The Scramble for
Africa
New Imperialism
• Old Imperialism
• Trading outposts
• Areas keep control, must trade
• New Imperialism
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Formal gov’t structures
Actively moving Europeans in
Mining for resources
Claiming new territory FOR
their country
• Planting a flag
New Imperialism: Forces Behind it
• Social Darwinism/Racism
• Fittest survive
• Conquered colony = weaker race
• Created hierarchy
• Okay to mistreat inferior races
• National Pride
• Each nation used colonies to show
off power
• Nationalism!!
New Imperialism: Forces Behind it
• Capitalism
• Profits from cheap labor and
materials
• Needed new source for raw materials
outside Europe
• Raw materials desired:
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Diamonds
Rubber
Oil
Metal (Tin, Gold, Silver, Copper, etc)
Labor (cheap or free)
Foods and Spices (coffee, oils, sugar)
New Imperialism: Forces Behind it
• Religion and Democracy
• Moral duty to improve the lives
of the natives
• Meant to bring Christianity to the
“savage” people
• Militarism
• Controlling areas offered
strategic advantage
• Great Britain – Suez Canal in
Egypt
• Soldiers
• Natives were conscripted to be
solders
Problems with New Imperialism
• Imperialist areas ruled from
metropole
• Hard to respond to problems
• Unhappy native populations
• Peasant revolts = common
• Resistance happened but usually
futile
• Government Structures
• Protectorate – territory
dependent on another
government for protection
Solutions to New Imperialism
• Direct Rule
• European leaders in charge of
colony’s operations
• All political, military, and
economic leaders were European
• Indirect Rule
• Use existing leaders to control
locals
• Low cost for governing
• Gave natives more claim to their
own right to rule
Solutions with New Imperialism
• Cost and Reward
• Colony = affordable
when producing new
profits
• Europeans did not
want to build
economies
• Wanted raw goods
• Kept industry out of
colonial areas
• Africa (English, French, Germans, Belgians)
• Southeast Asia (French, US, Dutch, English)
• Latin America (US, French)
• China (Germany, France, English, US, Japan)
• India (Dutch, English)
• Middle East (English, French)
Africa Before Europe
Missionaries and Quinine
• Missionaries had been going
into Africa long before the
Europeans heavily exploited it
• Goal: Convert native
populations to Christianity
Missionaries and Quinine
• Before 1850s, difficult for
Europeans in Africa
• H2O obstacles, unfamiliar
terrain, animals, mosquitoes
(malaria)
• Quinine (drug) started to be used
before traveling to Africa
• Europeans survived in greater
numbers, conquered more
effectively
• Increased fighting amongst
Europeans for land
Demand for Raw Materials
• Cecil Rhodes
• English businessman and
politician
• Wanted African economy
controlled by Britain
• Cape to Cairo railroad
• Diamonds (blood diamonds)
• Africa – world’s largest
diamond producer
• Blood Diamonds (Kimberley
Process)
• $12.7 Billion (modern
production)
Division of Africa
• Berlin Conference
• 1884 – 1885: 14 nations met
to set rules for division of
Africa
• Agreed any country claiming
land had to notify other
nations of the claim
• Then PROVE it could control
the area
• No African rulers invited
Congo and Belgium
• Privately controlled by King
Leopold II
• Controlled the rubber trade
• Used the Congolese people as
free slave labor
• Incredibly cruel
• Paid field workers to whip
workers
• Used torture to increase
production
• Ex: practice of cutting off hands
South Africa
• South and Central Africa
• Livingstone and Stanley
• Henry Stanley –
journalist
• David Livingstone –
missionary and explorer
• Originally founded by Dutch
• British show up wanting
resources
• Time Dutch empire was
wavering
• South African Violence
• Zulu Resistance
• Shaka Zulu
• Dutch Ranchers –
Afrikaaners
• Boer Wars (1899 – 1902)
• Fought between Boers, British
South Africa