GRADE 8 : HISTORY SECTION

THE SCRAMBLE OF AFRICA

PARTICIPANTS MANUAL

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 CHAPTER 1
1.Historical background

In the mid-1800s, on the eve of the European domination of Africa, African peoples
were divided into hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups. Most continued to follow
traditional beliefs, while others converted to Islam or Christianity. These groups
spoke more than 1,000 different languages. Politically, they ranged from large
empires that united many ethnic groups to independent villages

Europeans had established contacts with sub-Saharan Africans as early as the

1450s. However, powerful African armies were able to keep the Europeans out of
most of Africa for 400 years. In fact, as late as 1880, Europeans controlled only 10
percent of the continent’s land, mainly on the coast.

Source A: Berlin conference in 1884

This scramble was so intense that there were fears that it could lead to inter-imperialist
conflicts and even wars. To prevent this, the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck
convened a diplomatic summit of European powers in the late nineteenth century. This was
the famous Berlin West African conference (more generally known as the Berlin
Conference), held from November 1884 to February 1885. The conference produced a
treaty known as the Berlin Act, with provisions to guide the conduct of the European inter-
imperialist competition in Africa. Some of its major articles were as follows:

1. The Principle of Notification (Notifying) other powers of a territorial annexation

2. The Principle of Effective Occupation to validate the annexations
3. Freedom of Trade in the Congo Basin
4. Freedom of Navigation on the Niger and Congo Rivers
5. Freedom of Trade to all nations
6. Suppression of the Slave Trade by land and sea

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This treaty, drawn up without African participation, provided the basis for the subsequent
partition, invasion, and colonization of Africa by various European powers.

2. Causes of Scramble of Africa

2.1.1 Rivalry

European imperialism in Africa was partly due to rivalries between the different European
countries involved, with Britain, Germany and France the dominant powers. As Professor
Richard Evans of the University of Cambridge observes, by the 1880s “rivalries and
interventions had been building up already over several decades.” Each country aimed to
increase its own prestige by accumulating territories in other parts of the world. Such was
the rivalry between European powers that, in 1884 and 1885, the Berlin conference was
held to map out European possession of Africa, and by 1900, over 90 percent of African
territory was nominally under European control.

2.1.2. Resources

Africa’s natural resources were an important component in motivating European colonialism.

In the early 1800s, the triangular trade in slaves between Africa, the Americas and Europe
exploited Africa’s population, but after the abolition of slavery other resources came to the
fore. For example, mining millionaire Cecil Rhodes exploited goldfields and diamond mines
in South Africa and played a vital role in securing British rule over parts of modern-day
Zimbabwe in the belief that the land contained large deposits of gold.

2.1.3. Strategy

Sometimes European powers were keen to maintain control of specific territories for
strategic reasons. For the British, South Africa provided a useful stop for ships on their way
to India, another significant part of the British Empire, while from 1869 the Suez Canal in
Egypt created a much shorter route between the United Kingdom and her colonies further
east. As transport grew more reliant on oil, the canal also formed a route to the oilfields of
the Middle East. Britain gained control of the canal and its operation in the 1880s, and
fought to maintain that control in both world wars.

2.1.4. Economy

African colonies played two important economic roles. First, they were intended as a market
for the goods manufactured in the European “home” country. The colonies acted as
“protected” marketplaces where European products could be sold. In addition, African
colonies were expected to contribute to Europe’s economy. In West Africa, for example,
French administrators encouraged local people to grow crops like cotton and groundnuts,
which could be sold at home in France.

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Activity

Define the following historical terms:

2.1. Imperialism

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2.2. Colonialism

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2.3. Scramble of Africa

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2.4. Decolonisation

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2.5. Exploitation

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 3 Map of Africa showing different colonized countries

Source B

Source C Modern Africa

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ACTIVITY

3.1.1. Compare this CURRENT (2014) map of Africa to the 1914 map above. What
observations can you make? __________________________________________

3.1.2. Based on the "Berlin Conference" image above and the maps you have studied so far,
how much influence do you think native Africans had in determining the modern borders of
their countries?____________________________________________________

3.1.3. Why might these borders be responsible for some of the problems & ethnic conflicts
that affect Africa in current times?______________________________________________

3.1.4 After reviewing the maps, write a paragraph that gives several specific examples of
how the current borders in Africa reflect the boundaries established by the European nations
during the scramble for Africa.__________________________________________

Activity

3.2.1. Which power had the most land in Africa in 1914?

____________________________________________
3.2.2. Which power had the most land in North West Africa?
______________________________________________
3.2.3. Which two territory was not colonized (independent) and Why?
____________________________________________

Study source C below and answer questions below

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Percentage of Africans Controlled by European Powers in 1913
3.2.4. Who seems to be the "winners" of the "scramble for Africa"?

________________________________________________________
3.2.5. How much of Africa was controlled by non-European powers?

________________________________________________________________
3.2.6. How many African countries are listed in the diagram? Why is this significant

___________________________________________________________________

Activity

Source D

Study the cartoon below and answer question followed

3.3.1. Which country is depicted on above source?

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______________________________________

3.3.2 How many African countries it colonized?

______________________________________________

3.3.3. Which prominent leader who colonized most countries in Southern Africa on
behalf of country shown in source A?

______________________________________________

4. Patterns of Colonization in Africa

British

Britain was primarily concerned with maintaining its lines of communication with India,
hence its interest in Egypt and South Africa. But once these two areas were secure,
imperialist adventurers like Cecil Rhodes encouraged the acquisition of further territory with
the intention of establishing a Cape-to-Cairo railway

Britain occupied or annexed Egypt, the Sudan, British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda),
British Somaliland, Southern and Northern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia),
Bechuanaland (Botswana), Orange Free State and the Transvaal (South Africa), Gambia,
Sierra Leone, Nigeria, British Gold Coast (Ghana) and Nyasaland (Malawi). These countries
accounted for more than 30% of Africa's population.

French

France ruled from France, appointing chiefs individuals without considering traditional
criteria, but rather loyalty to France. France established two large colonial federations in
Africa, French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa. France appointed officials, passed
laws and had to approve any measures passed by colonial assembliesFrench West Africa

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By the early years of the twentieth century the French held most of what would come to be
their colonial territory in West Africa (including present day Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso,
Benin, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger).

Belgium

Belgium gained independence in 1830. Then, King Leopold II came to power in 1865 and
believed that colonies would greatly enhance Belgium's wealth and prestige.
Leopold's cruel, greedy activities in the current Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda,
and Burundi continue to affect the welfare of these countries today.

Portugal

In the late 15th century, the Portuguese traders established a trading settlement along the
Mozambique coast. They were trading mostly on slaves and ivory. Portugal establish colonial
rule in Mozambique and Angola.

5. Why European powers were able to colonise Africa so quickly

 Europeans had better technology, they were able to transport people to other parts
of the world and invention of machine gun
 Conflict among African Empires during slave trade, most powerful empire would
disempower weak empire and sell young men and women to western countries as
slaves, Africa lost strong men who would fight back Europeans
 Some Chiefs were promised great wealth if they allowed Europeans in their
territories
 Many tribes were converted into Christianity
 Treatment to certain diseases gave European an upper hand such as Malaria and
smallpox

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ACTIVITY

Study source E below and then answered questions below

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 On the Swoop"
This cartoon was published in a magazine in 1890. Answer the questions below to
help you analyze its meaning.
5.1. What "characters" (people, animals, etc...) do you see and who do they
represent? ____________________________________________________
5.2. Do any parts of the cartoon have a symbolic meaning?
__________________________________________________________
5.3. What event or idea is the cartoon about?
__________________________________________________________________
5.4. Does the cartoon have a positive or negative view of the event/idea it
illustrates?
___________________________________________________________________
5.5. If you had to write a caption explaining the intent or opinion of the cartoonist
what would it say?_____________________________________________________

6. Results of Colonisation

Political results

Many African chiefs or kings were killed or sent into exile because of the scramble and
partition in East Africa for example Kabalega and Mwanga were exiled while chief Mkwawa
of the Hehe was beheaded for resisting German colonial rule in Tanganyika.They clamped
down harshly on resistance or revolt from Africans. Colonisers used divide and rule, they
deliberately focus on the differences of the people that they ruled, and they also turn people
against each other so that they cannot work together against colonist.

Social results

Europeans did not invest in education; they saw Africans as source of labour.They paid very
little attention to health care and housing. Creation of new towns or cities attract many
people to cities and that create overcrowding ,as a results people built informal settlements
around the cities .These caused many diseases because of poor sanitation.

Source F Slums around Nairobi

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Economic results

Exploitation became the order of the day. Africans were forced to work in mines and on
farms and were poorly paid.

1. Mineral exploitation. Africa is a continent rich in mineral resources. In colonies

where there were large deposits of minerals, colonial governments encouraged the
exploitation of the minerals. Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and the Belgian Congo
(Congo) are examples of colonies whose economies were dominated by copper
production. In these colonies, colonial governments initiated policies that forced
some African farmers to leave their homes to become mine workers.

2. Large scale agricultural production. In colonies in East and Southern Africa that
had climates attractive to European settlers, the primary colonial economic activity
and revenue generation was large scale farms owned by Europeans. Examples
include Angola (coffee), Kenya (coffee, tea), and Southern Rhodesia/Zimbabwe
(tobacco, beef). In this system, European settler farmers needed land and labor. To
meet these needs, the colonial governments instituted unpopular policies that
removed good farm land from the local population and forced some men to work as
laborers on European controlled farms.

3. Small scale agricultural production. Most African colonies had neither large
deposits of minerals, nor the environment to encourage European settlement. In
these colonies, the colonial governments actively encouraged farmers to grow special
cash crops that would be exported to raise revenues. Cash crops included food crops
such as groundnuts/peanuts (Senegal, Nigeria), coffee (Tanganyika, Rwanda,
Uganda), cocoa (Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire) and non-food crops, such as cotton
(Mali, Niger, Sudan) and tobacco (Malawi).

4. Supply of Labor. Parts of some African colonies were poor in natural resources. In
these situations, the colonial regimes instituted policies that strongly encouraged
able bodied men to leave their homes and migrate either to distant areas within the
same colony or to neighboring colonies where they worked in mines or on large
farms. Mine owners and commercial farmers paid a recruitment fee to the colonial
government of the worker's home country. For example, in Southern Africa the
colonies of Bechuanaland (Botswana), Basotholand (Lesotho), Swaziland, and parts
of Mozambique and Malawi became labor reservoirs for the mines and large farms of
Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and South Africa.

5. Mixed Economies. Most colonial economies in Africa are called mono-economies by

economists. This indicates that the colonial economies were dependent on mining,
settler agriculture, or the small scale production of a single cash crop. There were a
few exceptions to this trend. By the end of colonialism in South Africa (1994), the
country had a very vibrant and diversified economy boasting mineral, agricultural,
and manufacturing industries, and an advanced commerce sector. Another example
of a mixed economy is Nigeria. In the 1950s, the last decade before independence,

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 the discovery of large reserve of petroleum helped diversify an agriculturally based
economy.

Study source G below and answer question followed

6.1. What is this cartoonist trying to say?

_________________________________________

6.2. What other country is to blame besides European countries according to this cartoon?

______________________________________________________________________

6.3. Examine the cartoon, how does this information support the cartoonists' point of view
(Tip: Pay particular attention to the "ring" graphs along the left-hand side of the image.)

_________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY

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Paragraph writing

6.4. Explain the results of colonization in Africa with special reference to political, social and
economic outcomes after colonization.

_________________________________________________________________________
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CHAPTER 2
Case Study: The Ashanti Kingdom

The west Coast of Africa Before the arrival of Europeans

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Asante, lying in what was once dense forest in the centre of modern Ghana, is one of the
best known of indigenous African states. With a rich and colorful culture and an elaborate
and sophisticated political system, it has been much studied and several major books have
surveyed its history and culture (Fynn 1971 ; Wilks 1989 ; McCaskie 1995). From the
historically attested beginning of the Asante State at the time of Osei Tutu (A.D. 1700), the
sequence of events is reasonably certain and details are known of political and economic
exchanges with European powers on the coast of Ghana. Europeans were in touch with
Asante certainly from the early years of Osei Tutu, when we know that the Dutch envoy
David Nyendael paid a visit to Kumase. Unfortunately he died very soon after his return to
Elmina and apparently left little or no record of this visit.

Activity 1

1.1. Why were Europeans traders so interested in trading with the Akan people?

_____________________________________________________________________

1.2. How did the traders indirectly help to form the Ashanti Kingdom?

__________________________________________________________________

1.3. What was the importance of golden stool to the Ashanti?

________________________________________________________________

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 1.4. Explain why Tutu was a popular King?

___________________________________________________________________

1. The Ashanti and their early Contact with Europeans traders and explorers

There is little information on other early European visitors, though it is likely that there had
been occasional visits during the eighteenth century, probably mainly from the Dutch-held
fort at Elmina. A Dutch envoy, W. Huydecoper, had been in Kumase from May 1816 to April
1817, just before the arrival of T. Bowdich who – as part of a British embassy.At the end of
the 17 th centuary anumebr of Akkan groups become united as the Ashanti. For the next
200 years their power and prosperity grew until they controlled a large empire.Kings of the
Ashanti were called Asantehene. Osei tutu became the first Asantehene.

Activity 2

2.1. Why did the Ashanti shift to slave trading?

_____________________________________________________________

2.2. Name the things that attracted Europeans to the West coast of Africa

___________________________________________________________________

2.3. Why the Queen mother was very important?

_______________________________________________________________________

2.4. Give evidence that the Ashanti people were so skillful Goldsmith

_____________________________________________________________________

3. The British and the colonization of the Gold Coast

The Ashanti Kingdom strongly resisted attempts by the British to subdue them. The Ashanti
Kingdom was among the first African Kingdoms to give the European Colonialists a good
fight. Between 1823 and 1896, the British fought four wars with the Ashanti Kings and in
1900; they defeated the Kingdom and incorporated it into the Gold Coast Colony as a
Protectorate. However, in 1926 the Asante were given ceremonial control over Kumasi. And
in 1935 the full role of leader of the Ashanti people was restored. In 1896 the British

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invaded the Ashanti Empire because they said that Ashanti owe them money. They entered
Kumasi and surrounded the palace of the last empire). Prempeh I (Kwaku Dua III) 1888-
1931. The British arrested him in 1896 after he refused to pay tributes British colonization.
He also refused to fight the British and was exiled by the British to as far as the Seychelles
Island. He finally returned to Kumasi on November 12, 1924 and was recognized by the
British as the King of Kumasi striping him of all other part of Ashanti but in reality, the
Ashanti’s still saw him as their King or Asante

Activity

3.1. Why do you think the British sent Prempeh I into exile?

________________________________________________________

3.2. Why do you think the British were prepared to fight and die to gain control of the Gold
coast?
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Results of colonization for Ashanti Kingdom and Britain

“The Ashanti people lost their freedom and independence”

 The Ashanti people were not given Political rights

 Power was taken away from legitimate rulers
 Their land was taken from them
 They forced to work for Wages and pay taxes
 Very little development was made in social facilities

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