THE “DARK” CONTINENT

• “Dark Continent” – racist terminology referred to both the peoples of Africa and their alleged ignorance

• In reality, Africa has always had diverse groups of people with their own unique cultures and histories

Civilizations

Languages

Religions

GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

Continent – not a country

Continent is three times larger than Europe

Northern Africa – desert

Mid-to-southern Africa – diverse climates and topography

DAVID LIVINGSTONE (1813-1873)

• Scottish missionary• 1841-1873 – lived in central AfricaExplored Africa

• Named Lake Victoria after the British queen

Converted many Africans to ChristianityWrote books on Africa which piqued foreign interest

• 1871 – reported “lost”“Found” by Henry Stanley“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

HENRY STANLEY (1841-1904)

• Welsh-American reporter• “Found” Dr. Livingstone in Africa“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

• Explored AfricaCongo RiverLake TanganyikaLake Victoria

• Worked with Belgium’s King Leopold II and his African colonization company

International African Society

In the 1870s the Belgians began to trade with Africans in the Congo.

King Leopold

Fearing they would miss out on various raw materials, the other European nations scrambled to establish their presence on the continent.

KARL PETERS (1856-1918)

• German explorer in Africa• Organized and propagandized for

Germany’s colonial expansionFounded the Society for German Colonization

• Acquired German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania)

• Convinced Otto von Bismarck to take over German East Africa and increase Germany’s colonies in Africa

In 1884, to avoid conflict amongst themselves, European leaders met at the Berlin Conference to set up rules for colonizing Africa. No Africans were invited.

Berlin Conference

Berlin Conference

The European powers agreed that before they could claim territory they would have to set up an outpost. Whoever was the first to build the outpost gained that area of land.

Berlin Conference

Berlin Conference

CECIL RHODES (1853-1902)

• British businessman and politician in southern Africa

• Made a fortune from African diamond mines

• Established South African CompanyLand later became Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)• Prime minister of Cape Colony (1890-1896)Wanted British control over South AfricaWanted Cape-to-Cairo Railroad• Architect of British imperialism in southern

AfricaGreat Britain became leading colonial power in southern Africa

CECIL RHODES (1853-1902)

Cape Colony

In the mid-1600s, Dutch farmers known as Boers settled in southern Africa in Cape Colony. The Boers built Cape Town as a supply station.In the 1700s, the Dutch herders and ivory hunters began to move north. The British then acquired Cape Colony in the early 1800s.

The Boers

CapeTown

Cape Colony

Boers

AFRICA

In the late 1800s, the discovery of gold and diamonds in the northern Boer territory set off the Anglo-Boer war.

The war was from 1899-1902 and involved bitter guerrilla fighting. The British won, but at a great cost.

The Anglo-Boer War

British Boers

Boers

British

Boers

The Zulus

In the early 1800s in southern Africa, an African leader named Shaka conquered and united tribes to form the Zulu nation.

ZuluNation

CapeTown

Cape Colony

ShakaZulu

The Zulus

The Zulus were skilled and organized fighters. Shaka used his power and fought against European slave traders and ivory hunters.

The Zulus

ZuluNation

The Zulus also fought the Boers as they migrated north from Cape Colony.

CapeTown

Cape Colony

Boers

The Anglo-Zulu War

The Zulus came into conflict with the British as well. In 1879 the Zulus wiped out a British force at the battle of Isandlwana.

However, it was not long before the superior weaponry of the British overtook the Zulus at the battle of Rorke’s Drift.

The Anglo-Zulu War

European Territory AFRICA

CapeTown

Cape Colony

In 1910, with southern Africa secure, the British established the Republic of South Africa and instituted apartheid.Apartheid – government policy calling for separation of the races.

SouthAfrica

Britain’s claims in Africa were second in size only to France, but included heavily populated areas with greater natural resources.

British Territory

Britain controlled Egypt because of its strategic location.

BRITISH IN NORTH AFRICA

EUROPEANS IN EGYPT

1870s – with the Egyptian government bankrupt, the British and French took over financial control of the country

– Egyptian monarchs (technically Ottoman viceroys) ruled as puppet leaders

1882 – Egyptian nationalist rebellion– France withdrew its troops– Great Britain left in control of Egypt

• Lord Cromer introduced reforms– De facto British protectorate

• Made official in 1914• Independence came in 1922

BRITISH IN NORTHERN AFRICA

Sudan– Area south of Egypt– Under Anglo-Egyptian control– Cotton needed for British textile mills– Entente Cordiale (1904)

• Great Britain controlled Sudan• France controlled Morocco

Cape-to-Cairo Railroad– Idea of Cecil Rhodes– Would secure Great Britain’s dominance in

Africa– Never completed – sections missing through

modern Sudan and Uganda

Cape-to-Cairo Railway: Crossing over Victoria Falls

France was very powerful in North Africa, and later spread into West and Central Africa. The territory France controlled was as large as the United States.

French Territory

The newly formed German empire had to fight many battles against African natives to take lands in the southern half of Africa.

German Territory

Germany would lose its colonial territories after its loss in World War I.

The Italians crossed the Mediterranean and conquered Libya. They then took Somaliland in the horn of Africa, but were beaten badly by the Ethiopians.

Italian Territory

King Leopold and other wealthy Belgians exploited the riches of the Congo, and brutalized the natives. Many Africans were enslaved, beaten, and killed.

Belgium Territory

Although the leaders of the old imperialism, the African claims of the Portuguese and Spanish were minimal.

Portuguese Territory

Spanish Territory

BritainFrance

GermanyItaly

PortugalBelgium

Spain

EuropeansIn AfricaBy 1914

After the slave trade was outlawed, abolitionists in the United States promoted the idea of returning freed slaves to Africa.

Independent Africans

In the early 1800s, President Monroe helped free slaves settle in Liberia. The former slaves named the capital city Monrovia in his honor.

PresidentMonroe

Liberia

Independent Africans

The Ethiopians kept their freedom through a successful military resistance. Emperor Menelik II modernized the army, along with roads, bridges, and schools. When the Italians invaded they were defeated so badly by Menelik that no other Europeans tried to take Ethiopia.

Ethiopia

Menelik

Positive Results Negative Results1. Unified national states created 1. Encouraged tribal wars by creating

artificial borders

2. Improved medical care, sanitation, and nutrition

2. Created population explosion famine

3. Increased agricultural production 3. Produced cash crops needed by Europeans, and not food for Africans

4. Improved transportation and communication facilities

4. Exploited natural resources: minerals, lumber, rubber, human rights.

5. Expanded educational opportunities

5. Downgraded traditional African culture westernization