6. • The need for raw materials
• There was greater wealth and investors
needed a place to invest this wealth
7. Nationalistic
• New countries (Italy
and Germany) set out
to prove themselves
worthy of being a
world power
• France was looking to
regain its standing in
the world
12. Phase One
• Treaties between the African states and
European nations
1. Gave the European nation exclusive trade
and natural resources of that African state
2. European nation promised protection
13. • “No man if he understood would sign it, and
to say that a savage chief has been told that
he ceded all rights to the company in
exchange for nothing is an obvious untruth. If
he had been told that the Company will
protect him against his enemies, and share in
his wars as an ally, he has been told a lie, for
the Company have no idea of doing any such
things and no force to do it with if they
wished.”
• Lord Lugard, British agent for British East India
Company
14. • Some leaders refused to sign, like African king
Macemba.
15. Phase Two
• The Berlin Conference
– European nations met to sign treaties amongst
themselves to define their regions and boundaries
19. Alliance
• Hoped that an alliance would allow them to
stay on the throne and help with their hostile
neighbors
• Usually the alliance offered no protection at
all
20. Confrontation
1. Diplomacy
– Negotiated with European powers for as much
control of their land as possible
2. Armed resistance
– Used when they realized the Europeans true
intentions
Editor's Notes
Africa went from a continent filled with many independent, sovereign states to 40 artificially created colonies in a span of 30 years
Europeans did not see themselves as behaving cruelly or unjustly…thought it was good
High tariffs was used instead of free trade…this hindered trade between nations and increased the price of foreign goods…the idea behind it was to make your country buy goods only from your country, it made it more expensive to buy outside the country.
Africa already supplied a growing quantity of raw materials to industrial Europe, but Europeans thought if they controlled it directly they could do even better
Africa appeared to present a vast potential for great economic profit
France had lost to Germany and was embarrassed
They were blinded to the negative aspects of colonialism
By the end of the 19th century, almost 6000 British missionaries traveled to foreign lands under British control…mostly in Africa
Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest…Europeans assumed they were part of a superior race
Three phases to control the continent
They laid claim to the African states and pressured African states to sign treaties giving Europeans exclusive rights to trade and mining.
By the end of the 3rd phase all but 2 African states (Liberia and Ethiopia) had lost their independence
Often resorted to empty promises and deception in order to gain exclusive access to an African state
Signed documents they could not read and surrendered control of their states without realizing it…faced great threats on their borders and believed the European state would provide them with a valuable ally.
No Africans were present and didn’t even know about the treaties
Trying to prevent war between European nations
Africans were unaware of this invasion and conquest!
Submitted to buy time or to seek a peaceful resolution…wanted to protect their people by submitting.
Some European powers made promises to the ruler of an African state while supporting his enemies at the same time
Some committed suicide rather than submit or confront the European powers.
European nations refused to meet with these diplomats or proceeded to invade the African nation even as they met wit the African diplomats
The Africans had no chance against the superior European weapons…flintlock vs. maxim gun
