Chapter 27The Age of Imperialism

Learning Objectives:1.Define Imperialism2.Analyze types of Imperialism3.Analyze the causes and effects of imperialism4.Analyze and describe the effects of Berlin Conference on Africa5.Analyze impact of the Boer War (South African War)6.Analyze the positive and negative legacy of Imperialism on Africa

Due dates:1. Guided Reading 27.1 and 27.2 (Due April 15)2. Guided Reading 27.3, 27.4, and 27.5 (Due April 22nd)3. Matching term and people quiz (April 25th )4. Chapter test (April 26th )

27.1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_rHrGaoh4w

• Imperialism—seizure of a country or territory by a stronger country– Rule from afar

• Problems discourage Euro Exploration of Africa:– African armies, rivers, disease

Causes• Economic motives– The I.R. created demand for raw materials and new

markets• Balance of Power

– Euro nations forced to compete for power with their Euro neighbors

• Nationalism– Belief in Euro superiority– Euro’s viewed empires as a measure of greatness

• Social Darwinism: theory advanced by Charles Darwin and used to justify expansion of European “white” dominance.

• S.D. argues:– Laws of evolution observed in nature, also apply to

society.– Fittest or best adapted individuals, or societies prevail.– It is a white man’s burden to enlighten non-European

peoples– Euros had the right and duty to spread their progress to

the world

Background InformationCongo – The Brutal History

• Missionaries, explorers, humanitarians first to reach interior of Africa– David Livingstone (Scottish Missionary)

• Henry Stanley (American reporter) hired to find Livingstone• Stanley’s exploration interests King Leopold II of Belgium to acquire land in Congo

• Stanley has local chiefs sign treaties giving Belgium and Leopold control of Congo• “Primary” motive to spread Christianity and abolish slavery

– Reality: Leopold brutally exploits Africans; millions die• Leopold’s actions push Belgian government to take colony

– The Belgian Congo• Seizure of large part of Africa sparks much of Europe to claim parts of Africa

– Britain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx2Sj1fhSso&feature=bf_prev&list=PL8BCCE8BBE994CD34&lf=results_main

Factors Promoting Imperialism of Africa1. Technological superiority– Steam engine and Maxim gun help

conquest– Steam engine allows easy travel and

establishment of control– Railroads aide communication and

transport2. Disease first kept Euros on coast– Perfection of quinine protects Euros

from malaria3. Africans are divided by language and culture– Discouraged unity (Centrifugal Force)– Euros used disunity to play rival

groups against each other

Dividing Africa• Berlin Conference—conference

regulating European colonization and trade in Africa– Berlin, Germany 1884.– Resulted in the "Scramble for

Africa”– Euros now control African continent

• 14 nations agree on rules for division (1884–85):• By 1914, only Liberia and Ethiopia are

free of European control • Raw materials are greatest source of

wealth in Africa– Copper, tin, gold, and diamonds

Groups Clash over South Africa

• South Africa: example of European impact on Africans

• S.A. history = clash b/t Africans, Dutch, and British over resources

• Shaka—Zulu chief—creates centralized state around 1816– Used by British to conquer more land and people

• British defeat Zulus and gain control of Zulu nation in 1887

Euros in South Africa• First Euros to settle in S.A. =

Dutch (1652)– Establish station for ships sailing to

Dutch East Indies– Cape Good Hope

• Boers: also known as Afrikaners– Dutch farmers take Africans’ land,

establish large farms• British gain control of S.A. (1795)– Boers clash with British over

farmland and freeing slaves – Boers move north (“Great Trek”)

to escape British– Clash with native tribes

Boer War (Dutch vs. British)• Boers discover diamonds and gold

resources found in northern settlements

• Tension over ownership of land and resources result in two wars

• Boers win first • British counter attack burning farms and

imprisoning women and children– Concentration camps for blacks and

whites– British defeat Boers 1902

• Boer republics (states) join into Union of South Africa– Controlled by British

• Impact: – Signaled change in the way of life for

South Africans (Apartheid) – Euros changed political, economic,

and social aspects of African’s lives