The document summarizes the colonization of Africa by European powers between the 15th-early 20th centuries. It describes how Portugal, France, Britain, and other countries gradually established colonies along the coast in the 1400s-1700s by founding trading ports. In the late 1800s, the Scramble for Africa began as European nations rapidly divided up the interior of the continent at the Berlin Conference in 1885 due to growing imperialism and rivalry over Africa's resources. By 1900, Europe had colonized almost all of Africa, radically transforming the political boundaries and society, with both negative and positive impacts lasting to this day.

1. ““The Scramble for Africa”The Scramble for Africa”

2. Africa Today:
Shaped by Its History
“The Scramble for Africa”

3. The Seeds are Planted
• The Portuguese began the first colonies in
Africa in the 1400s.
• In 1659, the Dutch founded the Cape Colony
on Africa’s southern tip in 1659.
• In the 1600s, France founded the colony of
Saint Louis in today’s Senegal.
• The British started to colonize Africa in the
1700s.

4. 1800s
rubber
imperialism
When most European nations ended slavery in
the early______, they shifted their focus to
trading goods such as gold, ivory,
and____________.
Soon after,the European powers divided up
most of Africa. They used ______________to
keep power. This is a policy of taking over other
countries’ government’s trade, and culture.

5. From Trading to Controlling
• After the slave trade was abolished in
West Africa, Europeans continued to
come to Africa in search of resources
for their factories in Europe.
• Originally, Europeans traded with
Africans for the resources they
needed. However, Europeans would
eventually begin to colonize, or take
over, land and resources in Africa.
• Before 1880, Europe had colonized only
5% of Africa, mainly along the western
coast.

6. The Scramble Begins
• Beginning in the 1880s, the colonization of
Africa rapidly increased.
• Several factors led to the colonization boom.
– The Industrial Revolution led European
countries to hunt for raw materials needed to
develop products.
– Methods of transportation improved.
– Several European countries became engaged in
a growing colonial rivalry with each other.
– Europeans began signing treaties with African
tribal leaders.
• The carving up of Africa by Europeans
became known as the “Scramble for Africa.”

7. Reasons for Colonialism
• Despite Europeans involvement in the
Slave Trade Europeans usually relied on
Africans to trade slaves instead of
colonizing the continent.
• By the 1880s every major nation in the
world had abolished the institution of
slavery.
• Europeans found a new interest in Africa.
• Africa is a continent of vast wealth.

8. “The Scramble for Africa”
• In order to avoid armed conflict with each
other, leaders of several European countries
met at the Berlin Conference in 1885.
• At the conference, rules were created to
determine how European countries could
claim African land.
• They agreed to carve up Africa into vast
empires, ignoring the rights of the African
people already living in these areas.
• By 1900, most of Africa had been colonized
by the Europeans. Only Liberia and the
Empire of Ethiopia remained independent.

9. In 1884 at the request of
Portugal, German chancellor
Otto von Bismark called
together the major western
powers of the world to
negotiate questions and end
confusion over the control of
Africa. Bismark appreciated
the opportunity to expand
Germany's sphere of
influence over Africa and
desired to force Germany's
rivals to struggle with one
another for territory. At the
time of the conference, 80%
of Africa remained under
traditional and local control.
The Berlin ConferenceThe Berlin Conference

10. "The Berlin Conference was
Africa's undoing in more
ways than one. The colonial
powers superimposed their
domains on the African
continent. By the time
independence returned to
Africa in 1950, the realm had
acquired a legacy of political
fragmentation that could
neither be eliminated nor
made to operate
satisfactorily."*
The Berlin ConferenceThe Berlin Conference

11. The _______controlled much of East Africa.
Large numbers of Europeans settled in Kenya.
But most colonial rulers used African deputies
to control the countries. Many deputies were
traditional chiefs. They often favored their
own peoples. This caused conflict between
ethnic groups.
British

12. Colonialism
• Colonialism is forced control of one nation by
another nation.
• Beginning in the early 19th
Century, Europeans
aggressively tried to establish colonies in Africa.
• Colony is when a nation establishes a government
under its rule in a foreign territory.
• Imperialism is empire building. Expansion occurs
when one state is more powerful than are the
obstacles to expansion. European civilization
experienced a period of unprecedented rapid
expansion around the globe during the last third of
the nineteenth century.

13. What type of Political boundaries existed
before the Berlin Conference in 1885?

14. European Colonization of Africa
Major Players
• Britain
• France
• Portugal
• Spain
• Italy
• Belgium
• Of these
nations, Britain
and France
controlled the
most territory in
Africa.

15. Positive European
Reasons for Colonialism
1. Colonies provided Europe with strategic
military and economic advantages.
2. Europe received minerals and other natural
resources (diamonds, gold, cotton, ivory,
and other natural resources) which fed the
Industrial Revolution
3. Europeans had access to cheap labor
4. Open up new trading markets for European
goods.
5. Spread Christianity throughout the
continent.

16. Religion in Central
Africa draws heavily
from its colonial
history. Many of the
countries that were
once part of the former
French, Spanish, and
Portuguese colonies
are Roman Catholic
while Protestant
Christians can be found
in former British
Colonies.

17. Impact of Colonialism
Positive Effects on Africa
• Schools and hospitals built.
• Economy was improved by new
governments.
• Roads and railroads were built.
• Health was improved (Health systems,
etc…)
• Berlin Conference set a specific date for
the end of the slave trade.
• New technology elevated the standard of

18. Impact of Colonial Period/ Partitioning of AfricaImpact of Colonial Period/ Partitioning of Africa
Negative Effects for AfricaNegative Effects for Africa
Conflicts broke out between tribes that were once friendly.
African tribes lost control of their own countries.
Land was confiscated for farms for the European colonies.
Wars, revolts, and protests were common.
Starvation and disease became widespread.
“NEW BORDERS” were drawn that separated families
and tribes.

19. The Scramble’s Legacy
• The scramble for Africa caused lasting harm.
– Europeans took the best land by force.
– African farmers were forced to grow cash crops
like cocoa and coffee, causing there to be a
shortage of food in many areas of Africa.
– Africans were forced to work under terrible
conditions on plantations, railways, and logging.
– In order to gain power, Europeans encouraged
Africans to fight against each other.
– New political boundaries caused ethnic groups to
clash.
– This has led to ethnic and political unrest in Africa
today.

20. France
Britian
Belgium
Some of the
Central African
countries
became rich
from trading
with the
Europeans.
But they were
all weakened in
time… Why?
Name the
European
colonial powers.
Spain
Germany
Portugal