Africa and Colonialism

Satellite Picture of Africa

Words to know

• Colonialism: ruling other countries and keeping them dependent on the ruling country.

• Imperialism: one country extending its control over another country

• Imperialism=Colonialism…basically they are the same thing

African Resources

• Africa has MANY natural resources– Gold– Cobalt– Chromium– Phosphates– Diamonds– copper

African Gov’t before Europeans

• Most African communities (not countries) were stateless societies

• Stateless Society: when people rely on family lineage to govern themselves rather than elect someone or have a monarch

• Basically….tribal elders made decisions

Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

• In the 19th Century Colonialism starts to begin– Europe’s industrialized nations become

interested in Africa’s Resources– Europeans didn’t want to fight over the

resources, so they held the Berlin conference

Berlin Conference

• Berlin Conference (1884-1885): 14 European nations gathered to establish and discuss political control over Africa because they did not want to fight over it

Berlin Conference

Berlin Conference

• VERY IMPORTANT: European Nations divided Africa without any regard to where African ethnic or linguistic groups lived– Turn to page 469– Turn to page 322

• When they set boundaries, they combined ethnic groups together that had always been enemies

Berlin Conference

– This causes Civil War throughout Africa after the colonial powers (Europeans) leave in the 1960s

King Leopold II

• King Leopold II: Belgian king who opened up the African interior to European trade along the Congo River

• By 1884, he controlled the area known as the Congo Free State

• He used forced labor (slavery) to gather rubber, palm oil, ivory and other resources

King Leopold II

The Belgian Congo King Leopold II

European Control over Africa (Colonial Era)

• Late 1800s-1960s

• European gov’ts break down the old system of stateless societies and set up centralized gov’ts

• The Europeans profit greatly from Africa’s resources

The Independence Era (1960s-Present)

• Many African Nations gain independence in the 1960s

• Since the Europeans did not pay attention to ethnic boundaries when they divided Africa, each “country” was very diverse and had many problems with civil conflict– See Berlin Conference

The Independence Era

• Economics– Africas economies are still recovering from

colonialism• Loss of resources• Disruption of political systems • Cultural and ethnic oppression of people

– They have very poor Infrastructure

The Independence Era

Infrastructure

But there ARE modern parts of Africa

All the lights are Cities!

COLONIALISM AND AFRICA

• European Colonialism in Africa during the late 1800s-1960s has left the continent struggling for economic, political and social stability throughout the entire continent