African empire Flashcards
(20 cards)
When did the scramble for Africa’s occur?
Between 1880 and 1900
When was the conference held in Berlin, which decided which nation could take which areas of Africa?
1884-5
The conference was held to prevent war between the European powers.
Little attempt was made to understand the wishes or needs of the Africans themselves.
Differences in races, languages, culture and traditions were ignored.
How many areas of land in Africa did Britain take over?
16 areas of land, including Sudan, Nigerian, Kenya, Egypt and northern and southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia)
32% of Africa by 1900
What was an important invention in the takeover of Africa?
The invention of the maxim gun
When did Cecil Rhodes move to cape colony?
1870 - Rhodesia worlds in good and diamond mines; making a fortune.
When was Cecil Rhodes elected to cape colony parliament?
1881
When did Cecil Rhodes form De Beers?
1888
A company which owns most of the gold and diamond in Southern Africa; he uses his money and political skills to gain control of more land.
When was the Suez Canal built?
1869
The Suez Canal is built jointly by Egypt and France.
When do the Egyptians rebel against British and French interference in the Suez Canal, when does Britain take control of Egypt?
1875 - the British and French give money to Egypt in return for their trade, railways, post offices and ports.
1882 - the Egyptians were about against British and French interference. The British respond by bombing Alexandria, destroying its defences. France refuses to get involved, Britain sends 24,000 soldiers from Britain and 7000 soldiers from British India to Egypt. Britain takes control of Egypt.
When was an uprising led in Sudan?
1884: a religious leader known as the Madhi leads an uprising in Sudan against the British and Egyptians. The rebels kill the British Commander General Charles Gordon and hold out for many years.
1886-88: the British, under Lord Kitchener, lead a series of military campaigns against supporters of the Madhi.
1899: Sudan, like Egypt before, some under British control.
When were diamonds discovered in the new Boer states, when was the first Boer war?
1867 - the British tried to get the Boers to Unite their states with the British ones, but the Boers refused.
A war began, but the British could not defeat the Boers, who fought brilliantly.
The British put their takeover plans on hold.
Who were the Boers?
The Boers, who were descendants of Dutch settlers, were mostly farmers in southern Africa and their colony was names cape colony
Describe the lead up to the start of the second Boer war?
1886 - gold discovered in the Boer states.
Cecil Rhodes opened mines inside Boer territory and British workers flooded in.
Boer leader Paul Kruger refused to give the British any political rights.
Rhodes sponsored a plan to overthrown Kruger and replace him.
Rhodes’ plan failed - and relations between the British and the Boers grew tense.
The British placed more troops along the border with the Boer states.
When did the British takeover cape colony from the Boers.
1806 - the British invaded and it became part of the British empire.
The Boers left Cape Colony, headed north, and set up two new colonies (The Transvaal and the orange free state)
Describe the Boer successes at the beginning of the second Boer war?
Early in the war, the small Boer armies stunned the British with a series of victories.
The Boers were highly skilled fighters, armed with modern guns, who knew the terrain well.
They were mobile (in horseback) and ‘lived off the land’ by foraging for food or capturing enemy supplies.
Some black farm worker helped the Boers, for example, by moving supplies.
Boers mainly fought in small groups (5 to 12 fighters), so units were hard to detect.
They used guerilla (Spanish for ‘little war’) tactics.
January 1990: the British responded by sending half a million troops, using the latest technology, to fight approximately 50000 Boer soldiers.
Some black farm workers worked for the British, for example as scouts.
The Boers refused to surrender and carried out dozens of small raids in British camps, railways and mines.
How did the British respond to the Boer victories?
British commander general Kitchener introduced a scorched earth policy.
Boer men, women and children were rounded up into concentration camps. Of 116,000 Boers put in these camps, 28000 (mainly children) died, largely due to disease and illness. There were black concentration camps too - and an estimated 130,000 black civilians (mainly farm labourers in Boer dams) were rounded up - and at least 20000 died.
When did the Boer surrender?
1902: both sides were exhausted, but the Boers surrendered, and peace talks began.
It was agreed that the Boer states would become British colonies, but the Boers were promised that they could make many key decisions.
1910: the Boer states joined with Cape colony and natal to form the union of South Africa, part of the British empire.
This area was classed as a dominion, rather than a colony, and ran its own affairs.
When did Egypt’s president take back control of the Suez Canal?
1956: Egypt’s president Nasser took control of the British- and French -controlled Suez Canal.
The canal was a valuable gateway to the Middle East.
When talks failed, British and French troops landed in the Canal Zone and attacked Egypt overland.
Both the USA and the UN condemned the invasion.
The troops were forced to withdraw and Britain’s prime minister resigned in humiliation.
How did the Gold Coast (Ghana) gain independence?
1920s: an independence campaign began in West Africa. The national congress of British west Africa asked for more control of their own affairs, but the request was rejected.
1940s: there were large independence movement in several African nations Gold Coast.
The briths felt that it was important that new countries in the region were stable and democratic.
The Gold Coast was one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the region.
Its key independence leader, Dr Kwumah Nkrumah, campaigned hard for the British to leave - he was thrown in jail several times by the British colonial authorities.
1951: Nkrumah won the Gold Coast elections, even though he was still in jail. On his release, he was allowed to become prime minister - but the Gold Coast remained part of the British empire.
1956: Nkrumah was re-elected, and the British took this as a sign that they should leave.
How did Kenya gain independence?
1940s: several independence groups formed. The Kenya Africa union (KAU) and its leader, Jomo Kenyatta, campaigned for both independence and access to white owned-land.
Another group, known as Mau Mau, violently resisted colonial rule. In the 1950s, the British fought the Mau Mau with their own violent campaign.
Many Kenyan independence leaders (including those with no connections to Mau Mau Eg. Kenyatta) were arrested and jailed.
Many white settler chose to leave Kenya.
The Mau Mau rebellion lasted for over 8 years and eventually persuaded the British that reforms were necessary.
12th December 1963: Kenya gained its independence from Britain; Kenyatta became Prime minister.
2013: the British government apologised for the way it had dealt with the Mau Mau rebellion and agreed to pay compensation.
