chapter 7- consolidation and expansion of empire in Africa 1890-1914 Flashcards
How and why did the British approach change from 1890?
Imperial attitudes within Britain had changed and people were more supportive of formal intervention, largely due to the attitude of the press
-The conservatives, ‘party of Empire’, were elected in 1895 and were determined to uphold Britain’s position in every part of the world. This led to wars, threats of wars and ambitious programmes to uphold Empire
-British protectorates were expanded in order to provide security to pre-existing ports, markets or resources
-New territories were taken to limit the advance of other European powers
-The Berlin Conference (1885-5) had established the ground rules of colonisation – as long as you could show ‘effective occupation’ (i.e. admin and defence) of African territories then it could be claimed as a formal
colony
-Only 10% of land remained outside European control 20 years after the conference
-Chartered companies proved increasingly inefficient and were no a cost effective was of
administrating/expanding British interests. Formal control was seen as a better way to protect/develop British
interests
1885 Berlin conference and % of control over Africa
Whereas 80% of the African continent remaineed under traditional forms of control at the time of the conference, on 10% of control remained outside European control 20 years after the conference.
What was the Jameson Raid? What were its consequences?
A raid was launched on the Transvaal from neighbouring British Rhodesia by Dr. Jameson on Rhodes’
orders. The plan was meant to be secret but too many people knew of it and Rhodes kept changing the
plan.
- Jameson’s raid (which consisted of 500 mounted police who were drunken, ill-trained and badly
equipped) was easily defeated as the plan to start an uprising of uitlanders failed and he was forced to
surrender after just 4 days
-The whole affair was a fiasco and even though no official support had been given it discredited the British
government and stiffened the Boer’s determination to resist the British
-Jameson and 12 companions were imprisoned and Rhodes was forced to resign from the Cape Premiership
-Kruger became a people’s hero and the Boers still living in the Cape Colony formed an anti-British
‘Afrikaner Bond’ to show their solidarity with their fellow Boers in the Transvaal. Germany sent Kruger a
telegram congratulating Kruger on maintaining the Transvaal’s independence without calling on friendly
powers. This increased hostilities between the British and the Germans
when and why was the Ugandan Railway built, how much did it cost and what were its benefits?
The Ugandan Railway was used to consolidate Britain’s formal takeover of both East Africa and Uganda, it linked the colonies together and with the Indian ocean. It was 660 miles long, took 5 years starting in 1895
to build, cost £5 million and took the lives of 2500 labours. It was known as the ‘lunatic line’ because
of its engineering ingenuity and because of the difficulties surrounding its construction e.g. the Tsavo incident where
35 workers were eaten by two lions. The conservative colonial secretary, Chamberlain, justified the line by saying it: enabled access to new markets; encouraged colonial settlement and tourism; facilitated export of tea and coffee and protected the source of the Nile against Britain’s potential enemies
Expansion into West Africa- Gold Coast and Nigeria
Gold Coast – Britain was tired of skirmishes with the Ashanti tribe bordering the colony. They demanded that
King Prempeh turned over his empire to a British Protectorate. He refused which led to the Anglo-Ashanti
War. Britain conquered Ashantiland in 1896 and it became incorporated into the Gold Coast colony. This
removed the indigenous threat to British trade and it checked French interests in the region
* Nigeria – The Royal Niger Company ruled in the region, they established their claim by virtue of occupation
and agreement with the French in 1890 (Britain recognised France’s influence in Madagascar). This ended any French interest in the area. The British government took direct control from the RNC because pre-existing trade could continue more sustainably without it, in the North in 1900 and the South in 1906. It reunited as a colony in 1914.
Expansion into East Africa- Kenya
British East Africa (Kenya) – it was part of Britain’s ‘sphere of influence’ and they exploited a succession
dispute between the native Mazrui and the Muslim Sheikh Mbaruk. Mbaruk took up arms against the British,
obtaining weapons from the Germans, it took the British 9 months to defeated them but eventually territory became part of Britain’s East African Protectorate in 1895 – it was not officially declared a colony until 1920. It provided access to the fertile land of Uganda, formed a buffer against German interests in Tanzania and they hoped to grow tea and coffee
Expansion into East Africa- Uganda
Uganda – King Mwanga executed 30 missionaries in an
attempt to assert his authority which provoked a civil war, during which he fled. He was forced to sign a treaty in 1890 with the Imperial British East Africa Company which handed over revenue, trade, and administration
of justice to them. These powers were transferred to the Crown in 1894 and Buganda became a protectorate as
part of Uganda. It had rich fertile soil that could be exploited for raw materials and it opened up the interior of Africa (Lake Victoria) to trade
Expansion into East Africa- Zanzibar
Zanzibar – in 1890 Britain and Germany signed a treaty recognising German control over Tanzania and Britain’s declaration Zanzibar a protectorate and installed a ‘puppet’, Sultan Hamad. Hamad died in 1896 and
Khalid became sultan without Britain’s blessing, he was ordered to step down, refused, and prompted the shorted was in history (38 minutes) in which Britain launched a naval bombardment and Khalid was forced to step down. He was replaced by the pro-British Sultan Hamud. Zanzibar was seen as a key for the defense of
trade in the Indian Ocean and it also helped check German ambitions in the region
Expansion into East Africa- Somaliland
- Somaliland – Britain already had a protectorate in Somaliland (established in 1888) but this was reinforced by
admin and military personnel in 1898. It had few resources but was useful to defense the Red Sea and the route
to the Suez Canal and it also checked French and Italian ambitions in the region
What was the situation in Sudan by 1895?
The Mahdist revolt against the Egyptian government in the Sudan, which had broken out in 1881 and brought about the death of General Gordon at Khartoum in 1885 had left the area in a weakened state
Khalifa Abdullah succeeded the Mahdi and tried to bring the peoples of the Sudan together under his
leadership but the state was plagued by war from internal resistance fighters, disease and famine
Why did Britain decide to invade Sudan?
5 reasons
Gladstone had always intended to withdraw British troops from Egypt as soon as it was safe. However, Sir
Evelyn Baring said that a British evacuation policy for Egypt would be impossible because there was no one
who was sufficiently strong or popular to hand the power to. With the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire Egypt became more vital to Britain year by year and by 1889 Salisbury (who became Conservative PM in 1885) accepted Egypt was a permanent responsibility and a first priority in British policy – so naturally that the
territories to the south of Egypt were high priority too
* Britain was also concerned about French and German expansion inland in East Africa fearing that the flow of the Nile could be artificially stopped with the result that Egypt’s agriculture would be destroyed and the country ruined
* Between 1888 and 1898 the headwaters of the Nile were the prize in an extended game of chess played by the
governments of Britain, Germany, Italy and France and King Leopold II of the Belgians
* Salisbury, therefore, signed a treaty with the Germans in 1890 where they agreed to take Tanganyika while the
British took Kenya and Uganda. In 1894, King Leopold pledged not to push his estate’s boundaries to the
Upper Nile. Italian expansion on the Red Sea coast at Massawa was regarded as beneficial by the British since it diverted the Khalifa’s attention from the Egyptian borders and Britain had encouraged Italian ambitions there
since 1885, in gratitude they promised in 1891 to keep clear of the Nile Valley. However, the Italian forces
were defeated as Adowa in 1896, whilst trying to seize Abyssinia so the divisionary help was lost
* Salisbury now had an excuse for a British campaign in the Sudan – it could be sold to the public as a campaign
to aid Italy and uphold European civilisation against African barbarianism. It also welcomed the opportunity to
avenge general Gordon and, as the French remained hostile the possibility of a French intrusion was one of
the reasons why the government sanctioned the first stage of the conquest of the Sudan in March 1896
How did Britain gain control of Sudan?
General Sir Herbert Kitchener, head of the Egyptian army in 1896, was given orders to penetrate Sudanese
territory as far as Dongola. Kitchener was determined to go further take Khartoum and conquer the whole
region.
* He won a resounding success at the Battle of Omdurman 2 September 1898 – at a cost of fewer than fifty
British/Egyptian dead there were 11000 Dervish killed and many of the wounded were either shot or left for
dead. After the battle, Kitchener proceeded to order the destruction of the Mahdi’s tomb and carried off the Mahdi’s head as a trophy. Omdurman was tantamount
to a massacre, which, more than any other encounter between European and native armies, illustrated the gulf between the technology of the industrialised powers and that of their opponents in Africa and Asia
* The initial Egyptian expeditionary force of 10,000 was transported up the Nile by a fleet of pleasure steamers
to Wadi Halfa. A railway was then constructed into the heart of the Dervish territory
What was the Fashoda incident of 1898?
Salisbury ordered Kitchener to go to Fashoda on the headwaters of the Nile – where a French expedition under
Major Marchand had arrived. The both pressed the nations’ claims to the area, Kitchener treated Marchand
courteously and, tactfully, had the Egyptian flag rather than the British one hoisted over Fashoda. Marchand was completely isolated but Kitchener could keep in touch with London via a telegraph cable on the bed of the Nile and the
British had an
overwhelming force
*The British press, however, published that Britain and France were on the brink of war
* Fortunately for Salisbury, faced with firmness and overwhelming force, Marchand withdrew, believing that he
had upheld his own and his country’s honour. He had the wisdom to realise that by turning Britain into an
enemy, perhaps even an ally of Germany, France’s power in Europe would be fatally determined and the
French government was already facing internal problems. By an agreement in 1899, the French promised to
stay out of the Nile Valley in return for territory in the west
How was Sudan governed after the conquest?
In 1899, there was an agreement between Britain and Egypt whereby Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was
established . This would be administrated in an arrangement known as a condominium – Sudan would be run by the British with Egyptian support
* Lord Kitchener was appointed as the first Governor-General (who officially ruled in the name of the
Khedive of Egypt). He was succeeded by General Reginald Wingate from 1902. Despite Egyptian expectations, Britain frustrated ambitions for the unification of the two countries
Expansion in Southern Africa- Rhodesia
Rhodesia – Rhodes had established a British presence in ‘south Zambesia’. This became known as Southern Rhodesia from 1895 after Rhodes used force to establish British settlers in the area. In wars with the native Ndebele (1893-4 and 1896-7) nearly half the settlers were killed, but the territory was
eventually taken and that north of the Zambesi River followed as separate treaties with African chiefs
