The Scramble for Africa
 What
 When
 Why
 How
 Background History
What was the Scramble for Africa?
 invasion, annexation, division, and colonization of most of Africa by seven Western
European powers: British, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Belgian
Why did Africa scramble?
 Two main causes: Industrialization and Imperialism.
 Industrialization leads to imperialism: pushed Europe to find more resources and materials
to fuel their industry, as a result, to compete for markets and goods ( Africa became the
target)
When and Where
 Start date: 1885
 End date: 1914
 Location: Africa
Why was the Scramble for Africa?
 Trade
 Settlement
 Precious metals
 The search for glory
 Acquiring personal wealth
 Fear of losing out
 Protecting the Suez Canal
 Spreading Christianity
How was the Scramble for Africa?
 The discovery of diamonds and gold caused countries to join in the land scramble.
 The Berlin Conference ( 1884-1885)
 14 European countries met to divide up Africa land. No African ruler was invited to
attend.
Background History
 Hundreds of Ethnic groups
 Languages- Spoke more than 1,000 different languages.
 Religion- traditional beliefs (Some converted to Islamic or Christian
 Political- Large empire to small tribes ( Independent villages)
 Contact with Europeans began around 1459 but African armies were able to keep
control because they had their own developed trading system and disease in the inner
jungles discouraged Europeans.
 European who did penetrate inner Africa were explorers, missionaries and
humanitarians.
 David Livingstone (Scottish missionary) in the late 1860’s sparked interest in Africa
with King Leopold of Belgium as a result of his adventures of the Congo River
 Between 1879-1882 Henry Stanly (American Journalist) signed treaties with local chiefs and
these treaties gave King Leopold control of these lands
 The King treated the Africans brutally as he used them as a source of labor for extracting sap and
rubber trees
 His brutality forced the Belgian government to take his colony away but the invasion of Africa
was just beginning.
What is imperialism?
 A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, economically, and socially
What factors are to promote imperialism?
 Machine gun – superior weaponry
 Steam engine: boats and trains – made travel easier
 Variety of language and culture – did not encourage unity amongst Africans
 Rivalry amongst ethnic groups – kept Africans from uniting against the Europeans
How did the industrial Revolution influence European imperialism?
 The industrial Revolution pushed Europe to find more resources and raw materials to fuel their industries.
Why did Leopold lose control of the Belgian Congo?
 The harsh treatment and exploitation of Congolese people.
How does Social Darwinism support European’s idea of racial superiority?
 Social Darwinism: Social theory that said that those who were fittest for survival enjoyed wealth and success
and were considered superior to others.
Questions
 What are the causes of Europeans countries invasion of Africa?
 When and why did European try to colonize Africa?
 What were the different types of reasons for the Scramble of Africa?
 What do you regard as the two most important reasons why the
Scramble for Africa took place?