BRITISH EXPANSION IN AFRICA Flashcards
from 1857-1914, including chartered companies
economic motives for british expansion in west africa
- in 1887, Johnston attempted to settle with JaJa of Opobo to convince him to stop taxing the British on palm oil + sell through empire - he was extradited in 1888 to St Vincent due to his refusal
- 50% of Nigerian revenue was given back to the British government - opportunity for profit to create a European stronghold
- Goldie signed 450 treaties with local palm oil production companies to make significant margins on palm oil products and force them to only trade with the National African Company, or through their merchants to decrease competition
- Goldie purchased all of the African Association’s assets to decrease competition and create an area of sole British influence in 1893 - monopolisation over African industry
- limit competition with liverpool merchants and oil river protectorate
- Goldie establishes 30 trading posts across the Niger river - importance of diverse trade and maximising profits
- in 1900, when the company was sold to the royals for 850,000 pounds - idea of being too valuable to lose money
- Goldie buys Liverpool Merchant companies to prevent competition and monopolise British interests
economic motives for British expansion in East Africa
- Kenya was viewed as an economic revolution by the Leeds Merarry in 1885
- 2 million acres of land were occupied for white farmers in the Equator Ranch under Delamere to maximise profits and exploitation of the land
- Eliot and Lord Delamre requested to have control of 100,000 acres of land to maximise profits and the production of wheat, which forced the migration of the Maasai
- a railway was formed in Mombassa, in which the British were willing to pay 2.8 million pounds and gain 60,000 pounds a year by 1903
- British introduction of the hut tax and the wife tax - idea of indirect taxation which will fuel economic prosperity
- 23,000 Indian workers were sent to Kenya to work to create a sense of British dominance over the economy
- by 1891, the IBEAC was verging on bankruptcy, they were desperate to expand into Uganda in 1894 and Kenya under the violation of the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty
economic motives for British expansion in North Africa
- British invest 4 million pounds into the Suez Canal due to its potential to fuel economic growth in 1858 - greater control over shipping
- 40% of Egyptian imports were British - consolidate their economic relationship
- 50% of Egyptian revenue went to British bondholders - want to secure more of their revenue in their rich cotton supplies
- 70 million debt of Ismail in Egypt - Britain have an opportunity to reform Egyptian finances and seize the cotton industry
- exports of cotton and sugar tripled with the British presence - the Aswan Dam which irrigated over 500,000 acres allowed for the year round growth of cotton
- British become involved in the Caisse De La Dette in 1906
- 93% of the Egyptian economy was for cotton - would help British industrialisation during American Civil War - access to cotton market
economic motives for British expansion in South Africa
1867 - diamonds are discovered in the Orange River, South Africa would later supply 25% of gold worldwide
- the British invested 74 million pounds into gold mining
- British trade with South Africa doubled after the Second Boer War
1886 - Rhodes founds gold and diamond mines, as there is competition Dutch miners in the Kimberly area
1888 - De Beers mining company was consolidated - the population of Kimberly exponentially increases from 50,000 to another 50,000 in 5 years
- British form the Diamond Syndicate membership with Rhodes in 1890 - partnerships established in London to consolidate trading prosperity
- British South Africa company was formed in 1881
strategic motives for British expansion in West Africa
- Goldie used 20 gunboats to seize the Niger River from the French - strategic interest in establishing sole control in the Niger River
- Goldie signed 450 treaties in the Niger River to maximise and gain river control
strategic motives for British expansion in North Africa
- occupation of the Suez Canal would decrease the route to India by 6000 miles to suppress Russian expansion and Indian nationalism
- Fashoda Incident and Battle of Omdurman - justifies the British presence in Egypt, but also, Egypt was controlling Sudan - double gain of territory
- creation of the Cape to Cairo railway going through key British colonies - easy access to all colonies
- remove Muhammad Ali as a key threat, and assert Tewfiq as the Egyptian leader
- British presence would allow a level of trust to be reached between the Egyptian and British government
strategic motives for British expansion in East Africa
- 1858 - Disraeli invests 4 million into the Suez Canal, which would decrease the route to India by 6000 miles
- Fashoda Incident and Battle of Omdurman are examples of the British using violence to protect the upper, white Nile - killed 11,000 in 1898
- Creation of the Cape to Cairo railway - more effective transport between colonies - effective movement of products
- 1890 railway which was 600 miles long from Kenya to Uganda (Mombassa to Busia)
- 1903 - a railway is created from Mombassa to the Indian Ocean shores - idea of easy communication to India
strategic motives for British expansion in South Africa
- 1888 - British annex Bechuanaland and Bastuoland which would mean that 3/4 sides of the Transvaal were protected from German expansion in the West, to create a buffer zone
- Battle of Majuba Hill in 1882 was triggered by a British desire to unite the Cape Colony and Natal with the Transvaal
- British wanted to conquest the Zulu Kingdom in the Battle of Rorke’s drift in 1879 to establish majority British control against the Boers
- British established a naval base at Simonstown which would fuel boats and trading to establish British military dominance in South Africa
- British wanted to establish the Fort Sailsbury railway which would go from the Cape to Bechuanaland
imperial rivalry being the motive for British expansion in North Africa
1898 - Fashoda incident to seize French land and control the source of the Nile (ie the White Nile) to prevent a French alliance with Sudan under Marchand (led by Kitchner)
- 1500 soliders killed in this event
1868 - Disraeli invests 4 million pounds of shares in the Suez Canal to create a sole British sphere of influence and limit French influence
1898 - battle of Omdurman which killed 11,000 soliders
1904 - British and French soliders sign the Entente Cordiale which allows French to respect British rights in Egypt, for exchange of the British accepting French influence in Morocco - sole influence / carve out
imperial rivalry being the motive for British expansion in East Africa
- Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, in which the agreement that Peters had with Mwanga became null and void - British intergect and prevent foreign alliances being made between local tribes and their rivals by seizing Uganda and Zanzibar from Peters in 1894
- immense competition between the British and Germans after the Anglo-Zanzibar war in 1896 - Germans protect the old Khalid
- 1888 IBEAC established - treaty signed with germans that zanzibar was british
imperial rivalry being the motive for British expansion in South Africa
1899-1902 - Second Boer War, led by Milner an Chamberlain against Kruger due to German relations with the Boers - the British were willing to invest 450,000 troops, cost 230 million and ignore the advice of the cabinet to limit German influence
British occupy Bechuanaland in 1888, which would cover 3/4 sides of the Transvaal and limit German westward expansion - willing to invest 700,000 pounds into doing this
Rhodes makes treaties in Damaraland and Narmara to prevent the Germans forming alliances with local tribes
1896 Jameson Raid - attempt for the British to stage an uprising, which would encourage Uitlanders to rise with the British, forcing Kruger and the Germans to recognise their weaknesses and leave South Africa
imperial rivalry being the motive for British expansion in West Africa
1897 - Lugard establishes the WAAF force - a paramilitary force to limit French military threats
1879 - the Royal Niger Company is established to create a sole British sphere of influence
- goldie seizes the niger river with 20 gunboats - constant french and german threats
- establishment of the General Acts from the Berlin Conference of 1884 + 1885 and Brussels conference in 1876 which stated that when land was taken, the coloniser must make it clear that they have seized this land in the Congo River Basin
1889 - Akassa Uprising - the Kirk Plan was implemented to make the nation isolated and immune to foreign political influence
- the kirk plan - the rnc would become administrative, because this would consolidate british control in the region, beyond non legally binding treaties and local agreements - would ensure french and germans cannot enter, because the british are legally there
- King Jaja of Opobo was extradited to St Vincent in 1888 due to his receptive nature to other countries purchasing palm oil - British want to limit the presence of foreign nations to establish dominance
3. Battle of Sokoto in 1903 within Nigeria to prevent increasing French influence
civilising motive being the motive for British expansion in North Africa
- Battle of Omdurman and Fashoda in 1898 were to compensate for the death of General Gordon by Sudanese peoples’ - act of vengance
- British used the defeat of the Italians at Adowa in 1896 to uphold European civilising values
- British take part in 33 expeditions to convince Sudanese individuals after Fashoda and Omdurman to accept British order and adopt British values
- Denshawai Massacre of 1906 - the British force their local customs onto locals
- Livingstone makes a speech in 1857 at the Cambridge Union claiming that the civilising mission is the key motivation for Empire OR Stanley supporting a civilising mission in “through the dark continent”
- Livingstone condemns the massacre at Nyangwe after the slaughter of many Arabs
- Establishment of a University in Egypt in 1909 and 1906 - idea of providing prosperity in Egypt, and creation of the Egyptian Advisory Council in 1911 - later in 1913 followed by the Legislative Assembly with over 66 elected members being established
- British allow Pasha to become the Minister for Education
- establishment of the Aswan Dam for 2 million pounds, which irrigated over 500,000 aces of land, and was over a mile long
- Britain created mixed courts in Egypt to promote a more thorough judicial system
- Britain felt the need to intergect in Egypt against Arabi, by justifying it claiming that Egypt was on the verge of anarchy, xenophobia - 31,000 troops
civilising motive being the motive for British expansion in South Africa
- British expand into Xhosa tribe areas after the 1857 incident, in which the Xhosa tribe killed cattle to remove imperialists
- Formation of the Rhodes Scholarship Education Programme
- Declared self-government in 1906 and 1907 - British are still overlooking the situation in South Africa
- 1850’s - George Grey annexes local tribes to teach foreign British ideas
- Rhodes using his platform and De Beers mining company to claim that it is an honour to be British - confession from his book of faith
civilising mission being the motive for british expansion in east africa
- the East African Scottish Mission was launched, the British settled in Kibwezi, but it was decided there were not enough people so they migrated to more populous areas
- Queen Victoria claiming that an “empire without religion is like building a house on sand”
- the British solved disputes between the Maasai and Kikuyu tribes
- British saved 300 Maasai from the incident at Fort Smith in 1893
- British construct the McKinnon-Scalter Road in 1890, which was 600 miles from Mombassa to Busia
- East African Kikuyu Mission - converted 17 pastors into teaching christianity with the Tumutumuk Kirk session
- grey makes a speech in uganda in 1894, which claimed that if Britain had not taken Uganda, the slave trade would have returned
- Livingstone is the first non-African to see Lake Nyasa in 1859
- Livingstone publishes Missionary Travels in 1857
civilising motive being the motive for British expansion in West Africa
- Lugard gives a speech in Nigeria, regarding those under the empire was inferior and animals, claiming they “lack the power of organisation”
- Lugard used 700 African Soliders to take over from the Fulani Emirates - civilising them to ideas of rebellion, because they were promoting a slave market in Kano
- when Lugard stopped invading Sokoto after 1903, it was agreed that slavery would be banned
- Clause 10 of the British Charter claims that there is no interference of religion, only that the British promise to implement policies which will ‘teach’ those it ruled
- British condemned Stanley being associated with Tippu Tib
- British do not support the explorations of Stanley due to Leopold wanting to kill the opposition
how did britain not civilise african territories
- introduction of the rhino whip as a method of physical pain and torment against kenyans
- displaced the Maasai tribe from their local lands, in order to create the equator ranch
- use of concentration camps in the second boer war, in which over 115,000 people were killed
- in 1857, Livingstone resigned from the London Missionary Society - less emphasis on a civilising mission
outline the process of British interference in Egypt
- the british supported the ottoman empire in ensuring that ali did not detach Egypt from the Ottoman Empire
- Lesseps obtains a concession from Egypt, promising to create a company for international shipping in the canal
- isma’il comes to power in 1863 + british want egyptian cotton exports (chance for new relations)
- 1875 = disraeli invests in suez
- in 1879, isma’il is deposed by tewfiq and the british cut the army by 2/3 to reduce costs
- in 1881, a mahdist revolt starts, with pasha leading a revolt against tewfiq
- tewfiq appoints rebels into government positions
- the government soon broke down, leading to the 1882 alexandria massacre, which forces gladstone to send in british troops
- Arabi Pasha declared war, but British troops secured the canal in 1882 + defeat pasha at alexandria and installed tewfiq as the puppet ruler again
- 30,000 British troops place egypt under temporary occupation
- tewfiq is forced to create a government with important British presence
- 1885 Convention of London
describe british involvement in sudan
- a mahdist revolt breaks out against the egyptian governments in sudan in 1881
- gordon is sent to be governor-general and impose peace
- ahmad declares himself as the mahdi in 1881 against gordon
- ahmad expands his army into a Jihadist army and in 1882 has control over khartoum (MAHDIST WAR)
- in 1883, the british attempt to retaliate under hicks to Ahmad’s army, and hicks is killed
- in 1884, gladstone forces british and egyptian troops to withdraw from sudan and gordon is killed (queen victoria doesn’t like gladstone for this)
- sailsbury believes sudan + egypt were vital to strategic concerns, and also to prevent french / german control over the nile
- sailsbury uses the 1896 defeat of the italians at adowa to re-enter Sudan against ‘barbarism’
- kitchener leads the egyptian army in the battle of omdurman in 1898 to exert control
- this angered the French, leading to fashoda in 1898
- the French are poorly organised and back out, leading to sudan becoming a british sphere of influence
examples of european missionaries in africa / their work
- henry stanley (in Through the Dark Continent) - portraying Africans as cannibals
- King Leopold - builds a 250 mile road between Matadi and Leopoldville
what was agreed at the 1884-1885 berlin conference
- the need for ‘effective occupation’ - idea posed under the general act, which required the coloniser to display their full control over an area to claim it to be ‘theirs’
- also, war in europe cannot spread into africa - slavery was banned
- europeans cannot however force religion upon individuals (need to preserve religious and cultural freedoms) - established free trade within colonial africa (economic motive)
- equal access to resources (CHARTER V)
describe the work of the IBEAC
imperial british east africa company
- led by william mackinnon
- a large charter created to represent the british government in africa
- the 1888 charter was agreed with germany - imp rivalry
given power to:
- administer zanzibar and exercise political power
- become a british sphere of influence
- promote trade and commerce
- advance civilisation
- promote the interests of the majority
do not:
- religiously interfere
describe the work of the RNC
royal niger company = goldie (its chartered areas under british rule in 1900 + 1906)
- founded in 1886
- comes under british rule in 1900 for 800,000 pounds
describe the work of the BSAC
british south africa company
- established the southern rhodesia protectorate in 1901 and northern rhodesia protectorate in 1911
when did britain take the following territory in west africa:
1. sierra leone
2. the gold coast
3. south nigeria
4. north nigeria
sierra leone = establish protectorate in 1896
gold coast = take gold coast in 1867, ashantiland is incorporated in 1902
south nigeria = 1884
northern nigeria = 1885
when did britain take the following territory in south africa:
1. transvaal
2. nyasaland
3. rhodesia
4. griqualand west
5. zululand
transvaal = 1877 and is under british occupation (ie military control)
nyasaland = initially led by the BSAC, formal protectorate in 1907
rhodesia = initially taken in 1895
griqualand west = british settle there in 1873, then it is a part of the cape colony in 1880
zululand =
when did the british unite northern and southern nigeria
1914
when did britain take the following territory in east africa:
1. uganda
2. zanzibar
3. somaliland
4. kenya
uganda = initially under BEAC rule from 1888, but became a protectorate in 1894
zanzibar = 1890
somaliland = taken in 1888, became a protectorate in 1898 to limit french ambition
kenya = mckinnon charter in IBEAC in 1888, protectorate in 1895
describe how the british took control of zanzibar
1886 = german and british treaty for exclusive lands they have
1890 = heligoland-zanzibar treaty outlined spheres of german and british influence in east africa (this undermines what peters was doing in uganda w mwanga)
- zanzibar was given under british rule, tanzania under german rule
1890 = zanzibar then became a protectorate, and britain install a puppet leader
1896 = puppet leader dies - anglo-zanzibar war
describe the anglo-zanzibar war
1896
- the germans support barghash khalid to become sultan, not muhammed (british supported)
- khalid takes the throne, but the british order him to step down
- khalid refuses to step down, and the british launch a bombardment against him lasting 38 minutes
- sultan hamud is placed on the throne
- zanzibar is forced to pay 300,000 rupees
- khalid is sheltered by the germans from the british to prevent him being arrested by the british
- britain proceed to tighten their control over zanzibar and exert more authority over military affairs etc
disraeli investing in suez
1875
- invests 4 million in shares into suez
- want the british to have a supply route into india which reduces the journey by 6000 miles
describe british expansion into uganda
- european missionaries were entering buganda and king mwanga had 30 europeans executed in 1886 (causes civil war)
- to stop the war, mwanga hands over some of his sovereignty to the british (IBEAC) (in order to have their support)
- peters (german) took an expedition into east africa, in which he signed a treaty in earlu 1890 with mwanga in buganda
- in 1890, mwanga signs a treaty with lugard to give british power over revenue + administration
- the IBEAC lose control over uganda after tensions between IBEAC, natives and missionaries grew to a small war in 1892
- uganda was under control of the BEAC from 1890(ish)
- it became a protectorate under empire in 1894
infrastructure / development in uganda
- lunatic, mombassa to indian oceanshore railway line 1896
- british invest 5 million (justifying these funds for having access to new markets, encouraging settlement, consolidating power, protecting strategic needs etc)
- it is over 600 miles long
- british obtain 60,000 a year - 16 mile communication strip from 1894 established by grey in the commons
describe mwanga challenging british rule
mwanga (uganda)
- makes an attempt to regain lost territories in 1897 and 1898
- the british exile him to seychelles (MAKE LINKS DRAWN WITH KING JAJA)
what was:
1. how many labourers were killed in the construction of the lunatic line
2. what was the kedong massacre
3. the tsavo incident
- 2500 labourers were killed
- kedong massacre = 500 of the labourers for the line were killed by maasai people in 1895
- tsavo = almost 30 men were eaten by lions in 1898
describe british expansion into kenya
- 1884-1885 = east africa is under a british sphere of influence and is being ruled by the IBEAC
- after the small war in uganda in 1892 and the IBEAC almost being bankrupt, uganda and kenya both go under crown rule (kenya in 1895)
when are kenya and uganda merged
kenya and uganda are united in 1902
describe the east african scottish mission
- led by mckinnon, who formed the east african scottish mission
- 1891 = start of a pioneer expedition into kenya
- they initially start in kibwezi (which has no people, so they move to dagoretti)
- soon they move into kikuyu areas in 1903
- 1920 = introduction of african church governance, with 17 native elders being ordained (tumutumu)
- 1926 = 3 african pastors were ordained in kikuyu
describe the relations between the masai and kikuyu people, and british involvement
- the british preferred to establish relations with the masai people over the kikuyu tribes, giving them cattle and land
- in 1893, the british help 300 masai at fort smith - british prioritising establishing relations - british facilitate a truce between the two regions
- 1895, the british adopt a policy of appeasement toward maasai for being security in railway (uganda)
DISMISSIVE AND INFERIOR POLICIES TO MASAI:
- however, the british stop their concessive policies toward the masai after the war of Morijo and finished construction of uganda railway, and want more material gain from their relations - can be seen by:
*1903 equator ranch by delamere - 100,000 acres - push masai out
* 1902 the british enforce taxation measures in masai protectorate areas, in order to have more stability of income
* 1902 = introduce military force
* 1904 treaty w masai - push them out of rift valley so the area can be used for european expansion - british similarly push them out of the white highlands, only paying the masai minimal rent whilst they reside in the area
how much had the british paid for developments in east africa by 1913
- british paid 2.8 million pounds
- british investments were fuelled by the kenyan hut and wife tax
what was the racial composition of kenya
1916 = 8000 white settlers in africa
1920 = 23,000 indians in kenya due to the construction of the lunatic line
3 million local africans in the area
what did the british government do in 1921
- add kenyans to the local legislative council in an attempt to promote a more multi-racial kenya
(1923 = devonshire white paper = kenya is a predominantly african region)
*concessions of 1920s
british attitudes in east africa
- carry themselves in a ‘superior way’ - ie there were separate living areas for blacks and europeans, only if black people worked for europeans, could they live there by 1918
- idea of the master race (ie in 1902 in nairobi it was claimed that white people were the master race)
delamere equator ranch
- 2 million acres of land were occupied for white farmers in the equator ranch under delamere to maximise profits and exploitation of the land
- eliot and lord delamre requested to have control of 100,000 acres of land to maximise profits and the production of wheat, which forced the migration of the masai (1903)
- delamere cultivated 3000 areas worth of wheat (european crop)
- it was initially thought that private individual grants must not encroach on rift valley land of masai
- 1904 = treaty that masai would vacate rift valley for european settlement
- this treaty pushes the masai into an area on a straight land border, so cultivating land is difficult
- delamere attempted to forge relations a masai for them to work in intelligence along german borders
1899 agreement between britain and egypt
- anglo-egyptian sudan was established and would be a veiled protectorate / condominium
- kitchener became the governor general
civilising acts by david livingstone
- resigned from london missionary society in 1857
- speech to cambridge university in 1857
- livingstone raised 5000 pounds to lead a trading expedition into the zambezi - recognition of valuable trade routes in 1857
- livingstone condemns the massacre at nyangwe after the slaughter of many arabs (need to stop slavery + promote christianity)
- establishes the Universities Mission to Central Africa in 1857
1885 convention of london
- secures egypt as under british administrative control
- egypt secures an international loan
(however, in the same year, the british are defeated in sudan in khartoum (gordon))
1882 alexandria massacre and outcome
- it is a part of the anglo-egyptian war of pasha against the tewfiq / british
- tension between egyptian nationalists and anti-europeans against the british
- 50 people were killed
- gladstone sends naval forces into to bombard alexandria
- arabi pasha is suppressed and the british retake cairo
- baring is installed as consul-general and egypt became a veiled protectorate of the british
battle of tel-el-kabir
- woseley defeats arabi pasha’s forces by securing the suez canal
- this battle allowed the british to re-take cairo
- occured and ended in 1882
motivations for the british in egypt
- economic desires
- access to cotton / diverse market (lancashire - empire at home)
- reduce isma’il’s debt - strategic concerns
- access to india / easier administration
- limit french and italian influence (ie fashoda - limit the influence of marchand) - civilising mission
- 1896 defeat at adawa and going back into sudan
- prevent the arab slave trade
what was the niger coast protectorate and what did it turn into
- a company formed in 1893, which was beyond the control of the royal niger company
- it promoted trade with liverpool merchants
- it later formed the african association to compete with the RNC
when was gold discovered in the witwatersrand
1886
describe the end of the RNC
- the RNC monopoly was revoked in 1900, so the RNC became the niger company
- the government paid goldie 800,000 pounds for remaining in the area
- this agreement effectively removed administrative powers of the RNC, but all land, treaties and mining rights were given to the gov
*link to india - EIC becomes nationalised in 1858
useful piece of evidence for british expansion being motivated by imperial rivalry, economics and civilisation
IBEAC formation in 1888 charter
- agreed with germany to not interfere w sphere of influence
- wanted to promote good trade relations
- wanted to improve the condition of the natives and have access to india / indian ocean to maintain relations with subjects in india
