Imperialism in Africa Mini-Q What Was the Driving Force

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Imperialism in Africa Mini-Q

What Was the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism

in Africa?

Overview: For the 300 years between 1500 and 1800, European nations traded for slaves, gold, and

ivory along the west coast of Africa, but they did not go deeply into the continent. In the 1800s this

changed as European explorers pushed their way into the interiors of western and central Africa. By

the 1880s Africa was under full assault as European nations competed with one another for control of the continent. This Mini-Q takes a look at this quest for colonies and asks what was the primary driv

ing force behind it.

The Documents:

Document A: Partition of Africa (map)

Document B: National Pride

Document C: Technology and Imperialism (chart)

Document D: African Colonies and Their Exports (chart)

Document E: Imports and Exp01ts (graph)

Document F: Rudyard Kipling (poem)

A Mini Document Based Question (Mini-Q)

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Hook Exercise: Is Imperialism Ever Justified?

Directions: Imperialism is an action by a strong nation to take control of another country. For

example, the United States was practicing imperialism when it took control of the Philippines in

1899. Throughout history, nations have turned to imperialism for a variety of reasons. Below are five

different scenarios, each presenting a different reason for taking control of a country. Next to each

scenario check whether imperialistic action is always justified, sometimes justified, or never justified.

In each case, provide your rationale, that is, the reasons behind your thinking.

Scenario

1. National security: The col-

onized island country bas

deepwater ports for refuel-

ing the mother country's

navy and merchant marine.

It also has an airfield.

2. National economy and

energy independence: The

colonized country has

much needed oil reserves.

3. Moral duty: The colonized

country has a poor, un-

educated population that

needs roads, schools, and

hospitals.

4. Establishing religious

freedom: The colonized

country is ruled by a brutal

theocracy. Christians,

Muslims, Hindus, and

Jews are denied freedom

of worship upon pain of

death.

5. Establishing political

freedom: The colonized

country is run by a tyrant

who denies free elections

and imprisons all critics.

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Always

Justified

D

D

D

D

D

Sometimes

Justified

D

D

D

D

D

Never

Justified

D

D

D

D

D

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Rationale

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Background Essay Imperialism in Africa Mini-Q

What Was the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism in Africa?

Before the 19th century, Europeans knew

very little about the interior of Africa. Between

1500 and 1800, European presence in Africa was

mostly about buying and selling slaves from local

chiefs. Slave ships would arrive, trade their pots,

cloth and guns for West African slaves, then set

sail for the Americas. These ships anchored off the

African coastline and their crews seldom left the

ship because of the risk of catching malaria or

other tropical diseases. Europeans were so

vulnerable to these diseases that the west coast of

Africa, from the Senegal River to Angola, became

known as "the white man's

grave."

In 1807, the British out

lawed the trans-Atlantic slave

trade and in 1833, slavery

itself. With the end of slavery,

European interests in the con

tinent shifted to imperialism

and seizing colonies. Serious

exploration began. Scotsman

Mungo Park gave his life in

1806 while investigating the

Niger River region in

West Africa. In 1840 David

Livingston began more than

thirty years in the interior of

central Africa. Whereas maps

of Africa drawn in 1800 had left great holes in the

continent's center, by 1850 some of the blanks

were filling in. Still, as late as 1870 only 10% of

Africa was under European control, and most of

that was along the edges - French Algeria, British

Sierra Leone, Portuguese Angola.

King Leopold of Belgium broke this pattern.

In the early 1880s he acquired a private "country"

of 900,000 square miles in central Africa.

Leopold called his estate Congo Free State.

Leopold's Congo was 95 times the size of

Belgium and his purpose was to make money

by taking out ivory and rubber. Over the next

twenty years Leopold's managers proceeded to

kill, through forced labor, horrible mistreatment,

and the introduction of disease, as many as

10,000,000 people. It was not a good beginning

for European imperialism in Africa.

During the same years that Leopold was

buying the Congo, other European leaders were

becoming very aware of two things: First, Africa

was filled with incredible natural resources; sec

ond, a scramble for these riches could lead to war

among the European powers. Otto van Bismarck

of Germany proposed that a conference be held

in Berlin in 1884 and 1885 to divide up Africa

in a reasonable and peaceful manner. No Africans

were invited to attend. At the

conference, the European

nations (all except Switzer

land attended) divided up the

African continent by claim

and by the rule of

occupation. It was not

enough, for example, for

England to claim Nigeria.

England also had to prove

that it had treaty agreements,

buildings, soldiers, and

administrators on the ground

to support their claim. At

Berlin, the European nations

also agreed to certain

principles regarding coloni

zation. These included free trade, the elimination

of slavery, respect for each other's territorial

claims, and improving the "moral and material

well-being" of Africans. They did not, however,

consider the land claims of Africans.

This short background brings us to the ques

tion asked by this Mini-Q. For more than three

centuries Europeans had avoided the Afiican

interior. Now, powers like England, France, and

Germany showed a fresh interest in getting and

holding large pieces of the African continent.

But why this new interest? More specifically, in

the late 19th Century, what was the driving force

behind European imperialism in Africa?

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Background Essay Questions

1. Between 1500 and 1800 what was a main reason Europeans did not enter the interior of Africa?

2. What is the difference between ending the slave trade and ending slavery?

3. What is the connection between a man like Mungo Park and imperialism?

4. What percentage of Africa had been colonized by 1870?

5. What likely explains the poor standing of Leopold II among historians today?

6. When was the Berlin Conference and what did it do?

7. What place were Africans given at the conference table in Berlin?

8. Define the following terms:

malaria

trans-Atlantic slave trade

imperialism

forced labor

rule of occupation

free trade

Timeline

1806 - Mungo Park dies exploring the Niger River.

1807 -Britain abolishes the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

1830 - The French occupy Algeria.

1833 -Britain abolishes slavery.

1869 - The French complete building the Suez Canal in Egypt.

1872 - King Leopold II of Belgium begins to acquire land in the Congo River region.

1884 - The Berlin Conference begins to divide up Africa.

1914 - World War I begins in Europe.

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Understanding the Question and Pre-Bucketing

Understanding the Question

1. What is the question asked by this Mini-Q?

2. What terms in the question need to be defined?

3. Rewrite the question in your own words.

Pre-Bucketing

Directions: Using clues from the Mini-Q question, think of possible analytical categories and label the buckets.

/

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Document A

( Source: Map created from various sources.

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Madeira Is. (Porlug.11),..

Partition of Africa, 1884-85

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

S�oTom/ (Portugal)

European Colonies

O British O French � German � Italian

l2J Portuguese � Belgian • Spanish O Independent African

states

0 300 600 Miles

0 300 600 Kilometers

Document Analysis

1. How many European countries held African colonies by 1914?

I ND IAN

OCEAN

2. Which two European countries were the biggest winners in the race to seize African colonies?

3. Britain had a dream of building a railroad from the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa (i.e. from Cairo

to Cape Town). Which country was in the strongest position to block this from happening?

4. By 1885, what were the only two African countries to remain independent?

5. How could this document be used to explain a driving force behind European imperialism in Africa?

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Document B

Source: John Ruskin, lecture at Oxford University, February 8, 1870.

Note: John Ruskin {1819-1900) was a well regarded English intellectual, author, and speaker whose interests ranged from art critic to social reformer. This talk at Oxford University was delivered to a standing room only crowd. A short excerpt follows.

[Will the] youths of England, make your country again a royal throne of kings; ... for all

the world a source of light, a center of peace? ... (T)his is what [England] must either do

or perish: she must found colonies as fast and as far as she is able, formed of her most

energetic and worthiest men; - seizing every piece of fruitful waste ground she can set her

foot on, and there teaching these her colonists ... that their first aim is to be to advance the

power of England by land and by sea.

Source: Freidrich Fabri, Does Germany Need Colonies? 1879.

Note: Freidrich Fabri (1824-1891) has been called the "father of the German colonial movement." Fabri was impressed by the colonial achievements of the English and wanted Germany to do something of the same. His book was quite well received.

But should not the German nation who is fundamentally so very capable, so seaworthy, so

industrially and commercially minded ... successfully pave the way for this new course?

... It would be wise if we Germans would learn about colonial skills from our Anglo

Saxon [British] cousins and would begin-in a friendly competition-to strive after them.

When the German Reich centuries ago was at the peak of the states in Europe, it was

the Number One trade and sea power. Should the New German Reich wish to prove and

maintain its newly won position of power for a long time, it will have to take up the same

culture-mission and delay no longer to acknowledge its colonial task anew.

Document Analysis

1. What does Ruskin say England must do to again be "a source of light, a center of peace"?

2. What does he say should be the colonists' "first aim"?

3. According to Fabri, what were Germany's strengths when it was "at the peak of the states in

Europe"?

4. Why does Fabri believe that Germany needs to "strive after" colonies?

5. What is the driving force behind European imperialism in Africa, according to these two sources?

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Document C

Source: Information drawn from various sources.

Note: The Industrial Revolution led to many discoveries and inventions that helped Europeans to take over Africa.

Technology and Imperialism

Technological Development

(Date Invented)

Steam engine (1787) first used in boats;

(1804) first used in locomotives

Method of getting quinine from

cinchona tree bark ( 1820)

Electric telegraph ( 1837)

Bessemer process (1855)

Maxim gun ( 1884)

Repeating rifle (late 1800s)

Document Analysis

Use and Significance

A more constant and forceful source of power

than sails on ships or horse-drawn carriages.

Faster form of transportation

Treatment for the disease malaria

Communication over long distances

Quicker and cheaper method of manufacturing

steel, which was lighter and more durable than iron;

used in producing rails, bridges, and tall buildings

First machine gun

A faster-loading gun that was able to fire multiple

shots more accurately than older muskets

1. During which century was most of the technology in this chart invented?

2. Which technological advancement cured a tropical disease? Which of the technological develop

ments gave European armies an advantage over African armies?

3. Which of the inventions do you think would have been the most important for spreading European

influence in Africa?

4. How could this document be used to explain the primary cause of European imperialism in Africa?

5. Was technology a better driving force behind European imperialism in Africa than national com

petition? Explain.

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Document D

Source: Information drawn from various sources.

Selected African Colonies and Their Exports

African Colony Resources Exported Industrial or Economic Use (European Colonizer)

Angola cotton fabrics

(Portugal) palm oil and palm-kernel oil soap and candles; some food products

coffee and sugar food processing

Congo Free State rubber waterproof clothes, tires, electrical insulation

(King Leopold of Belgium) palm oil and palm-kernel oil soap and candles; some food products

ivory handles, piano keys, billiard balls

French West Africa gum cosmetics, drugs, food products

(France) palm oil and palm-kernel oil soap and candles; some food products

cotton fabrics

peanuts, bananas, coffee, cocoa food processing

Rhodesia copper coins, metal alloys, electrical wiring

(Great Britain) zinc metal alloys, rust protection

lead metal alloys, ammunition

coal fuel

South Africa gold banking, national currencies, jewelry

(Great Britain) diamonds jewelry, industrial cutting tools

Tanganyika sisal rope and twine

(Germany) coffee food processing

rubber waterproof clothes, tires, electrical insulation

:- cotton fabrics ,.

Document Analysis

I. What European industries benefited from African resources?

2. If you owned a textile mill, which colony or colonies would you want your country to rule? Ex

plain.

3. The Age of Imperialism fell right on the coattails of the Industrial Revolution. What is the

connection between the two?

4. How could this document be used to explain a primary cause of European imperialism in Africa?


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Document E

Source: Trevor Owen Lloyd, The British Empire: 1558-1995, 1996.

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Great Britain and South Saharan Africa Imports and Exports, 1854 and 1900

tlj 1mports from Africa

- Exports to Africa

.Q 10 1-----------------

.E

.5

ell

5 1---------------i

Document Analysis

Africa, South of Sahara 1854

Africa, South of Sahara 1900

1. How much money did Great Britain make from exports to South Saharan Africa in 1854? In 1900?

2. Describe the difference between Great Britain's imports from and exports to Africa in 1854 and

1900. Which experienced a higher rate of growth?

3. According to this chart, how was Great Britain benefiting from its African colonies?

4. How could this document be used to explain an important cause of European imperialism in Africa?

5. Were economic factors more of driving force behind European imperialism than national pride?

Than improved technology?

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Document F

Source: Rudyard Kipling, ''The White Man's Burden," 1899.

Take up the White Man's burden

Send forth the best ye breed-

Go bind your sons to exile

To serve your captives' need;

To wait in heavy harness,

On fluttered folk and wild-

Your new-caught, sullen peoples,

Half-devil and half-child ...

Take up the White Man's burden

The savage wars of peace-

Fill full the mouth of Famine

And bid the sickness cease;

And when your goal is nearest

The end for others sought,

Watch sloth and heathen Folly

Bring all your hopes to nought. ..

·-

:1 i, j;

it' .__�,��-�tr�

Document Analysis

1. Who is Kipling talking to when he says, "Send forth the best ye breed"?

2. Who does Kipling mean when he refers to "Your new-caught, sullen peoples,/Half-devil and half

child"?

3. What does Kipling mean when he commands, "Fill full the mouth of Famine I And bid the sickness

cease"?

4. What does the title "The White Man's Burden" mean?

5. How can this document be used to explain a primary cause of European imperialism in Africa?

6. Are cultural attitudes a more important driving force behind European imperialism in Africa than

political, technological, or economic reasons? Explain.

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Bucketing - Getting Ready to Write

Task One: Bucketing

Look over all the documents and organize them into your final buckets. Write labels under each bucket and place the letters of the documents in the buckets where they belong. Remember, your buckets are going to become your body paragraphs. You may want to organize your buckets so that your main driving force or reason is in the last bucket.

Thesis Development and Road Map

On the chickenfoot below, write your thesis and your road map. Your thesis is always an opinion and answers the Mini-Q question. The road map is created from your bucket labels and lists the topic areas you will examine in order to prove your thesis.


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From Thesis to Essay Writing

Mini-Q Essay Outline Guide

Working Title

Paragraph #1

Grabber

Background

Stating the question with key terms defined

Thesis and road map

Paragraph #2

Baby Thesis for bucket one

Evidence: Supporting detail with document citation

Argument: Connecting evidence to the thesis

Paragraph #3

Baby Thesis

Evidence

Argument

Paragraph #4

Baby Thesis

Evidence

Argument

Paragraph #5


Conclusion: "Although" statement followed by restatement of your main idea

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Student Mini-Q Lined Paper

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Student Mini-Q Lined Paper

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Criterion B: Investigating Task-specific Objectives

i. formulate a clear and focused research question and justify its relevance

ii. Formulate and follow an action plan to investigate a research question

iii. use research methods to collect and record appropriate, varied and relevant information

iv. evaluate the research process and results.

1. Student has a clear thesis, and the reasoning for the thesis is explained in the introductory paragraph.

2. Student should show they followed an action plan by having baby theses and the beginning of each supporting paragraph.

3. Student uses 1 in-text citations per paragraph following MLA format.

Level Level descriptor Task-specific clarifications

0

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below.

Paper not submitted

1-2

The student: i. formulates a research question that is clear or focused

and describes its relevance, ii. formulates a limited action plan to investigate a

research question or does not follow a plan, iii. collects and records limited information, not always

consistent with the research question, iv. makes a limited evaluation of the process and results

of the investigation.

1. Student has a little to no thesis, 2. Student should show they followed an action

plan by having baby theses and the beginning of each supporting paragraph.


3-4

The student: i. formulates a research question that is clear and

focused and describes its relevance in detail, ii. formulates and somewhat follows a partial action plan

to investigate a research question, iii. uses a research method(s) to collect and record

mostly relevant information, iv. evaluates some aspects of the process and results of the

investigation.




5-6

The student: i. ,formulates a clear and focused research question and

explains its relevance, ii. formulates and follows a substantial action plan to

investigate a research question, iii. uses research method(s) to collect and record

appropriate relevant information iv. evaluates the process and results of the investigation.




7-8

The student: i. formulates a clear and focused research question and

justifies its relevance, ii. formulates and effectively follows a comprehensive action

plan to investigate a research question, iii. uses research methods to collect and record

appropriate, varied and relevant information, iv. thoroughly evaluates the investigation process and

results.




Common Core State Standards ● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.7 -Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question

(including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2.B - Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/9-10/7/

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/9-10/2/b/

Criterion D: Thinking critically Task-specific Objectives i. Discuss concepts, issues, models, visual representation

and theories

ii. Synthesize information to make valid, well supported arguments

iii. Analyze and evaluate a wide range of sources/data in terms of origin and purpose, examining values and limitations

iv. Interpret different perspectives and their implications.

I. Go into depth giving descriptions and examples for the content.

II. Create a clear argument (thesis) that answers the question & is connected to eachbody paragraph (baby-theses).

III. Use 2 citations per paragraph. IV. Describe each of the citations that are used

in the body paragraph. Level Level descriptor Task-specific clarifications

0

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below.

Paper not submitted

1-2

The student:

i. Analyses concepts, issues, models, visual representation and theories to a limited extent,

ii. Summarizes information to a limited extent to make arguments,

iii. Describes a limited number of sources/data in terms of origin and purpose and recognizes few values and limitation,

iv. Identifies different perspectives and minimal implications.

1. Analyse: Student gives detailed discussions about NO concepts or models in the DBQ.

2. Arguments: No solid argument. 3. Sources: two citations not used in body paragraph 4. Perspectives/Implications: meaning and connection of none of

the quotes provided

3-4

The student:

i. Analyses concepts, issues, models, visual representation and theories,

ii. Summarizes information to make arguments,

iii. Analyses and/or evaluates sources/data in terms of origin and purpose, recognizing some values and limitations,

iv. Interprets different perspectives and some of their implications.

1. Analyse: Student gives detailed discussions about A FEW concepts or models in the DBQ.

2. Arguments: Not all baby-theses are connected to the thesis, BUT there is an argument.

3. Sources: two citations used in some paragraphs 4. Perspectives/Implications: meaning and connection of a few

quotes provided

5-6

The student:

i. Discusses concepts, issues, models, visual representation and theories,

ii. Synthesizes information to make valid arguments,

iii. Effectively analyses and evaluates a range of sources/data in terms of origin and purpose, recognizing values and limitations,

iv. Interprets different perspectives and their implications.

1. Analyse: Student gives detailed discussions about MOST concepts or models in the DBQ.

2. Arguments: All baby-theses are connected to the thesis. 3. Sources:two citations used in most paragraphs 4. Perspectives/Implications: meaning and connection of most

quotes provided

7-8

The student:

i. Completes a detailed discussion of concepts, issues, models, visual representation and theories,

ii. Synthesizes information to make valid, well- supported arguments,

iii. Effectively analyses and evaluates a wide range of sources/data in terms of origin and purpose, recognizing values and limitations,

iv. Thoroughly interprets a range of different perspectives and their implications.

1. Analyse: Student gives detailed discussions about EVERY concept or model in the DBQ.

2. Arguments: All baby-theses are connected to the thesis, granting a solid argument throughout.

3. Sources: two citations used in all body paragraph 4. Perspectives/Implications: meaning and connection of each

quote provided

Common Core State Standards ● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.A -Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that

establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. ● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.9 - Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research