west africa Flashcards
what did britain think of west africa during the 1860s
there was no economic benefits there after the slave trade was abolished
what did the all party commitee suggest to the british
prepare west africa for independence and to relinquish all their colonies
40 years after the all party committee suggestion what colonies did the british start expanding (3)
- sierra leone
- gold coast colony included ashanti confederation and northern territories
- lagos included north nigeria
why did britain want to expand their colonies in africa
strategies and trade
what trade emerged when the slave trade was abolished
palm oil
what did britain trade in return for palm oil (4)
cheap textiles, hardware, firearms and spirits
who was john beecroft and why was he important
sailor, explorer and merchant. highly valued as he settled disagreements between europeans and africans. his power allowed britain to have authority in west africa before the conference
what did britain hope when expanding the gold coast
it would be self sufficient but it became a political and financial burden for britain
why was the ashanti originally formed
formed by a few tribes for self defence but the slave trade profits made them one of the strongest groups
why didn’t the ashanti like the british
after 1807 they were resentful of the british influence in westafrica because it harmed their slavery opportunities
what was the 1823 ashanti war
ashanti defeated charles mccarthy and a small british army
what was the 1826 ashanti war
british defeated the ashanti but didnt try to force themselves inland
what was the 1863 ashanti war
british government refused to return a slave to the ashanti, a lot of british casualties and the disgust of the ashanti led to select committee being formed
what was the 1873 ashanti war
ashanti start war because of transfer of dutch possessions but the dutch had been on good terms with the ashanti. britain successful and gain good publicity wolseley helped defeat ashanti
what happened after george mcclean established an influence on the gold coast
in 1844 british signed treaties with the fanti chief giving protection (protectorate)
what do british do with the fanti protectorate
turn it into a crown colony in 1874 - imperial expansion
what was the cardwell policy
to give west africa their independence
when was the cardwell policy abandoned
1865
why was gambia important to france
they expanded senegal and it surrounded gambia (british colony) but gambia had an important trade route for france
what did france want to do about gambia
trade it with the british for valuable land
who emerged in gambia
powerful people who wanted to spread trade and religion
what did the gambian lobby and british public think about trading with france
put pressure on the gov to stop them trading - showed pressure from the public can impact imperial policy
what 2 factors emerged in the 1870s
- french interest in gambia (military & trade)
- a new group of british merchants trying to sole trade palm oil
what did george goldie start to establish in 1879
persuaded a small number of companies to join together known as the national african company - got influencial and successful people to join
what the french empire like in the 1870s
collapsing because of napoleons defeat
why were the british originally interested in the niger
because of french interest there
what were the french plans forb west africa
build a railway linking senegal, algeria and upper niger
why did the french want the rivers in the niger
wanted southern rivers for sudenese trade but britain wanted to bargain so the rivers were still under their influence
what did britain and france do about their interest in the rivers by the niger
1877 & 1882 an agreement was signed but briatin and france still schemed for position
which parts in the niger did britain have dominance over
lower and middle niger
what did the french use the protectorate (porto nova) for
used to stop british securing land from coast of lagos to gold coast
what were the reasons the french established a protectorate in the niger
wanted to secure a route from bight of benin to upper niger which would bypass british influence in niger delta
