Chapter 6: Scramble for Africa & European settlement

Ethnocentrism

A way of thinking that centres on the belief that one's own race and culture is superior to all others.

Eurocentrism

A form of ethnocentrism that uses European ethnic, national, religious and linguistic criteria to judge other peoples and their cultures.

Motives of European Colonization of Africa (think triangle trade)

Until the 19th century, Britain and the other European powers confined their imperial ambitions in Africa to the odd coastal outpost from which they could exert their economic and military influence to ensure dominance in the very lucrative business of transporting slaves to the New World.

African Trade (15th - 17th century)

By the time the transportation of slaves became illegal in North America and the British Empire in 1807, European ships had taken more than 11 million people into slavery from the coast of Africa.

Scramble for Africa

By the mid-1880s, a number of European imperial powers were salivating over the prospect of expanding their empires further into the heart of 'The Dark Continent'.

The Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, convened by Otto von Bismarck to discuss the future of Africa, had the stamping out slavery high on the agenda.

Berlin Act of 1885

Signed by the 13 European powers attending the conference, it included a resolution to 'help in suppressing slavery'.

King Leopold II

The scramble for Africa was in part sparked by the actions of King Leopold II of Belgium, who, in the mid-1880s, laid claim to a vast territory in equatorial Africa. DROC.

Abuses in the Congo

King Leopold's agents in the Democratic Republic of Congo used forced labour (slaves in all but name) to extract rubber, his single most profitable export.

European Motives for Colonization

Included industrial revolution, source for raw materials, markets for finished goods, European nationalism, missionary activity, military & naval bases, places to dump unwanted/excess population, social & economic opportunities, humanitarian reasons, European racism, 'White Man's Burden', and social Darwinism.

Social Darwinism

A belief that applies the concept of 'survival of the fittest' to human societies, often used to justify imperialism and racism.

White Man's Burden

A phrase used to justify imperialism, suggesting that it was the duty of white Europeans to civilize non-European peoples.

Economic Objectives in Imperialism

The strategic and economic goals of colonial powers, such as protecting old markets and exploiting new ones.

Slave Transportation

The act of taking individuals into slavery, which was a significant part of European trade with Africa until it was made illegal in 1807.

Cape Colony

A territory in modern South Africa held by Britain during the period of colonization.

Wild Rubber Quota

A monthly requirement imposed on forced labourers to collect a specific amount of wild rubber from the rain forest.

Rubber Traffic

The trade of rubber that was associated with severe human rights abuses and the deaths of many individuals in the Congo.

Noble Enterprise

A term used by supporters of imperialism to describe the justification for colonizing other nations under the disguise of civilizing them.