1. The Scramble for Africa
European Imperialism in Africa

2. Before European Domination
Hundreds of ethnic & language groups
Europeans 1st explored Africa in the 1450s
Powerful African armies kept them out for 400 years

3. Missionaries begin to explore
Late 1860s
David Livingstone, a missionary from Scotland, travelled deep into Africa to promote Christianity
Decided to explore rather than be a missionary & became an abolitionist
Not heard from for years, presumed dead

4. Livingstone & Henry Stanley
1871 – Henry Stanley, a newspaper reporter working for American paper, travelled to Africa to find Livingstone
Found him in the Congo - “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
This event created a frenzy in the press and sparked interest in exploring and colonizing Africa

5. Livingstone’s Significance
Paved the way for the Scramble for Africa
Inspired explorers & missionaries
Inspired abolitionists

6. The Belgian Congo
King Leopold II of Belgium hired Stanley to explore the Congo for him in 1876
Leopold said he wanted to end slavery & promote Christianity- created a plan to develop the Congo (he did this privately with a loan from the Belgian govt.)
But – he forced Africans to collect sap from rubber plants

7. The Belgian Congo Instituted a brutal, violent regime
Held women hostage to force the men to work rubber plantations, cut off hands of those who did not deliver their quota (even children)
At least 10 million Congolese died as a result
Journalists uncovered the atrocities
Belgian government forced Leopold to turn over the territory to the government in 1908.

8. Clashes over South Africa
South Africa was one of the strongest centralized countries in Africa at this ime
The Boers (early Dutch settlers) had settled there & took native Africans’ lands to set up farms in the 1600s
But British seized the area in 1843

9. South Africa In 1879, the Zulus fought off British
Despite using spears and shields, they almost won
But in July of 1879, they lost the Battle of Ulundi & their kingdom to the British

10. The Boer War
Now British, Dutch & South Africans were fighting over the same land
In 1899, the Boers fought the British
Brutal war:
Boers used guerrilla tactics
British burned Boer farms & imprisoned women and children in concentration camps – 14,000 died
Britain finally won in 1902

11. 1880 – The Scramble Begins
Push for expansion comes from businessmen, missionaries & politicians
Economics
Politics
Religion
Exploration
Ideology
Imperialism in Africa

12. The Berlin Conference
To prevent conflict, 14 nations met at the Berlin Conference in to plan the division of Africa
Decision: European countries could claim land in Africa by notifying other nations of their claims & showing they could control the area
No African rulers were invited to attend

13. The Berlin Conference
How does this political cartoon represent the Berlin Conference?

14. Map of the New Africa
1914
Only Ethiopia and Liberia free from European control