Unit 4 - Africa Slave Trade, Imperialism, Africa Post WWII:
Chapter 20, (Section 3), Chapter 27 (Sections 1-2), Chapter 34 (Section 3), Chapter 35 (Section 2)
Unit 1: Essential Questions
1. How was slavery in the Americas different from slavery in Africa?
Slavery had existed for many centuries and its history can be traced back to about 10,000 years ago. However, early slavery in African countries such as Egypt differed vastly from slavery in the Americas, starting out from the fact that earlier slavery was not necessarily based on race, whereas the slavery that developed in the Americas was based on the presumption of many Europeans that black people were naturally inferior. Because of this slavery was hereditary, i.e. if your parents were slaves, you would automatically become one too, with no hope of being able to attain your freedom. You can read about these differences on pp. 566 – 570, including the inserts on
p. 567 and p. 569.
If you have time, you should also watch 12 Years a Slave, Amazing Grace, and/or Amistad; all three movies are very informative about the atrocities that took place during these times.
Slavery had existed for many centuries and its history can be traced back to about 10,000 years ago. However, early slavery in African countries such as Egypt differed vastly from slavery in the Americas, starting out from the fact that earlier slavery was not necessarily based on race, whereas the slavery that developed in the Americas was based on the presumption of many Europeans that black people were naturally inferior. Because of this slavery was hereditary, i.e. if your parents were slaves, you would automatically become one too, with no hope of being able to attain your freedom. You can read about these differences on pp. 566 – 570, including the inserts on
p. 567 and p. 569.
If you have time, you should also watch 12 Years a Slave, Amazing Grace, and/or Amistad; all three movies are very informative about the atrocities that took place during these times.
2. What forces drove the Scramble for Africa and what factors promoted the Imperialism of the continent? What can one infer (conclude) about the European’s attitude toward Africans from this process and the outcome of the Berlin Conference?
The Europeans that went to Africa at first were mostly explorers, missionaries and humanitarians, but economic, political and social factors accelerated the drive to take over land in various places across the world, including the continent of Africa. During the 19th and early 20th century especially, Western powers took over vast regions in Africa with little concern about how this would eventually affect the people in these areas. Read pp. 770 – 776 for relevant information, which should lead you to the realization that the Europeans were extremely arrogant in their approach towards the Africans. Their main motivation was clearly greed, and they had little compassion or respect for the needs of the people living in these regions; in fact, many of them considered black people as inferior to white people!
This attitude was especially evident at the Berlin Conference, which took place in 1884-85 with the sole purpose of dividing Africa amongst the 14 European nations present, with no consideration for how ethnic (culture / traditions) or linguistic (language) groups were distributed. In fact, no African tribal leaders had even been invited to the Berlin Conference, in spite of the fact that their people would be directly affected by the decisions made at the Conference!
The Europeans that went to Africa at first were mostly explorers, missionaries and humanitarians, but economic, political and social factors accelerated the drive to take over land in various places across the world, including the continent of Africa. During the 19th and early 20th century especially, Western powers took over vast regions in Africa with little concern about how this would eventually affect the people in these areas. Read pp. 770 – 776 for relevant information, which should lead you to the realization that the Europeans were extremely arrogant in their approach towards the Africans. Their main motivation was clearly greed, and they had little compassion or respect for the needs of the people living in these regions; in fact, many of them considered black people as inferior to white people!
This attitude was especially evident at the Berlin Conference, which took place in 1884-85 with the sole purpose of dividing Africa amongst the 14 European nations present, with no consideration for how ethnic (culture / traditions) or linguistic (language) groups were distributed. In fact, no African tribal leaders had even been invited to the Berlin Conference, in spite of the fact that their people would be directly affected by the decisions made at the Conference!
3. What conditions were created by combining or splitting groups of people without regard for ethnic or linguistic traditions at the Berlin Conference, and how did this forever change Africans’ lives? Discuss the positives and negatives of colonial rule.
At the time of the Berlin Conference, 80% of Africa remained under traditional or local control, but the ultimate result of the conference was the division of the continent into fifty countries without consideration of culture, language or tradition. The countries were controlled by 14 European nations, each exercising one of four different forms of economic and political control (colony, protectorate, sphere of influence and economic imperialism), which resulted either in direct or indirect control of the regions. This is explained in detail on p. 780. Whether under direct or indirect control, the fact that Africa had been divided without regard of ethnic or linguistic tradition, made it difficult to control the regions as the people living there had different traditions and spoke different languages.
At the time of the Berlin Conference, 80% of Africa remained under traditional or local control, but the ultimate result of the conference was the division of the continent into fifty countries without consideration of culture, language or tradition. The countries were controlled by 14 European nations, each exercising one of four different forms of economic and political control (colony, protectorate, sphere of influence and economic imperialism), which resulted either in direct or indirect control of the regions. This is explained in detail on p. 780. Whether under direct or indirect control, the fact that Africa had been divided without regard of ethnic or linguistic tradition, made it difficult to control the regions as the people living there had different traditions and spoke different languages.
European colonial rule brought some benefits to Africa,
e.g. improved sanitation, the building of schools and hospitals, etc. However,
the negative consequences most likely outweighed the benefits, and ranged from
the loss of culture and traditions to the acquiring of previously unknown
diseases such as smallpox. The legacy of Imperialism is explained in full on p.
784; studying p. 785 will further explain some of
the positive and negative conditions that emerged.
4. Do you think European would have conquered Africa if the Industrial Revolution had never occurred? Explain your answer.
Until the late 1700's, goods were always made by hand in people's hands, but the development of the steam engine and other machinery changed that. Hand-made goods were replaced by goods made in large quantities, and the development of steam-powered trains and ships made the movement of these products faster and cheaper than ever before. The Industrial Revolution also made it possible for Western powers to develop very modern, sophisticated weapons such as guns, cannons and even warships, making it impossible for African nations to defend themselves against the western nations with their hand held weapons like spears.
It goes without saying then that these new technologies, referred to collectively as the Industrial Revolution, would change how people lived , AND eventually determine who would rule the world. The Industrial Revolution had positive and negative consequences – people could enjoy a higher standard of living, for example, but the factories put many craftspeople out of work too. The factories required large numbers of workers, so people migrated towards the cities where they worked long hours for low wages, and lived in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Child labor during this time was one of the worst consequences of these developments! You can read more about the Industrial Revolution in your textbook, Chapter 25, Section 1, pp. 714 – 722, and more about child labor in Section 2, pp. 723 – 728, even though this section is strictly speaking not part of our curriculum for this trimester.
All of this is background knowledge to understanding how the Industrial Revolution eventually affected other countries, including Africa. Industrialization led to the search for more raw products to use for manufacturing, and once the goods were made, the manufacturers needed a place to sell their wares, so of course industrialized countries started looking elsewhere and cast their eyes towards Africa and Asia. Before the Industrial Revolution,Western nations did business with Africa and Asia within existing trade and political networks, but after the Industrial Revolution they used their superior weapons and iron warships to conquer lands in Africa and Asia. Furthermore, imperialism was encouraged by nationalism – defined as a sense of pride in the power of one's own country; European countries wanted to increase their power and pride by adding new colonies. They justified their conquests by claiming that they were doing the “backward” people of Africa a favor by bringing them the “advancements” of Western civilization, and supported these claims with racist attitudes like Darwinism. To give you an idea of the extent of their power and influence, consider that by 1800 Western powers controlled 35% of the world's surface, but by 1914 they controlled 84% physically, economically and politically. Understanding all the factors at play, you should now be able to answer the essential question, “Do you think European would have conquered Africa if the Industrial Revolution had never occurred?”, and provide an explanation for your viewpoint.
Until the late 1700's, goods were always made by hand in people's hands, but the development of the steam engine and other machinery changed that. Hand-made goods were replaced by goods made in large quantities, and the development of steam-powered trains and ships made the movement of these products faster and cheaper than ever before. The Industrial Revolution also made it possible for Western powers to develop very modern, sophisticated weapons such as guns, cannons and even warships, making it impossible for African nations to defend themselves against the western nations with their hand held weapons like spears.
It goes without saying then that these new technologies, referred to collectively as the Industrial Revolution, would change how people lived , AND eventually determine who would rule the world. The Industrial Revolution had positive and negative consequences – people could enjoy a higher standard of living, for example, but the factories put many craftspeople out of work too. The factories required large numbers of workers, so people migrated towards the cities where they worked long hours for low wages, and lived in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Child labor during this time was one of the worst consequences of these developments! You can read more about the Industrial Revolution in your textbook, Chapter 25, Section 1, pp. 714 – 722, and more about child labor in Section 2, pp. 723 – 728, even though this section is strictly speaking not part of our curriculum for this trimester.
All of this is background knowledge to understanding how the Industrial Revolution eventually affected other countries, including Africa. Industrialization led to the search for more raw products to use for manufacturing, and once the goods were made, the manufacturers needed a place to sell their wares, so of course industrialized countries started looking elsewhere and cast their eyes towards Africa and Asia. Before the Industrial Revolution,Western nations did business with Africa and Asia within existing trade and political networks, but after the Industrial Revolution they used their superior weapons and iron warships to conquer lands in Africa and Asia. Furthermore, imperialism was encouraged by nationalism – defined as a sense of pride in the power of one's own country; European countries wanted to increase their power and pride by adding new colonies. They justified their conquests by claiming that they were doing the “backward” people of Africa a favor by bringing them the “advancements” of Western civilization, and supported these claims with racist attitudes like Darwinism. To give you an idea of the extent of their power and influence, consider that by 1800 Western powers controlled 35% of the world's surface, but by 1914 they controlled 84% physically, economically and politically. Understanding all the factors at play, you should now be able to answer the essential question, “Do you think European would have conquered Africa if the Industrial Revolution had never occurred?”, and provide an explanation for your viewpoint.
5. What factors (both African and European) contributed to the independence movement in post WWII Africa? Compare and contrast two nations of Africa and their struggle for freedom/independence.
After World War II ended, many African and Asian countries were ready to shake off the control of Western powers. In Africa this movement actually started before World War II as Africans started to express pride in their black history and celebrate their own culture, values and legacies. When World War II erupted, many Africans fought side-by-side with Europeans to defend their freedom, and became reluctant to return to colonialism after returning from the war. Many Europeans also started questioning the cost and the morality of maintaining colonies overseas, contributing to the factors making the search for independence more viable. You can read about this move to independence on pp. 1012 – 1013.
Becoming independent from the colonial powers was not an easy task. The transfer of power meant that Africans had economic control over their own resources, but this did not mean that these resources were well managed, and takeover led to authoritarian rule and dictatorships in many of these countries. To complete this essential question you need to choose two nations of Africa that became independent, and compare and contrast them with regard to various issues such as previous government (direct or indirect), whether the takeover was peaceful or not, political, economic and social changes that resulted, difficulties experienced, and so on. Study pp. 1012 – 1017, and choose from countries such as Algeria, Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Zaire, etc.
After World War II ended, many African and Asian countries were ready to shake off the control of Western powers. In Africa this movement actually started before World War II as Africans started to express pride in their black history and celebrate their own culture, values and legacies. When World War II erupted, many Africans fought side-by-side with Europeans to defend their freedom, and became reluctant to return to colonialism after returning from the war. Many Europeans also started questioning the cost and the morality of maintaining colonies overseas, contributing to the factors making the search for independence more viable. You can read about this move to independence on pp. 1012 – 1013.
Becoming independent from the colonial powers was not an easy task. The transfer of power meant that Africans had economic control over their own resources, but this did not mean that these resources were well managed, and takeover led to authoritarian rule and dictatorships in many of these countries. To complete this essential question you need to choose two nations of Africa that became independent, and compare and contrast them with regard to various issues such as previous government (direct or indirect), whether the takeover was peaceful or not, political, economic and social changes that resulted, difficulties experienced, and so on. Study pp. 1012 – 1017, and choose from countries such as Algeria, Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Zaire, etc.
Unit 4: Vocabulary
PowerPoint Presentations for Unit 4:
Atlantic Slave Trade (Chapter 20, Section 3)
Imperialism (Selected Chapters)
Atlantic Slave Trade (Chapter 20, Section 3)
Imperialism (Selected Chapters)