History: The Scramble for Africa and the Ashanti Kingdom

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the political, economic, and social aspects of the Scramble for Africa, the outcomes of the Berlin Conference, and the historical development of the Ashanti Kingdom.

Scramble for Africa

The competitive race and struggle among European powers in the 1800s to divide, control, and exploit the African continent.

Centralized kingdoms

States governed by kings with absolute or near-absolute power, where decisions were made without consulting the subjects, such as in Ancient Egypt.

Decentralized societies

Stateless societies that lacked a powerful, well-defined central government and were instead governed by local leaders.

Berlin Conference

An 1884 meeting of 14 to 15 European representatives, arranged by Otto von Bismarck, to peacefully divide Africa among European nations; no African leaders were invited.

Otto von Bismarck

The Chancellor of Germany who organized the Berlin Conference in 1884 to coordinate the division of Africa.

Ethiopia and Liberia

The only two African territories that remained independent and were not divided into colonies by 1913.

Industrial Revolution

A major driver of colonization as European factories produced more goods than their citizens could buy, creating a need for new markets in Africa.

Raw materials

Resources sought by Europe from Africa to fuel industry, including rubber, cotton, spices, tea, coffee, sugar, and vegetable oils for soap.

Settler communities

Groups of Europeans encouraged to move to Africa to offset overpopulation and social problems like poverty and homelessness caused by the Industrial Revolution.

Missionaries

Individuals who sought to replace traditional African religions with Christianity, viewing it as their duty to bring the 'light of the Gospel' to the continent.

Cecil John Rhodes

A prominent imperialist and rykbouer (empire builder) associated with the colonization of Rhodesia, which is modern-day Zimbabwe.

Steam engine

A technological advancement of the Industrial Revolution that allowed for better transport via railways and steamboats, speeding up the colonization process.

Cash crops

Commercial crops that replaced traditional African subsistence farming and ways of life during the colonial period.

Asante

A name meaning 'as a result of war,' given to the kingdom formed to fight against the Denkyira kingdom.

Osei Tutu

The first Ashanti king who united the various Akan states at the end of the 1600s.

Fante

A coastal group that acted as intermediaries in trade between the Ashanti and European merchants.

Elmina

A coastal fort, meaning 'the mine,' where the Portuguese established a settlement to trade gold and eventually conduct the transatlantic slave trade.

Kumasi

The capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, described by traveler Thomas Bowditch in 1817 as clean, well-organized, and beautiful.

Golden Stool

A sacred object representing the soul, national identity, and unity of the Ashanti people; it was so holy that no one was permitted to sit on it.

Kente-cloth

Traditional, brightly colored woven fabric produced by the Ashanti people.