Imperialism Around the
World
CD
Building Overseas
Empires
 Vocab
 Imperialism
 Protectorate
 Sphere of Influence
 Objectives
 Analyze the expansion of the British Empire.
 Examine how Imperialism changed the lives of millions
around the world.
Motives for Western
Imperialism
 Economic: The Industrial Revolution spurred overseas
imperialism because producers needed access to more
natural resources. They also saw these new places as new
markets to sell their goods.
 Political/Military: To keep their investments safe and to
provide fueling points for merchants, Europeans needed
to build naval bases all around the world. They seized
harbors and islands all around the world
Motives Continued
 Nationalism: Countries would seize lands to stop the
competition from getting more land. Example: West
Africa, France seized land first, Britain and Germany
quickly followed to stop French expansion in the region.
 Social Darwinism: Racist justification by Europeans for
dominating other races in the world, especially Africans.
Western Advantages
 Strong economies from the Industrial Revolution and
unified governments gave Europeans the means to begin
expanding all over the world.
 Superior technology like steamboats and the telegraph
allowed for rapid expansion and communication.
 More advanced militaries basically made any battle a
massacre for the native peoples. Europeans had machine
guns, repeating rifles, and steam powered warships. The
only advantage native peoples had was in their numbers.
Types of Imperial Rule
 French: They used direct rule which meant they sent
French officials and soldiers to the colonies to rule.
 British: They used indirect rule. This meant they used
local people to be the rulers. They also encouraged those
leaders to send their children to Britain for an education
in order to Westernize the children.
 Protectorate: local rulers are left in charge but are
expected to follow the advice of European advisors. This
method was less expensive than a colony.
Sphere of Influence
 A sphere of influence is an area where an outside power
claims exclusive trading or investment privileges.
 Examples:
 Hong Kong: The British owned exclusive rights to trade
and invest in Hong Kong. Hong Kong remained under
British control until 1999.
 The Treaty of Tordesillas: The Spanish and Portuguese
divided up South America between themselves.
European Scramble for
Africa
 Europeans first took an interest in gaining land in Africa
because of the slave trade.
 At first Europeans had to stay close to the coast because
of how hard it was to travel inland in Africa.
 This all changed in the 1800s because of the advances in
medicine and the invention of the steamboat.
Dr. Livingstone and Henry
Stanley
 Livingstone is the most well known explorer and
missionary to visit Africa.
 He spent 30 years travelling across Africa and interacting
with its people.
 He was extremely opposed to the slave trade.
 In 1869, Henry Stanley went to Africa to find
Livingstone. Livingstone had not been heard from for
years. Stanley eventually found Livingstone is what is
now Tanzania.
King Leopold II
 King of Belgium who wanted to expand his territorial
claims in Africa.
 Hired Stanley to explore the Congo River basin.
 This triggered a land rush in central Africa. The British,
Germans, and French all rushed in to claim their part of
the land.
 They did this without asking any African peoples that
already lived in the area.
The Berlin Conference
 France, Great Britain, and Germany were the major
players at the conference.
 They met to decide how they would go about dividing
up Africa so that it didn’t come to war between the
countries.
 The main point of argument was the Congo River basin.
The Congo River
Basin
• This is the area they met to discuss.
• This river was extremely important
for accessing the interior of Africa.
• Whichever country that controlled
Africa controlled the way into
Africa.
• The Berlin Act of 1885 made it so
European’s had to physically
occupy the territory they claimed.
Ethiopia Survives
 Ethiopia was the only African country to keep its
independence throughout the Scramble for Africa.
 This is because they had already been unified since the
early 1800s.
 They had already begun building modern roads and
cities.
 Their military was also up to date and it allowed them to
keep the European’s out.
Map Questions For Your
Notes
Use information from all three of the maps and the presentation to answer the
following questions in your notes.

1. What area of Africa did Europeans first colonize?

2. On the map on slide 10, which countries held territory in Africa?

3. Slide 13, Why would countries compete over the Congo River?

4. Slide 15, What is the only independent country in Africa at that time?

5. Which countries held territories in Africa in 1914?

6. Which country had the most territories in Africa?

7. Which country controlled the most land? (Your best guess)

8. Which countries currently have territory in Africa?