Cape Town
Cape TownThe Partition of Africa
Exam advice: generalAnswer the question, and the question only.
Everything else is a waste of time.Always try to provide solid
information: Who, what, where, when, why.Allocate a maximum time
limit for each question. If you are not done in time, move
on.Prioritise clarity: clear, separate paragraphs for each idea;
short direct sentences.Dont give up: if you dont understand the
text, read it over again and again (you have nothing to lose).Write
your name on top!!!!
Exam Advice: English usageGuillemets (>) dont exist in
English. does not mean etc. in English.Avoid the historic present
(e.g. The Industrial Revolution grows quickly). When used with
imperfect syntax/context, this simply reads like the the present
tense, and is difficult to understand. The historic present is
never necessary. Use the past tense to talk about the
past.CONJUGATE THE THIRD PERSON, FOR PETES SAKE!Adjectives are
never plural in English.No spaces before punctuation (? ; :
etc.).Nationalities always get capital letters, even in adjective
form.Eliminate these inappropriate phrases: Nowadays, In a
nutshell, We can say that.
African Tribal cultural spheres in the 1260
Empires within Africa before European Colonisation
The Obstacles in AfricaColonial ventures in Africa had mainly
kept to the coast, primarily due to lack of infrastructure and
powerful organised armies in the interior of the continent.Malaria,
in particular, made it difficult to explore Africa in the same way
as colonists had explored America, for example. Later in the 19th
century, European military technology improved allowing for more
success against African armies.Medicine also improved, allowing for
greater resistance against malaria.Mapping and transportation
technology (small steam boats, for example) allowed for more
extensive exploration of rivers.
Reasons for colonial venturesSolid trading bases: as dependable
stop overs en route to the East.Increased need for cheap natural
resources (the same motivation behind the Atlantic slave-trade).New
markets: African peoples often became valuable customers for
European industrial goods.Missionary activity: following the
British abolition of slavery in 1833, a significant missionary
movement hoped to save the peoples of Africa by converting them to
Christianity. Imperialist ideology: expanding the territory of the
European nation.Civilisation: to promote ones colonial power as the
dominant mode of civilised society in the colonised territory. Each
colonial nation considered their own culture as the most
civilised.
Cape TownOriginally inhabited by the Khoikhoi people, known to
the Dutch as the Hottentots.For centuries, European ships had
stopped at the Cape of Good Hope to trade goods for fresh food,
before continuing on to the east.The Dutch East India Company built
a settlement at the Cape during the 17th century. They cultivated
the land in Southern Africa as European-style agricultural terrain
(cutting down forests and clearing bush). These changes, along with
disease, decimated the population and influence of the native
Khoikhoi.After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain invaded the Cape. Cape
Town became the center of the new British colony known as the Cape
Colony.
Cape Colony
The BoersBefore the British arrived, Dutch colonists had lived
in Africa for several generations, and spoke a dialect of Dutch
called Afrikaans. These colonists became known as Boers, which is
the Dutch word for Farmers.The Boers resisted many of the changes
under British control, in particular:1. Abolition of slavery in
1833 costing the Boers much of their livelihood.2. Promotion of
English language and Culture, including the prohibition the use of
Dutch/Afrikaans.Many of the Boers moved north to form their own
independent colonies inland. New Boer colonies included: The
Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and the Natalia Republic.
South Africa in 1885
Governance of the Cape ColonyUntil 1854, the Cape Colony was
governed directly by London.In 1854, a parliament was established,
with its own prime minister.This was a multi-racial democracy: the
right to vote depended on property ownership, regardless of whether
one was African or colonist.This continued until the 1890s, when
the discovery of diamonds and gold led to political tensions with
border countries, and the government began to restrict the voting
rights of black Africans.The Cape Colony existed until 1910, when
it became part of the Union of South Africa (Modern-day South
Africa).
Government House, Cape Town
The CooliesSince South Africa was on the trade route to India,
it became a major base for Indian labourers, who travelled there
with European merchants.By 1837, the Raj had organised mass
migration projects for these Indian labourers known as Indian
Coolies, possibly from the Tamil Kuli, meaning paid work. They sent
thousands every year to different areas of the British Empire.The
need for cheap labour across the empire had increased following the
abolition of slavery.
Dr Livingstone and the missionary movementThe abolition of the
slave trade inspired any missionary groups to explore further into
the interior of Africa.Their mission was to find and convert more
peoples to Christianity, and to continue the abolition of the Slave
trade throughout Africa.Missionaries came from all denominations:
Protestant (both Anglican and Dissenter) and Catholic.The most
famous of these missionary explorers was David Livingstone, a
Scottish evangelical.He ventured down the Nile into the heart of
the African continent and disappeared for 2 years, only to be
discovered again. This discovery sparked huge media attention, and
awoke further colonial interest in inland Africa.Livingstone had
become the first European to get as far as the Mosi-oa-Tunya
waterfall which he renamed the Victoria Falls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngggl6Afc3E
Cecil Rhodes and the African projectFollowing Livingstone, a
range of explorers decided to trek further into Africa. The Belgian
King, Leopold II, claimed a vast territory that Livingstone had
explored, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.Cecil
Rhodes, a British imperialist, first tried to establish
agricultural settlements north of the Cape Colony but soon found a
huge terrain of diamond mines in the area known as Kimberley.He
made a mining agreement with the De Beers Diamond company, and by
1902, De Beers owned 90% of all the worlds diamond production.To
maximise his diamond production, Rhodes sought to exploit African
workers in new ways.In 1890, Rhodes became the Prime Minister of
South Africa, and pushed to deny black Africans voting rights,
fundamentally changing the nature of the parliament.Rhodes also
began to force black Africans off their lands to make way for
industrial development.
Cecil Rhodes on the Anglo-Saxon Race"I contend that we are the
finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit
the better it is for the human race. Just fancy those parts that
are at present inhabited by the most despicable specimens of human
beings what an alteration there would be if they were brought under
Anglo-Saxon influence, look again at the extra employment a new
country added to our dominions gives."
Cecil Rhodes imperial projectsIn 1895, Rhodes claimed the vast
lands around his diamond mines for the British Government. He named
his new country Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe).Rhodes led a
British invasion of the Transvaal (Boer state) in 1895, because of
its rich gold and diamond fields. This led to two wars against the
Boers known as the Boer Wars.Occupation of the Transvaal was also
part of Rhodes enormous imperial project: building a railway from
Cairo to Cape Town. This required an unbroken line of colonial
territory down the length Africa, known as the Red line.
Planned Routes for the Cairo to Cape Town Railway
Suez Canal The Canal had been opened by the French in 1869, but
was taken over by the British in 1882.It remained under UK control
until 1956, when it was relinquished to Egypt.
The Berlin Conference 1884Formally divided Africa among the
European colonial powers.Motivated by the need for increased trade
between the various colonies.Also a reaction to the scramble for
gold and diamonds.Suppressed almost all remaining autonomous
African power. Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained
independent.Established a principle of effective colonisation:
meaning that colonies had to be actually colonised, and could not
exist in theory alone.
Colonial Possessions in Africa by the beginning of the 20th
century:Blue: FrancePink: BritainGreen: ItalyYellow:
BelgiumTurquoise: GermanyMagenta: SpainPurple: PortugalWhite:
Independent
Modern political divisions in Africa
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/south-africas-royal-visit-reel-2/query/south+africaSouth
Africa's Royal Visit Reel 2
Legacies of colonialism in AfricaMass genocide and death by
famine, most notably in German West Africa (now Namibia).Divisions
and awkward combinations of cultures in the new countries, leading
to ongoing wars and conflicts.Destruction of countless indigenous
languages, cultures and ways of life. Fundamental economic
disparity between Africa and the West.Social segregation on the
basis of race, such as the Apartheid regime in South Africa,
1948-1994.
