Download Imperialism PowerPoint - Methacton School District

Imperialism
The “OPENING UP” OF
AFRICA
• Mid-1800s
• Missionaries and explorers
sparked foreign interest in
Africa
Africa (1880)
DAVID LIVINGSTONE (18131873)
• Scottish missionary
• 1841-1873 – lived in central Africa
– Explored Africa
• Named Lake Victoria after the British queen
– Converted many Africans to Christianity
– Wrote books on Africa which piqued foreign
interest
– Mapped the “Dark Continent”
– Opened interior of Africa to commerce and
Christianity
• 1871 – reported “lost”
– “Found” by Henry Stanley
– “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
The Scramble for Africa
# 1. Colonization of Africa
by Europeans 1880-1914
#3 Great Britain, France, Italy,
Portugal, Spain, Germany,
Belgium
King Leopold II of
Belgium
Imperialism: The policy by a stronger nation
to attempt to create an empire by dominating
weaker nations economically, politically,
culturally, or militarily.
The Industrial
Revolution
• The Industrial
Revolution began
in Great Britain
in the mid-18th
century
• Britain’s
advantages
• The spread of
industrialization
Economic Motives #1
Industrialized
nations sought:
• Raw materials
• Natural resources
• A cheap labor
supply
• New
marketplaces for
manufactured
goods
• Control means of
production
Cecil Rhodes
#9
• British imperialist who
made huge profits from
Africa’s natural resources
• Founder of the state of
Rhodesia in Africa
“The Rhodes Colossus”
This cartoon
depicts British
imperial
ambitions to
control the
entire African
continent.
Motives #1
• Religious: to spread the benefits
of Christianity and Western Culture
• Political: competition fuel by
Nationalism, Empire Building
Justification for
Imperialism
• A desire to “civilize” non-Europeans
also spurred the development of
imperialism
• Social Darwinism
Darwin’s handwritten cover page for
The Origin of Species
Herbert Spencer
Christianity
Civilization
Describe 3
examples of
European
ethnocentrism
in the political
cartoon.
Imperialism Quote
• “If you woke up one morning and found that
somebody had come to your house, and had
declared that the house belonged to him, you
would naturally be surprised, and you would like
to know by what arrangement.”
– Jomo Kenyatta – 1st President of Kenya
• How does this quote show an African reaction to
European Imperialism in Africa? Use 3 examples
Imperialism Quote
• Desmond Tutu … “when the missionaries
came to Africa, they had the Bible and we
had the land. They said ‘let us close our
eyes and pray’. When we opened them, we
had the Bible, and they had the land”.
• How does this quote show an African
reaction to European Imperialism in Africa?
Use 3 examples
Reasons for Imperialism
• Nationalism
• Pride in one’s own country
would result in competition with
other countries
• Racial reasons
• Europeans saw themselves as the
most advanced civilization and it was
their duty to “civilize” people in
Africa
• It’s during this time that Rudyard
Kipling writes “The White Man’s
Burden” (1899)
• Originally about American take over
of Philippines
The Berlin Conference
1884 #4
Rules to divide Africa
among European
powers to avoid
conflict among
European powers=
Artificial Borders
European Control of Africa
By 1914,
only two
African
nations
remained
independent
Liberia and
Ethiopia #2
Methods of Management
• Indirect Rule: This form relied on using the
existing African political rulers.
– Britain sometimes asked local chiefs to accept
British rule and legislative councils were formed
and included colonial (European) officials and
merchants.
• The idea was that these councils would train the Africans,
and at some point in time, these territories would be able
to rule themselves, much like Australia and Canada.
Methods of Management
• Direct Rule: The French and most other European countries
preferred stronger control because they felt that Africans were
not civilized enough to rule themselves.
– They adopted a policy of paternalism, in which the
Europeans acted like the Africans’ parents in providing for
their survival, but denying them rights.
– They avoided training locals, and instead, brought along
Europeans to rule the Africans.
– The French also supported a policy of assimilation, in which
the native population would take on French customs and
culture and be like them.
• African customs and culture were looked at as inferior, or
not as good as French culture.
Direct vs. Indirect Rule #6
European nations chose one of two different paths
when it came to colonial rule:
Indirect rule: colonies were ruled
through existing traditional rulers
Example: Nigeria
Direct rule: the colony was directly
administered by the colonizer
Example: Senegal
Result: loss of power and influence
By Traditional rulers
Cash Crop/Money Economy #7
• Africans sold labor to make money to pay taxes
• Problems
– Created dependence on Colonial rulers
#8 Purpose of the Railroads was to
extract wealth
5-8 Million Victims!
(50% of Popul.)
It is blood-curdling to see them (the
soldiers) returning with the hands of the
slain, and to find the hands of young
children amongst the bigger ones
evidencing their bravery...The rubber from
this district has cost hundreds of lives, and
the scenes I have witnessed, while unable to
help the oppressed, have been almost
enough to make me wish I were dead... This
rubber traffic is steeped in blood, and if the
natives were to rise and sweep every white
person on the Upper Congo into eternity,
there would still be left a fearful balance to
their credit.
-- Belgian Official