Imperialism in Africa

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Imperialism in Africa
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Imperialism in Africa
Imagine that intergalactic space aliens with cool
futuristic weapons landed all of a sudden landed
on planet earth. How would you view them? How
would you interact with them?
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• The causes
• For 19th Century European Imperialism
• The desire for economic gain and resources
• The missionary impulse
• The search for strategic advantage and national
  pride
• The major developments of African history in the
  19th and early 20th centuries.
• Africas interaction with imperialism
• Agricultural changes and new patterns of
  employment
• The origins of African nationalism

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Up until the late 1800s, there were just a few
European colonies on the African coastline. No
Europeans had really explored the interior of
what they called the Dark Continent.
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In the early 1880s, King Leopold II of Belgium
paid for expeditions to the the Congo in the
center of the African continent. He claimed
that, millions of men still plunged in barbarism
will be at the dawn of a better era. But he
really wanted the Congos natural resources
copper, rubber and ivory. He forced the locals
to work for almost nothing and had them killed
and tortured if they complained or disobeyed.
We come in peace We swear!
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Remember The White Mans Burden???
Which one do you think is more accurate?
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Many Africans gave up traditional agriculture to
work for European companies. Some worked on
rubber plantations or in copper mines. Others
built railroads to bring these natural resources
to ports, where they could be shipped to Europe
and used in factories.
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Berlin Conference (1884) European countries
decided they could claim African colonies just by
setting up government offices in African
territory. This set off a Great Scramble as
Europeans rushed to colonize Africa. Why?
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By 1914, there were only two independent
countries left in all of Africa. What new
countries were growing empires? We do not want
to put anyone in the shade, but we also demand
our place in the sun Germany
Where do these lines come from?
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-British Official
We have been engaged in drawing lines upon maps
where no white mans foot has ever trod. We
have been giving away mountains and rivers and
lakes to each other, only hindered by the small
impediment that we never knew exactly where the
mountains and rivers were.
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Europeans Carving up a Continent
Who is missing from this picture?
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Many Africans fought back I have listened to
your words but can find no reason why I should
obey you I would rather die first If you
desire friendship, then I am ready for it, today
and always. But I cannot be your subject. If
you desire war, then I am ready. -Chief
Machemba (1890)
What do you think happened?
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Remember? Whatever happens, we have gotthe
Maxim gun, and they have not.
When Africans rebelled, Europeans killed
thousands of Yao, Zulu, Asante, Shona, Herero,
and Maji-Maji people.
Ethiopia was the only exception
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Emperor Haile Selassie I Conquering Lion of the
Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia and
Elect of God Ras Tafari
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Halie Selassies cousin, Emperor Menelik II, had
modernized Ethiopia by hiring Europeans to build
roads, bridges and schools. He bought weapons
from Great Britain to fight the Italian invaders,
and defeated the Italians in 1896.
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When Italy invaded again in 1935, Haile Selassie
I made a famous speech to the League of Nations.
Bob Marley used his speech as lyrics to a song,
War
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That until the philosophy which holds one race
superior and another inferior is finally and
permanently discredited and abandoned That
until there are no longer first-class and second
class citizens of any nation That until the
color of a man's skin is of no more significance
than the color of his eyes That until the
basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all
without regard to race That until that day,
the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship
and the rule of international morality will
remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but
never attained
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And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that
hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in
South Africa in subhuman bondage have been
toppled and destroyed Until that day, the
African continent will not know peace. We
Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know
that we shall win, as we are confident in the
victory of good over evil.
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Haile Selassie was an example for the rest of
Africa. Today, every African nation is free and
independent.
Yet there are still many problems in Africa
today. From looking at these maps, can you think
of one reason why?