Africa Before European Domination
What kept Europeans from entering the African interior for hundreds of years?
Powerful African armies kept Europeans out for centuries.
What economic change pushed European nations to seek colonies?
Industrialization — Europeans needed raw materials and new markets.
Who was the missionary whose disappearance led Henry Stanley to travel into central Africa?
David Livingstone.
What invention gave Europeans a major military advantage over African forces?
The Maxim gun.
Who was the Zulu leader known for building a strong centralized state?
Shaka.
About how many different languages were spoken in Africa before European domination?
More than 1,000 languages were spoken.
What is the name of the belief that Europeans were more evolved or “fitter” than other peoples?
Social Darwinism.
What did King Leopold II claim his primary motives were for establishing a colony?
He claimed he wanted to promote Christianity and abolish the slave trade.
What medicine protected Europeans from malaria?
Quinine.
What was the name of the long migration where Boers moved north to escape the British?
The Great Trek.
Why were European explorations limited mainly to the African coast before the late 1800s?
Rivers were difficult to navigate, interior travel was dangerous, and disease discouraged exploration.
How did national pride contribute to the European push for colonization?
European nations saw empires as a sign of national greatness and competed to plant their flags worldwide.
What did King Leopold II claim his primary motives were for establishing a colony?
He claimed he wanted to promote Christianity and abolish the slave trade.
Why did European nations meet at the Berlin Conference?
To prevent conflict among European powers and establish rules for dividing Africa.
Why did the Boers fight the British in the Boer War?
Boers blamed the British for attempted uprisings and fought over land, political rights, and resources (gold and diamonds).
What role did African-controlled trade networks play in delaying European imperialism?
African groups controlled trade networks and supplied their own trade goods, limiting European influence.
Why did missionaries support European imperialism?
Missionaries believed European rule could end the slave trade and help “civilize” people.
What were the real impacts of Leopold’s rule on the Congolese population?
Millions died as Congolese were forced to collect rubber and suffered brutal treatment.
How did European technology (like steam engines and telegraphs) support imperial control?
Steam engines, railroads, cables, and steamships enabled movement, communication, and control deep inside the continent.
How did the British respond to Boer guerrilla tactics during the war?
The British burned farms and placed Boer women and children in concentration camps.
Explain how Africa’s ethnic diversity both protected the continent from early European control and later made it vulnerable to colonization.
Diversity made early domination difficult because large unified empires existed, but later made Africa vulnerable because ethnic divisions prevented unified resistance.
Analyze how Social Darwinism, nationalism, and industrialization combined to justify European domination of Africa.
These forces combined to create a mindset that Europeans were superior, destined to expand, and entitled to control land for economic gain and cultural “improvement.”
Explain how the Belgian takeover of the Congo triggered broader competition among European powers.
Belgium’s takeover alarmed France and motivated Britain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain to claim African territories to avoid being left behind.
Evaluate how both European advantages and African internal factors contributed to the rapid colonization of Africa.
European technology, medicine, and weapons made conquest easier, while African ethnic divisions and internal conflicts prevented unified resistance.
Discuss how the outcomes of conflicts among the Zulus, Boers, and British reshaped South Africa by 1910.
The Zulu were defeated, the Boers lost the Boer War, and Britain unified the Boer republics into the British-controlled Union of South Africa.