The
Scramble for
Africa
The Berlin
Conference and
the Colonization
of Africa
“Imperialism and
Colonialism in
Africa”
• Phase I: 1880-1914:
The partition of Africa by
European powers
European Powers
involved in the
conquest of Africa
France and Britain were the largest two
countries involved in the conquest for Africa.
Britain and France ended up controlling about
two thirds of the African continent.
The other major European powers who
contended for African territory were
Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
Reasons for Europeans to
explore the African continent
• Scientific interest
• The spread of Christianity
• Imperialism
The nineteenth century in Europe was
an age of curiosity for unknown
lands, in particular Asia and Africa
Exploring and Science
• Technological advancements: Scientists were
learning knew ways to promote good health
for missionaries and explorers as they
traveled throughout the world.
• Medical advances were developed to fight
tropical diseases. The development of
quinine, an effective treatment for malaria,
enabled vast expanses of the tropics to be
penetrated.
• Technological advancements were made in
transportation. Improved railroad, and stream
navigation encourage overseas expansion
• The telegraph was a great advancement in
communication
• Exploring new areas brought possibilities of
new discoveries
David Livingstone
The Spread of Christianity
Many Europeans felt like it was their duty to “civilize” the Africans ,
and hence they felt like it was their right to take over Africa.
This belief goes hand-in-hand with the idea of spreading Christianity
throughout Africa and converting the Africans in the process. This
process of Christianization of the Africans was, in fact, part of the
Europeanology of “civilizing” them. The Christian missionaries
set up schools and churches, teaching them the English language and
Christian ways.
Colonial officials believed that Christianity would provide support
for colonial rule. That is, they believed that Africans who converte
to Christianity would be likely to see the value of colonial rule and
would not oppose European rule.
Missionaries
• Originally did their
work near Africa’s
coast
– Why?
• Easy
transportation
• Support from
other European
settlers
• Unfamiliar with
Africa’s interior
Ethnocentrism
The late eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries also brought
about the rise of a new belief, called
ethnocentrism, among
the European people.
It is the belief that one group of people
feels superior to other
groups of people, due primarily to
cultural differences.
This belief was prevalent among the
Europeans who believed that the
Africans were inferior and “uncivilized,”
because they were not
technologically advanced and still lived in
“primitive” way.
Imperialism
Imperialism: the exercise of power by a state beyond
Its boundaries
Colonialism: a form of imperialism: the administrative
Control by a state over other people.
Facts
Imperialism
An Agreement was reached among all European powers in 1884-85
at the Berlin Conference. At the conference, all the European
powers met and partitioned Africa with the purpose to avoid future
conflict among the European Powers.
Politically, the European powers wanted power and
prestige. Wealth in terms of territorial gains meant
power, and the more territory a country controlled,
the more powerful it was.
Economically, Africa was rich in resources and cheap
labor.
The Africans themselves were so dependent on the
Europeans for overseas trade that they had not thought to create a
resistance, nor did they know of the consequences it might create.
Facts
Imperialism
* The colonial governments took much of the land away from the Africans
for personal or commercial use.
* The Europeans took the best land to call their own.
* Since the European powers needed the manpower to manage their farms and
mining companies, they used Africans as cheap labor. The Africans,
either having lost their lands or not able to live off their lands, began to
move to towns, farms, or mines in search of work.
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The colonial governments also needed money to pay for running their overseas
governments and for services for settler communities. Their mother countries in
Europe gave the colonial governments little financial help, and so they needed to
increase their capital by taxing the local Africans. Taxes had to be paid in European
currency.
Because of the loss of manpower after the two world wars, the European colonial
powers started a new policy of forced labor, in the 1920s. African men were
separated from their families, villages lacked the manpower for food production
, which led to famine.
Imperialism: Colonial governments
• Colonialism:
system of
political,
economic, &
cultural control
imposed by
foreign, mother
country
• Colonies grow
out of
mercantilism
Mercantilism: World’s wealth is
like a pie.
– Wealth based in
real things (gold,
land, etc.).
– Africa rich in
natural resources.
– “Any piece that’s
not mine belongs to
my European
enemy.”
Europeans want colonies around the world.
– Colonies export raw
materials to mother
country.
– Mother country sells
factory goods to
colonies.
• Why is this good for
Europe?
• Colonies often forced to
trade only with mother
country.
–Industrial Revolution
Imperialism Colonial governments
• Europeans worry about
“balance of power”
• Europeans compete with
Europeans over Africa.
• Germany suggests Africa
is not worth “fighting”
over.
• Germany suggests
Europeans carve up Africa
through negotiations, not
war.
• Europeans agree to
negotiate
in Berlin, Germany.
Imperialism: Colonial governments
• Conference of Berlin (1884-1885)
– Rules
• No slavery
• No interference with other colonies
• Europeans must occupy a colony to keep
ownership.
Imperialism: Colonial governments
–Europeans divided Africa along borders
reflecting European interests.
•Divided African ethnic groups.
•Even today, many Africans care more for their
ethnic group than their nation, leading to many
civil wars.
•Europeans tried to gain parts of Africa that
reflected each European nation’s natural
advantages over other Europeans (trade,
farming, pre-existing colony, etc.)
Imperialism: Colonial governments
• “White Man’s Burden”
– Rudyard Kipling’s poem
– Racist idea during colonial era
•Social Darwinism
–Darwin’s theory of evolution
incorrectly applied to society
–Rich and powerful must be “the fittest.”
–Europeans see Africans as
“children” that benefit from
exposure to Europeans.
–Common among missionaries and
colonial governments.