Africa
From the 1500s through the 1700s, Europeans traded along the African coast. Africans wanted trade with Europeans but did not want to house them. Resistance by Africans, difficult geography, and diseases all kept europeans from moving into the interior regions of the continent. King Leopold II of Belgium hired Stanley to explore the Congo River basin and arrange trade treaters with African leaders. Publicly, Leopold spoke of a civilizing mission to help civilize Africans. Leopold's activities in the Congo set off a scramble by other nations. Long before, Britain, France, and Germany, were pressing rival claims to the region. The Scramble for Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization, and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperalism period.
To avoid bloodshed, European powers met at an international conference in 1884. At the Berlin Conference, European powers recognized Leopold private claims to the Congo Free State but called for free trade on the Congo and Niger rivers. They further agreed that a European power could not claim any part of africa unless it had set up a government office there. This principle led Europeans to send officials who would exert their power over local rulers and peoples. The rush to colonize Africa was on. In the 20 years after the Berlin Conference, the European powers partitioned almost the entire continent. As Europeans carved out their claims, they established new borders and frontiers. They redrew the map of Africa with little regard for traditional patterns of settlement or ethnic boundaries.
Leopold and other wealthy Belgians exploited the riches of the Congo, including its copper, rubber, and ivory. Soon, there were horrifying reports of Belgian overseers brutalizing villagers. Forced to work for almost nothing, laborers were savagely beaten or mutilated. The overall population declined drastically. Eventually, international outrage forced Leopold to turn over his personal colony to the Belgian government. It became the Belgian Congo in 1908. Under Belgian rule, the worst abuses were ended. Still, the Belgians regarded the Congo as a possession to be exploited. Africans were given little or no role in the government, and the wealth of their mines went out of the country to Europe.
France took a giant share of Africa. In the 1830s, it had invaded and conquered Algeria in North Africa. The victory cost tens of thousands of French lives and killed many times more Algerians. In the late 1800s, France lives and killed many times more Mediterranean into Tunisia. It also won colonies in West and Central Africa. At its height, the French empire in Africa was as large as the continental United States.
Britain's share of Africa was more scattered than that of France. However, it included more heavily, populated regions with many rich resources. It gained control of Egypt and pushed south into the Sudan. In southern Africa, Britain clashed with the Boers, who were descendants of the Dutch settlers.The discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer lands led to conflict with Britain. The Boer War, which lasted from 1899 to 1902, involved bitter guerrilla fighting. The British won in the end, but at great cost. In the 1910, the British united the Cape Colony and the former Boer republics into the Union of South Africa. The new constitution set up a government run by whites and laid the foundation for a system of complete racial segregation that would remain in force until 1993. Other European powers join the scramble for colonies, in part to bolster their national image, while also furthering their economic growth and influence. The Portuguese carved out large colonies in Angola and Mozambique. Italy reached across the Mediterranean to occupy Libya and then pushed into the "horn" of Africa, at the southern end of the Red Sea. The newly united German empire took lands in eastern and southwestern Africa.
The Effects of Colonialism are that many different countries now eat different types of food, speak different lanugages depending on the different colonial powers, and they are more split apart because the colonial powers tried so hard to split them up so they wouldn't all revolt against them but then again it was bound to happen.
To avoid bloodshed, European powers met at an international conference in 1884. At the Berlin Conference, European powers recognized Leopold private claims to the Congo Free State but called for free trade on the Congo and Niger rivers. They further agreed that a European power could not claim any part of africa unless it had set up a government office there. This principle led Europeans to send officials who would exert their power over local rulers and peoples. The rush to colonize Africa was on. In the 20 years after the Berlin Conference, the European powers partitioned almost the entire continent. As Europeans carved out their claims, they established new borders and frontiers. They redrew the map of Africa with little regard for traditional patterns of settlement or ethnic boundaries.
Leopold and other wealthy Belgians exploited the riches of the Congo, including its copper, rubber, and ivory. Soon, there were horrifying reports of Belgian overseers brutalizing villagers. Forced to work for almost nothing, laborers were savagely beaten or mutilated. The overall population declined drastically. Eventually, international outrage forced Leopold to turn over his personal colony to the Belgian government. It became the Belgian Congo in 1908. Under Belgian rule, the worst abuses were ended. Still, the Belgians regarded the Congo as a possession to be exploited. Africans were given little or no role in the government, and the wealth of their mines went out of the country to Europe.
France took a giant share of Africa. In the 1830s, it had invaded and conquered Algeria in North Africa. The victory cost tens of thousands of French lives and killed many times more Algerians. In the late 1800s, France lives and killed many times more Mediterranean into Tunisia. It also won colonies in West and Central Africa. At its height, the French empire in Africa was as large as the continental United States.
Britain's share of Africa was more scattered than that of France. However, it included more heavily, populated regions with many rich resources. It gained control of Egypt and pushed south into the Sudan. In southern Africa, Britain clashed with the Boers, who were descendants of the Dutch settlers.The discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer lands led to conflict with Britain. The Boer War, which lasted from 1899 to 1902, involved bitter guerrilla fighting. The British won in the end, but at great cost. In the 1910, the British united the Cape Colony and the former Boer republics into the Union of South Africa. The new constitution set up a government run by whites and laid the foundation for a system of complete racial segregation that would remain in force until 1993. Other European powers join the scramble for colonies, in part to bolster their national image, while also furthering their economic growth and influence. The Portuguese carved out large colonies in Angola and Mozambique. Italy reached across the Mediterranean to occupy Libya and then pushed into the "horn" of Africa, at the southern end of the Red Sea. The newly united German empire took lands in eastern and southwestern Africa.
The Effects of Colonialism are that many different countries now eat different types of food, speak different lanugages depending on the different colonial powers, and they are more split apart because the colonial powers tried so hard to split them up so they wouldn't all revolt against them but then again it was bound to happen.
Life in Africa
This is an article from Paul du Chaillu about his travels in Africa:
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1870chaillu-africa.asp
In this article, du Chaillu describes the gorgeous landscapes and animals, his meetings with tribal people and chiefs, and the effects colonization had on the tribes he encountered.
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1870chaillu-africa.asp
In this article, du Chaillu describes the gorgeous landscapes and animals, his meetings with tribal people and chiefs, and the effects colonization had on the tribes he encountered.
Brief overview of Africa that took place via colonialism and the so-called Scramble For Africa.