Review Questions

1
Review Questions

1. Identify two reasons why Europeans turned to
   Africans for slave labor.
2. Why did so many slaves die during the Middle
   Passage?
3. Identify two reasons why nations seek imperial
   colonies.

2
The Age of European Imperialism

• Chapter 4, Section 4

3
European Imperialism
4
Europeans Explore Africa

• Before the 1800s, Europeans knew very little
  about Africa.
• They built trading posts along the coasts, but
  relied on Africans to bring slaves and trade
  goods from the interior.
• Spurred on by trading companies and a desire for
  adventure, Europeans explored the rivers of
  Africa.

5
Europeans Explore Africa

• The most famous of these explorers was David
  Livingstone.
• Livingstone wanted to open up highways for
  commerce and Christianity to pass into the vast
  interior of Africa.
• He also is credited with discovering the huge
  waterfalls on the Zambezi River and named them
  Victoria Falls, after Britains Queen Victoria.

6
European Motives

• Following the paths of these explorers, Europeans
  extended their influence in Africa.
• By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, European
  nations claimed all of Africa except Liberia and
  Ethiopia.

7
Economic Motives

• Europeans took over African lands for a number of
  reasons.
• Economic competition between other European
  nations.
• The drive for more natural resources.
• They also looked upon African societies as
  possible markets for the goods produced by
  European factories.

8
Political Motives

• Nationalism also pushed European nations towards
  imperialism.
• A large empire would boost a countrys standing
  in the world.
• Rivalries between nations also pushed for more
  expansion.
• Britain, for example, claimed lands in Africa to
  keep them out of the hands of France and Germany.

9
Religious Motives

• Some people went to Africa for religious reasons.
• Christians believed it was their duty to spread
  the benefits of western civilization.
• Christian missionaries supported the colonial
  governments by introducing western values among
  the people.

10
The Scramble for Colonies

• Two innovations helped Europeans advance into
  Africa
• New medical knowledge improved treatment for
  diseases such as malaria and yellow fever, which
  let Europeans survive in Africa.
• In addition, the British also had developed the
  Maxim gun.
• This early machine gun gave them an advantage
  over Africans armed with muskets and spears.

11
Congo Free State

• King Leopold II of Belgium claimed the lands of
  the Congo Basin as his own.
• He began to exploit the human and mineral
  resources of the Congo Free State.
• His agents forced each African community to
  produce a set amount of rubber or ivory without
  paying them.
• When people resisted this forced labor, the
  Belgians cut off their hands or ears.
• When word of these atrocities reached Europe,
  Leopold turned over his private domain to the
  Belgian government.

12
Berlin Conference

• Tensions mounted as European nations struggled
  for African lands.
• To ease the crisis, 14 European nations met in
  Berlin, Germany in 1884.
• At the Berlin Conference, Europeans made
  decisions about dividing Africa.
• No Africans were invited to the meeting.
• The European nations recognized each others
  African claims and began working on solidifying
  their borders.

13
Berlin Conference
14
African Resistance

• Many Africans resisted European imperialism with
  military force.
• For example, the Algerians fought the French
  expansion with great loss of life.
• Despite stiff resistance, Africans were unable to
  withstand the advanced weapons and other
  technologies of the Europeans.
• Natural disasters such as diseases also weakened
  the African cause.
• Millions of Africans died as a result of the wars
  of resistance.

15
Struggle for Southern Africa

• In Southern Africa, a bitter power struggle
  developed among local African groups Dutch
  settlers known as the Boers, and the British.
• Migrating peoples into South Africa pushed weaker
  tribes into less-desirable lands.
• One of these migrating tribes were the Zulu.
• Under their leader Shaka, the Zulus built a
  powerful empire northeast of the Orange River.

16
Boers

• While the Zulu were moving southward, the Boers
  were moving north from the tip of South Africa.
• In the early 1800s, the British won control of
  Boer lands and forced them northward.
• The Boers set up two republics, the Orange Free
  State and the Transvaal.
• These Boer republics were created on Zulu lands.
• This sparked violence between the Boers and Zulu
  which continued for decades.
• Finally, the British joined the struggle and
  defeated the Zulus.

17
British-Zulu War
18
Diamonds and Gold

• The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in
  1884 sent Europeans into the Boer republics.
• Eager to expand their empire, the British fought
  to control the rich area.
• In 1902, the British had defeated the Dutch
  settlers in the Boer War.
• Eight year later, the British created the Union
  of South Africa out of various colonies in the
  region.
• They granted self-government to the new nation.
• Under the constitution, however, only white men
  had the right to vote.
• Because the Boers made up the majority of the
  white population, they gained control of the
  South African government.