The Partition of Africa

1. Africa is a continent of great diversity � of the approximately 6,000 languages in the world, around 1,900 are in Africa The Partition of Africa

2. For centuries, Europeans only knew Africa for its coast � Gold Coast, Ivory Coast, Slave Coast Already talked about why the continent was not explored earlier (tse-tse fly & mosquito, limits of European sail design, escarpments, Sahara) By mid-1800s, native people were primarily agricultural or pastoral

5. Belgian Congo was one of the more brutal examples of colonialism �The baskets of severed hands, set down at the feet of the European post commanders, became the symbol of the Congo Free State. ... The collection of hands became an end in itself. Force Publique soldiers brought them to the stations in place of rubber; they even went out to harvest them instead of rubber ...... They became a sort of currency. They came to be used to make up for shortfalls in rubber quotas, to replace ... the people who were demanded for the forced labour gangs; and the Force Publique soldiers were paid their bonuses on the basis of how many hands they collected.� � Historian Peter Forbath

8. North Africa Egypt Was dominated by the Ottoman Empire during the 1500s Gained independence when Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 -- civil war broke out Mohammed Ali got control in 1805 Was a harsh leader Encouraged modernization Encouraged �cash crops� Debt

9. Suez Canal brought foreign intervention to Egypt, as it became important to British trade with India When Egyptian finances reached new low in 1882, and were threatened by �Urabi Pasha, Britain invaded Under Britain, paid off debt and built Aswan Dam on the Nile Helped food production, but Britain failed to build up industries or provide education

10. The Fashoda Incident British occupation of Egypt led to a conflict with France Britain felt it had to control to source of the Nile to keep Egypt and the Suez Canal safe Britain attempted to occupy the Sudan

11. Mahdists Britain ended up in a 16-year war with a group called the �Mahdists� Leader was a Muslim faquir (holy man) named Muhammad Ahmad ibn as Sayyid Abd Allah � gave himself the name �Mahdi� or �expected one� Wanted to expel foreigners and establish religious state Captured Khartoum and killed the British General (Charles Gordon)

12. Fashoda Incident (cont.) When France attempted to control the Upper Nile, Britain decided to act decisively A joint British and Egyptian force occupied the Sudan in 1898 in bloody battle with Mahdists (Mahdi had died from typhus) Met the French at town of Fashoda � almost went to war France backed down because of the Dreyfus Affair Importance: showed that imperial competition could lead to war between European powers

13. History of South Africa

15. First European Settlement in Southern Africa First settlers were people working for Dutch East Indian Company � arrived in 1652 Set up present-day city of Cape Town as a trading base Had slavery Soon let employees go into interior to set up farms: became known as Boers, which means �farmers� Started offering free land, and Dutch, French, and German settlers came Became Cape Colony Khoikhoi and San wiped out by smallpox

16. British Rule 1795, France conquered Netherlands and British took Cape English made official language in 1828, abolished slavery throughout empire in 1834 This was intolerable to the Boers �And yet it is not their [the slaves�] freedom that drives us to such lengths, as their being placed on an equal footing with Christians, contrary to the laws of God and the natural distinction of race and religion, so that it was intolerable for any decent Christian to bow down beneath such a yoke; wherefore we rather withdrew in order to preserve our doctrines in purity� � Piet Retief�s sister ( a voortrekker)

18. The Zulu Boers came into contact with Zulu Had migrated from North � Bantu-speaking people and conquered vast lands under great leader Shaka Zulu, who had driven the native peoples of Natal south

19. Shaka was dead by 1838 � replaced by Dingane Dingane signed a treaty with the Boers that would have ceded land, but he knew he had been duped � he killed the signing party Boers tried to get revenge, and lost to Zulu again Then, in November of 1838, led a commando unit into Dingane�s territory � as battle approached, promised that if God gave them a victory, they would keep in forever as a day of Thanksgiving

20. Battle of Blood River On December 15th, Zulus attack Were 10,000 Zulu and 464 Boers and slaves 3,000 Zulu killed and only three wounded for the Boers Kept as �Day of the Vow� (now �Reconciliation Day�) � focal point of Afrikaner calendar Took another 40 years to defeat the Zulu

21. Zulu defeated British at several battles, including Isandhlwana in January of 1879

22. Afrikaner Republics and the Anglo-Boer Wars In their isolation, the two Boer republics that were formed (Transvaal and Orange Free State) lost all contact with their Dutch origins � developed own language (Afrikaans) Enlightenment passed them by and so did the Industrial Revolution Afrikaners also settled in Natal Britain annexed Natal in 1843 � seemed like wherever Boers went, British were one step behind them 1870: Found diamonds in Transvaal 1877: British annex Transvaal 1880: First Anglo-Boer War � Boers win in 1881

23. 1886: gold discovered near present-day city of Johannesburg � �uitlanders� [foreigners], many of whom are British, flock to gold fields seeking their fortune 1895: uitlanders make up half the white population of Transvaal Given no political rights Cecil Rhodes (Prime Minister of Cape Colony) wants to control the gold, but also has a dream of linking British colonies from north to south across Africa: �from Cape to Cairo�

24. December 1895: Jameson Raid � sent force under Leander Starr Jameson to invade Transvaal in hopes that uitlanders would rise up in revolt against the Boers Jameson was captured and Rhodes forced to resign 1899: Boers demand that all British troops being sent to South Africa be sent back, or it would be seen as a formal declaration of war Boers made mistake of appearing the aggressor (just what Britain wanted) Britain refuses and Tranvaal and Orange Free State declare war 1899-1902: Second Anglo-Boer War

25. 2nd Anglo-Boer War British commander Lord Horatio Kitchener began a �scorched earth policy� � burned 30,000 Boer farmhouses and partial or complete destruction of 40 towns Also set up �Concentration Camps� � 60,000 women and children interned 26,370 women and children died (81% were children)

26. In 1910, four colonies of South Africa formed the �Union of South Africa� Country�s constitution gave whites almost complete power Eventually led to establishment of Apartheid in 1948