& THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA

19th century Imperialism

The Age of Imperialism

Imperialism =

a policy of conquering and ruling other lands

The Link… Industry and Imperialism

Science and industry increase competition between European powers

Colonies essential to states that aspire to status as great powers Raw materials Markets A place for the unemployed masses Pride

Technology Helps

Improved communication and transportation easier for European governments to control what’s going on in their colonies

New military tech makes conquest easier!

Nations competed for overseas empires. Britain’s lead was challenged.

In the mid-1800s, Britain was the most powerful nation in the world. It’s factories produced more good than those of any other country. The British Navy guarded the oceans so that those goods could be

shipped safely to ports around the globe. British banks loaned the money needed to build factories, mines,

and railroads worldwide.

By the late 1800s, however, Germany and the United States were challenging Britain’s economic leadership.

Faced with possible decline, Britain looked increasingly to its colonies for markets and resources.

Nations competed for overseas empires.Imperialism fostered rivalries.

Other countries followed Britain’s lead and came to see colonies as necessary for their economic well-being. The French and Dutch expanded their holdings and by 1900

France had an empire second in size only to Britain’s. Spain and Portugal attempted to build new empires in Africa. Austria-Hungary moved into the Balkans. Russia expanded into the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Siberia.

Countries that had no colonies set out to acquire them. Belgium, Italy, and Germany all took over lands in Africa (with

Germany also taking an interest in East Asia & the Pacific islands).

Nations competed for overseas empires.Imperialism fostered rivalries.

(continued)Two non-European countries, the United States and

Japan, also became involved in overseas expansion during this period. Both the U.S. and Japan were interested in East Asia. The U.S. was also deeply tied to Latin America.

Increasingly, Europeans viewed an empire as a measure of national stature.

Imperialism becomes intricately tied to Nationalism both economically and politically.

Thus, the race for colonies grew out of a strong sense of national pride as well as from economic competition.

Nations competed for overseas empires.Europe believed in its own superiority.

Following the Industrial Revolution, Europeans regarded their new technology (weaponry, telegraphs, railroads etc.) as proof they were better than other peoples.

This attitude is a reflection of racism, the belief that one race is superior to others.

Europeans believed that they had the right and duty to bring the results of their progress to other countries.

Causes of New Imperialism

Economic motives: Britain had the early lead By 1870’s France, Germany, US were rapidly

industrializing Britain valued India, a possession of over a

century Colonies provide markets for European capital,

investment, and merchants. Colonies provide a means to get natural

resources needed for the new industrial machinery

Causes of New Imperialism

Crucial to national security, military power, and national prestige

Social Darwinism: brutal natural struggle between the races of the world

British Empire 19th c.

Opening of Suez Canal, 1869

French English venture for access to the Red Sea from Mediterranean; crucial for access to Asia by Europe.

akg-images

Congress of Berlin 1872

• Gathered to apportion the empires of Europe

• Competition for colonies among non-empires sets up alliances for WW I

• Otto von Bismarck sets up this conference to try to deal with • Partitioning of Africa• Decline of the Ottoman Empire• Territories in Asia• Stop expansion of Russia

The Conference

1884-1885: Berlin Conference An international conference to lay down basic

imperialistic rules. Organized by Jules Ferry from France, and Otto Von

Bismarck from Germany No Africans were present No European country could claim the entire continent. European nations would push relentlessly from all

sides to the interior.

Pre-imperialism Africa

1878: European nations control less than 10% of AfricaBy 1900, nearly the entire continent will be “carved up”

by European industrialized nations

South Africa

African Chiefdoms, Dutch settlers (Boers, or Afrikaners) and British Colonial Forces wages a three-pronged war for control of South Africa Shaka, of the Zulu tribe revolutionized warfare for the

AfricansWith discovery of diamonds in 1867, Cecil

Rhodes and his De Beers financiers were energized for takeover!

Boer War

1899-1902: Anglo-Boer War, otherwise known as the South African War.

British forces defeated the Afrikaner forces using 450,000 soldiers from all over the empire. Used the “total war” concept

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European powers engaged in a “Scramblefor Africa” starting in the 1870s. By 1890,

most of Africa came under European control.

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By 1890, onlyEthiopia

andLiberia

remainedindependent.

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King Leopold, the kingof Belgium, ruled

the Congo like his ownprivate estate. Natives

that did not supply enough rubber had

their hands cut off. Whilethe king profited, the people of the Belgian

Congo suffered greatly.

Asia in 1914

Reasons why the Europeans were so successful…

Rapid Fire Machine GunQuinine: immunization against malariaSteamship and Telegraph allowed European powers to

concentrate firepower

Nations competed for overseas empires.Imperialism had mass appeal.

(continued)Novels and poetry also glorified Imperialism .

The most popular writer of the day was Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Kipling appealed not only to his readers’ sense of adventure but also the their feelings of superiority.

He saw imperialism as a mission to “civilize non-Europeans” and urged his readers to:Take up the White Man’s Burden- Send forth the best ye breed-Go bind your sons to exile- To serve your captives’ need…

The Seizure of Africa (1880-1902) (Early)

David Livingstone: Protestant missionary who wrote of the horrors in African Slave Trade People felt that European rule would benefit the

Africans A moral justification for the conquest of Africa

Seizure of Africa (Early)

Leopold II of Belgium “Steam and electricity have annihilated distance, and

all the non-appropriated land on the surface of our globe can become the field of our operations and of our success.”

Focused on gaining land in Central Africa Alarmed the French

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A positive effect of European imperialismwas the introduction of modern

transportation and communication systems, such as telegraphs, railroads,

and telephones.

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The introduction ofEuropean medicine and improved nutrition

led to an expansion of population.

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Europeans divided Africa and ignoredthe tribal, ethnic, and cultural boundaries

of the African people. This has led totribal conflicts in many African nations

that continue to this day.

I

Europe in 1914 at the outbreak of war