Homework3. An interest in or taking of land for its strategic

location or products.4. For quicker access to its colonies in Africa and

Asia5. They disliked Western influence6. Both resisted Europeans; Muslims tried to

modernize to resist imperialism but all African rulers gave up(except Menelik II)

7. Food shortages and starvation8. He believed that Africa would benefit from

Britain’s “civilizing” influence and from increased commerce.

Discuss the following question with your group and be prepared to

share with the class.• Have you ever been in a situation where you

were in a place with people you did not know and had a different culture than you? How did you feel?

Imperialism in Africa

• Divide your paper in half the long way

• Title the left side: The Scramble for Africa

• Title the right side: The Congress of Berlin

The Scramble for Africa• At first, the Europeans called Africa “The Dark

Continent.”• The Europeans hugged the coast, but they

never went into the interior - a.k.a. “the hinterland.”

• They were afraid to go into the interior of Africa because the geography was rough.

• As always, the Europeans had five motives for grabbing territory in Africa.

The Scramble for AfricaEconomic• Africa is a treasure chest of natural resources.• Just think of the cotton in Egypt or the coffee

in Kenya.• Just think of the copper in the Congo or the

gold and diamonds in South Africa.• As a result, the European empires were in

fierce competition for these raw materials.

The Scramble for AfricaPolitical: If you didn’t grab territory, the other

guy would.

Military: Grab those strategic spots - like the Suez Canal and Cape of Good Hope.

Social Darwinism: The Europeans felt superior to people of color all over the world.

Religious: Christian missionaries wanted their home governments to rule Africa.

The Congress of Berlin• Everybody and his brother was planting his

flag in Africa.• It didn’t take much for two empires to clash

and go to war. Like the Boer War: British vs Dutch.

• The main goal was to prevent European wars in Africa.

The Congress of BerlinCarving up Africa• The Congress of Berlin did three things:

1. It carved up Africa.2. It set the modern boundaries that exist today.3. It set the ground rules for Europeans operating in Africa.

• It was an international conference; only the European empires attended.

• The conference did not care about the welfare of the African people.

The Congress of BerlinThe Boundaries• When the Europeans carved Africa into countries,

the boundaries were arbitrary. The Europeans ignored

a. geographyb. ethnic groups

• As a result, a country included a great jumble of different ethnic groups.

• This problem still plagues African nations.• The boundaries of present-day Africa were

largely determined at the Congress of Berlin.