Imperialism in Africa

Learning Objectvies What methods did Europeans use in order

to gain control of colonized peoples? Once in power, how did Europeans

maintain control and dominance over Africans?

Quote: “I do not want to

miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake”

- King Leopold of Belgium

5/30/12

“The system is such that when things do not work, go wrong or do not move forward, it is never really

anyone’s fault.”

- BBC Article

“Without British imperial rule, it is hard to believe that the institutions of parliamentary democracy would have been adopted by the majority of states in the world.” Neil Ferguson

“Our goal is…to open to civilization the only

part of the globe where it has yet to penetrate…it is, I dare to say, a crusade

worthy of this century of progress…In

bringing you to Brussels I was in no way

motivated by selfish designs.”

- King Leopold

Horrors of the Belgian Congo “In stations in the charge of white government

officers, one sees strings of poor emaciated old women, some mere skeletons, working in gangs, with a rope round their necks and connected with a rope1 ½ yards apart…thousands of Congolese have been slaughtered in Equateur. Twenty one thousand heads, brought to Captain Rom, were used by him as decoration round the front of his house.”

- An anonymous missionary

Horrors of the Belgian Congo “They often kill the Congolese for the sake of

rubber. Once, a soldier, pointing to a basket, said to me” ‘Look, only two hands! That’s nothing. A few days ago I brought the white man 160 hands and they were thrown in the river.’ As he spoke I saw the horrible sight of dead bodies hanging down from the branches into the water”

- Edvard Sjoblom, Swedish Missionary

Main Goals of Europeans Keep order and avoid rebellions

Encouraged rivalries among ethnic groups Kept education to a minimum

Gain a profit Collected taxes (in European currency only) Forced Africans worked in mines and plantations

Shifted to a money economy, grew cash crops for export Ex. peanuts, cocoa, palm oil and rubber Major source of wealth was rich mineral resources

Ex. copper, gold, tin, etc. Diamonds in S. Africa

Coltan