The Partition of Africa 25.2 The Partition of Africa Racheal Treadway
Africa in the 1800s Africa was still a mysterious place Europeans knew the coastline because of their trading posts, but interior was a mystery Very culturally diverse Many different tribes and cities with different beliefs Different regions of Africa ruled by different people/empires
Explorers & Missionaries People begin expeditions into Africa Europeans were not able to explore the interior of Africa before the 1800s Geography & diseases like malaria made it too difficult New technologies developed (steamships, medical advances) that would change all this. Fascinated with the geography and adventure Africa presented
Explorers & Missionaries Missionaries followed after the explorers Built schools, hospitals, and churches Also concerned about slave trade Wanted to guide Africans to salvation Pushed for westernization Encouraged rejection of their traditions
Dr. David Livingstone Missionary/Explorer More sympathetic towards the African people in his writings than most other Europeans Thought the interior of Africa should be opened to trade and to Christianity. Blazed trails that other explorers followed Journalist Henry Stanley spent 2 years looking for him. “Dr. Livingston, I presume?” Spent 30 years exploring Africa and its people
The Scramble Begins King Leopold II hires Stanley to explore Congo River. Wants to control for profit Other countries soon follow after Hold a conference in Berlin in 1884 to avoid wars Leopold could have Congo Free State, but there should be free trade along Congo and Nile European powers must have a government office in place before they could claim a territory No Africans were present People rushed in to get their share of Africa Meanwhile Leopold took the riches of the Congo & treated the people savagely Belgian government eventually steps in & takes control of it
Dividing the Continent France takes large areas of Africa, but loses many soldiers Britain content with taking smaller areas rich in resources Boer War Boers=Dutch farmers pushed inland by British Gold & diamonds discovered in their republics British fight bitterly for it from 1899-1902 End up combining it with other colonies to form Union of South Aftica
Resistance to Foreign Powers All of the European Powers faced resistance from native people Algerians fought the French British faced the Zulus and the Astantes Maji-Maji Rebellion of 1905 caused the Germans to resort to starving locals Ethiopia & Liberia stay free Menelik II adopted western ways and was prepared for invasions. Later in the 1900s nationalist movements would pose more threats