topic 3 expansion into africa

• In the later years of the nineteenth century, the British Empire was regarded with renewed interest due to the changing international trading environment, with growing political power of Britain's rivals (France and Russia), new challengers (United States and Germany), and the impact of rapid industrialization on British manufacturers
• The main argument in the extract regarding the expansion of the British Empire in Africa is that there was a belief that the Empire was a powerful force for spreading civilization through trade and imposing superior codes of behavior on its inhabitants, with Christian philanthropists aiming to raise the education and conduct standards of other races to match those of Europeans
• Britain acquired an additional 4,750,000 sq miles with authority over almost 90 million people, including gains in the South Pacific islands, Malay states, and Upper Burma, with significant advances made in Africa, where Britain preferred informal influence initially but shifted to more formal control by the 1880s
• David Livingstone's role in the creation of the British Empire in Africa:

  • Missionary
  • Doctor
  • Explorer
  • Agent of empire
  • Anti-slavery activist
• Livingstone's work has been viewed as both positive and negative:

  • Some see him as a 'pseudo-scientific racist' and hypocrite with feeble and destructive work
• Livingstone should be remembered for his complex role in Africa and the British Empire
• Reasons for renewed interest in Africa in the late 19th century according to Boahen:

  • Industrial revolution's need for markets & raw materials
  • Africans unaware of changes in Europe leading to trade monopoly & direct political control
  • Advancements in technology like breech-loading rifles, maxim gun, and steamships
• The concept of 'swing to the East' explains British interests in Africa:

  • Industrial revolution enabled steamships, making it possible to look to Asia and Africa
  • 'Swing to the East' signifies a shift in Britain's imperial priorities by the turn of the 19th century, also linked to the loss of North American colonies
• Reasons for British expansion into Africa:

  • Trade and the economy
  • Personal influence
  • Other factors like adventure, exploration, moral and strategic factors
• Interest in Africa due to:

  • Mineral wealth
  • Capacity for cattle, cereals, and tropical trade
  • Climate advantages
  • Natives' industrious nature
  • Need for good governance and order
• Trade and the economy played a significant role in British expansion in Africa:

  • British merchants traded with West Africa for gold and ivory in the 1500s
  • Slave trade in the 18th century
  • Expansion in Africa from the 1850s onwards due to trade possibilities and new routes, along with natural resources like coal, iron, and timber
• Personal influence of merchant-imperialists and explorers increased British interest in Africa:

  • Recognized resources and wealth potential in Africa
  • Explorers sought and traced waterways, published findings, produced maps, and spread exotic tales
• Strategic interests were key for British expansion into Africa:

  • Protection of existing colonies or trade routes
  • The Cape's strategic location with a temperate climate and deep-water port advantageous to the British
• Christian missionaries played a role in the spread of the Empire by:

  • Promoting Christianity in foreign countries
  • Seeing the Empire as a way to 'civilize' 'heathen' peoples
• Explorers contributed to the growth of the Empire by:

  • Locating raw materials like gold, palm oil, and diamonds
  • Charting various regions and waterways, such as the Sahara, Niger River, and Zambezi River
  • Burton and Speke's exploration to find the source of the Nile in 1857-1868
• Reasons for British expansion in the 19th century:

  • People had the capacity to travel overseas for trade, exploration, preaching, and settlement
  • Risks were present, but technology and science advancements increased survival chances during sea voyages, disease, and encounters with hostile natives and environments
  • Some individuals were desperate for survival or glory, driving them to explore and expand into new territories
  • Motivations included winning fortunes, conquering lands, satisfying curiosity, and saving souls
• Individuals like explorers, missionaries, traders, and colonial administrators played significant roles in the expansion of the British Empire, sharing a similar British confidence and belief in their mission
• Imperial growth after 1857 often occurred due to the actions of individuals with various motives:

  • Traders sought wealth and profit
  • Explorers were driven by scientific impulse or a love of adventure
  • Missionaries saw it as their Christian duty to spread the Gospel or improve conditions
  • Colonial Administrators aimed for power and influence in administration
• Missionaries existed since the late 18th century with the common idea of worldwide conversion as both possible and a duty

  • They helped open up territories to British rule by establishing links with indigenous communities and seeking imperial protection
  • Missionaries sometimes turned to imperial authorities for defense, leading to an expansion of colonial power
• Conflicts easily arose for missionaries with indigenous peoples, colonial rulers, and even among different missions

  • Missionaries offered material gains, education, answers to moral questions, and opportunities for personal advancement by embracing Christianity
• David Livingstone (1813-1873):

  • Scottish missionary and explorer
  • Traced long stretches of the Zambezi River
• The 'Scramble for Africa' occurred as by 1900, 90% of the continent was in European hands, with Britain facing challenges from other expanding and industrializing powers like Germany, France, and Russia
• Explorers who contributed to the expansion of the British Empire in Africa:

  • David Livingstone (1813-1873): Scottish missionary and explorer who traced long stretches of the Zambezi, Shire, and Rovuma Rivers, discovered the Victoria Falls and Lake Ngami, and died in Africa in 1873
  • John Kirk (1832-1892): Chief Medical Officer and economic botanist for Livingstone's Zambezi expedition, later serving as a medical officer and Vice-Consul in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, contributing to Britain's commercial interests in ivory and clove exports
  • Richard Burton (1821-1890): Became famous for his stories of Muslim life and manners, companion of Speke who discovered Lake Victoria, produced 43 volumes of his explorations
  • John Hanning Speke (1827-1864): Discovered Lake Victoria in 1858 in his quest to find the origin of the Nile
• Britain's imperial and colonial policy was influenced by central government concerns for peace and stability within its territories, international pressures, and the need to ensure effective administration and defense
• Informal empire was a strategic approach where the British government gained advantages at little cost, relying on its ability to command the seas and back up claims by force
• Germany posed a threat to the British Empire due to its powerful military, vast colonial area, growing industrial strength, and expansion in SW Africa, although it did not pose a significant threat until the final decade of the century
• Missionaries' role in the expansion of the British Empire in Africa:

  • Missionaries existed since the late 18th century with the idea of world-wide conversion as both possible and a duty
  • They helped open up territories to British rule by establishing links with indigenous communities and seeking imperial protection
  • Missionary groups' primary goals included establishing compounds, setting up churches, providing housing and farm work in return for native conversion, and advancing imperialism by staking a claim to territorial control and extending Britain’s commercial reach
• France aimed to recover prestige by expanding its empire, posing a threat to British trade in the Far East and West Africa, with tensions escalating until the Fashoda incident
• Missionaries like John Mackenzie and Mary Slessor played significant roles in advocating for British intervention and fighting for the rights of native Africans in territories like Bechuanaland and Calabar, Nigeria
• Russia's accumulation of territory in central Asia and plans to conquer parts of the Ottoman empire posed threats to British interests in India, although the intensity of the threat to the Raj was questioned due to geographical barriers
• Missionaries were organized and sent out by missionary societies to Africa, living among local peoples, creating links, bringing Western healthcare and education, and setting up schools to establish credibility rather than outright converting everyone immediately
• Missionaries were not agents of the British government and sometimes clashed with colonial bureaucrats/administrators, but they held a strong view in the 'civilizing' mission, ending 'barbaric practices' of Africans, and had a sense of Christian duty to improve places through education and curbing disease
• Brussels Conference, 1876:

  • Hosted by King Leopold I of Belgium for explorers and geographers
  • Concluded that Africans were 'incapable' of developing resource extraction, leading to European intervention
  • Emphasized the need to develop routes to Africa's great lakes
  • Proposed the establishment of an International African Association to coordinate European efforts
• Brussels Conference, 1876 Outcomes:

  • Increased competition, rivalry, and suspicion among European powers
  • France extended control into Western Sudan in 1879
  • Portugal asserted claims to control the mouth of the Congo River in 1884
• Berlin Conference, 1884-5:

  • Organized by Bismarck of Germany, attended by representatives of 14 European states + USA
  • Major players: Britain, France, Germany, Portugal
  • General Act: permitted all nations to trade in the Congo basin, advocated free trade, protection of indigenous people, and the end of slavery
  • Agreement that any power taking possession of more land in Africa should notify the others
• Berlin Conference, 1884-5 Outcomes:

  • Introduced the concept of 'effective occupation' for asserting claims to land
  • Led to rapid expansion with 90% of African colonies by 1900
  • Enabled European powers to expand in an ordered fashion without conflict, but little concern for indigenous people or natural borders
• The occupation of Egypt was a spectacular act of imperial expansion sanctioned by the Liberal government of Gladstone, aiming to restore order, create stable government, and protect the Suez Canal
• Critics pointed to large sums of money lent to the Egyptian government, suggesting a capitalist plot behind the invasion
• Gladstone's government explanation for the invasion was to restore order, create stable government, and protect the Suez Canal
• Lord Palmerston in 1860 expressed that Britain wished Egypt to be attached to the Turkish Empire for security against it belonging to another European power, aiming to trade with and travel through Egypt