How did Africans respond to imperialism?
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How did Africans respond to imperialism?
Transcribed Image Text:By 1885 Western Europeans had mastered the art of divide, conquer, and rule, honing
their skills over four hundred years of imperialism and exploitation in the Americas, Asia,
and the Pacific. In addition, technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, produced
unmatched military might. When Europeans turned to Africa to satisfy their greed for
resources and empire, they used different strategies to gain African allies to conquer
kingdoms. Consequently, the African responses to this process of European imperialism
and the ways in which they resisted it were complex. Adding to the complexity was the
fact that rapid European imperial expansion in Africa did not necessarily change
relationships among African communities. Those African communities in conflict with one
another tended to remain in conflict. For example, in what is now Ghana, existing conflict
between the Fante and Asante motivated the Fante to join the British against the Asante,
who at the time seemed to be their greatest threat.
Ethiopia stands alone, however, as
the one African society to
successfully defend itself against an
invading European army and remain
free of direct European political
domination. Menelik II, emperor of
Ethiopia, led his army to accomplish
this unique feat in March 1896,
defeating General Oreste Baratieri's
Italian army at the Battle of Adwa.
Like Menelik II, Muslim cleric Samory Touré, who created a large Mandinka empire in
West Africa between the 1860s and the 1890s, was an inspiring political and military
leader. He resisted French aggression. He manufactured firearms, relocated his kingdom,
and engaged in diplomacy in response to both the French and the British encroachment.
Yet as he conquered African territory in relocating his kingdom and engaged in conflicts
with other African communities, the French pushed deeper into the territory aided by a
group of neighboring African soldiers. The British also pushed into his territory with a
large contingent of Hausa (Nigerian) soldiers. Each time the French attacked his territory
or the trade routes and goldfields at the heart of his economy, he mounted a series of
successful counterattacks, until he was captured by the French, dying in exile in 1900.?
The Zulu in South Africa also resisted English Boers encroaching on their territory. Earlier,
in the 1830s descendants of the original Dutch settlers, now called Boers, migrated into
the interior of South Africa and began to engage in conflicts with the Zulu and British. The
Zulu were a south African tribe that placed an emphasis on military organization and skill,
as established by their legendary leader Shaka Zulu. Under Shaka's rule, the Zulu
broadened their land claims throughout southern Africa.
Eventually, the Zulu came into the
conflict with the British army as they
expanded the British, under the
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economic interests of Cecil Rhodes, control over southern Africa and invaded the
homeland of the Zulu. Despite early victories, the Zulu were eventually defeated by the
technology and vast resources at the command of the British troops in 1879. Soon, all of
southern Africa would come under British control. However, the Zulu continued resisting
British colonization mounting another rebellion in 1906.
Expert Solution
Introduction
Before the late 19th century, European imperialism and colonialism in Africa were limited to coastal areas. Interiors of Africa were untouched by foreign control. However, by the late 19th century, almost all parts of Africa were divided among the Europeans. At the Berlin Conference conducted between 1884 and 1885, European imperial powers negotiated and carved out Africa into spheres of influence.
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