Essential Question: How did the imperialist powers of Europe claim control over most of Africa?

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Before we start today, let's review the causes of Imperialism. It is really important that you understand the economic, political, military, social, and technological reasons that spurred the European powers to take over Africa. Please take a minute to look over this chart which outlines these reasons and review the information you learned in yesterday's lesson. To remember these causes use the acronym S.T.E.P - Social, Technological,Economic, and Political.

Africa is a very diverse continent, which many people easily forget. African history is not always well understood but generalizations are often made about it such as: the people are poor, there is a lot of conflict, AIDS is rampant, and wild animals and safaris abound.

This lesson, and our future lessons on imperialism in Africa, are very important in examining why people make these generalizations. Imperialism by Europeans can be seen as a cause for the poverty, conflicts, and challenges that Africa faces today. We're going to begin studying why. It is important that you understand that Africa has 5 main regions, all of which are unique and distinct.

afr5.5.png

There are a few distinct geographical features of Africa worth mentioning:

Shape: If you imagine a table, it is pretty flat. Africa is the same way with the exception of:

the Atlas Mountains around Morocco and the Coast of Algeria, and
the Ethiopian highlands in east Africa along the great rift valley that also created Lake Victoria and the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa.

Like a table, it is also higher. Much of the interior is hard to traverse because of the coast. The interior was mainly accessed through rivers. This explains why West Africa was home to the slave trade; the Niger, Chad, and Senegal rivers facilitated greater entry to the inland.

Topography and Climate: The Sahara and Kalahari desert occupy the Northern and Southern parts of the continent respectively. The deserts are bordered by the Savannah on both sides, with a lush tropical rain forest in the center. The coasts are typically more arid, and hospitable, as well as the river routes. Generally speaking, Africa is warmer then the rest of the planet because a large percentage occupies the regions between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

There were two main movements which influenced the African continent in the early 1800s, or the Pre-Colonial Africa (before Europeans colonization).

1. The first was the migration of the Bantu people, one of the largest migrations of any people group in history. The Bantus originated just South of the Sahara Desert and migrated South, East, and West filling the continent with new kingdoms and empires. Today, most sub-Saharan (regions South of the Sahara Desert) languages and ethnic groups in Africa are of Bantu descent. See the map to the right for a visual of the migrations patterns.

2. The second movement was the expansion of Islam. Beginning in the Middle East around 600AD, Islam spread quickly throughout Northern Africa, Western Africa, and Eastern Africa. See the map below.

Conclusions: It is important to note that pre-colonial Africa experienced its own diverse culture and history. It was not simply a continent of isolated tribes. In fact, parts of Africa had direct contact with much of the world - especially around the coastal zones. It is also important to note that these groups of people did not exist in neat little borders like they do today. Later, this would create conflict as nationalist schisms emerged in response to the impact of imperialism. In the next lesson, we will talk about how Africa came to be dominated by outside forces, along with the attendant negative effects. For now, review the maps below for a visual understanding of how Africa changed after it was colonized. What do you notice as you review the three maps?

1. Pre-Colonial Africa

2. Colonial Africa

3. Post-Colonial Africa

Think about it!

The maps above depict the history of Africa. The first map shows the tribes and people of Africa before European interference. The continent was not subdivided into countries. Instead, people lived in groups in different regions. The second map shows the Partition of Africa by the European powers between 1185-1914. The last map shows the countries of Africa today in the post-colonial world.

From these maps, notice how the impact of Imperialism - the partition of Africa - shaped the boundaries that exist today.

How many countries have boundaries that are very similar to their European colony?

The arbitrary lines were drawn by Europeans who did not consider the cultural or linguistic affinity of the African people. They essentially grouped people together, regardless of history or tradition. For examples, the Bedouin people of North Africa were now supposed to be Moroccan or Algerian. Can you image how these redrawn boundaries would cause conflicts once the Imperialists left?

Remember: Africa had a history before Imperialism!

Watch the video below to get a summary of the main points from today's lesson:

In conclusion, remember these key points:

Africa is a very large, resource-rich, diverse continent

European powers after the Industrial Revolution sought new territory to claim for economic, military, political, and social reasons

Europeans began to settle, send missionaries to Africa after technology expanded and made it practical

The Conference of Berlin (in Germany, without any Africans) allowed any European countries to claim land in Africa if they set up a government

After the Berlin Conference, the scramble for Africa consumed Europeans at the expense of Africans

Africans resisted the European colonialism but not having Industrialized left them with weaker weapons and technology and they eventually lost

Colonialism in Africa after the Berlin Conference forever changed the history of Africa