Conflict zones in Africa
Why does Africa seem to have so many
problems?
Who is to blame?
Current conflicts
in
Africa
Click here to see
what the colors
mean and to
magnify.
Who is to blame for the conflicts?
According to the map
which European power
got the most
control of Africa?
Click here for a quick
video about the
Scramble for Africa?
(2:47)
Berlin Conference 18841885 the meeting of
Europeans
to divide up Africa.
As you watch the video answer the
questions below:
1. What was the “Scramble for Africa”?
2. Why did the Europeans want to control
Africa?
3. Who attended the conference? Who
did not?
Cecil Rhodes- Colossus of Africa
4. What does this political cartoon
imply about the Europeans?
Why didn’t the Africans fight back?
The people of the Congo suffered at
the hands of the Belgians (King Leopold)
The Europeans had access to newly
invented technology like the Maxim
machine gun that the Africans did not.
Africa is RICH with natural resources.
Why isn’t it a
rich country
then?
The answer is
complex but are
some reasons….
Corrupt leaders
Dictators take the money from natural resources and leave the
African people to suffer. Totalitarian- a type of government
where ONE person has COMPLETE control
Military Conflicts
Rebel leaders take money from natural
resources to fund the conflict.
Children are often stolen from
their homes at gunpoint and
forced to serve under rebel
leaders.
Some are forced to work in the
diamond mines. If they refuse then
the rebels cut off their limbs.
Advertisement against blood
diamonds
Ethnic tensions caused by European
colonialism
• Europeans divided up the
continent of Africa based
on natural resources and
did not care about the
different ethnic groups.
• They would often favor one
group over another one.
• What do you think that did
to the different ethnic
groups?
Rwandan Genocide
Who is Hutu? Tutsi?
Listen to the video here.
Which group did the Europeans favor?
What is the “real” difference between
the 2 groups?
What did the Hutus do to the Tutsis? Genocide- targeted murder of a specific group
based on ethnicity
Click here to see intro to Hotel Rwanda. Minutes -:46-2:00
Children were affected-click here. 0-2:00 min
Did anyone help? Click here 0-3:00
Click here to see the
atrocities. Minutes 4-6
Forced expulsion/migration
Click here. Minutes 6-9
Teacher Slide:
•
•
•
Ethnic divisions and tensions between the Hutu and the Tutsi existed before the colonial era. The
Hutu majority saw the Tutsi minority as foreign invaders and not indigenous to Rwanda. However,
there is very little scientific evidence of a genetic difference between the two groups. Both the
Hutu and the Tutsi speak the same Bantu language. Until the 20th century, intermarriage between
the two groups was quiet common. Besides sharing the same language, the Hutu and Tutsi also
share the same religion. The majority of Hutu and Tutsi are Christians specifically Roman Catholics.
There is some evidence that the distinction between Hutu and Tutsi was based on social class
rather than racial differences.
The differences between Hutu and Tutsi were widened and made law during the Belgian colonial
period. After World War I, the Belgians took control of Rwanda from the Germans and took a
census of their new colony. Each person was required to be classified as Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa. The
Belgians developed a strict system of racial identification based on racist scientific theories. People
with the whiter skin and Caucasian features were chosen Tutsi. Believing the Tutsi were superior to
the Hutu, only Tutsi given access to higher education and as a result made up the ruling elite
despite being minority.
After World War II, the Belgians switched their support to majority Hutu. However, this did not stop
the rising tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi. Starting in the early 1950s, violence between the
Hutu and Tutsi began to occur frequently both Rwanda and Burundi. This culminated in the
Rwandan Genocide of 1994
Assessment:
Answer the questions on a separate piece of paper
and explain why?
Cause:
Effect:
A group perceives
another as a threat
To one’s territory or
concept of nationalism,
and purposefully plans
to target specific groups
and areas
Forced expulsion (kicked
out of home country)
Forced Migration
Murder
1. The cause and effect example depicted above describes the conflict between
groups
Such as the Hutu and the Tutsi in Rwanda. Conflicts such as this often result inA.
B.
C.
D.
Patriotism
Imperialism
Genocide
sovereignty