Sub-Saharan Africa PERSIAN Chart
(Modern)
by Lauren Blumenfeld
Political
•Political rivalries between European powers; Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, and the United States all desired colonial empires in Africa; political leaders in Europe were essential in decisions to annex overseas territories; European capitals were able to have much more involved role in the ruling of the colonies due to communication (telegraphs and railways); military force was used to conquer colonies; European armies were organized, practiced, and had a strict structure; armed Europeans forcibly took over Africa; aggressive Zulus in South Africa defeated British forces in regular battles such as the Battle of Isandhlwana in 1879; at Isandhlwana, 3000 Zulus were killed but Zulus were victorious; Boer War (1899-1902) fought by white descendants of the Dutch settlers in South Africa against British ended with the surrender of the Boers; intense rivalry between European governments made local governments uncooperative; forceful Europeans conquered and the natives lost political sovereignty and freedom of action they had previously had
•“Scramble for Africa”- matched up half a dozen European powers opposing one another for the division of the entire continent of Africa from 1875-1900; European rulers and leaders were shocked at the tension of the rivalries and the quickness of capturing territories; European leaders used peaceful negotiations against their rivalries about “who got what” and also the contrasting violent military operations; most difficult to conquer were societies without an established state structure (Europeans could not meet a central authority to discuss with or defeat); with stateless societies, villages were conquered one at a time with high opposition from natives; Africans debated whether to admit Europeans to their own internal struggles or those with external conflicts with close states or people; some Africans took to military actions against Europeans; societies in Africa were commonly divided between those who wanted to fight and those who gave up resistance
•“Scramble for Africa”- matched up half a dozen European powers opposing one another for the division of the entire continent of Africa from 1875-1900; European rulers and leaders were shocked at the tension of the rivalries and the quickness of capturing territories; European leaders used peaceful negotiations against their rivalries about “who got what” and also the contrasting violent military operations; most difficult to conquer were societies without an established state structure (Europeans could not meet a central authority to discuss with or defeat); with stateless societies, villages were conquered one at a time with high opposition from natives; Africans debated whether to admit Europeans to their own internal struggles or those with external conflicts with close states or people; some Africans took to military actions against Europeans; societies in Africa were commonly divided between those who wanted to fight and those who gave up resistance
Economy
• Europeans could tap mineral resources most others couldn’t; metallurgy advances led to the mass production of light, mobile artillery; railroads provided transportation primarily used for movement of farm produce and raw materials; African societies had no match to the industrialized Europeans; Europeans leaders saw colonies as insurance against raw material shortages and the loss of overseas market outlets to competitors; colonies in Africa also were desired for destinations for unemployed workers and as markets for surplus goods; District officers collected taxes from African subordinates; European planters and merchants depended on African supervisors and financial experts to handle workers and buy crops and handicrafts; colonial bureaucrats pushed for Africans to use scientific farming techniques and to work harder and more efficiently; Africans contribution helped the extension of the Western dominated world economy; cheap raw materials to export was supported and led to a growth of the colonial labor force; actions took to increase export production; cheap consumer goods could be bought with cash earned by production of crops for the market or labor on European plantations; colonized people demanded to produce crops or materials for Europeans for little or no pay; head and hut taxes set to be paid only in ivory, palm nuts, or wages from labor on European estates; in Belgian Congo, villagers were killed if they did not meet their production requirements; Africans participated in production of crops and minerals for export; economy of most of Africa were reestablished to aid to the needs of the European economies; metal and mineral profit from Africa went straight to European merchants; African laborers who produced metals and minerals used in Europe were lowly paid
Religion
•eastern and western African peoples practiced an animistic religion that centered on the proposition of nature and ancestral spirits; some Africans had converted to Christianity in on-Muslim Africa; colonial leaders divided Africans into tribes; tribes was a label and the African tribes were looked down upon with their backwardness and primitiveness; 10,000 missionaries in Africa; Protestant and Catholic missionaries were teachers of the Western-language education in Africa; the military defeat lowered the belief in old gods and practices; women, poor, and the young found opportunities in the missions; African teacher, catechists, and pastors spread Christianity more than the European missionaries; missionaries also were opposed and created conflict; African converts opposed the focus of the missionaries on lives of women; Christian monogamy conflicted with the African polygamy and collided with the converted African men; non-Christian and Christian marriages were questionable; Christianity in Africa became Africanized; African converts used defensive charms and medicines of local medicine men; other converts now shamed their old gods and wanted their demolition
Society
•increase in problems and tensions between colonizers and colonized; rise of the African middle class influenced the greater social reaction between the Africans and Europeans; Europeans kept to themselves and did not associate with the natives; wives and families of government leaders came to the colonies to live in the newly segregated living quarters; this movement of women and families closed the group of the colonized; relationships between European men and African women was frowned upon by European women; upper class officials were not allowed in brothels; segregation of colonized and the colonizers grew partly due to the increasing number of European missionaries and pastors; laws prohibited miscegenation (mixing of races); European women and native women were pushed to be separate by housing arrangements and law practices; European women were secluded in an European world in Africa; European women had African nannies and servants; little contact between men and women of same social status; white racial supremacy very popular- belief whites had metal and moral advantage over the rest of humans; racial types were pronounced by skin color (proved by “scientific experiments”); Africans seen inferior, thus not motivating any reason for Europeans to interact with them; Europeans enjoyed clubs with only natives being allowed as servants; Europeans tried to keep to own traditions; in South Africa the popular use of African work in mines and industries forced more contact upon blacks and whites; in South Africa schools, homes, and public areas were separated by race; Europeans identified Africans in to “tribes”; tribal Africa believed to be backward and primitive; African women were increasingly taking over men’s duties since the men left for work in urban areas; harder working African women gained stronger relationships with their own family rather than their husbands; African women allowed to work in small-scale trade and marketing
Innovations
•Roads and railways helped transportation of goods and materials from colonized areas to port hubs; European technological advances were carried over to the colonies in Africa; technological advancements benefited the mines; telegraphs and railways allowed for faster communication and aided links from Europe to the colonies; metallurgy allowed the mass production of mobile artillery that was used by African armies; artillery was faster at firing and more accurate; machine gun came to use in the 1880s; Suez Canal opened in 1869; steam power replaced the sail; iron hulls were used instead of wood; guns that could shoot long distances were placed on ships; large use of weapons by Europeans made colonizing of Africa unfair; white racial supremacy very popular- belief whites had metal and moral advantage over the rest of humans; racial types were pronounced by skin color (proved by “scientific experiments”); Europeans hoped to uplift the natives through education; educated Africans were not equal with Europeans; most education offered by missionaries
Arts and Architecture
•British built many buildings around Africa; French also built colonial buildings; German, Belgians, and Portuguese also built, but not as numerous as French or British; South Africa- the Zulus, Nguni, and Swazi built framed domes with aligned hoops; the Zulu’s entrances to their domes were ornately decorated; Nguni in South Africa used mats at the bottom of domes for insulation; the Tswana built veranda houses that were deep and held up by rings of post on the outside; Tswana’s homes had a main center and a private space; Christianity influenced architecture; British architectural influence strong along coast; Dutch influenced the construction in the Cape Coast; Dutch style is commonly Victorian-style
Near Geographic
•south of the Saharan; Atlantic Ocean to the west; Indian Ocean to the right; Congo and Zambezi River; Lake Victoria; many territories partitioned; Africa split up by the Portuguese, French, British, Spanish, Germans, Belgians and Italians; subtropical; warm temperatures; Sahara Desert located in the north
Sources
http://www.fofweb.com/History/HistRefMain.asp?iPin=WHIV025&SID=2&DatabaseName=Modern+World+History+Online&InputText=%22art+and+architecture+1750+1900%22&Search&dTitle=art+and+architecture%2C+1750%26%23150%3B1900&TabRecord+Entry&BioCountPass=0&SubCountPass=1&DocCountPass=0&ImgCountPass=0&MapCountPass=0&FedCountPass=&MedCountPass=0&NewsCountPass=0&RecPosition=1&AmericanData=&WomenData=&AFHCData=&IndianData=&WorldData=Set&AncientData=&GovernmentData=
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/756980/African-architecture/57116/The-20th-century
Stearns, Peter. World Civilizations. 3rd ed. New York, NY: 2003. Print.
Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World. 2nd ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. Print.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/756980/African-architecture/57116/The-20th-century
Stearns, Peter. World Civilizations. 3rd ed. New York, NY: 2003. Print.
Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World. 2nd ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. Print.