THE SCRAMBLE

FOR AFRICA
COLONIZATION OF AFRICA
1. What is colonization?
2. What was the colonization of Africa?
3. Why was it called the scramble for Africa?

 1. Colonization is when  3. The crazy manner in

one country takes over which Europeans
another by force competed to get a part of
Africa.

 2. Colonization of Africa
was the occupation of
Africa by the Europeans
 AFRICA BEFORE COLONIZATION
 There were no borders
 Powerful kingdoms founded on communalism e.g. Songhai empire, Ghana
empire, great Zimbabwe etc.
 Enjoyed political autonomy
 Had complex trading systems .e.g. gold, salt, slaves
 Technologiically advanced e.g. gold, copper and iron artefacts
(mapungubwe rhinoceros)
 Had their own education systems
formal e.g. mathematics, science, astronomy in Mali (Timbuktu
manuscripts)
informal education e.g. story telling, transmitting of cultural values
 Practiced agriculture (crops and livestock)
 Had rich culture and religion based on ancestors linked to beliefs about
their origin, stories of their journeys….they made sacrifices to appease
their gods
 MAP OF AFRICA
7th to 16 Century
Africa before European Colonisation
Evidence of education, traditions and
technology in Africa before colonization

Mapungubwe rhinoceros Timbuktu manuscripts

 CULTURE AND
RELIGION
Headpieces worn by
diviners during rituals in
west Africa (source: University of
Pennsylvania museum of archaeology and
anthropology)
  Empire- group of countries
govern by one county
 Kingdom is a large group of
people ruled by a king or
queen
Communalism: the practice
Keywords and 
of living together and sharing
meaning possessions and
responsibilities
 Autonomy: self government,
free from external control
 Sacrifices: when an animal or
person is killed as a gift
  It was a conference held to discuss
how Africa would be shared among
other European countries. Africa
was divided into 46 colonies
 It was held on the 26th of February
1884.
 The European countries were/are:
THE BERLIN Britain
CONFERENCE France
Germany
Italy
Belgium
Spain
Portugal
THE BERLIN CONFERENCE
Post Colonial era: Africa between 1945-1990
 CAUSES OF COLONIZATION
Colonization was cause due to political, economic and social causes

 Capitalism: the quest for raw materials and profit (new market for their
products)
 Imperialism: the desire to create overseas empires
 Nationalism: the love for one’s country, the desire to die for one’s country.
Europeans felt that gaining colonies was a measure of their greatness.
 Racism: a false belief that a group of people is superior to another. Europeans
thought that they were better than Africans. They believed Africans did not
deserve the minerals and the rich land, hence colonization
 Rivalry: strong competition with the aim of becoming superior. Europeans
tried to colonize as much as African countries to become more powerful than
their rivals.
 End of slavery: they used the excuse of stopping slavery in Africa, but their
main reason was capitalism
 Finally, Christian missionaries supported imperialism. They thought that
European rule would end the slave trade and help them convert natives
Patterns of colonization: which countries
colonized which parts of Africa?

 Great Britain desired a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost

succeeded through their control of Egypt, Sudan, (Anglo- Egyptian Sudan),
Uganda, Kenya (British East Africa), South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and
Botswana (Rhodesia). The British also controlled Nigeria and Ghana (gold
coast)
 France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to chad(French west
Africa), and Gabon and the republic of Congo (French equatorial Africa)
 Belgium and king Leopold 2 controlled the democratic republic of Congo
(Belgian Congo)
 Italy’s holdings were Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.
 Germany took Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East
Africa)
 Spain claimed the smallest territory – Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni)
Why was it easy to colonize Africa?
 Rivalry between African kingdoms: African kings and chiefs were competing
with each other to be the richest and most powerful. ‘We’ were not united.
 Natural disaster: like drought after 1895, led to shortage of food and most
animals died. Africans became weak and unable to fight against the
Europeans.
 Invention of machine gun (better weapons): these gun could fire 500 bullets
in 1 minute. Africans couldn’t fight against the Europeans with their poorly
constructed weapons e.g. spear and bow and arrows.
 New borders: they used the ‘divide and rule’ to disunite Africans. African
tribes were mixed and this created disputes among African kingdoms and
communities
 Missionaries: they used the missionaries to convince Africans that it was a sin
to fight against Europeans
 Treaties and agreements: they signed treaties with African kings and chiefs
who gained benefits like guns and money
 The discovery of quinine: many colonists got sick of malaria and died in
Africa. But the discovery of quinine gave them a weapon against malaria and
allowed them to settle in Africa with no fear of the disease.
SUMMARY OF REASONS WHY AFRICA WAS
COLONIZED QUICKLY
 European Advantages:
- Powerful weapons used.
- Strong army
- Experienced soldiers

 Africa's diasdvantages:
-Natural disasters in African counties.
-Diseases which killed many livestock
-Rivalries between African leaders
 RESULTS OF COLONIZATION
Positive Negative
 Roads and rails were built  African culture was destroyed
 New mining and industrial  New borders mixed African tribes
technology was introduced
 Christianity made many Africans stop
 More sophisticated money systems their tradition
and banking were introduced
 British representatives replaced
 Hospitals, schools, clinics, western traditional chiefs
style houses were built
 Africans were robbed of their
 Africans learnt about globalization autonomy/freedom/ independence
 Africans learnt about new
 Africans were forced into labour
economies
through the introductions of money
based economy
 African minerals, land and other
resources were exploited
 Racism
 CASE STUDY OF
COLONIZED CONGO
Belgium, under king Leopold,
forced the Congolese to produce
rubber and coffee.
• Those who refused had their
feet and hands cut off. People
were flogged and their houses
were burnt.
• Many were killed to encourage
others to produce more. In all,
about 10 million Congolese were
killed during King Leopold’s
reign.
THE ASHANTI
KINGDOM
The coast of West Africa
before the arrival of
Europeans.
Map of Ashanti
The people of West Africa had a
rich history and culture long before
the arrival of the Europeans. The
area consisted of KINGDOMS and
CITY-STATES with different
languages and cultures.
 Description of the King of Ghana

 The king decorates

himself like a
woman with
necklaces and
bracelets. He wears
a high cap
decorated with gold
and wrapped in a
turban of fine
cotton.
The kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and
Songhai were large and powerful
with kings ruling over large
political structures and governing
thousands of people.
Technology, art and learning
flourished in West Africa. The people
were in subjects such as medicine,
mathematics and astronomy.
Artisans made decorative and ceremonial
items in gold, ivory and bronze.

An example of
advanced artwork
produced by
skilled artists of
Benin.
Economically, trade was very important
to the West African communities.
 From the 7th century,
caravans of camels
carried goods across
the Sahara and
merchants from West
Africa traded with
Arabs across the
Sahara Desert.
 The rise of the Ashanti
 The Ashanti state was founded in
1680 by a military leader, Osei
Tutu. The Ashanti developed a
powerful army that was well
organised and well trained. There
were three different groups in the
kingdom:
 Ashanti chiefdoms with common language and
culture.
 Neighbouring Akan states who accepted the
leadership of the king of Ashanti.
 Distant people who paid tribute to the king.
  He organised his kingdom:
Government officials were
chosen on merit
There was an excellent
system of communication in
the kingdom.
Why TUTU A set of rules were drawn up
became a for the government
Gold mines were royal
popular King possessions
Gold dust became the
currency
The king sponsored the arts.
Tutu introduced the
symbol of the GOLDEN
STOOL. The story
behind this is that
Okomfo (Sangoma)
Anokye commanded the
stool to fall down from
heaven at Tutu`s feet.
Tutu used the stool as a
symbol to unite the
people. The stool
represented the soul of
the people and the
good fortune of the
nation.
 Homework
1) Why were the Europeans so interested in trading with the Akan
people?
2) What was the importance of the golden stool?
3) Why do you think Tutu was a popular King?

4a) You and your friend have been invited to a yam ceremony.
Make up a dance and a song to praise King Tutu
OR
4b) Imagine you are a member of the Ashanti at the time of the
rule of Osei Tutu. You want to pass down the history of the Ashanti.
Write down the story that you would tell your children about the
Ashanti. It should be a half a page long.
  The Portuguese navigators worked their way down the
West African coast. A local Akan leader gave the
Portuguese permission to build a fort on the coast.
The Ashanti`s early They built the fortress Elmina in 1482. The name
means “the mine”. Today it is a world heritage site.
contact with the  The cargo was gold. The European called this part of
Europeans Africa, the Gold Coast. At first, they bought gold and
ivory in exchange for brass, copper, cloth and guns.
 Soon others followed.
The Ashanti Kingdom became the
 The British, the Dutch and the Danes were the main
main source of the gold and slaves for European traders on this part of the coast. But now
the European traders. Trading slaves the Portuguese bought slaves as well. This area
for muskets (a long barrel gun), became an important source of slaves for the
transatlantic slave trade.
amongst other western commodities,
the Ashanti acquired great local  This resulted in competition amongst the European
countries to control the slave trade.
power. Their king, the Asantehene,
reigned over the entire central region  The Ashanti kingdom captured some of their slaves
from smaller states or they got slaves from smaller
of modern Ghana states as a tribute to them. During the 1700, as many
as 700 000 slaves were taken from this area and sold
in the Americas.
 The Ashanti kingdom were wealthy. The capital
inland, Kumasi, were described as a well-organised,
clean and beautiful city. There were beautiful gold
and brass ornaments. They were known for their
bright woven cloth, called ‘kente’ cloth.
THE BRITISH AND THE
COLONISATION OF THE
GOLD COAST.
  The Ashanti kingdom fought 4
wars and 60 years to prevent the
British colonising them.
 In the first three years the
British were defeated by the
Ashanti army.
 With up to 200 000 soldiers, the
Ashanti had one of the largest
ASHANTI ARMY forces on the continent.
 The men were well armed with
weapons bought through the
gold trade.
 The Ashanti also had trained
medical officers who treated
injured soldiers on the
battlefield.
  At the beginning of the fourth
war, the British managed to
take over the capital, Kumasi.
 The British sent the Ashanti
king, Prempeh 1 and his
The fourth war advisors into exile.
 The people in Kumasi were
able to hide the Golden Stool
from the British.
 King
Prempeh 1
  The British knew about the
importance of the Golden
Demand of the Stool for the Ashanti
Golden Stool kingdom.
 The British wanted to break
the Ashanti resistance
 The British colonial
administrator Hodgson, asked
to sit on the Stool.
 This enraged the Ashanti
kingdom and they rose up in
a rebellion.
British administrator Hodgson
  The Queen Mother gathered
an army to attack the British
Queen Mother and free their exiled king.
Yaa Asantewaa  The British administrator
Hodgson tried to force the
people to tell him where the
Stool was hidden, but no one
would tell.
 Mother Yaa Asantewaa led
the Ashanti into battle.
 They surrounded the British
administrators in a small
building and would not let
them out.
Ashanti defeated

1400 Today
British reinforcement of 1400 the Ashanti kingdom exists as
soldiers arrived at Kumasi and a semi-independent
the Queen Mother and other traditional state inside
leaders were captured. modern Ghana.

Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa remained in

exile until her death in 1923. Following their
defeat, the Ashanti kingdom was annexed as
part of the Gold Coast, a British colony.
1923
 By using the PowerPoint and your insight,
match the descriptions of the words,
with the new concepts
Concept Description
 1. Annexed  A. Become angry.
 2. Reinforcement  B. To strengthen or
invigorate.
 3. Exiled
 C. Conquered and added
 4. Enraged to another country or an
empire.
 5. Rebellion
 D. Banish or take away.
 E. To stand up against a
leader or believe or
affair or matter.
 RESULTS OF COLONISATION FOR ASHANTI
KINGDOM AND BRITAIN.

 Colonisation affected the Ashanti

people in an economic, cultural and
social manner. The results were
positive and negative for the Ashanti
Kingdom. The next table compares the
results for the Ashanti Kingdom.
 NEGATIVE RESULTS POSITIVE RESULTS

• The British colonial government in the Gold • The British introduced cocoa trees which
Coast practised a system called indirect became one of the greatest agriculture
rule. That meant the powers of the local products of the Gold Coast.
chiefs were minimized.

• Their culture was destroyed. • Communication was developed. Around

9700 km roads were built.

• The Ashanti`s wealth was taken. • Gold and timber exports increased.

• The Christian religion replaced their • Schools, hospitals and water supplies were
traditional values. built.

• The Ashanti had to do what the British • Slavery was abolished.

ordered or they were punished.

• The British imposed colonial rule without • Ghana became the first African country to
consent from the Ashanti people. gain independence.
The results of colonisation for the British were mostly
positive.
• The British became wealthy.
• They gained a lot of land from the Ashanti people.
• They introduced their religion, laws and values.
• They controlled the trading routes which made them
powerful and rich.
• They took over the Ashanti `s traditions and lives.

THE ASHANTI TODAY:

The Ashanti remains the largest ethnic group in modern
Ghana, although there are many other groups in the Gold
Coast. The Ashanti people make out 19% of the entire
population. Their military power and political power have
weakened. However, they have managed to restore the
traditions of the Ashanti people.
END OF
HISTORY
THANK YOU