Section 1

Ch. 27

The Scramble for Africa

● In the mid-1800s Africans were divided into hundreds of different ethnic and linguistic groups.

● They followed their traditional religious beliefs, while some converted to Islam and Christianity.

● Powerful African armies were able to keep Europeans confined to coastal areas.

● Europeans had difficulty navigating African rivers and disease discouraged exploration.

● The Industrial Revolution changed all of this.

Africa Before European Imperialism

● With the Industrial Revolution came technological superiority over the Africans.

● Railways, steamboats, and telegraph lines all increased communication.

● The drug quinine was introduced to counteract malaria, a disease carried by mosquitoes in Africa.

● Europeans were able to take advantage of the different ethnic and linguistic groups.

European Imperialism

● Many Europeans believed they were better than other people.● A belief called Social Darwinism supported this idea:

● Those who were fittest for survival enjoyed wealth and success and were considered superior.

● Non-Europeans were considered inferior because they had not made the same technological and scientific progress.

European Ideology

● Valuable resources such as diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) were discovered in Africa.

● To avoid a European war over African territory, 14 European nations met in Berlin to divide up Africa.

● At the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, European countries agreed that they could claim any land in Africa as long as they notified the other countries and showed they could control the territory claimed.

● By 1914, only Liberia and Ethiopia were free from European control.

The Division of Africa

● In the early 1800s, a Zulu chief, Shaka, used disciplined warriors and good military organization to create a large country. (south Africa)

● The first Europeans to settle in South Africa were Dutch farmers known as Boers.

● To escape the British, the Boers moved north into Zulu land and fought with them over land.

● After Shaka’s death, his successors were not able to fight off the British who took control of Zulu lands in 1887.

Fighting in South Africa

● Once gold and diamonds were discovered, other Europeans moved into Boer territory.

● The Boers blamed the British and went to war against them.● The Boers used guerilla tactics and launched commando raids

on the British.● The British burned Boer farms and put the women and children

into disease-ridden prison camps.● The Boers were defeated and the British controlled all of South

Africa by 1910.

The Boer War