the scramble for africa Flashcards
why did britain clash with germany?
by 1871, germany was united as a single country and became a new powerhouse in europe
this was due to its favourable location and natural resources
had better technology
why did britain clash with france?
it had transformed its armed forces and were determined to assert it’s rightful place in the world
naval power building
why did britain clash with russia?
it had started to transform their economy and extended their control into central asia, by 1884, it had extended to the borders of afghanistan
also began building railways which could challenge britains position in india
naval programmes made which meant other areas could be explored such as asia and africa
trans siberian railway began work in 1891
why did the great depression of 1883 make rivalry worse?
new raw materials found to exploit and rebuild economy
brussels conference 1876
king leopold of belgium a conference of explorers and leaders from geographical societies across across europe
motivated by the desire to protect belgian interests in the congo
what did the brussels conference conclude?
africa was incapable of developing natural resources to be found in central africa - european intervention needed
the routes to africa’s great lakes needed to be developed by building roads and railways
an international african association should be established to coordinate the european’s efforts
key individuals at the brussels conference
king leopold
henry stanley
impact of the brussels conference
increased rivalry since people were suspicious of leopold’s intentions
berlin conference 1885
agreed there should be free trade in the congo basin and recognised british interests along the river niger
the doctrine of “effective occupation” laid down at the conference was intended to put a stop to britain asserting a vague right to ‘influence’ over many parts of africa. it obliged the powers to define their claims with some precision and reinforce them with tangible signs of their presence.
key individuals at the berlin conference
bismarck
impact of the berlin conference
devastating for indigenous peoples split up tribal groups
1884 - 80% of africa was under african control
1900 - 90% africa was under european control
interpretations of the scramble for africa - metropolitan
hobson - overseas investment
purely economic explanation, - views the partition as a deliberately thought out british policy designed by shady elite of financiers, capital investors and unscrupulous politicians who supported investment in new areas of the world rather than higher wages and improved living conditions in britain.
the partition of africa was therefore the british government supporting the aims of a small elite group of greedy capitalist investors in africa.
used economic statistics to support his theory:
1862- £144m overseas investment
1893 - £1698m
evidence to challenge hobson
fieldhouse
largest amount of british investment overseas went to the settlement colonies, usa and latin america not africa.
1914 investment in africa was £37m, canada, australasia and
india £1780m.
link between investment and government involvement debatable - investment often followed annexation not the other way around
protection of the suez canal and route to India also vitally important.
fails to see the importance of tropical products such as palm oil to britain so there is a good case to be made that british policy in africa was to defend british trade which may have resulted in annexing some areas.
interpretations of the scramble for africa - metropolitan
hobsbawm - industry and empire
highlighted the technological advances in europe such as the gatling gun, the machine gun, the telegraphy, the railway and the steamship.
gave europeans the ability to conquer other people easily and encouraged this wave of imperialism.
peter cain and tony hopkins - gentlemanly capitalist
reject link between industrialisation and expansion and highlight the continuity of policy from 1688.
it was the commercial, professional elites of London which led the expansion
british government prioritised their needs over industrialists as the government were made up of these types of people.
after 1870 these gentlemanly capitalists invested heavily overseas and exerted pressure on the government to defend their interests when threatened by european rivals or nationalist movements.
rejects the idea of focusing on events in the periphery.