Colonialism & Imperialism
Overview
| Colonialism & Scramble for Africa | Scramble for global domination, formal vs informal control, and partitioning of Africa. Key milestones include 1884 (Berlin) to 1896 (Adowa) to 1914 (90% of Africa colonized). |
1. Concepts & Imperialist Drivers
| Colonialism vs Imperialism | Colonialism is the physical practice of acquiring territorial control, settling, and economically exploiting a colony (e.g., British India). Imperialism is the overarching ideological system of extending power, political sovereignty, or economic influence (formal or informal) over foreign nations. |
| New Imperialism (1870–1914) | Characterized by an aggressive scramble for territories by European powers, USA, and Japan, driven by industrial capitalism's need for raw materials, markets, and investment outlets. |
| Technological Drivers | Medical: Quinine discovered as malaria prophylactic, allowing Europeans to survive in Africa's interior. Military: Maxim machine gun created massive military asymmetry against native armies. Logistics: Steamships and railways enabled rapid movement of troops and resource extraction. |
| Ideological Justifications | Social Darwinism (applying natural selection to human races to justify dominance of "fitter" societies) and "White Man's Burden" (portraying colonization as a moral duty to civilize backward populations). |
2. Scramble for Africa & Congo Free State
| Berlin Conference (1884–1885) | Convened by German Chancellor Bismarck to partition Africa among European powers without conflict. Established "Principle of Effective Occupation" (powers must actively administer a territory to claim sovereignty). Zero Africans were present. |
| Colonization Outcomes | By 1914, 90% of Africa was partitioned. Only Ethiopia (which defeated Italy at Battle of Adowa in 1896 under Menelik II) and Liberia (founded by American Colonization Society for resettling freed American slaves) remained independent. |
| Congo Free State (Rubber Terror) | Held as personal private property of Belgian King Leopold II. Characterized by horrific exploitation, mass murder, and systemic mutilation (cutting off hands) of Congolese workers failing to meet wild rubber quotas. |
| Fashoda Incident (1898) | Diplomatic standoff between Britain and France in Sudan over territorial claims in Nile valley, almost triggering war but resolved diplomatically, consolidating British control over Sudan. |