1857-1890
This was the ‘Swing to the East’.
A concept which attempted to explain the shift of British interests away from the Western hemisphere and towards Africa and Asia, by the end of the 19th century.
This was a condominium.
A state where there is joint control over affairs by other states e.g. Sudan was a condominium of Britain and Egypt from 1899.
What is a mandate?
A territory allocated by the League of Nations to a particular nation to be governed on behalf of the League
Example of failure of East Africa to become an economic asset?
1946 - many countries faced a severe shortage of cooking fats - Britain founds idea of growing groundnuts in Tanganyika to process in cooking oil and sell
Involved building of a railway, buying machinery and equipment
The terrain was too difficult to cultivate and the scheme abandoned in 1951 costing £49M
Land turned into an uncultivable dust bowl - desertification
These 3 African territories became protectorates in the period 1857-1890.
1) Basutoland (1868).
2) Zululand (1879).
3) British Somaliland (1884).
4) Bechuanaland (1885).
When and why did Britain construct the Uganda Railway, and where did it run from and to?
1) Constructed 1896-1901.
2) It started from Mombasa, running to the highlands near Lake Victoria.
3) This consolidated British control over the East Africa Protectorate and Uganda, linking the colonies with one another, as well as with the Indian Ocean.
What was the mandate system?
The British and French argued that the former German and Ottoman colonies were underdeveloped, and needed guiding in terms of government and economic development. The mandate agreement aimed to help develop these countries, with mandates being divided into ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ categories for the extent of development required. In reality, the mandate system secured imperial control over new colonies.
What were British concessions in the Gold Coast?
In 1946 the Burns Convention was drawn up (Named after the Governor-General 1942-1947) - established a legislative council of 12 British nominees and 18 elected African members.
Nkrumah was released and became Prime Minister from 1952 and CCP members becoming government ministers
Given extensive control of internal affairs
1956 - plebiscite in British Mandated Togoland voted in favour or unification with the Gold Coast
Nationalism became so strong that in 1957 new elections were held for full adult suffrage
Became fully independent on 6th March 1957 as Ghana
This is how ‘morality’ influenced British expansion in Africa 1857-1890.
Many of the British in the Victorian era believed themselves to have ‘strong moral principles’. From the 1860s onwards, Christian missionaries saw it as their duty to spread their religion and civilisation to ‘heathen’ peoples.
What 2 West African colonies did Britain add to her Empire in the years 1890-1914?
1) Ashantiland (1901).
2) Nigeria (1914), joining together the Northern and Southern Nigerian protectorates.
Why did Britain want to acquire Middle-Eastern mandates (Palestine, Mesopotamia) (2)?
1) Britain wanted to secure control in the Middle-East, due to it being the main overland route to India and Asia, whilst also being close to the Suez Canal.
2) Mesopotamia was oil-rich.
Cause of South Africa to leave the Commonwealth?
ince the 1931 Statue of Westminster, South African had free reign of internal affairs and its racist culture
In 1948 the Afrikaner Nationalist Party won power, and implemented apartheid (‘separateness’)
Non-white opposition emerged from the African National Congress
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the South African state brutally suppressed protests, killing 69 at Sharpeville in March 1960
British relations with South Africa strained as there were international objections
Moreover the rejection of the British to give control of Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland to South Africa finally led to the 1961 South African vote by the whites to become a republic and leave the commonwealth
This was the ‘cycle of dependency’.
The cycle of Britain refers to the practice of exploiting African resources to manufacture goods, e.g. textiles, before selling them back at a higher rate to Africa. This was useful for the British economy during the Long Depression 1873-1896.
How did Britain gain control of Nigeria (3) 1885-1914?
1) Britain was able to claim Nigeria through ‘effective occupation’, due to the Royal Niger Company’s presence, in 1885.
2) An agreement with the French in 1890, recognised the French claim to Madagascar, in exchange for French recognition of British Nigeria.
3) The British government took over the responsibilities of the Royal Niger Company, establishing direct British control in the North in 1900, and the South in 1906.
4) Nigeria was unified in 1914.
When and how did Britain lose Mesopotamia?WW1)
Britain ruled it as a mandate for 12 years from 1920
Nationalist movements led to independence in October 1932 under King Faisal I
Retained rights to military and air force bases by the terms of the British-Iraqi Treaty 1930
This was formed in 1953 and dissolved in 1963.
Northern Rhodesia - copper rich
Southern Rhodesia - agriculturally rich with significant white settler colony
Nyasaland - relatively economically underdeveloped country
They were to become the Central African Federation (CAF) - created in 1953
15
Q
Loss of CAF and its N. Rhodesia and Nyasaland?
A
Central African Federation
Constitution included some protection for Africans - could be vetoed by Britain
Some provision for African representation in the new Federal Assembly
These were the three main strategic factors in British expansion in Africa 1857-1890.
1) Coastal interests in West Africa resulted in a string of forts being built along the Gold Coast, with further coastal defences in Sierra Leone and Gambia.
2) The climate and deep waters of the Cape gave it advantages over other ports, whilst also protecting the sea routes to the East.
3) Protection of the Suez Canal.
How did Britain annex Ashantiland (3)?
1) Britain demanded the Asante King, Prempeh, to turn the remainder of his Empire to Britain as a protectorate.
2) Prempeh refused, triggering a fourth Anglo-Asante War, ending in a British victory and a removal of Prempeh from the throne in 1896.
3) A final Asante uprising in 1900 led to the formal annexation of Ashantiland in 1901.
4) Ashantiland was incorporated into the Gold Coast Colony in 1902.
What happened to Egypt after WWI?
Granted formal independence although remained as a client state until 1954
British troops withdrew in 1936 when the Anglo-Egyptian treaty was signed - British could still defend Suez Canal