Modern World History
Chapter 11, Section 2
Imperialism Case Studies
A New Period of Imperialism
• Europeans divided up
Africa to get its resources
with little consideration to
the borders of political and
ethnic groups (Setting the
Stage)
• Unlike in 15th and 16th
century exploration along
Africa’s coasts, in 18th and
19th century imperialism
Europeans exerted
economic, political, and
social control over the
entire continent (#1)
Forms of Control
• To establish control over
an area, Europeans used
different forms of
colonial control
– Colony
– Protectorate
– Spheres of influence
– Economic imperialism
(see chart on page 346)
Methods of Management:
Indirect Control
• European rulers used either
indirect or direct methods of
management for their colonies,
which influenced the type of
government they had later when
independent (#1)
• Indirect control – a method of
management for a colony where
local rulers handled much of the
day to day administration of the
colony but submitted to the
authority of the colonial power
• Governing councils under indirect
control would train local leaders
for when they governed
themselves (#2)
Methods of Management:
Direct Control
• Paternalism – a policy that some
Europeans used to govern colonies in a
parental way by providing for their
needs, but not giving them rights and
not training local people to govern
• Assimilation – a policy that the local
populations of a colony would
gradually over time adopt the culture
of the governing colonial power
• The French abandoned the ideal of
assimilation and settled for
“association,” which recognized African
institutions and culture, but regarded
them as inferior to French culture (#2)
A British Colony: Nigeria
Gaining Control
• Britain’s rule over Nigeria is a case
study for how Europeans gained
control of a region and practiced
different management methods
to control it
• Britain gained control over Nigeria
by getting some local leaders to
sign treaties, and by using its
military to defeat others (#1)
• The British Royal Niger Company
took control over the palm oil
trade along the Niger River after
Britain gained a protectorate over
the Niger River delta at the Berlin
Conference (#2)
A British Colony: Nigeria
Managing the Colony
• Nigeria proved difficult to
control for the British as it is
one of the most culturally
diverse regions in Africa (#1)
• Nigeria contains 250 ethnic
groups, and its 3 largest groups
differed politically, religiously,
culturally, and linguistically (#2)
• Britain didn’t have enough
troops to govern such a
complex area, so it turned to
indirect rule, but struggled to
get all local leaders to submit
to their authority (#3)
African Resistance
• People across
Africa resisted
European rule,
but due to
European
superiority in
weapons they
were unable to
maintain their
independence
everywhere
except Ethiopia
Unsuccessful Movements:
West Africa
• These unsuccessful
resistance attempts used
both religious movements
and military efforts
• Though unsuccessful, they
were able to resist in places
like Algeria and West Africa
for many years (#1)
• Samori Touré – led the
powerful Mandingo
Kingdom in West Africa that
resisted French rule for 16
years before succumbing
due to a famine
Unsuccessful
Movements:
East Africa
• East Africans objected to
German insistence that they
grow cash crop cotton
instead of food and rebelled
in what became known as
the Maji Maji Rebellion (#2)
• East African resisters with
spears were slaughtered by
German machine guns and a
famine that followed, leading
to German reforms to
appease their subjects (#3)
Ethiopia: A Successful Resistance
• Menelik II – emperor
of Ethiopia who
resisted European
control and built up a
large arsenal of
modern weapons,
which were then used
to defeat an invading
Italian force in 1896,
making it the only
African nation to
remain independent
during imperialism
Negative Effects of Imperialism
• Africans lost their lands and
thousands lost their lives to
disease (smallpox), resistance
warfare, and famine due to cash
crop farming (#1)
• Traditional cultures destroyed as
leaders replaced, and people
forced to find new ways to support
themselves as traditional ways of
life destroyed (#2)
• The political division of once
unified people due to Europeans
drawing artificial borders to their
colonies that divided people
creating problems when these
nations became independent (#3)
Positive Effects
of Imperialism
• Reduced warfare
• Improved sanitation
• New schools and hospital
were built increasing
lifespans and literacy
• African products valued on
international market
(though most of the
financial gains made by
Europeans not Africans)
• Modernization (railroads,
dams, and telephone lines
built)