Imperialism in Africa.docx
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~ IMPERIALISM IN AFRICA ~ Source: World History, Connections to Today, Core Support, Prentice Hall, 2001 (adapted) from the NYS Global History and Geography Regents Exam, January 2006. 1. Based on the pie chart, what major change occurred between 1850 and 1914? 2. Based on what you have already learned in the unit, WHY did this change occur? Scramble for Africa and Berlin Conference Scramble for Africa Though Europeans had trading posts on the coasts of Africa and Asia starting in the 15th and 16th centuries, they were unable to move into the interior of either continent because of resistance from the people who lived there and disease. This changed in the 19th century as the Industrial Revolution fueled European desire for more natural resources like gold, oil, rubber, diamonds, and ivory from Africa to fuel industrial production of goods and new innovations like the steamboat, advanced weapons, and medicine that lessened the effects of diseases like malaria led to the colonization of Africa. European nations competed for control of Africa during a period of time called the Scramble for Africa (1881-1914). During the Scramble for Africa, Europeans went from controlling 10% of Africa in 1870 to 90% of the continent in 1914. By 1914, only Ethiopia and Liberia were independent African nations not under the control of European powers. 3. What was the Scramble for Africa? Berlin Conference Competition for control over Africa led to disputes 4. Who organized the Berlin Conference?
between European countries and those disagreements led to the Berlin Conference (1884-1885). The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 was a meeting held in Berlin, Germany and organized by Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of Germany. The purpose of the Berlin Conference was to regulate European colonization and trade in Africa by identifying which European nations would be allowed to control which parts of Africa. During the Berlin Conference, the European nations divided Africa up between themselves on maps, often drawing lines on the maps without any knowledge of the people who lived there and dividing up cultural, linguistic, and ethnic groups. No Africans were invited to the Berlin Conference and no Africans took part in deciding how the continent would be “carved up.” In the following decades, European governments sought to take over and control the sections of Africa that they agreed upon in Berlin in a little over three months. 5. Why was the Berlin Conference organized? 6. Who attended the Berlin Conference? 7. Who was not invited to attend the Berlin Conference? Why were they not invited? 8. What impact did the Berlin Conference have on Africa? Source: 9. What observations can you make about the cartoon? 10. How does this political cartoon demonstrate the Berlin Conference? 11. What do you think is the point of view of the cartoonist? What is your evidence? What were the effects of imperialism for Africa?
12. According to these two maps, what were the effects of imperialism for Africa? Artificial Boundaries The European imperialist created new boundaries for their territories in Africa based on the resources they were trying to gather, rather than any natural boundaries that already existed. Europeans drew these new borders with no regard for the Africans that lived there and payed no attention to the ethnic, cultural, or linguistic differences of the people. Europeans also renamed lakes, rivers, and territories to better suit the ruling nation; for example, Lake Victoria was named after Great Britain’s Queen Victoria. Cash Crops When European nations set up colonies in Africa, they believed it would be a great market to sell their finished goods and make a profit. Unfortunately for the Europeans, many Africans did not find European products to be necessary, so Europeans needed to find another way to ensure a profit. European businesses started to focus on the development of cash crops. Cash crops are crops that are made directly for sale and profit, such as peanuts, coffee beans, cocoa beans, and tobacco. The colonized people were forced to focus on growing these cash crops for their mother country instead of their own subsistence agriculture 13. What do you predict might be the effect or outcome of the boundaries that Europeans drew in Africa? 14. What do you predict might be the effect or outcome of the growth of cash crops for Africa? The Struggle for Southern Africa Africa, 1789 Africa, 1914
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