The “economic civilization” of most of Africa (with the exception of the “river civilization” of the Nile Valley) took shape over thousands of years and by the time the region was colonized in the second half of the 19th century. changed very little. The basis of the economy was still slash-and-burn agriculture with hoe tillage.
Recall that this is the earliest type of farming, followed by plow farming (which, by the way, is not very widespread even at the end of the 20th century, which is hindered by the reasonable desire of local peasants to preserve a thin fertile layer of soil; a plow plowing to a fairly large depth will do more harm than good).
Agriculture of a higher level (outside the Nile Valley) was distributed only in Northeast Africa (on the territory of modern Ethiopia), in West Africa and Madagascar.
Animal husbandry (mainly cattle breeding) was auxiliary in the economy of the African peoples, and it became the main thing only in certain areas of the mainland - south of the Zambezi River, among the nomadic peoples of North Africa.
Africa has long been known to Europeans, but it was not of great interest to them. Precious reserves were not discovered here, and it was difficult to penetrate deep into the mainland. Until the end of the XVIII century. Europeans knew only the outlines of the banks and mouths of the rivers, where trading strongholds were created and from where slaves were taken to America. The role of Africa was reflected in the geographical names that the whites gave to individual sections of the African coast: the Ivory Coast, the Gold Coast, the Slave Coast.
Until the 80s. 19th century more than 3/4 of the territory of Africa was occupied by various political entities, including even large and strong states (Mali, Zimbabwe, etc.). European colonies were only on the coast. And suddenly, within only two decades, all of Africa was divided among the European powers. This happened at a time when almost all of America had already achieved political independence. Why did Europe suddenly have an interest in the African continent?
The most important reasons for colonization
1. By this time, the mainland had already been quite well explored by various expeditions and Christian missionaries. American war correspondent G. Stanley in the mid-70s. 19th century crossed the African continent with the expedition from east to west, leaving behind destroyed settlements. Addressing the British, G. Stanley wrote: “South of the mouth of the Congo River, forty million naked people are waiting to be dressed by the weaving factories of Manchester and equipped with tools by the workshops of Birmingham.”
2. By the end of the XIX century. quinine was discovered as a remedy for malaria. Europeans were able to penetrate into the depths of malarial territories.
3. In Europe, by this time, industry began to develop rapidly, the economy was on the rise, European countries stood on their feet. It was a period of relative political calm in Europe - there were no major wars. The colonial powers showed amazing "solidarity", and at the Berlin Conference in the mid-80s. England, France, Portugal, Belgium and Germany divided the territory of Africa among themselves. The borders in Africa were "cut" without taking into account the geographical and ethnic characteristics of the territory. At present, 2/5 of African state borders run along parallels and meridians, 1/3 - along other straight lines and arcs, and only 1/4 - along natural boundaries, approximately coinciding with ethnic boundaries.
By the beginning of the XX century. all of Africa was divided among the European metropolises.
The struggle of the African peoples against the invaders was complicated by internal tribal conflicts, in addition, it was difficult to resist the Europeans armed with perfect rifled firearms, invented by that time, with spears and arrows.
The period of active colonization of Africa began. Unlike America or Australia, there was no massive European immigration here. Throughout the African continent in the XVIII century. there was only one compact group of immigrants - the Dutch (Boers), numbering only 16 thousand people ("Boers" from the Dutch and German words "bauer", which means "peasant"). And even now, at the end of the 20th century, in Africa, the descendants of Europeans and children from mixed marriages make up only 1% of the population (This includes 3 million Boers, the same number of mulattos in South Africa and one and a half million immigrants from Great Britain).
Africa has the lowest level of socio-economic development compared to other regions of the world. According to all the main indicators of the development of the economy and the social sphere, the region occupies the position of a world outsider.
The most pressing problems of humanity are most relevant for Africa. Not all of Africa scores so low, but a few more fortunate countries are only "islands of relative prosperity" in the midst of poverty and acute problems.
Perhaps the problems of Africa are due to difficult natural conditions, a long period of colonial rule?
Undoubtedly, these factors played a negative role, but others also acted along with them.
Africa belongs to the developing world, which in the 60s and 70s. showed high rates of economic, and in some areas and social development. In the 80s and 90s. problems sharply escalated, the rate of economic growth decreased (production began to fall), which gave reason to conclude: "The developing world has stopped developing."
However, there is a point of view that involves the allocation of two close, but at the same time heterogeneous concepts: "development" and "modernization". Development in this case refers to changes in the socio-economic sphere caused by internal causes that lead to the strengthening of the traditional system without destroying it. Did the process of development proceed in Africa, its traditional economy? Of course yes.
In contrast to development, modernization is a set of changes in the socio-economic (and political) sphere caused by the modern requirements of the outside world. With regard to Africa, this means expanding external contacts and its inclusion in the world system; i.e. Africa must learn to "play by the rules of the world". Will not Africa be destroyed by this inclusion in the modern world civilization?
One-sided, traditional development leads to autarky (isolation) and lagging behind the world leaders. Rapid modernization is accompanied by a painful breaking of the existing socio-economic structure. The optimal combination is a reasonable combination of development and modernization, and most importantly - a gradual, phased transformation, without catastrophic consequences and taking into account local specifics. Modernization has an objective character, and one cannot do without it.
A series of circumstances accelerated the expansion of Europeans and the colonization of Africa, and also led to the rapid division of the continent.
Africa at the beginning of the 19th century
At the beginning of the 19th century, the interior of Africa was not yet widely known, although trade routes had already passed through the entire continent for centuries. With the onset of colonization and the spread of Islam, things quickly changed. Port cities such as Mombasa have grown in importance. This was facilitated by trade in goods and, above all, slaves, due to which the number of contacts with the rest of the world increased dramatically.
At first, Europeans were present only on the coast of Africa. Driven by curiosity, the search for raw materials, and sometimes a missionary spirit, they soon began to organize expeditions into the interior of the continent. Europe's interest in Africa began to grow, and the maps compiled by the discoverers served as the basis for accelerated colonization, which was not long in coming.
Outlines of the African continent
At the beginning of the 19th century, Europe's attitude towards colonialism underwent significant changes. Initially, the Europeans were content with their African trading posts and small colonies. However, when new competitive states began to be created and economic relations began to change, competition arose between them for the possession of the best territories. As soon as one state began to claim any territory, others immediately reacted to it. First of all, this applies to France, which created a powerful colonial empire with strongholds in West and Equatorial Africa. Algiers, conquered in 1830, became the first French colony, and Tunisia, in 1881, was the last.
The unification of Germany during the reign of Bismarck led to the creation of another state that sought to have colonial possessions. Under the pressure of Germany's colonial ambitions, the existing colonial powers in Africa were forced to intensify their expansion. So Britain annexed to its possessions the territories of West Africa, on the coast of which so far there were only a few forts belonging to it. At the end of the 19th century, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia became British colonies. The annexation of the country began to be seen not only as an economic necessity, but also as an act of patriotism.
At the end of the 19th century, Belgium and Germany initiated a process that became known as the “race for Africa”. Since Germany's claims were directed to southeast and east Africa, the governments of other countries immediately felt slighted. Bismarck convened a conference on the Congo in Berlin, where the question of the division of spheres of influence in Africa was resolved. King Leopold's claims to the Belgian Congo were satisfied, which caused fear in France, which resulted in the annexation of a part of the Congo, which became known as the French Congo. This, in turn, set off a chain reaction in which each government rushed to pursue its interests.
On the Nile, the French organized a confrontation with the British, who wanted to occupy the territories claimed by France. This major international conflict was settled only after the French agreed to withdraw.
Boer Wars
The conflict of interests of European countries escalated into the Boer Wars in Africa, which lasted from 1899 to 1902. Large deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered in South Africa. These lands were inhabited by the descendants of the Dutch colonists, "Afrikaans" or "Boers" ("free citizens"). When the British took away their colonies from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars, the Boers created their own states: the Transvaal and the Orange Republic. Now gold prospectors flocked to this region from everywhere and speculation began. The British government feared that the Boers would unite with the Germans and control the routes to the east. The tension grew. In October 1899, the Boers defeated the British troops who were concentrating on their frontier. However, they lost the next war. After that, they waged a guerrilla war for two more years, but suffered a final defeat from the British army.
It has many millennia, and according to some scientific hypotheses, it was in Africa that the first people appeared, who subsequently multiplied and populated all other lands of our planet (well, except for Antarctica). So, according to these hypotheses, Africa is the cradle of mankind. And it is not surprising that many people were drawn to this continent, and they returned, sometimes as explorers, and sometimes as conquerors, such is our human nature.
The first European colonies in Africa began to appear at the beginning of the 15-16th century. The British and French showed genuine interest in North Africa, and especially in one of the cradles of human civilizations - Egypt with its majestic pyramids and the mysterious Sphinx. The Portuguese were the first to penetrate West Africa, creating their colonies there. Subsequently, representatives of other European countries also joined them: Holland, Belgium, Germany.
The greatest peak of colonialism in Africa came in the 19th century, here is an interesting fact: at the beginning of the century before last, only 10% of African territories were European colonies, but at its end, 90% (!) African lands were European colonies. Only two African countries managed to maintain full independence: and Eastern Sudan. All the other countries were under someone's heel, so many countries of North Africa belonged to France: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, in each of them French domination was established by force. For some other countries, such as, say, the already mentioned Egypt, there was even a desperate military struggle between France and England. The latter was also not opposed to taking possession of this tidbit, but in Egypt the British had to meet a strong and talented enemy, the famous General Napoleon Bonaparte, who would soon become the French emperor, conquer all of Europe and reach right up to Moscow. Although further military defeats by Napoleon reduced the influence of France in North Africa, Egypt did, in the end, go to the British.
The Portuguese, thanks to their brave navigators and cartographers, were the first to reach West Africa, where they entered into numerous contacts with the local population and founded their colonies, Angola, a huge African country, whose area is several times larger than the area of small Portugal, became the largest Portuguese colony in West Africa. .
The British also did not catch crows, and in addition to Egypt, they founded many colonies, both in West and East and South Africa. Subsequently, representatives of other European states also came to Africa: the Germans managed to capture part of the territory of West Africa: Cameroon, Togo and Namibia (the latter country still strongly resembles Germany with its cozy cities built by the Germans themselves).
The Belgians, since by the time they appeared the African coast was already occupied by other Europeans, decided to move deep into the African continent, where they founded their colony in the country of Congo (Central Africa). The Italians received land in eastern Africa: the countries of Somalia and Eritrea became their colonies.
What attracted Europeans to Africa? First of all, numerous natural resources, as well as human resources - that is, slaves, into which the Europeans actively turned the local population. Further, the slaves were taken to the New World for hard work on local sugar plantations. In general, the slave trade is one of the darkest pages of African history, about which there will be a separate article on our website.
Returning to colonialism, in addition to its clearly negative consequences, there were some positive aspects. So the Europeans brought a certain civilization, culture to Africa, built cities, roads, Christian missionaries went along with the soldiers who wanted to convert the local population to Christianity (whether it be Protestantism or Catholicism), they did a lot to educate Africans, built schools taught African natives European languages (primarily English, but also French, Spanish, Portuguese, German) and other sciences.
THE DECLINE OF COLONIALISM
Everything comes to an end sooner or later, and the end came to colonialism in Africa, the decline of which began in the 60s of the last century. It was at this time that active socio-political movements for the declaration of independence began in various African countries. Somewhere it is possible to gain independence peacefully, but somewhere it was not without armed struggle, as, say, in the same Angola, where a real war of independence against Portuguese rule took place, which, however, after that turned into a civil war between Angolans who were carried away by communist ideas (the MPLA party) and those who wanted to build communism in Angola and the Angolans, who did not like it, but that's another story.
Also, the negative impact of colonialism after its collapse was the fact that some newly created African countries contained a heterogeneous cultural and even hostile population. Sometimes this led to real civil wars, as, say, it was in Nigeria, a former English colony, where, after the declaration of independence, the Ibo and Yoruba tribes were hostile to each other in one country. But again, that's another story...
North Africa.
North Africa, the closest part of the continent to Europe, attracted the attention of the leading colonial powers - France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Egypt was the subject of rivalry between Great Britain and France, Tunisia with France and Italy, Morocco with France, Spain and (later) Germany; Algeria was the primary object of interest for France, and Tripolitania and Cyrenaica for Italy.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 sharply aggravated the Anglo-French struggle for Egypt. The weakening of France after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 forced her to cede a leading role in Egyptian affairs to Great Britain. In 1875, the British bought a controlling stake in the Suez Canal. True, in 1876 joint Anglo-French control over Egyptian finances was established. However, during the Egyptian crisis of 1881-1882, caused by the rise of the patriotic movement in Egypt (the movement of Arabi Pasha), Great Britain managed to push France into the background. As a result of a military expedition in July-September 1882, Egypt was occupied by the British and actually turned into a British colony.
At the same time, France managed to win the fight for the western part of North Africa. In 1871, Italy attempted to annex Tunisia, but was forced to retreat under French and British pressure. In 1878, the British government agreed not to prevent the French from seizing Tunisia. Taking advantage of a minor conflict on the Algerian-Tunisian border in March 1881, France invaded Tunisia (April-May 1881) and forced the Tunisian Bey to sign the Treaty of Bardos on May 12, 1881 on the actual establishment of a French protectorate (formally proclaimed on June 8, 1883). Italy's plans to acquire Tripolitania and the Tunisian port of Bizerte failed. In 1896 she recognized the French protectorate over Tunisia.
In the 1880-1890s, France concentrated its efforts on expanding its Algerian possessions in the southern (Saharan) and western (Moroccan) directions. In November 1882, the French captured the Mzab region with the cities of Gardaya, Guerrara and Berrian. During a military campaign in October 1899 - May 1900, they annexed the southern Moroccan oases of Insalah, Tuat, Tidikelt and Gurara. In August-September 1900, control was established over southwestern Algeria.
At the beginning of the 20th century France began preparations for the capture of the Sultanate of Morocco. In exchange for recognizing Tripolitania as a sphere of interests of Italy, and Egypt as a sphere of interests of Great Britain, France was given a free hand in Morocco (secret Italian-French agreement of January 1, 1901, Anglo-French treaty of April 8, 1904). October 3, 1904 France and Spain reached an agreement on the division of the Sultanate. However, Germany's opposition prevented the French from establishing a protectorate over Morocco in 1905-1906 (the first Moroccan crisis); nevertheless, the Algeciras Conference (January-April 1906), although it recognized the independence of the sultanate, at the same time authorized the establishment of French control over its finances, army and police. In 1907 the French occupied a number of areas on the Algerian-Moroccan border (primarily the district of Oujady) and the most important Moroccan port of Casablanca. In May 1911 they occupied Fez, the capital of the Sultanate. The new Franco-German conflict caused by this (the second Moroccan (Agadir) crisis) in June-October 1911 was resolved by a diplomatic compromise: under an agreement on November 4, 1911, Germany agreed to a French protectorate in Morocco for the cession of part of the French Congo to it. The official establishment of the protectorate took place on March 30, 1912. Under the Franco-Spanish treaty on November 27, 1912, Spain received the northern coast of the Sultanate from the Atlantic to the lower reaches of Mului with the cities of Ceuta, Tetouan and Melilla, and also retained the South Moroccan port of Ifni (Santa Cruz de Mar Pequeña). At the request of Great Britain, the district of Tangier was turned into an international zone.
As a result of the Italo-Turkish war (September 1911 - October 1912), the Ottoman Empire ceded Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan to Italy (Treaty of Lausanne October 18, 1912); from them the colony of Libya was formed.
West Africa.
France played a major role in the colonization of West Africa. The main object of her aspirations was the Niger basin. French expansion went in two directions - east (from Senegal) and north (from the Guinean coast).
The colonization campaign began in the late 1870s. Moving east, the French encountered two African states located in the upper reaches of the Niger - Sego-Sikoro (Sultan Ahmadu) and Wasulu (Sultan Toure Samori). On March 21, 1881, Ahmadu formally ceded to them lands from the source of the Niger to Timbuktu (French Sudan). During the war of 1882-1886, having defeated Samory, the French went to Niger in 1883 and built here their first fort in the Sudan - Bamako. On March 28, 1886, Samory recognized the dependence of his empire on France. In 1886-1888 the French extended their power to the territory south of Senegal up to the British Gambia. In 1890-1891 they conquered the kingdom of Segu-Sikoro; in 1891 they entered the final battle with Samory; in 1893-1894, having occupied Masina and Timbuktu, they established control over the middle course of the Niger; in 1898, having defeated the state of Uasulu, they finally established themselves in its upper reaches.
On the Guinean coast, the strongholds of the French were trading posts on the Ivory Coast and the Slave Coast; back in 1863-1864 they acquired the port of Cotona and a protectorate over Porto-Novo. In this region, France faced competition from other European powers - Great Britain, which expanded in the early 1880s on the Gold Coast and in the Lower Niger basin (Lagos colony), and Germany, which established a protectorate over Togo in July 1884. In 1888, the British, having defeated the state of Great Benin, subjugated vast territories in the lower reaches of the Niger (Benin, Calabar, the kingdom of Sokoto, part of the Hausan principalities). However, the French managed to get ahead of their rivals. As a result of the victory in 1892-1894 over the powerful kingdom of Dahomey, which closed the French access to Niger from the south, the western and southern flows of French colonization united, while the British, who encountered the stubborn resistance of the Ashanti Federation, could not break through to Niger from the Gold Coast; the Ashanti were subjugated only in 1896. The English and German colonies on the Guinean coast found themselves surrounded on all sides by French possessions. By 1895, France had completed the conquest of the lands between Senegal and the Ivory Coast, calling them French Guinea, and pressed small English (Gambia, Sierra Leone) and Portuguese (Guinea) colonies to the West African coast. On August 5, 1890, an Anglo-French delimitation agreement was concluded in West Africa, which put a limit to British expansion to the north: the British protectorate of Nigeria was limited to the lower reaches of the Niger, the Benue region and the territory extending to the southwestern shore of Lake. Chad. The borders of Togo were established by the Anglo-German agreements on July 28, 1886 and November 14, 1899 and the Franco-German agreement on July 27, 1898. Having captured the territory from Senegal to Lake. Chad, the French in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. launched an offensive to the north into areas inhabited mainly by Arabs. In 1898-1911 they subdued a vast territory to the east of the Niger (Air Plateau, Tenere region), in 1898-1902 - lands north of its middle course (Azawad region, Iforas Plateau), in 1898-1904 - an area north of Senegal (Regions of Auker and El Djouf). Most of Western Sudan (modern Senegal, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Benin and Niger) fell under French control. In the northwestern part of West Africa (modern Western Sahara), the Spaniards managed to gain a foothold. September 1881 they began the colonization of the Rio de Oro (the coast between m. Blanco and M. Bojador), and in 1887 proclaimed it a zone of their interests. Under treaties with France on October 3, 1904 and November 27, 1912, they expanded their colony to the north, adding to it the southern Moroccan region of Seguiet el-Hamra.
Central Africa.
Equatorial Africa turned out to be a sphere of struggle between Germany, France and Belgium. The strategic goal of these powers was to establish control over Central Sudan and penetrate into the Nile Valley.
In 1875 the French (P. Savorgnan de Brazza) began advancing eastward from the mouth of the Ogooué (northwestern Gabon) to the lower reaches of the Congo; in September 1880 they proclaimed a protectorate over the Congo valley from Brazzaville to the confluence of the Ubangi. At the same time, expansion in the Congo basin was launched from 1879 by the International African Association, which was under the patronage of the Belgian King Leopold II (1865-1909); at the head of the expeditions organized by her was the English traveler G.M. Stanley. The rapid advance of the Belgians in the direction of the Nile displeased Great Britain, which prompted Portugal, which owned Angola, to declare its "historical" rights to the mouth of the Congo; in February 1884 the British government officially recognized the Congolese coast as a sphere of Portuguese influence. In July 1884, Germany declared a protectorate over the coast from the northern border of Spanish Guinea to Calabar and began to expand its possessions in eastern and northeastern directions (Cameroon). As a result of the second expedition of de Brazza (April 1883 - May 1885), the French subjugated the entire right bank of the Congo (French Congo), which led to a conflict with the Association. To solve the Congolese problem, the Berlin Conference was convened (November 1884 - February 1885), which partitioned Central Africa: the Congo Free State was created in the Congo basin, headed by Leopold II; the French left the right bank; Portugal abandoned its claims. In the second half of the 1880s, the Belgians undertook a wide expansion to the south, east and north: in the south they conquered the lands in the upper reaches of the Congo, including Katanga, in the east they reached the lake. Tanganyika, in the north approached the sources of the Nile. However, their expansion ran into strong opposition from France and Germany. In 1887 the Belgians tried to occupy the regions north of the Ubangi and Mbomu rivers, but in 1891 they were forced out by the French. According to the Anglo-Belgian treaty on May 12, 1894, the "Free State" received the left bank of the Nile from Lake. Albert to Fashoda, but under pressure from France and Germany, he had to limit his advance to the north by the Ubangi-Mbomu line (agreement with France of August 14, 1894). The German advance from Cameroon to Central Sudan was also halted. The Germans managed to expand their possessions to the upper reaches of the Benue and even reach the lake. Chad is in the north, but the western passage to Central Sudan (through the Adamawa mountains and the Borno region) was closed by the British (the Anglo-German treaty of November 15, 1893), and the eastern route through the river. Shari was cut off by the French, who won the "race to Chad"; The Franco-German agreement of February 4, 1894 established the southern coast of Chad and the lower reaches of the Shari and its tributary Logone as the eastern border of German Cameroon.
As a result of the expeditions of P. Krampel and I. Dybovsky in 1890-1891, the French reached the lake. Chad. By 1894, the area between the Ubangi and Shari rivers (Upper Ubangi colony; present-day Central African Republic) was under their control. By agreement with Great Britain on March 21, 1899, the Vadai region between Chad and Darfur fell into the sphere of French influence. In October 1899 - May 1900, the French defeated the Rabah Sultanate, occupying the Barghimi (lower Shari) and Kanem (east of Lake Chad) regions. In 1900-1904, they moved even further north up to the Tibesti highlands, subjugating Borka, Bodele and Tibba (the northern part of modern Chad). As a result, the southern stream of French colonization merged with the western one, and the West African possessions merged with the Central African ones into a single massif.
South Africa.
In South Africa, Great Britain was the main force of European expansion. In their advance from the Cape Colony to the north, the British had to face not only the native tribes, but also the Boer republics. In 1877 they occupied the Transvaal, but after the Boer uprising at the end of 1880 they were forced to recognize the independence of the Transvaal in exchange for its renunciation of an independent foreign policy and attempts to expand its territory to the east and west.
In the late 1870s, the British began a struggle for control of the coast between the Cape Colony and Portuguese Mozambique. In 1880 they defeated the Zulus and made Zululand their colony. In April 1884, Germany entered into competition with Great Britain in southern Africa, which proclaimed a protectorate over the territory from the Orange River to the border with Angola (German South-West Africa; modern Namibia); the British managed to save only the port of Walvis Bay in the area. The threat of contact between German and Boer possessions and the prospect of a German-Boer alliance prompted Great Britain to intensify efforts to "encircle" the Boer republics. In 1885, the British subjugated the Bechuan lands and the Kalahari Desert (Bechuanaland Protectorate; present-day Botswana), driving a wedge between German Southwest Africa and the Transvaal. German South-West Africa was squeezed between the British and Portuguese colonies (its borders were determined by the German-Portuguese of December 30, 1886 and the Anglo-German of July 1, 1890 agreements). In 1887, the British conquered the Tsonga lands located north of Zululand, thus reaching the southern border of Mozambique and cutting off the Boers' access to the sea from the east. With the annexation of Kafraria (Pondoland) in 1894, the entire eastern coast of South Africa fell into their hands.
From the late 1880s, the Privileged Company of S. Rhodes became the main instrument of British expansion, which put forward a program to create a continuous strip of English possessions "from Cairo to Kapstadt (Cape Town)". In 1888-1893, the British subjugated the lands of Mason and Matabele, located between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers (Southern Rhodesia; modern Zimbabwe). In 1889 they conquered the territory north of the Zambezi - Barotse Land, calling it Northern Rhodesia (modern Zambia). In 1889-1891, the British forced the Portuguese to leave Manica (modern Southern Zambia) and abandon their plans to expand the territory of Mozambique in a westerly direction (treaty of June 11, 1891). In 1891 they occupied the area west of the lake. Nyasa (Nyasaland; modern Malawi) - and reached the southern borders of the Congo Free State and German East Africa. They, however, failed to take Katanga from the Belgians and move further north; S. Rhodes' plan failed. Since the mid-1890s, the main task of Great Britain in South Africa was the annexation of the Boer republics. But an attempt to annex the Transvaal through a coup d'état ("Jamson's raid") at the end of 1895 failed. Only after the hard and bloody Anglo-Boer War (October 1899 - May 1902) were the Transvaal and the Orange Republic included in the British possessions. Together with them, Swaziland (1903), which had been under the protectorate of the Transvaal since 1894, also came under the control of Great Britain.
East Africa.
East Africa was destined to become the object of rivalry between Britain and Germany. In 1884-1885, the German East African Company, through agreements with local tribes, proclaimed its protectorate over the 1800-kilometer strip of the Somali coast from the mouth of the Tana River to Cape Guardafui, including over the rich Vitu Sultanate (in the lower reaches of the Tana). At the initiative of Great Britain, who feared the possibility of German penetration into the Nile Valley, the dependent Sultan of Zanzibar, the overlord of the East African coast north of Mozambique, protested, but he was rejected. In opposition to the Germans, the British created the Imperial British East Africa Company, which hastily began to seize pieces of the coast. The territorial confusion prompted the rivals to conclude an agreement on delimitation: the mainland possessions of the Zanzibar Sultan were limited to a narrow (10-kilometer) coastal ribbon (the Anglo-French-German declaration of July 7, 1886); the dividing line between the British and German zones of influence ran along the section of the modern Kenyan-Tanzanian border from the coast to Lake. Victoria: the areas to the south of it went to Germany (German East Africa), the areas to the north (with the exception of Vitu) - to Great Britain (agreement of November 1, 1886). On April 28, 1888, the Zanzibar sultan, under pressure from Germany, transferred to her the regions of Uzagara, Nguru, Uzegua and Ukami. In an effort to reach the source of the Nile, the Germans launched an offensive deep into the continent in the late 1880s; they attempted to bring Uganda and the southernmost Sudanese province of Equatoria under their control. However, in 1889 the British succeeded in subduing the state of Buganda, which occupied the main part of the Ugandan territory, and thereby blocking the Germans' path to the Nile. Under these conditions, the parties agreed to conclude on July 1, 1890 a compromise agreement on the demarcation of land to the west of the lake. Victoria: Germany renounced claims to the Nile basin, Uganda and Zanzibar, in exchange for the strategically important island of Helgoland (North Sea) in Europe; Lake became the western border of German East Africa. Tanganyika and lake. Albert-Eduard (modern Lake Kivu); Great Britain established a protectorate over Vitu, Zanzibar and about. Pemba, but gave up trying to get a passage between German possessions and the Congo Free State, which would connect her North and South African colonies. By 1894, the British had extended their power to all of Uganda.
European colonization affected not only North and South America, Australia and other lands, but the entire African continent. From the former power of Ancient Egypt, which you studied in the 5th grade, there is no trace left. Now all these are colonies divided among different European countries. In this lesson, you will learn how the process of European colonization took place in Africa and whether there were any attempts to resist this process.
In 1882, popular discontent broke out in Egypt, and England sent its troops into the country under the pretext of protecting its economic interests, which meant the Suez Canal.
Another powerful state that extended its influence to the African states in modern times was Omani empire. Oman was located in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Active Arab traders carried out trading operations along almost the entire coast of the Indian Ocean. As a result, numerous trade trading posts(small trading colonies of merchants of a certain country on the territory of another state) on the coast of East Africa, on the Comoros and in the north of the island of Madagascar. It was with the Arab traders that the Portuguese navigator encountered Vasco da Gama(Fig. 2), when he managed to go around Africa and pass through the Mozambique Strait to the shores of East Africa: modern Tanzania and Kenya.
Rice. 2. Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama ()
It was this event that marked the beginning of European colonization. The Omani empire could not stand the competition with the Portuguese and other European navigators and collapsed. The remnants of this empire are considered to be the Sultanate of Zanzibar and a few sultanates on the coast of East Africa. By the end of the 19th century, they all disappeared under the onslaught of Europeans.
The first colonizers who settled in sub-Saharan Africa were Portuguese. First, the sailors of the XV century, and then Vasco da Gama, who in 1497-1499. rounded Africa and reached India by sea, exerted their influence on the policy of local rulers. As a result, the coasts of countries such as Angola and Mozambique were explored by them by the beginning of the 16th century.
The Portuguese extended their influence to other lands, some of which were considered less effective. The main interest for the European colonizers was the slave trade. It was not necessary to found large colonies, countries set up their trading posts on the coast of Africa and were engaged in the exchange of European products for slaves or conquest campaigns to capture slaves and went to trade them in America or Europe. This slave trade continued in Africa until the end of the 19th century. Gradually, different countries banned slavery and the slave trade. At the end of the 19th century, there was a hunt for slave-owning ships, but all this was of little use. Slavery continued to exist.
The conditions of the slaves were monstrous (Fig. 3). In the process of transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean, at least half died. Their bodies were thrown overboard. There was no record of slaves. At least 3 million people, and modern historians claim that up to 15 million, Africa lost due to the slave trade. The scale of trade changed from century to century, and it reached its peak at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.
Rice. 3. African slaves are transported across the Atlantic Ocean to America ()
After the appearance of the Portuguese colonialists, other European countries began to claim the territory of Africa. In 1652, Holland showed activity. At that time Jan van Riebeeck(Fig. 4) captured a point in the extreme south of the African continent and named it Kapstad. In 1806, this city was captured by the British and renamed Cape Town(Fig. 5). The city still exists today and bears the same name. It was from this point that the spread of the Dutch colonialists throughout South Africa began. The Dutch colonizers called themselves Boers(Fig. 6) (translated from Dutch - “peasant”). Peasants made up the bulk of the Dutch colonists who did not have enough land in Europe.
Rice. 4. Jan van Riebeeck ()
Rice. 5. Cape Town on the map of Africa ()
Just as in North America, the colonists clashed with the Indians, in South Africa, the Dutch colonists clashed with the local peoples. First of all, with the people scythe, the Dutch called them kaffirs. In the struggle for the territory, which received the name Kaffir Wars, the Dutch colonists gradually pushed the native tribes further and further to the center of Africa. The territories they captured, however, were small.
In 1806, the British arrived in southern Africa. The Boers did not like this and refused to submit to the British crown. They began to retreat further north. So there were people who called themselves Boer Settlers, or Burtrekers. This great campaign continued for several decades. It led to the formation of two independent Boer states in the northern part of present-day South Africa: Transvaal and the Orange Republic(Fig. 7).
Rice. 7. Independent Boer States: Transvaal and Orange Free State ()
The British were unhappy with this retreat of the Boers, because she wanted to control the entire territory of southern Africa, and not just the coast. As a result, in 1877-1881. The first Anglo-Boer War took place. The British demanded that these territories become part of the British Empire, but the Boers strongly disagreed with this. It is generally accepted that about 3,000 Boers took part in this war, and the entire English army was 1,200 people. The resistance of the Boers was so fierce that England abandoned attempts to influence the independent Boer states.
But in 1885 in the area of modern Johannesburg, deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered. The economic factor in colonization was always the most important, and England could not allow the Boers to benefit from gold and diamonds. In 1899-1902. The second Anglo-Boer War broke out. Despite the fact that the war was fought on the territory of Africa, it took place, in fact, between two European peoples: the Dutch (Boers) and the British. The fierce war ended with the fact that the Boer republics lost their independence and were forced to become part of the South African colony of Great Britain.
Together with the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British, representatives of other European powers quickly appeared in Africa. Thus, in the 1830s, active colonization activities were carried out by France, which captured vast territories in North and Equatorial Africa. Actively colonized and Belgium, especially during the reign of the king LeopoldII. The Belgians created their own colony in central Africa called Free State of the Congo. It existed from 1885 to 1908. It was believed that this was the personal territory of the Belgian king Leopold II. This state was only in words m. In fact, it was inherent in the violation of all the principles of international law, and the local population was driven to work on the royal plantations. A huge number of people on these plantations died. There were special punitive detachments that were supposed to punish those who collected too little rubber(sap of the hevea tree, the main raw material for the manufacture of rubber). As proof that the punitive detachments had coped with their task, they had to bring to the point where the Belgian army was located, the severed hands and feet of the people they were punishing.
As a result, almost all African territories by the endXIXcenturies were divided among the European powers(Fig. 8). The activity of European countries in annexing new territories was so great that this era was called "race for Africa" or "fight for Africa". The Portuguese, who owned the territory of modern Angola and Mozambique, counted on the capture of the intermediate territory, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, and, thus, on the creation of a network of their colonies on the African continent. But it was impossible to implement this project, since the British had their own plans for these territories. Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, based in Cape Town, Cecil John Rhodes, believed that Great Britain should create a chain of its own colonies. It should start in Egypt (in Cairo) and end in Cape Town. Thus, the British hoped to build their own colonial strip and stretch the railway along this strip from Cairo to Cape Town. After the First World War, the British managed to build the chain, but the railway was unfinished. It doesn't exist to this day.
Rice. 8. Possessions of European colonialists in Africa by the beginning of the 20th century ()
In 1884-1885, the European powers held a conference in Berlin, which made a decision on the question of which country belongs to this or that sphere of influence in Africa. As a result, almost the entire territory of the continent was divided between them.
As a result, by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, Europeans had mastered the entire territory of the continent. Only 2 semi-independent states remained: Ethiopia and Liberia. This is due to the fact that Ethiopia was difficult to colonize, because one of the main tasks of the colonizers was the spread of Christianity, and Ethiopia since the early Middle Ages has been a Christian state.
Liberia, in fact, was a territory created by the United States. It was on this territory that former American slaves were taken out of the United States by decision of President Monroe.
As a result, the British, French, Germans, Italians and other nations began to conflict in England. The Germans and Italians, who had few colonies, were dissatisfied with the decisions of the Berlin Congress. Other countries also wanted to get their hands on as much territory as possible. AT 1898 year between the British and French occurred fascist incident. Major Marchand of the French army captured a stronghold in modern South Sudan. The British considered these lands their own, and the French wanted to spread their influence there. As a result, a conflict broke out, during which relations between England and France deteriorated greatly.
Naturally, the Africans resisted the European colonizers, but the forces were unequal. Only one successful attempt can be singled out in the 19th century, when Muhammad ibn abd-Allah, who called himself Mahdi(Fig. 9), created a theocratic state in Sudan in 1881. It was a state based on the principles of Islam. In 1885, he managed to capture Khartoum (the capital of Sudan), and even though the Mahdi himself did not live long, this state existed until 1898 and was one of the few truly independent territories on the African continent.
Rice. 9. Muhammad ibn abd-Allah (Mahdi) ()
The most famous of the Ethiopian rulers of this era fought against European influence. MenelikII, who ruled from 1893 to 1913. He united the country, carried out active conquests and successfully resisted the Italians. He also maintained good relations with Russia, despite the significant remoteness of these two countries.
But all these attempts at confrontation were only isolated and could not give a serious result.
The revival of Africa began only in the second half of the 20th century, when African countries began to gain independence one after another.
Bibliography
1. Vedyushkin V.A., Burin S.N. History textbook for grade 8. - M.: Bustard, 2008.
2. Drogovoz I. The Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. - Minsk: Harvest, 2004.
3. Nikitina I.A. Capture of the Boer Republics by England (1899-1902). - M., 1970.
4. Noskov V.V., Andreevskaya T.P. General history. 8th grade. - M., 2013.
5. Yudovskaya A.Ya. General history. History of the New Age, 1800-1900, Grade 8. - M., 2012.
6. Yakovleva E.V. The colonial division of Africa and the position of Russia: the second half of the 19th century. - 1914 - Irkutsk, 2004.
Homework
1. Tell us about European colonization in Egypt. Why didn't the Egyptians want the Suez Canal to open?
2. Tell us about the European colonization of the southern part of the African continent.
3. Who are the Boers and why did the Anglo-Boer Wars break out? What were their results and consequences?
4. Were there attempts to resist European colonization and how did they manifest themselves?
