European Imperialism SS7H1

What is “Partitioning”? Partition (def.): dividing something up, such as a country or colony. Why is partitioning a bad thing? Partitioning in Africa led to conflict, civil war, and artificial political boundaries. What are “artificial political boundaries”? Borders that exist because of a treaty, agreement, or war.

Scramble for Africa The Scramble (or “Race”) for Africa was the rush to divide up African territories by Europeans. There were economic, political, and social reasons that Europeans had for wanting to acquire African territories.

What is “Imperialism”? Imperialism (def.): the economic and political domination of one country over another. European imperialism was when countries in Europe began dominating other civilizations around the world, including those in Africa. European countries had stronger economies, stronger militaries and weapons, and were more politically organized.

Economic Reasons 1) Need for raw materials. Industrial Revolution in Europe meant the use of machines was increasing. Needed materials such as palm oil, copper, rubber, cocoa, and gold (Africa supplied all of these). European powers divided up Africa so they could have access to these materials.

Economic Reasons 2) Marketing their new products. Industrial Revolution caused European production to go up, but consumption (the amount people were buying) remained the same. Europeans had to look for other places to sell their goods. Africa was used to sell European goods because Africa did not have a market to produce them.

Economic Reasons 3) Need to invest abroad. Europeans believed that Africa could provide cheap labor. Businesses began to convince the government to buy African lands for this reason.

Economic Reasons 4) Protect trade. Europeans had created companies to run businesses in African colonies. Competition among these companies began to increase. Trade companies had to start asking for help from African governments.

Political Reasons 1) Balance of power. After Russo-Turkish war in 1877-1878, Europeans realized everyone was basically equal in power. No country could spread their influence in Europe without war. Moved to Africa where there was no resistance.

Political Reasons 2) Prestige. Europeans wanted to promote the status of their countries worldwide. Possession of large overseas empires became a status symbol.

Political Reasons 3) Source for soldiers. Used Africans as soldiers. These African soldiers fought on the sides of their European leaders during WWI.

Political Reasons 4) Strategic Purposes. Some African colonies were overtaken because of their more direct trading route to important trading partners like India.

Social Reasons 1) Settlement of population. Because machines started doing more work, more people found themselves out of a job. People were sent to look for work in the new European colonies in Africa.

Social Reasons 2) Spread Christianity and Combat Disease. Europeans wanted to convert Africans to Christianity and “civilize” them. Some colonies were purchased so Europeans who had certain diseases could be sent there to recover.

Social Reasons 3) End slave trade. The British colonies led the way to end the slave trade by passing the Emancipation Act.

What is “Nationalism”?

What is “Nationalism”? Nationalism (def.): extreme loyalty and devotion to a nation. Nationalism could be loyalty to a country OR a group of people (such as a tribe). Many Africans are more loyal to their tribe/group than they are to their home country.

What was the “Pan-African Movement”? Pan-Africanism (def.): ideology and movement that aims to unite all Africans. Laid the foundation for the African Union (AU). AU is an international organization promoting cooperation amongst all independent African nations.