1. Imperialism in Africa
4 minute Intro

2. Why did everyone want Africa?
European countries wanted more resources. Africa was rich in raw materials.

3. Why did everyone want Africa?
Europeans also wanted to sell their products to new places. They thought African and Asian colonies would buy their stuff.

4. Africa Divided
The people of Africa were divided. There were many different cultures and languages. Africans were fighting each other, and did not unify to fight off the Europeans.

5. Europe took advantage of divide
Europeans learned to play groups against each other.

6. European Advantage
New technology gave the Europeans a great advantage:
Weapons
Transportation
Medical Advances

7. Weapons
Weapons-Europeans had early versions of automatic guns. Africans had outdated weapons.

8. Transportation
Europeans had trains, steamships, and telegraphs. They were able to communicate over great distances and send people (soldiers) to places quickly.

9. Vaccination
Medicine-Malaria might have kept the Europeans out of Africa, but a vaccination was invented. (Quinine) Now the Europeans could go anywhere in Africa.

10. Racism
There was also a strong belief in European superiority. Because Africa did not have the same technological advances at that time, many people believed Africans were inferior.

11. Many Europeans believed they had the right to control the “uncivilized” people and countries of Africa.

12. Nationalism Nationalism also factored into the equation.
No European country wanted to be left out. Each wanted to have the biggest, strongest, richest empire.

14. Berlin Conference
In European countries met to decide how Africa would be split up.
No African leaders were present.

15. What Europe Wanted
Europe was only interested in controlling Africa’s land, people and resources.
They didn’t care
about the cultures or
traditions already in
place.

16. Some African countries tried to resist. Very few were successful.

17. Negative Effects Africans lost control of their land and independence
Many Africans died from European diseases (smallpox)
Many people died in resistance attempts

18. More Negative Effects
Many African traditions and cultures were broken down or lost all together.
Colonies sometimes split up former chiefdoms…the unnatural boundaries created problems.

19. Positive Effects Colonization reduced local warfare.
Schools and hospitals were built in Africa. (People began to live longer and literacy rates went up)
An interest developed for African products in the rest of the world.