economic imperialism has replaced
  colonialism