Transcript Colonialism in Africa

Colonization in Africa
Colonialism in Africa
• In the 1880’s, European
interest in the African
territories heightened.
• It was obvious everyone
was trying to get a “piece
of the pie”.
• mercantilism
Berlin Conference 1884
Berlin Conference 1884
• The General Act of the Berlin Conference
“divided Africa among its European powers.
Tribal boundaries of Africa.
Africa 1914
Colonialism in Africa
European Powers
• The British and the
French controlled the
largest empire.
Liberia and Ethiopia
• These two countries are
considered never to have
been colonized.
• Liberia – a country set up
for freed slaves who
wished to return to Africa
(Back to Africa
Movement)
• Ethiopia – defeated
Mussolini’s Italian forces.
By the 1950’s,
the Europeans
had lost the will
and financial
resources to
hold onto their
colonies.
Landlocked countries
They set
withdrawal
dates and just
“left” without
much thought
given to the
infrastructure
they left
behind.
The borders of the countries of Africa have created
several major problems that can be attributed to the
Geography of the current borders.
Ethnicity (tribes)
Religion
Languages
Resources
Transportation
Borders
Colonialism destroyed many of
Africa’s indigenous ruling bodies,
and their cultural traditions.
Even if landlocked countries
have river access to the
ocean, all of Africa’s major
rivers have waterfalls and
rapids that prohibit large
ship traffic.
Conflicts since the 1990s
• Civil war in Liberia
• Civil war in Sierra
Leone
• Civil War in Uganda
• Civil War in Congo
(ongoing)
• Sudan (southern and
Darfur)
• Collapse of the
government in
Somalia
• Civil War in Ethiopia
• Ethnic conflicts in
Kenya
• Ethnic conflicts in
Nigeria
• Rwanda
If so much conflict is caused by the borders left
behind by the Europeans, why can’t the countries
work together to “re-draw” those boundaries?
In most cases,
the people and
groups in power
now don’t want
to risk losing that
power or the
possibility of
widespread
chaos.
GDP cartogram of Arica
Issues facing Sub-Saharan Africa today:
Desertification
AIDS
Malaria
Poverty
Internal wars
Debt
Famine
And the biggest shatterbelt of all……
Many of the issues of Africa today are still laid at the
footprint of European Colonialism, which ended in the
1960’s.
Is there a “statute of limitations” on blame?
What does the future hold for the
countries of Africa?