Scramble For Africa

Question 1

What were the reasons for British expansion in Africa

Answer 1

Trade and the economy, personal influence, Strategic factors, moral factors and other factors

Question 2

When did British expansion into Africa really accelerate

Answer 2

It wasn’t until the 1890s that British expansion in Africa accelerated

Question 3

Why was British interest in Egypt revived

Answer 3

Because from 1861 to 64 during the American civil war British mills were starved of raw cotton. Egypt whose cotton was a good quality attracted those who were anxious to find new sources of this vital raw material. British companies invested heavily in the production of the Egyptian cotton, by the 1870s 40% of Egypt’s imports were coming from Britain

Question 4

When did the khedive (ruler of Egypt) come into power

Answer 4

Ismail Pasha came into power in 1863

Question 5

What process was Ismail pasha committed to

Answer 5

He was committed to the process of modernisation and he had embarked on a number of projects from irrigation and railways to schools, street lighting and the cutting of the Suex Canal

Question 6

She was the Suez canal built and how long did it take

Answer 6

It was built in 1869 and it took 10 years to be built by the French

Question 7

What effect did the Canal have when built

Answer 7

It had a dramatic effect on world trade, reducing the profits of those British traders in the Cape who operated warehouses for the storing of goods

Question 8

How did the British get some control over the Suez canal

Answer 8

Ismail Pasha was facing increasing debt so he sought a buyer for his countries share in the canal for 4 million so the British PM Disraeli stepped forward. This encouraged further British interest in Egypt and gave them an income from shipping tariffs

Question 9

Why did Britain have a strong influence in Egypt

Answer 9

Ismail was deposed in 1879 due to economic mismanagement and his son Tewfiq became the new khedive but it was British money and support that kept Egypt afloat. This gave Lord Dufferin the British commissioner considerable influence.

Question 10

Why was there unrest in Egypt

Answer 10

In order to prop up Egypt’s economy taxes were imposed on Egyptian food and goods and its army was reduced by 2/3s. This increased unemployment and led to a nationalist rebellion under colonel Arabi Pasha. Tewfiq was forced to appoint Arabi’s allies to gov positions who were fiercely anti European and this concerned the British over trade, investment and the 100,000 Europeans living in Egypt.

Question 11

What happened in 1882 in Egypt

Answer 11

Political tensions spilled out into the streets of Alexandria Egypt where 50 Europeans where killed. There were more revolts across Egypt which convinced PM Gladstone to intervene. British naval forces were sent to bombard Alexandria. Arabi Pasha declared war but the British commander Sir Garnet Wolseley was able to secure the Suez Canal in a battle lasting little over an hour. This enabled the British to retake Cairo and restore Tewfiq as puppet ruler.

Question 12

How did Britain take further control of Egypt

Answer 12

Evelyn Baring was appointed consul general and Tewfiq was forced to create a gov amenable to Britain, employ British military personnel to supervise his army and rely on British advisors. Britain’s influence over Egypt was confirmed by the 1885 convention of London

Question 13

What is a veiled protectorate

Answer 13

A state controlled by another in an indirect manner in this case Egypt was a veiled protectorate

Question 14

What happened in Sudan

Answer 14

Colonel Charles Gordon was sent from Britain to act as Governor General of Egyptian administered Sudan. The British administrators faced opposition from the Sudanese Islamic cleric Muhammad Ahmad who proclaimed himself the Mahdi or saviour of mankind. The self proclaimed Mahdi transformed an emerging political movement into a jihadist army. The Mahdists sought to liberate Sudan from outside rule. By 1882 they had taken complete control over the area surrounding Khartoum. In 1883 a joint Egyptian-British military expedition launched a counter attack against the mahdists in which William Hicks was killed. Gladstone ordered General Gordon to oversee the evacuation of both British and Egyptian troops from Khartoum in 1884 but the British-Egyptian forces defending Khartoum were overrun a year later. Virtually everyone was killed and General Gordon was beheaded

Question 15

What were some of the reasons Britain was becoming concerned about its position in relation to other European powers

Answer 15

• in 1871 Germany became united as a single country and became a new powerhouse
• France transformed its armed forces and were determined to assert their ‘rightful place’ in the world
• the Russians started to transform their economy extending their control into Central Asia. They also constructed a railway network which the British feared could carry and Army to challenge the British position in India
• the naval building programmes of France and Russia also caused concern in the 1880s
• the french established a foothold in Indo-China in the 1860s

Question 16

When did the Brussels conference take place and what was decided at the Brussels conference

Answer 16

The Brussels conference took place in 1876 and was hosted by king Leopold of Belgium. It was concluded that Africans were incapable of developing the natural resources to be found in central Africa so European intervention was necessary. The routes to Africa’s Great Lakes needed to be developed by building roads or railways and an international African association was set up to coordinate the European efforts.

Question 17

When did the Berlin conference take place and what was agreed

Answer 17

German chancellor Otto Von Bismarck initiated and hosted the Berlin conference from 1884-85. It was agreed that: all nations should be permitted to trade in the basin of the Congo and its outlets, there should be free trade in these regions, the powers with influence in this area should help protect indigenous people and suppress the slave trade, the powers should support and protect religious, scientific or charitable undertakings and if any power took possession of further land on the coasts of the Africa it should notify the signatories of the Act in order to enable them to assert any claims of their own.

Question 18

What was the principle established in the Berlin conference called

Answer 18

This was called effective occupation where a European power could demonstrate that it had a local treaty agreement and an active administration and was able to police its territory it claimed, it was recognised as the rightful ruler of that territory

Question 19

What was the benefit of the Berlin conference

Answer 19

It enabled European countries to expand their empires in an ordered fashion and without the risk of conflict with one another.

Question 20

Who gained little from the Berlin conference

Answer 20

The indigenous people because there was no African representation at the conference and European ministers mapped out spheres of influence with little concern for natural borders or ethnic, linguistic or religious division. There was also no effort to combat the African or Arab slave trade.

Question 21

What is the informal empire

Answer 21

The informal empire comprised of places that were influenced by British power particularly economic power

Question 22

Where did Britain extend their informal empire into

Answer 22

Commercial agreements extended Britain’s informal empire into Latin America in particular Chile and Argentina

Question 23

How did Britain acquire parts of their informal empire

Answer 23

They would sometimes use threats of force for example pressure was put on Mexico to keep access open and to uphold free trade treaties. They would also obtain territories through diplomatic pressure

Question 24

What were the British relations with the Boers and Bantu like from 1867-80

Answer 24

The discovery of diamonds in 1867 near Kimberley on the Vaal river in West Griqualand that opened the path towards greater friction. It triggered a diamond rush attracting white settlers and native Bantu speaking people. In 1868 the British annexed Basutoland claiming the indigenous people were seeking protection from the Boers and in 1871 they took West Griqualand. The British went on to propose a federation of the British and Boer territories but it was firmly rejected. The British announced the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 claiming they needed to defend the white European settlers against the Zulus and Pedis. The boers reluctantly accepted British aid and they invaded Zululand. The Zulus were defeated in 1879 and then the Boers declared their independence from Britain in 1880

Question 25

What were the British relation with the Boers and Bantu like from 1880-90

Answer 25

From 1880 the Boers turned on the British attacking British army garrisons across the Transvaal and winning a series of victories. The British were thus forced to sign the convention of Pretoria which recognised Boer self government in the Transvaal but Britain still claimed a right to control over external affairs. The Germans arriving in south-west Africa raised British fears that they would form an alliance with the Boers, consequently they annexed a section of territory between south-west Africa and the Transvaal called Bechuanuland. In 1886 gold was discovered at Witwatersrand near the Transvaal capital producing further instability. During all of this little thought was given to the Bantus

Question 26

Why was British policy less cautious from 1895 onwards

Answer 26

The conservative gov was elected and they were determined to uphold Britain’s position in every part of the world which brought wars, threats of war etc over Africa

Question 27

How did the British act in Ashantiland

Answer 27

Tired of the skirmishes and wars that characterised British Ashanti relations the British demanded that their King should turn over the rest of his empire. He refused which produced a fourth Anglo-Ashanti war in which Britain conquered the Ashanti territories. A further Ashanti uprising in 1900 led to Britain annexation of the kingdom.

Question 28

How did the British act in Nigeria

Answer 28

By 1890 they agreed with the French to recognise Britain’s domination of the area in return for Frances claim of Madagascar. The British gov took over the responsibilities of the royal Niger company and established direct British control in the North in 1900 and south in 1906 with it being unified in 1914

Question 29

How did the British act in Zanzibar

Answer 29

Britain declared Zanzibar a protectorate of the British empire and appointed Sultan, Hamad bin Thuwaini. After his mysterious death and the accession of his cousin Khalid without Britain’s blessing there was a confrontation. The British ordered Khalid to stand down and when he refused mounted a naval bombardment of the Sultans palace. After 38 mins Khalid was overthrown and Hamud was placed on the throne of Zanzibar.

Question 30

How did the British act in Uganda

Answer 30

King Mwanga had attempted to assert his authority executing around 30 catholic and Protestant missionaries provoking a civil war. He promised to hand over some power to imperial British east Africa company in return for British backing and was duly restored to power in 1889. Baganda became a protectorate as part of Uganda. The British then constructed railways to connect the coast with the fertile and temperate highlands bordering Lake Victoria

Question 31

How did the British act in Kenya

Answer 31

This was seen as useful territory because it offered a route to the coast of Uganda. The British made use of a succession dispute between the native Mazrui and the Muslim majority to try and force their control. Sheik Mbaruk bin Rashid took up arms against the British obtaining weapons from the Germans and it took the British nine months to crush the opposition. This territory became part of Britain’s east Africa protectorate

Question 32

How did the British act in Sudan

Answer 32

Salisbury believed that Egypt was vital to the security of Britain’s sea route to India hence his concern to reconquer at least parts of Sudan. Salisbury was also concerned about interest from other European powers. Salisbury signed a treaty with the Germans in 1890 whereby they agreed to take Tanganyika whilst the British took Kenya and Uganda. Once Italian forces were defeated at Adowa Salisbury had the excuse to launch a British campaign in Sudan claiming they were trying to uphold European civilisation against African barbarianism. They won a successful battle in Omdurman. Kitchener was given orders by Salisbury to open after defeating the Sudanese. He was ordered to go to Fashoda on the headwaters of the Nile where the French where and they both pressed their claim for the area. The meeting wasn’t fiery but the British press reacted strongly to the ‘Fashoda incident’. The french chose to back down.

Question 33

How did the British act in Rhodesia

Answer 33

Rhodes established a British presence in ‘South Zambesia’ which became known as Southern Rhodesia. In wars with the native Ndebele half the settlers there died but the territory was eventually taken.

Question 34

How did the British act in Nyasaland

Answer 34

They faced Portugese backed Arab attacks and it wasn’t until 1891 that they were able to establish control there.

Question 35

How did the British act in the Cape colony

Answer 35

The British quest for a British confederation of SA was taken up with vigour in the 1890s. In 1895 the Uitlanders of the Transvaal who were being denied citizenship and voting rights by the Boer gov sought the help of Cecil Rhodes which provided the British with an excuse for intervention. A raid was launched on the Transvaal from neighbouring British Rhodesia by Dr Jameson. The whole affair was a fiasco and even though no official support had been given to this it brought discredit on the British gov and stiffened the Boers determination to resist British intrusions. Kruger became a people’s hero and the Boers formed an anti British ‘Afrikaner bond’. Negotiations broke down between the British and Boers in 1899 and the Boers invaded British territory and besieged Ladysmith in Natal. The British poured nearly 400k troops at a cost of £250 million to win the second Boer war in 1902. Under the peace of Vereeniging the Boers acknowledged themselves as British subjects and the Boer republics became British colonies

Question 36

Why was the Jameson raid a fiasco

Answer 36

Rhodes instructed Jameson to invade the Transvaal with just 500 mounted police which was easily defeated and he was forced to surrender after 4 days