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Essential Questions:
  • How can political change cause conflict
  • Political change leads to opposition in a community, which then turns into conflict. The change doesn't always have the best interest of the people.
  • How does the development of nationalism impact people, nations, and empires?
  • Nationalism brings people of the nation or empire together, in order to better the entities they belong to.
  • How can political relationships affect economic relationships?
  • Political relationships could tie into economic relationships as a way or gain in self-interest black mail.
  • What characteristics and factors unite people as a nation?
  • Equality, justice, and nationalism unite people as a nation.


Video notes:
- China was about to be taken over by europe
- didn't produce much of what china wanted
- Europeans brought opium
- threaten china trade
- Chinese responded with an unsent letter
- Chinese confiscated opium and threw it into ocean
- British sent in gunships opening trade with canton
- Chinese was successful
- gave up all sovereignty to spheres of influence
- British imported so much tea from china
- British became dominant economic power in china
- EUROPEANS have been Africa since 16th century
- Europeans thought of it as a bonus to have colonies
- Controlling the means of production
- Africans were immune to these diseases that affected the Europeans
- Guns helped them colonize Africans
- Euros dominated Africa through wars
- Used technology to control foreign countries and make them work to British advantage
- 25 years for British to defeat the Maori
- Ethiopians defeated British and kept them out of their country
- Industrialized nations pushed economic stresses on un-industrialized nations
Other continents can fit inside of Africa




: Analyze the quote below. Copy and paste the quote and your analysis into your wiki:



Like a cyclone, imperialism spins across the globe; militarism crushes peoples, and sucks the blood like a vampire.


By Karl Liebknecht

Imperialism strikes upon the countries that are vulnerable to its interests. The military that fights for these powerful countries, destroy the people of those countries who have imperialism imposed upon them.

- British had Maxim guns
- They take everything from these countries.


Video Notes:
- imperialism brought power to euros through oppression and abuse of Africans
- most euros thought colonization was essential
- Conrad's novel brought the horror of imperialism to life
- Ethiopia resisted imperialism from foreign countries
- early 1900's two African countries were not colonized



Scramble for Africa



Picture Detective:

  • Ask a Question
  • Why are Americans carrying the Africans and the British are carrying Asians?
  • What do you see (Clues)
  • I see:
  • - Cubans in a basket
  • - Middle "Superstition, oppression, slavery, brutality, barbarism, and vice"
  • - a throne at the top of the rocks
  • - American is sweating
  • - Middle Easterners are laughing
  • - Cubans are angry
  • - struggling to walk to the top
  • - Uncle Sam has a red cross on his shoulder
  • What is the message of the political cartoon?
  • Those who colonized had to carry the responsibilities to take care of who they colonized.


Br_and_US_imperialism.jpg
Br_and_US_imperialism.jpg





Graphic Organizer: The New Imperialism







1. According to Kipling, and in your own words, what was the “White Man’s Burden”?
The "White Man's Burden" relates to the duty and ruling of the people. The white people looked at having to control these other nations as a burden.

2. What reward did Kipling suggest the “White Man” gets for carrying his “burden”?
The "White Man" gets "another’s profit" referring to the competition between certain nations to spread imperialism on those countries they seek out.
3. Who did Kipling think would read his poem? What do you think that this audience might have said in response to it?He thought America would've read it. Imperialists would support the poem because it promotes the imperialistic cause. Anti-Imperialists were not happy with the poem because it came across as unfair.
4. What lines of the poem did you find the most interesting and why?
The most interesting lines to me are, "to seek another’s profit and work another’s gain" because it shows how selfish these countries were when it came to money.



The Berlin Conference



  • What is the message of this poem:

The burden they had to carry was a way of life forced upon them by people who considered their life "uncivilized", as if going to another country or continent and killing or enslaving the native population in order to gain money and land is somehow right as long as you do it using religion as justification.




Describe the significance of the Berlin Conference in 5 words: greed, determination, eager, dictatorial, certain, divisions, agreement, inconsiderate, separation, respect



Document 1:
"Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifferenceof those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it matteredthat has made it possible for evil to triumph." Haille Selassie, Ethiopian emperor, 1892-1975

Questions to consider:


  • What is the perspective of the author? What events might have caused the author to think as he does?
  • The author thought that those countries that were colonized didn't defend themselves well enough from the evil that came upon their homeland.
  • Why might the author be making this statement?
  • The author is making this statement because he is aware of all the countries being colonized around him, as he protects his own.
  • How does the quote relate to Imperialism in Africa? Explain.
  • Basically all of Africa except Ethiopia was colonized.





Document 2
"On French Colonial Expansion" A Speech before the French Chamber of Deputies, March 28, 1884, by Jules Ferry (1832-1893): Ferry was twice prime minister of France, from (1880-1881, 1883-1885)

Gentlemen, we must speak more loudly and more honestly! We must say openly that indeed the higher races have a right over the lower races...

I repeat, that the superior race races have a right because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilize inferior races...In the history of earlier centuries these duties gentlemen have been misunderstood; and certainly when the Spanish soldiers and explorers introduced slavery into Central America, they did not fulfill their duty as men of a higher race....But inour time, I maintain that European nations acquit themselves with generosity, with grandeur, and with sincerity of this superior civilizing duty.



I say that French colonial policy, the policy of colonial expansion, the policy that has taken us under the Empire, that has led us to Tunisia, to Madagascar- I say this policy of colonial expansion was inspired by...the fact that a navy such as ours cannot do withtout safe harbors, defenses, supply centers on the high seas...Are you unaware of this? Look at the map of the world.



  • Who is the author of this piece of evidence? What is his viewpoint?
  • Jules Ferry believed that higher races had a duty of colonizing lower races and maintaining them.
  • What justifications does he offer to support his viewpoint?
  • He uses the map to justify his position.
  • Why might he be giving this speech? What is the purpose of this speech?
  • He wanted to get the people of France and other European nations on his side.
  • What does the speech tell you about life and attitudes of that time?
  • Certain countries thought of themselves as untouchable and almost god-like.



Document 3:
colossus of Rhodes.png
colossus of Rhodes.png


  • Where and when was this political cartoon published? What impact might this have on its perspective and bias?
  • The cartoon was published in the 10 December 1892 edition of Punch. This supports the idea of colonialism in Africa.
  • What meaning does the title give to the Illustration? Why might the author have chosen the words he did/ (colossus, striding, Cape Town and Cairo)
  • The title shows the impact the plan could in Africa if it was sent in motion. He used certain words like that to stress the distance of the electrical telegraph in Africa and to give the polotical cartoon emphasis. It was propaganda, back then.
  • Who is being depicted in this political cartoon? (research cartoon) What objects do you see?
  • Cecil Rhodes is depicted in the cartoon. I see a helmet and a gun.
  • What is the artists viewpoint? What evidence from the political cartoon supports your claim?
  • The artist respects the idea of colonialism. There is no bad mouthing of Cecil Rhodes plan in the cartoon. In the image, the character has a determined posture to him, as he stands over the African continent.



Document 4:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_ZYP5wM-SfbXAcDMqLN4htqqj4-9Y-gWzbAy3YJK6kw/edit?usp=sharing


Document 5:
Source: Ndansi Kumalo, African veteran of the Ndebele Rebellion against British advances in southern Africa, 1896.

So we surrendered to the White people and were told to go back to our homes and live our usual lives and attend to our crops. We were treated like slaves. They came and were overbearing. We were ordered to carry their clothes and bundles. They harmed our wives and our daughters. How the rebellion started I do not know; there was no organization, it was like a fire that suddenly flames up. I had an old gun. They—the White men—fought us with big guns, machine guns, and rifles. Many of our people were killed in this fight: I saw four of my cousins shot. We made many charges but each time we were defeated. But for the White men’s machine guns, it would have been different.

  • How were the the people of southern Africa treated by the imperialists?
  • They treated like scum, they were basically slaves.
  • Why was the African rebellion unsuccessful?
  • The white people had more powerful weaponry compared to the Africans.


Document 6:
Source: Mojimba, African chief, describing a battle in 1877 on the Congo River against British and African mercenaries, as told to a German Catholic missionary in 1907.

And still those bangs went on; the long sticks spat fire, pieces of iron whistled around us,fell into the water with a hissing sound, and our brothers continued to fall. We ran into our village and they ran after us. We fled into the forest and flung ourselves on the ground. When we returned that evening our eyes beheld fearful things: our brothers, dead, bleeding, our village plundered and burned, and the river full of dead bodies.You call us wicked men, but you White men are much more wicked! You think because you have guns you can take away our land and our possessions. You have sickness in your heads, for this is not justice

  • Who is the author of this source? What does it refer to?
  • African Chief Mojimba talks of treatment of imperialists toward Africans.
  • Describe the strength of the sides in this battle using evidence from the text.
  • The white men had powerful guns, but the Africans knew the land.
  • What is the chief's opinion of the British?
  • The Chief looks at the British as inhumane, wicked beings.


Document 7:
Source: German military officer, account of the 1905 Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa, German military weekly newspaper, 1906.

The chiefs spread it among their people that a spirit, living in the form of a snake, had given a magic medicine to a medicine man. The medicine guaranteed a good harvest, so that in future people would no more need to perform wage labor for foreigners in order to obtain accustomed luxuries. The medicine would also give invulnerability, acting in such a way that enemy bullets would fall from their targets like raindrops from a greased body. It would strengthen women and children for the flight customary in wartime, with the associated hardships and privations, and protect them from being seized by the victorious attackers, who were accustomed to taking women and children with them as war prizes. The medicine consisted of water, maize, and sorghum grains. The water was applied by pouring it over the head and by drinking.


  • What is the message the German military officer was trying to send about the East Africans? Give evidence from the document to support your claim
  • German military officer was trying to show the East African to be very mystical with their practices."The chiefs spread it among their people that a spirit, living in the form of a snake, had given a magic medicine to a medicine man."
  • Why do you think the Africans made such claims?
  • They made these claims to scare foreigners away.


Document 8:
Smithsonian Institution sponsored African expedition for Theodore Roosevelt, 1909-1910. Photo was used as an illustration in Theodore Roosevelt's book, "African Game Trails" published in 1910.
Roosevelt_safari_elephant.jpg
Roosevelt_safari_elephant.jpg


  • Describe the person and objects in this photo.
  • Theodore Roosevelt is hunter and he killed the elephant with a gun.
  • What is the purpose of the photograph?
  • The purpose of the photo is to display Roosevelt's expedition in Africa.
  • What economic or social implications does this photo indicate about Africa in 1909?
  • Africa was rich in diverse animals and there was a market to be made off of Africa.


Document 9:

African exports.PNG
African exports.PNG

  • What European industries benefited from African resources?
  • Medical, fabric, jewelers, oil, bankers, food industries,and car companies benefited from African resources.
  • Which European country do you feel had the most valuable colonies? Why?
  • Great Britain and Germany had the most valuable colonies. The resources they owned brought in a lot of money.
  • How could this document be used to explain the primary reason for European imperialism in Africa?
  • The economic use tab could be displayed to show the interest in Africa as a continent.


Document 10:
"Colonialism’s greatest misdeed was to have tried to strip us of our responsibility in conducting our own affairs and convince us that our civilization was nothing less than savagery, thus giving us complexes which led to our being branded as irresponsible and lacking in self-confidence. . .
The colonial powers had assimilated each of their colonies into their own economy.
Our continent possesses tremendous reserves of raw material and they, together with its potential sources of power, give it excellent conditions for industrialization. . ."
Sekou Toure, West African nationalist, 1962


  • In 1962, what was the response of this West African nationalist to years of colonialism?
  • It resulted in the lack of confidence of the entire continent.
    The years of colonialism paved the way for African Industrialization. He looks at it under a positive light even though it was a negative aspect brought to Africa.